Sally Smith - Is she a leader?

After my "Rexburg needs more transparency and less Political Hypocrisy", another letter to the editor came thanking Rexburg for it's Rich Artistry.  While I am happy to see that the arts are starting to become more functional, I have to wonder how this justifies sweeping broken hearts under the rug and acting as though nothing abusive had ever happened.

Rexburg voters have a right to know that:

Sally Smith was informed of abuses to Rexburg artists as early as Feb. 8, 2013 via email.

Other Artists lodged complaints about abuse but were not taken seriously.

Sally Smith was sent a draft of "Rexburg needs ... less Political Hypocrisy on Sept. 20, 2015 (at least 2 weeks before publication)

In response to my letter dated Sept. 20, Smith emailed me and invited me to a secret meeting that was never announced publicly. There are those that wonder if the meeting was even legal.  Happily, the Standard Journal found out about it at the last minute and was able to report on it.  That resulted in this article...

Officials reorganize arts council, still not approved by city council 

She had been informed of Daniel Torres behavior and yet she made sure I knew he was still in charge of the arts at that time.

"Daniel will be there, he will be working with the arts until the new employee is hired and trained"

The facts of the matter are that although Smith could have put a stop to the bullying, she gave the bully the keys to the playground and sang his praises for over 2 years.

Sally Smith is a very nice person to be sure, but is she a leader?

My rebuttal -

My Dear Anonymous,

Your letter to the Editor regarding my previous letter has been a study of logical fallacy.  

Thank you for the real-life example you have provided.

Logical fallacies are errors in logic, which means that there is something false in the foundation of the argument.  It also means that person has an agenda.

Your first two paragraphs are an "Ad Hominem" attack.  This refers to the strategy of attacking the person rather than attacking the idea she presents. Rather than debate the original argument on its merits, the opponent makes an attack upon some irrelevant fact about the person presenting the theory or claim.

The third paragraph is a "red herring" fallacy.  The goal is to redirect the discussion or confuse the issues by introducing a diversionary topic that is not relevant to the debate.  The fallacy's name refers to the practice of dragging smelly fish across the trail of a fox to redirect the foxhounds.

The fourth paragraph is a "Bandwagon" fallacy.  This argument tries to make a person believe that everyone else is doing or believing something, so he should also. Instead of making a decision based on his own research or opinion, he is tempted to agree because of social pressure.

The fifth paragraph actually has some merit.  Still, one must wonder, since the question was asked at a public meeting,--Why was it not answered publicly?

And last but not least an "Appeal to Anonymous Authority", since the writer did not have the backbone to sign their name.

Sincerely,

Victoria Loveland

What's going on in Rexburg arts?

I submitted the article below as a letter to the editor to the Rexburg Standard Journal.   The following Rexburg Standard Journal articles were referenced:

Fresh start: Rexburg dissolves arts, building groups Sept. 5th

Lost art? Local resident says city not properly funding art Aug. 1st

both by Caleb Despain.

Rexburg needs More Transparency and 
Less Political Hypocrisy 

Rexburg taxpayers have a right to know:
Why the arts are shriveling
Why they have a hard time finding volunteers
Where the money has gone

I was at the meeting when Roger Harris spoke. He pointed out that he had donated money to the City for chairs for the Tabernacle. The chairs were never purchased. Where is this money and how was it used?

They can't find volunteers because of the way Daniel Torres treats artists in this community -- with contempt.
The tone of the article demeaning the excellent work of the artists that volunteered is proof of that.

I was berated in front of 3 city employees and my teenage son for designing and printing my own media regarding a fundraiser at the Romance. Daniel Torres had published the wrong dates, completely different dates in print vs online and thoroughly confused the people who were interested in participating.

Daniel Torres is also responsible for shutting down the Tradiciones Youth dance group. I had seen a few rehearsals and the color, music and cultural richness were truly inspiring. This group had also received BYU-Idaho's dance costumes as a donation.

Apparently Roger Harris was right. They were getting ready to boot him out. An excellent, qualified, degreed artist has been kicked to the curb due to the sorry leadership of Daniel Torres, Scott Johnson and Sally Smith.

Ronalee Flansburg, who has nourished the arts in Rexburg, has also been kicked to the curb. It was her diligence that provided the marquee for the Romance. Her love of this community and the arts brought in the people and donations.

Rexburg voters have a right to know about the abuse that Rexburg artists have suffered under the current arts leadership.

- Victoria Loveland