OP-ED: Can you support this appointed Calaveras Sheriff DiBasilio??? No FIRST AMENDMENT rights!!!

   Another DONALD TRUMP????

When Rick DiBasilio, the candidate lowest on the list of qualified candidates for appointment to be Calaveras Sheriff, was chosen by four out of five Supervisors (except Edson, who voted for a friend of his), we were very concerned.

   We felt this was a "puppet" appointment for
Supervisor Oliveira to have control and know everything that is going on in the department.

   However, we reached out and attempted to communicate with DiBasilio, and at first he seemed receptive.  We are all Italians, we agreed !

   That did not last.  Our problems and filed complaints about our neighbor Karen Strohmeyer disturbing the peace by blasting her horn, continued.

     Then a Sgt. Gordon called our office and told us that we should get a restraining order against Strohmeyer.

   Then Gordon said if we wanted her to stop blasting her horn at us, we should stop writing about them.  This was after she said she knew nothing of what was going on nor did she know Oliveira. We were absolutely SHOCKED!!

   Since the Calaveras Sheriff's Office has no right to prevent a publication from printing, nor should they be curtailing First Amendment Rights, we immediately emailed Sheriff DiBasilio after hanging up on Gordon.

   Believe it or not, DiBasilio emailed back that he had been listening in on the call!!. The SHERIFF of Calaveras County had apparently instructed his SGT to tell the SierraSentinel.com that they do not have First Amendment Rights--that the Constitution is NOT applicable to certain publications!!

   Therefore, we cannot support DiBasilio for any re-election. His decision of actually ordering a Sgt. to call and then listening in to make sure his orders were followed is reminiscent of Donald Trump, who hates media and criticizes whenever they don't write what he likes.

   This is also an example of blaming the victim, just like Trump! DiBasilio's
assurance that he would not be another Kuntz was squashed totally by this action. We have filed a formal complaint with the county and have asked for a full investigation.

   Since we took Strohmeyer to court, she has stopped blasting her horn, and in fact we have up to today, had total silence from their property.   She actually sat on the witness stand and read one post she had printed out from the SierraSentinel.com and her anger was very apparent.