Lawsuit is a Story
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
I offer a personal response to Ron Ogden’s letter, printed in the Times-Union on July 2 regarding the newsworthiness of a recent lawsuit filed by Dane Miller.
In 2008, my company suffered from a theft from an employee. This trusted, long-time employee, who has since pleaded guilty, siphoned over six figures from my company. The theft was devastating to my company, my employees and my family. I pressed charges, and spent months locating documents, meeting with a forensic accountant, with attorneys and running thousands of pages of documents of proof of the theft. My story ran on page three and was approximately two column inches.
My business is not well known in Warsaw; we don’t employ hundreds of people, nor do we reap the majority of our income from Kosciusko County. The impact on the community was small, even though the impact on my company was huge and devastating.
In 2011, the front page of the Times-Union carried a story regarding the internal theft by an employee of the Kosciusko County Board of Realtors. It was the headline of that day’s newspaper. The KBoR touches many in Kosciusko County. Newsworthy simply by considering how many people conduct business through a realtor.
Also in 2011, on the front page, the Times-Union reported its own internal theft. Although I believe it was “below the fold”, the editor did not shy away from the public when they discovered their internal theft and pressed charges.
Our newspaper has been filled with these stories. Each was given the amount of space commensurate with the impact and interest on the community. The interest and the impact of Dr. Miller’s lawsuit is enormous. The Village at Winona welcomes thousands of guests each and every year. As you are so quick to note, The Village has become the face of our community. It is news.
I can attest to the amount of thought and diligence it takes to follow through with this issue. Perhaps you are closer to the situation than I, but I can’t imagine that Dr. Miller didn’t pursue other avenues before taking this public step. The emotional distress of realizing that someone you worked with and cared about has betrayed your confidence and trust is devastating. Having it played out publicly adds the kind of undue exposure the Millers generally avoid. I doubt it was entered into lightly.
My heart goes out to the Millers, the shopkeepers and the many visitors to The Village at Winona. Regardless of its outcome, it is a painful and time-consuming process. I sincerely hope that the Millers are able to rebound from this with their usual good grace and will continue to be the generous, proud, kind benefactors they have proven to be. For you see, anyone can write a check, but these people truly live amongst us, caring and giving, mentoring and promoting for the good of our community.
Sue M. Gooding
Winona Lake, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
I offer a personal response to Ron Ogden’s letter, printed in the Times-Union on July 2 regarding the newsworthiness of a recent lawsuit filed by Dane Miller.
In 2008, my company suffered from a theft from an employee. This trusted, long-time employee, who has since pleaded guilty, siphoned over six figures from my company. The theft was devastating to my company, my employees and my family. I pressed charges, and spent months locating documents, meeting with a forensic accountant, with attorneys and running thousands of pages of documents of proof of the theft. My story ran on page three and was approximately two column inches.
My business is not well known in Warsaw; we don’t employ hundreds of people, nor do we reap the majority of our income from Kosciusko County. The impact on the community was small, even though the impact on my company was huge and devastating.
In 2011, the front page of the Times-Union carried a story regarding the internal theft by an employee of the Kosciusko County Board of Realtors. It was the headline of that day’s newspaper. The KBoR touches many in Kosciusko County. Newsworthy simply by considering how many people conduct business through a realtor.
Also in 2011, on the front page, the Times-Union reported its own internal theft. Although I believe it was “below the fold”, the editor did not shy away from the public when they discovered their internal theft and pressed charges.
Our newspaper has been filled with these stories. Each was given the amount of space commensurate with the impact and interest on the community. The interest and the impact of Dr. Miller’s lawsuit is enormous. The Village at Winona welcomes thousands of guests each and every year. As you are so quick to note, The Village has become the face of our community. It is news.
I can attest to the amount of thought and diligence it takes to follow through with this issue. Perhaps you are closer to the situation than I, but I can’t imagine that Dr. Miller didn’t pursue other avenues before taking this public step. The emotional distress of realizing that someone you worked with and cared about has betrayed your confidence and trust is devastating. Having it played out publicly adds the kind of undue exposure the Millers generally avoid. I doubt it was entered into lightly.
My heart goes out to the Millers, the shopkeepers and the many visitors to The Village at Winona. Regardless of its outcome, it is a painful and time-consuming process. I sincerely hope that the Millers are able to rebound from this with their usual good grace and will continue to be the generous, proud, kind benefactors they have proven to be. For you see, anyone can write a check, but these people truly live amongst us, caring and giving, mentoring and promoting for the good of our community.
Sue M. Gooding
Winona Lake, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
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