Letter to the Editor

Editor:
I am one of the many residents in our area who has been attacked by a certain private Facebook group. I am a KCSD board member, and I missed several school board meetings while I was in the ICU fighting illness last year. The group tried to smear me due to my absence, and I believe because of my political beliefs. I was removed from the group, and at one point I was told that a bullseye was even placed over my photo in one of their posts. I wasn’t given the opportunity to defend myself to the members of the group, actually my fatal mistake was not responding to Michelle ands her cohorts, I do not believe in debating on social media. My daughter was also removed solely because of her relationship with me.

I want to ask the public, what good does a private group do when it is designed to keep total control over the information that is allowed to be shared there? How does it help the community when members of the community are libeled without the ability to tell their side of things? That’s not transparent, accountable, and it absolutely has nothing to do with principles. The reality is that if this private group was honest with the public, it would be open for anyone to view the content and comment freely. Instead, those who share a link or photo correcting information, or who stands up for someone being attacked, is removed and silenced.

Sometimes, Michele Whitney, one of the private group administrators, even publishes content publicly, like she did in the Express on May 15^th, 2025, regarding Megan Houser who is running for the KCSD school board in region IX. Whitney accused Houser of “blatant misrepresentation” and “her false claim of being a Republican”. She also promoted her support for Mary Kramer, who is running against Megan Houser. What she failed to mention was that the Judge did not express any concern over Houser’s actions other than having made a mistake as a candidate going through the process for the first time. Whitney was present for the hearing, during which Mary Kramer referred to Whitney as her “campaign manager”, another fact that Whitney neglected to mention in the Express. Is this what our local politics has come to? Manipulating data to try to influence public opinion? This has been the experience of many who were badmouthed or banned by the same private group.

Since the attack on myself, I have joined a currently public Facebook group where people can tell their sides of the story without threat of removal. There, you can even find the court transcripts for Megan Houser’s case (published on May 24^th) so that you can read them for yourself and make up your own mind as to what truly happened in her situation. You don’t have to become a member to read the group content, and if you do, you won’t be banned for disagreeing or sharing information. You can find the group by searching on Facebook for “Clinton County Watchdog Rejects”. I hope to see you there!

James ”Butch” Knauff
North Bend, PA