Police Blotter Isn’t The Full Story

To the Editor:

First, a question, then a word of caution.  

Am I the only one that feels that the Police Blotter is nothing more than fodder for the gossip mill? I don’t read the Police Blotter because I don’t feel someone else’s misfortune is my business. However, I am sometimes asked, “Did you see that so-and-so made the paper?” Or the cryptic, “Did you read The Bee?” A neighbor whose son got picked up for drug possession, or an acquaintance with a DUI. Heck, my husband was in the paper for a business-related issue. Now on the one hand, it lets you know who your friends are. The ones that call you to say, “What’s going on?” The ones you think are your friends, but their avoidance speaks volumes. But on the other hand, how is it really anyone’s business but yours. Of course, it bothered me when my husband appeared in the paper, but not enough to write a letter. No, this is about my sister.

Local Sandy Hook Woman. My sister is Tammy Card. The special education teacher arrested in Mahopac, N.Y., for child endangerment and assault. The courts say we are innocent until proven guilty. We all know that depending on the type of press you get, your guilt or innocence is decided in the court of public opinion long before you ever see the inside of a courtroom. What troubles me most is that no one from The Bee actually contacted my sister. They got all their information from the Danbury News-Times. Whatever happened to the benefit of the doubt? My sister has lived in Sandy Hook for almost 20 years. That should have at least earned her a phone call. Consider for a moment, if this was your loved one, how would you feel?

This is where the word of caution comes in. Teachers should pay close attention to this. Did you know that, in the privacy of the teachers’ lounge, when you are referring to your students by the nicknames you give them, that you are committing a crime? They don’t have to be derogatory names. “The Poor Thing” given to a girl with so many issues, there is no diagnosis, is considered child endangerment. “Chicken Boy” so called because all he eats is chicken. This is considered child endangerment. I wonder if this applies to parents, as well. Perhaps we should watch the names we call our children. You never know who’s listening. My sister worked in a classroom with people she trusted. Apparently, these people had an ax to grind. She’s still baffled by their betrayal. She’s been a teacher for 20 years. She worked in the Danbury school system before going to Mahopac to head up their autistic program. She’s worked there for eight years. She’s had a spotless record until now. She was even nominated for Disney’s Teacher of the Year. She’s an amazing teacher, continuing with her education even now. She was going to school for her doctorate when this went down. She had to drop out because she couldn’t concentrate on that as well as trying to save her career. When the paper writes about people and their alleged wrong-doing, do they realize this is someone’s daughter, wife, sister, or, for the love of God, someone’s mother? My sister is all those things. She’s been with the same man for 28 years. She has two beautiful children, and has tragically lost two more. And, since she was 5 years old, never wanted to be anything other than a teacher. She would never respond to what’s being written about her. She has too much class for that. I can’t stand the thought of the gossip that goes on. She doesn’t deserve that. I’m writing this so you understand that she is so much more than “Local Sandy Hook Woman.”

I am more proud of my sister than I could ever tell her. She is brilliant, beautiful, my best friend, and I love her.

Lori Erikson

17 Pond Brook Road, Newtown                                       May 14, 2007

(Editor’s Note: As indicated by the (AP) notation at the beginning of the story “Sandy Hook Woman Charged In Child Endangerment Case,” which ran in last week’s Newtown Bee, the content of that story had been provided by the Associated Press, of which The Bee is a member.)