News

Anatomy of a rumpus: Pennell misunderstandings grow to flashpoint
By Elizabeth Prata

What happens behind the scenes

Gray-Last Thursday, when the group got settled around the table and the Pennell meeting began, it didn't take long for tempers to rise as disparate expectations crumbled in the face of the collective reality. Angry words were said, members stomped out of the meeting, and soon after, the e-mails started flying.

How this happened is an example of a behind-the-scenes campaign based on manipulation, misinformation, and several outright falsehoods. The following article is a chronology of how the meeting came about and what happened after the participants went home. This is the story of how a hastily called meeting to talk about Pennell has turned into a mini-brouhaha wrapped around anger and sealed with heated hyperbole.

It all started with an e-mail

After the non-binding referendum, Gray Public Library Association (GPLA) Director and Gray Library Trustee Ray Clark sent an e-mail to Town Manager Mitchell A. Berkowitz. Mr. Clark called for a meeting to discuss the non-binding referendum question. Mr. Clark also suggested that all three Attorneys be present. A different attorney represents the GPLA, SAD 15, and Town. According to GPLA Attorney Dan Walker, the Public Library, not the Association, is paying for his services to date, and taxpayers also pay for the SAD and Town attorneys.

Mr. Berkowitz complied, and in turn sent an e-mail to Town Attorney Bill Dale asking him to organize it. Usually, the Manager sets up meetings through his Council. At this point the Council was unaware of the potential meeting. The new Council was elected on June 14, and seated Tuesday, June 21, and with 3 new members on a 4-member Council (one resignation makes the usual complement of five one short), they had not been brought up to speed on the complex Pennell issue.

It came about quickly, and within a very fast turnaround. Mr. Dale had sent back a reply after hours late on Monday, June 20 and then Mr. Berkowitz sent an e-mail the next morning stating that there would be a meeting of interested parties to discuss the Pennell issue two days later, on Thursday afternoon. This was too short a time-frame to notify the public.

The meeting was held on Thursday and the parties discussed Pennell and the transfer of the trust to the GPLA, before the misunderstandings crept in and the meeting adjourned two hours later in a negative disposition hanging over the Hall.

Behind the scenes campaign

The following Saturday morning, Richard Barter e-mailed to "Friends, This morning I attended a meeting of the GPLA to find out the latest on Pennell. As I feared "All is not well in Denmark - or Gray"

But GPLA Director Ray Clark told The Monument Newspaper that "no meeting of the GPLA took place after Thursday." In any case, Mr. Barter's e-mail continued, stating that Mr. Clark was "asked to write his overview of the meeting which I share this with you with an urgent plea to step up and be heard…" By midday Saturday, Mr. Clark, along with former Councilor and Pennell Alum Richard Barter, spammed out that e-mail containing Mr. Clark's account of the Thursday meeting. The e-mail also called for further e-mail dispersal, a letter writing campaign to the Council and letters to "our local newspaper."

The community members did just that, and the e-mail cc-list grew quickly. Those citizens interested in the issue became increasingly concerned after reading Mr. Clark's construal of what had happened at the meeting. Like the childhood game, 'Telephone,' where kids sit in a circle and whisper a sentence into each others' ears, and the last kid hearing the sentence hears one that is vastly different from the original, the fury contained in the e-mails had increased proportional to the amplification.

By Sunday afternoon, citizens began sending e-mails to Council Chair Gary Foster and Vice-Chair Andy Upham. The e-mails ranged in emotion from questioning to threatening. Mr. Foster answered them factually and kept answering as many as came in, throughout the day and night on Sunday.
The followinge-mails are just a few that were sent to Council Chair Gary Foster. Council e-mails are public documents. Except for Ray Clark, none of the people commenting about the meeting were actually at the meeting.

See next story to read the e-mails