Former Jail Doctor John Wells, of Melchizedek Medical
Waco – For once, the public information policy of the city dads in this city and county resulted in a nail in the foot with the proverbial accompanying canine feces upon the shoe.
Usually, all requests by the unaccredited minions of the internet are denied, while all requests by the ink-stained wretches of the daily press and their broadcasting colleagues are honored because they sell those big ticket items – homes, flat-screen tv’s, pickups and SUV’s, life insurance, Cowboys tickets, etc.
All is well, as a result. The lawyers can safely say the social media types are creating a total nuisance, eating up tax dollars with frivolous requests, while their pets in the mainstream media happily receive their jive by fax and e-mail – no questions asked. It is such a blessing to see men work together as brothers.
Obviously, things didn’t work out that way this time. By blindly releasing information protected by the federal law governing privacy of students in the cases of nursing interns receiving their training at McLennan Community College, staff attorneys and County Judge Scott M. Felton violated at least one of their requisite three federal laws a day.
Just get a load of the resulting correspondence.
Ordinarily, had the oversight been committed solely by a member of the local press corps, all involved would adopt a dog-gone-it, boys will be boys attitude. In this case, the anwer is no. Public Information Activist R.S. Gates, who has once been escorted to the front door of the courthouse by an armed security chief at the direction of Judge Felton, penned these requests, only to learn that federal law would prohibit any further disclosure.
Imagine his shock and surprise when only a few short weeks later, he saw an exquisite banner in the local daily besmirching the performance of former Jail Doctor John Wells, who made so bold as to tell a young Hispanic lady of his admiration for the females of her ethnic type. When a supervisor at the college determined that is a form of sexual harassment, she disallowed any further training of student nurses at the McLennan County Jail, Wells lost his $300,000-per-year contract, and the wheels of justice ground on finely.
And now, unsatisfied with the hip-deep quagmire in which the local power brokers find their lower extremities, Gates is making so bold as to demand that information which was so freely granted to the intrepid Tommy Witherspoon of the Lib Trib, as “your aversion to transparency combined (with) incompetence has now presented a situation where you probably violated federal law.”
Zounds! Who’d a’thunk it. These are not the Papist men in pinky rings and shark-skin suits Jimmy Breslin wrote about. Nay, these are the local gentry of the local establishment, here at Jerfusalem-on-the-Brazos, the foot washin’ Baptists of the Southern Baptist Convention – and prestigious Baylor University.
July 5, 2016
Judge Felton,
I reviewed OR2016-13557 in which Assistant Attorney General James L. Coggeshall wrote that you disseminated federally protected information. It’s interesting that you claimed the information was excepted from disclosure by citing the law that prohibited the dissemination.
I believe the information sought in this request is covered under the original request dated 3/29/16. I am providing clarification not because I believe it original request was vague or unclear but because the combination your aversion to transparency combined incompetence has now presented a situation where you probably violated Federal Law. Please do consider this request to additionally cover responsive information to date of receipt.
I am making application for and requesting access to public information related to the FERPA information. I am not now or have I ever requested access to federally protected information and am requesting access to who else had access to the information. How you came by the information. Who else you provided access to the information.
This request also covers any public information related to following direction of the Attorney General to contact the DOE and educational institution.
The request is intended to cover correspondence with legal counsel since I don’t think covering up distribution of protected information falls into the protected information addressed by the Act.
June 30, 2016
Dear Mr. Gates,
In accordance with the instructions of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, McLennan Community College was contacted through their legal counsel. After he consulted with the Department of Education he advised that the enclosed documents could be released with student identifiers redacted.
Thank you,
March 29, 2016
I am making application for and requesting access to public information related to jail doctor John Wells. The request is intended to cover the period of the last six months.
Thank you,
R.S. Gates
Avanti!
So mote it be.