I'd like a nickel each time I've heard someone complain about how many times Sultan has been in the paper. "We've got a bad image!" people whine, "I'm ashamed to tell people I live here," others have said. Well, perhaps it's time we all just gave up and stopped trying to change our image: Be honest for once and simply accept it: To the "outside" world, Sultan is a town run by -- and I'm being kind here -- rascals and scoundrels. And from that perspective, Mr. Coy's Sky Valley Weekly News seems a perfect fit as Sultan's "official" legal paper.

This paper has liberally libeled city council members and other community stalwarts. It "borrows" generously from other news sources (Everett Herald and AP) for stories and graphics without attribution, bothering only to change a word or two here and there (that's called "plagiarism, isn't it?), even going so far as to remove an AP-copyright designation/logo from an AP photo. And based on everything we've heard, the paper also does not play nicely with either its few and ever-dwindling stable of advertisers, or its writers and contributors.

With everything that's happening in Sultan, Coy's paper has reported little of it, focusing instead on the problems in the City of Skykomish (perhaps to make Sultan look like a model city by comparison). The paper has even "created" its own news by perverting and twisting innocent comments made in our discussion forum into threats against children (the Yellow Dragon debacle, Issue 17, April 26, 2002). Similarly, when reporting Sultan events that not even Mr. Coy could ignore, it is done with objectivity that makes The National Enquirer look like The New York Times by comparison: The ProSultan group's petition to change the form of Sultan's government was reported as if it were a military junta takeover in a backwater Third World country ("A Coup d'etat in Sultan" Issue 32, August 9, 2002) rather than an effort to improve Sultan's future, initiated by several current and past councilmen and a mayor and other respected community pillars. What about the article, "Did Chief Walser Lie? And if so, how much could it cost Sultan?" (Issue 33, August 16, 2002); an attempt to obfuscate the issue of the mayor's inappropriate action against the Chief and Sultan PD, which every "legitimate" newspaper soundly condemned. Or how about the August 2, Issue 31 article, "Sky Valley Businessman Nominated to Receive 2002 Republican Gold Medal Award?" The story boasted of an award given to Coy that was nothing more than a scam by the Republican Party to give "awards" to anyone who donated $300-$500. Now that's a Coy Ploy. (For reference, review the 10/2/02 Monroe Monitor & Valley News article, the Republican National Committee website on this subject, and the link to the ABC News article on my discussion forum a few days following the article.)

We could go on. But what's the point?

As to the paper's potential longevity, does the city really want a newspaper whose editor has been reportedly borrowing money all over town and not repaying it, one being kept afloat by pity advertising from like-minded individuals and personal donations? (Oh, wait. Scratch that last point. I forgot. That's the very reason some on council want to make it the city's official paper: So it can start making money rather than draining the wallets of its few supporters.) It's a far better idea to have a government bail-out of Coy's paper through taxpayer subsidies.

Let's zoom in a bit closer on the paper's accuracy. It does not now, nor has it ever, published notices on public hearings and other "legal" City events as a free public information service (like we do) so that residents can attend to make their voices heard. Something else we should mention is that what little information the paper published about bi-monthly city meetings has been incorrect. Its first few issues stated that city council meetings were held the first and third Tuesdays of each month (they are held on Wednesdays), and the start time for Planning Commission meeting's has never been 7 PM as reported in the SVWN -- it's 7:30 p.m. And as of the 10/11/02 issue, that continues to be the case. Well, Mr. Coy does not attend those meetings, so why should it matter to him?

And just to get really picky: the paper is riddled with misspellings and poor grammar, as well as -- for want of a more accurate and inflammatory word -- errors. But we don't have accountability in government, so why should we expect truth in reporting?

And if those reasons are not enough for people to be appalled at this most recent bright idea by the council's "darker" side, let's talk about the editor himself, whose ethical and moral base is reflected in his paper. Why should that be important? Because selection of Coy's paper by the council as the City's Official legal newspaper, based on the paper's previous publication policies and proclivities, will reflect an image of Sultan to the "outside" world that most residents would change, if they could. And the past is the only basis on which we can make a determination of the future.

For those who are not yet aware, Mr. Coy has a criminal background; while not heinous, perhaps, when compared to most of Sultan's family-value oriented residents, it is far from savory.

I have never held anyone's past against them. We were all young once and have made mistakes in our youth we wished we could undo, myself definitely included. That it's water under the bridge should go double for anyone who has served hard time in prison. With one huge proviso: That their unacceptable and antisocial behavior stops once they are released back into society. (As mentioned previously, my husband and I have a family member serving time for a very unsavory crime; and his future will depend on what he does after he's paid his debt to society, not what he did in the past; or at least, that's the concept.)

Mr. Coy's background consists largely of youthful indiscretions: Breaking into a vehicle in North Dakota, a Class C felony (sentenced to one year, 30 days served, in 1982); burglary of a car in Casper, Wyoming, a felony (sentenced to 18 months in penitentiary, sentenced reduced to four months in county jail; early 1984); breaking, entering and burglarizing a home in Casper, Wyoming, a felony (served a three- to four-year sentence in penitentiary, October, 1984).

Once Coy moved westward, his behavior pattern continued. He ran afoul again in September of 1991 when he served time in the King County jail for 4^th Degree assault of a woman in Duvall, a gross misdemeanor. The woman had strong reason to suspect Coy of retaliating against her because two anonymous calls had been received by King County Child Protective Services within hours of Coy's sentencing. Both calls alleged the woman had abused her child, but were quickly determined to be false.

Coy apparently made the decision that he had other things to do with his life than being incarcerated, so from that point forward he managed to control his criminal tendencies, channeling them into the civil arena. But again, a pattern of disrespect for the law and the rights of individuals continued. As a felon, it's not legal for Coy to be in control or possession of guns, yet we have verbal confirmation that he goes hunting each year and has a hunting license. Likewise, he killed a neighbor's dog (ostensibly to protect his wife) with a gun. He registered to vote even though it was not legal for him to do so (his voting privileges have since be revoked). He has superior court restraining orders against him. During a quiet title lawsuit, a sheriff's deputy reported that he believed Coy had filed a false report against his neighbor on 116^th S. E. (outside Sultan's UGA), who was the defendant in the case; something with which we can sympathize: Coy also filed a false criminal charge against me during the Fall of 2000.

Many will wonder why we're raising this issue now, after so much time has passed. Some will say that Mr. Coy has certainly paid his debts to society and is trying to appear like a "respectable" business person. Why bring all of this up now? The simple answer is that although Coy may have buffed up his image a bit, he continues to perpetrate acts which are not respectable, ethical or legal. His actions -- both present and recent past -- reflect a well-worn pattern of harassing those who stand in his way; participating in unprofessional and unethical business practices that have lead him to the brink of insolvency; publishing a paper whose sole purpose is to provide a forum for the political views of he and his cronies, while denigrating opponents in a base, mean manner.

Sultan cannot afford to have The Sky Valley Weekly News as its official "legal" paper. If Sultan has any hope of changing its past image, selecting SVWN is not he way to do it. If Sultan will ever achieve a brighter vision for the future, the time is now. And that can only happen through legal and ethical advocacy in the clear light of sunshine.

 ENDNOTES:

We have always attempted to request integral files and documents rather than select portions, ever-mindful of city staff time; we knew Rowe, Coy, Boucher, et al., would try to make staff time a political football at some point. Even though it was far more expensive for us to request information in this manner, it is easier and less time-consuming for staff to fulfill our requests. Additionally, we had to pay for -- and subsequently take time to scan into Acrobat -- files readily available (ordinances, etc.) in electronic form, which would have saved both us and city staff time and effort (even through we would have been happy to "pay" for the electronic copies, thereby saving us scanning time). Innumerable requests for information in electronic form go unheeded, as a way for us other residents to become and stay informed. And, judging from the City's past stonewalling in this regard, we don't anticipate much change, especially once the city gets its GIS system up and running, as well as the planning online permitting system in place; something that will significantly streamline and reduce costs for developers, but have little benefit to The Common Man.

An estimate of how many copies the city has made for us over 2 1/2 years is between 5 and 6 per day. Although that average is drops significantly, commensurate with the city's increasing tendency to simply withhold information on items about which they fear public scrutiny. I am still waiting for requests that date back to December, 2001 and April, 2002, and they have been flouting RCW 42.17 on many recent requests.

We estimate that we have spent over $2,500 in public information requests, audiotapes, recorder expenses, copies for flyer distribution to the community, monthly website fees, etc. And the most expensive item of all -- labor -- is not even included in that figure, but totals thousands of hours. We challenge any of our detractors to match that contribution in volunteer labor.