Apology for Hanes, but none for Barrera

I would like to apologize to Catherine Hanes for implying that she, or any other member of the Glenn County Board of Education, knowingly did anything illegal. When I re-read my previous letter to this paper (“Barrera recall vital for county,” June 6), I can see how my comment could easily be misinterpreted in that way. I did not mean to imply that there had been a meeting that included a quorum of the school board. I was referring to the one-on-one meetings that the board members had with Mr. Barrera.

We will probably never know what was promised, or threatened, in those meetings that would cause these board members to do an about-face and begin supporting a man who is clearly not qualified for the position that he was elected to.

Mrs. Hanes stated in her July 4 letter, “Never have I witnessed the animosity and false accusations that I have seen recently.” I agree, and I have seen the same thing. Last year at a regular board meeting, I recommended that we all put our animosity aside and come together to understand the different positions and begin to work together to find common ground. Repeated attempts were made to meet with the superintendent and others from Glenn County Office of Education. When a meeting was finally arranged, it was canceled by the superintendent just minutes before it started.

It is now clear, with the release of the Grand Jury report, that Arturo Barrera was elected based on a campaign of animosity and false accusations against the previous administration. The recall effort against Arturo Barrera is an attempt to give the voters an opportunity to make a choice based on the truth and not false accusations.

Karl Lewis

Willows