We don’t usually hold a page, or clear a page, during production week for a late-breaking story unless it involves a dead body. That’s just the nature of the business; there’s a news budget going into the week, and some things are in flux, some things are not.
Usually Friday court hearings, especially of a low-key and last-minute nature such as an Order of Protection (OP) don’t fall into the category of “something we’ll bump another story off a main page” for.
But your first Read the Lead of the July Special Edition certainly did fall into that category, in this case, making it to our back page (which we use as a “second” front page).
And that’s because it involves a Saline County public official, and what were proven to be false allegations against him.
We’ll let the lead tell you more, and for the rest, well….you’ll just have to read it to see. Here’s Cat lady takes county board member to court for ‘stalking’, your first Read the Lead for this month’s issue:
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SALINE CO.—If anyone has ever questioned how abused Illinois’ civil Stalking/No-Contact Order procedure can be, they have no further to look than a late-June case in Saline County.
The situation county board representative Danny Gibbs, 56, found himself in with a woman known for “cat rescues” in Harrisburg at that time is not typical, but it’s a growing trend for people who are “offended” by another’s actions—or lack thereof—and are seeking to force their perception of things onto an individual by taking action in court and having a judge order it.
On Thursday, June 26, Judge Todd Lambert wasn’t so inclined, however…and what amounted to a circus sideshow, and possibly displayed the effects of a cat-borne parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, was over within a relatively short time, even though the complainant tried in vain to continue her line of questioning after it had already been proven that there was no stalking going on…at least, on Gibbs’ part.
The issue arose when on June 5, Roxanne Vandyke, 51, of Plum Street on the north side of Harrisburg, filed petitions for a Stalking/No-Contact Order (still styled in court as an OP, or, order of protection), one each against Danny Gibbs and his wife, Jeana.
In nearly indecipherable, loopy-lettered handwriting, Vandyke outlines what her problems were with….
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To find out what happened next, simply click the headline to the article above the excerpt if you have an online membership to the e-Edition; or, if you don’t, click this link to get started! Or, if you prefer to hold a paper in your hands, head on out to any one of our vendors in Harrisburg: ROC One-Stop on Poplar and Commercial, M&H Liquors on Commercial; Discount Food Mart on Main; and Book Emporium on Gum Street. Throughout Saline County, you can also pick up a copy at Raleigh Quick Mart in Raleigh; ROC One-Stop in Galatia and Carrier Mills; and in Eldorado, College Drive Liquors, and both locations of ROC One-Stop. Hurry…next one hits the stands in TWO WEEKS.