Has Twin Falls Become a Hellhole?
By Shari Dovale
The Editor of the Times-News, Matt Christensen, recently wrote an article that demeaned the city of Twin Falls in a way that I could not believe. Not only did he belittle the city, but the citizens that live there.
Recently, there was a savage attack on a 5-year-old girl by at least 3 Muslim refugee boys. This brutal rape (yes, it is a rape by Idaho Law) took place on June 2, 2016. Yet, the Times-News refused to report this horrific incident for weeks, until concerned citizens started asking questions.
Then, the only coverage of this child’s vicious attack was to label the questioning citizens as fear-mongers, liars and bigots. No one came to the aid of this poor child, and certainly not the Times-News.
Christensen writes that he is concerned about the effects on tourism to Twin Falls. (I suppose tourism is more important to the City than a child’s health and welfare.)
He seems to believe that the majority of citizen’s agree with him. “Scores of children in southern Idaho are molested or abused every year” Wow!
Does this mean that it is so commonplace that the citizen’s, and certainly the Times-News, believes that child molestation in Twin Falls is just another fact of life that we must learn to live with? Maybe they should put THAT in their tourism brochures!
Christensen is worried that this one case is being used for a political agenda. Yes, he has certainly done that. By dismissing this child’s pain as not worthy of concern, he has pushed the “Muslim-refugees-bring-us-money-so-we-must-pander-to-them” agenda.
I certainly would not want to live in Twin Falls with this recommendation. What are the city officials, the police department, and the prosecutor’s office doing to protect this, obviously, out-of-control problem with child molestation?
Grant Loebs is the prosecutor in charge of the rape case against the Muslim boys. What has he done in this case, specifically? Well, the family requested information for weeks, including their daughter’s medical records. They were denied by his office. Every request the family made, from medical records to 911 transcripts to victim services, was denied.
Loebs wrote to Pamela Geller, “My office is in constant contact with the family and any and all questions they have are being answered and counseling and other services are being offered.”
Yet on July 25, 2016, nearly two months later, the father of the victim called the State of Idaho Industrial Commission and was told once again that his application for victim services was not complete because they have not received all the information necessary to process it.
So how does Loeb explain his claim that the family is “continuing to be served” by Victim Services?
This means that the odds of your child being molested in Twin Falls are quite high, if “scores” of attacks happen each year. Even higher are the odds that your child will be brushed aside when it happens, and you should not expect any help.
This should add to your tourism brochure nicely!
The Times-News articles labels this poor little girl’s plight as a “scary fairy tale.”
So, Twin Falls considers that child molestation is just a scary fairy tale, not to be believed, and certainly not worth wasting any time on. That would absolutely explain Grant Loebs and his attitude of dismissal towards the family.
I wonder if he has told the victims to stop hurting the tourism industry? Maybe he can get Wendy Olson to “kinda-sorta” threaten them for making inflammatory remarks about the criminals that attacked their daughter?
After all, priorities must be considered. This is probably why Representative Lance Clow was given access to the records that the family was denied. Priorities. After all, Twin Falls must have it’s tourism money.
Christensen says that he is concerned Twin Falls is being depicted as a “Hellhole.”
Yes, he and Loebs have done a good job with that. With their dismissal of this little girl, her family, and the community, they have shown that Twin Falls is only concerned with money. The Muslim refugees bring money, and they have been prioritized. The health, welfare and safety of the city’s children have been swept aside.
How is that brochure shaping up for you?