Letter to the editor: Peck

Letter to the editor:

I'm writing this letter in response to the editorial submitted by Bernie Lattner on June 19, 2012. My name is Jason Peck and I am the School Resource Officer working in the Kasson- Mantorville Schools.

As a School Resource Officer, my responsibilities include maintaining school safety and investigating criminal activity that occurs within the K-M Schools. Being a police officer in a school setting is a very rewarding, but often times an under appreciated job. In a perfect world kids would come to school, follow all of the rules and display good citizenship towards staff and other students. When kids behave as expected the school day goes very well. Unfortunately, there are some students who engage in negative, inappropriate and sometimes criminal behavior at school. When a student decides to commit a crime, the matter is referred to me to investigate.

As with most things in life that can be contentious, these investigations often times become no win situations as it is nearly impossible to please everyone who has a stake in the outcome. However, for every parent like Mr. Lattner who does not agree with the work I do, there is a parent or student who appreciates the fact that I took the time to investigate their case, no matter how big or how small, and provided them with a resolution that they found to be acceptable. Contrary to the opinion expressed by Mr. Lattner, my focus is not on "minor infractions". Instead, my focus is on all crimes reported to me by the school district, students/staff who have been victimized or concerned parents of the student victims. On occasion I observe criminal behavior in person and I investigate these matters as well.
In his editorial, Mr. Lattner claimed that I do not focus on "drugs, violence or bullying". This statement is not only wrong, but also very irresponsible as I strongly believe drugs, violence and bullying have no place in a school setting. Had Mr. Lattner taken the time to talk with me before submitting his editorial, he would have learned that in addition to citations for "minor" offenses such as misdemeanor theft, I have also arrested or issued citations to students for drugs, alcohol consumption/possession, assault, terroristic threats and weapons on school property, some of which were felony level offenses.

While I would like to discuss the specifics of the case mentioned in Mr. Lattner's editorial, I am unable to do so because of data privacy. What I will say is that Mr. Lattner only reported some of the facts regarding this matter and of the facts he did report, some were distorted to benefit his opinion.
If anyone would like accurate information about the work I do in the K-M school district, please feel free to give me a call. I can be reached at the high school (634-1196), middle school (634-1636) or the Kasson Police Department (634-4983). While I can not give specific information about cases I have investigated, I can tell you about the types of cases that are being reported, the rationale that goes into making a decision to file criminal charges and about all of the activities I'm doing with students in the school district that have nothing to do with criminal investigations. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Jason Peck
School Resource Officer
Kasson Police Department

Supported By:
Ken Schuck
Chief of Police
Kasson Police Department

Letter to the editor: Lattner

Letter to the editor:
Criminalizing Minors

You won't believe where our civil liberties are being attacked now. My 13 year old son and two others like him were facing a misdemeanor charge by the Kasson-Mantorville Police School Resource Officer (SRO). The offense was for being offered and/or taking less than $.30 of "Frooties" candy from a friend's locker. The boy who owned the Frooties candy, gave his combination to other boys who opened the locker and were getting candy. My son asked what they were doing and they asked him if he wanted some candy. My son said, "yes" and took approx 20 of the small pieces which he also handed out to his friends during the day. The owner of the locker noticed the candy being gone and reported it to Officer Peck who was nearby. Officer Peck reviewed the school camera film, conducted a recorded interrogation of the minors without a parent or lawyer present, and issued criminal citations that were forwarded to the Dodge County Court.

For this offense, three of the four boys were given a three  day out-of-school suspension and were later charged with criminal misdemeanor theft. Another boy known by the officer received no citation or out-of-school suspension at all. The family of and the boy who reported the missing candy to Officer Peck asked that no charges be brought against these minor boys. Officer Peck pushed it through till it reached the Dodge County Prosecutor and Court. The Court threw the case out when the first minor appeared for this court hearing.

When I spoke with the Kasson-Mantorville Superintendent of Schools, Mark Matuska, he was not aware that the District had signed off on forwarding the charges for some candy and felt the punishment was not proportional to the alleged offense. The Dodge County Court said they would not normally take a case like this but because it was pushed through they are obligated to hear it. The children were being charged under the same statute as taking items off war dead (MN Statute 609.52). No such charges appear from Triton or Hayfield School Districts which also report to the Dodge County Court.

The Districts outside of Kasson-Mantorville refer drug and violence cases which are better suited for the legal system and its limited resources. We never had these problems under our previous SRO through the Dodge County Sherriffs Office. Our Kasson Police Department SRO primarily focuses on candy and food fights for criminal action.

The problem is that SROs are in our schools to protect against real crime: drugs, violence, and bullying. Unfortunately, some like Officer Peck are taking away the rights of active parents to raise their young children and discipline them in a way that brings them to a healthy and productive adulthood. Instead of working with the parents, he throws it into the courts.

The use of school-based citations, interrogations without a parent or attorney present, and arrests as a means of addressing even minor, non-violent disciplinary infractions should raise serious concerns for educators, parents, and the wider community.

While there is no question that guaranteeing the safety of our public schools is important, we must never come to view criminally citing minor infractions committed by minor aged school students as just another approach to discipline.

Instead, every time a school-based citation or other police punishment occurs, we must ask: Was this a rational, proportional, and evenhanded response to the misbehavior? Was it really necessary? Was there another way?

Plainly, SRO’s can help make schools safer. But with the wrong SRO, his presence also may encourage a criminal justice response to misconduct better addressed by school administrators and active parents who work with those administrators.

Unfortunately, there is a trend over the last few years of criminalizing our Kasson- Mantorville children, through increased reliance on selective zero-tolerance school discipline, school-based interrogations, and citations. This is beginning to create an atmosphere of the "school-to-probations pipeline" for our minors.

There is a lot of documentation available in the local media and the Dodge County Court to see this trend occurring here in the K-M School District. The focus is not on drugs, violence, or bullying. This SRO has put his focus on minor infractions and has escalated them to where our court is becoming the mandated parent of our children. Again, is this the most rational, proportional, and evenhanded response to minor misbehavior?

                  Respectfully Submitted,
                      Bernie Lattner

Letter to the editor: Huppler

Letter To the Editor:

Dear readers:

This year marks a major milestone for the Mantorville Theatre Company. We are embarking on our 40th season of summer melodramas in the Historic Mantorville Opera House. To commemorate the event, the MTC Board has selected four of our favorite shows from the past four decades, to reprise for our audiences. I am personally looking forward to being a part of the audience for each and every show this summer, because in my own three-decade-plus relationship with the Mantorville Theatre Company, I’ve been privileged to act in all four of the shows. For reasons that will become apparent, allow me to briefly discuss them in reverse order:

Sandra Hennings Miller has supported the Mantorville Theatre Company as a Board member, actress, costumer, playwright and director. This year, she is reprising one of her popular scripts. “How Now Brown Cow” or “Don’t Bully Me” has all of the elements of a classic melodrama: villainy, heroism, pure hearts triumph over evil – with some elements of bovine humor and not a few references to the “immortal Bard” (Not to worry – no iambic pentameter!). This year, the season has been extended beyond Marigold Days, with Sandra’s show playing the last weekend in August and the first three weekends in September. Patrons will want to check the specific dates because there are a couple of normal show dates without shows.

Sandra Miller and I were both members of the first cast of our third show “The Wedding Will Out” or “A Night in the Nutt House”, written by Mantorville native, Gregory David Miller, and directed this year by Robert Soland, another member of the original cast. Many of you will recognize Greg Miller (no relation to Sandra, except their mutual love of the art) as the artistic director of the Rochester Civic Theatre. If Neil Simon were to write a melodrama starring the Addams Family, it might have turned out something like this. Humor abounds in this tale of lightly twisted personalities, with a switch from the typical format, in that true evil is personified in the form of the villainess. Real treats in the show are the antics of the three Nutt sisters, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that two of the original sisters were my wife, Lynette, and the MTC’s Business Manager, Kristine Knutson.

Now, in a previous version of our second show “Curse You Jack Dalton”, we also had Bob Soland, Kris Knutson, and myself in the cast (If you get the impression that the Mantorville Melodramas are habit-forming, you might be right!). This year’s edition is directed by Laura Marie Kuisle, who also directed a show last year and has been involved in the technical aspects of both MTC’s and Byron’s shows for the past many years. Jack Dalton is a “stock” script displaying all of the features of classic melodrama. It is our most repeated show in the history of the Mantorville Theatre Company, and sure to delight audience members, again.

This brings me forward to the first show of our 40th season: “She Aspired to Greater Things” or “Up the River Without a Paddle(boat)”, written and directed by Cheryl Frarck.  Among the original cast members were Lynette and me, and Cheryl, herself, and also the aforementioned Greg Miller. I’m confident that if you start with this show, you’ll be sure to return for more the rest of the summer. You can find more information in Mantorville stores or on www.mantorvillain.com.
All of these shows are special to me, but “Up the River” particularly rings home. You see, unlike what you will see on stage, about six months after we closed the first edition of the show, the “heroine” agreed to the supplications of the “villain”. This year’s June 15 premier is four days after the 29th anniversary of our entry into connubial bliss (Happy Anniversary, Lynette!)

Karl Huppler

Police Stop

A week ago Friday  I was leaving the office and pulled up to the stop sign at the corner of T & K Towing (across from State Farm Insurance). I was turning left and at this time of the day (4:30 p.m.) traffic can be very busy. I was shaking my head in slight frustration as a sheriff's deputy passed me headed south toward the stop light.  I was thinking to myself, "Maybe I should have gone up to the stop light, waited for the light and then turned left".

Finally there was an opening. I took a left turn and suddenly heard a screeching noise like someone had really slammed on the brakes. I looked around and saw nothing.

I saw flashing lights in my rear view mirror and pulled over. A sheriff's deputy approached me and asked if I knew why he had pulled me over. He said I was not wearing my seatbelt. He saw me shaking my head as he passed and maybe figured I was not belted in.

Anyone who knows me knows that I religiously wear my seatbelt. It's one of those routines I never forget. Never!

The young man was courteous and I repeatedly said I always wear my seatbelt. While running a check on my license I scrambled to find my proof of insurance, which was a temporary one because we had just switched insurance companies. Couldn't find it. "Great, that will really help my cause," I thought to myself.

I received a verbal warning for the seatbelt issue and one for not having proof of insurance in the vehicle.


Had I been issued a ticket for no seat belt I would have gone to court, but I did not receive one and I think he did believe me, I hope.

What bothered me a little bit is the screeching tires. I figured he must have pulled a u-turn in a high traffic area near the stop light to follow me. I stopped back at the office, the door was open and after explaining what happened to one of my employees she said she had heard the screeching tires.

Now if I had just robbed the Kasson Liquor Store I can see the reason to come after me like that. I was driving 30 miles an hour north on Mantorville Avenue for gosh sakes.

I did not realize law enforcement went after suspected seat belt violators the same as someone who has committed a felony. I would have liked to have seen his maneuver.

I was shook up and upset, but I controlled my emotions and had to keep telling myself he was only doing his job. I did not realize seat belt violations were worthy of such pursuit. My heart got a workout.