Published by
Dick Schaefer, Award-winning, Unpaid, Part-time Contributing Writer and Amateur Investigative Reporter
Date: 9/1/2010
This weekend will be the 'One Year Anniversary of the 2009 Labor Day Weekend Courthouse Cat Burglary'. To refresh the memories of our readers, this was the weekend when a group of
Matt Penning's citizen volunteers performed clean-up and renovation work at the Gasconade County Courthouse.
Ah yes! I can still remember the wonderful aroma of
Matt's succulent barbeque pork steaks and world famous German potato salad which Matt served the volunteers for lunch .... at his own personal expense. My mouth waters just thinking about that fine lunch!
A lot of much needed work was accomplished by the citizen volunteers on Saturday, 9/5/2009, and a good time was had by all participants. Unfortunately a cloud of suspicion was cast over the entire group when a certain county official reported that her office may have been broken into over that same weekend. The word soon spread like wildfire among courthouse employees that, upon arriving back to work on the Tuesday after the Labor Day weekend, she found one of her office windows opened, papers disturbed and her radio dial turned to a rock n' roll station. The citizen cleaning volunteers came under immediate suspicion. Their public service had gone unappreciated, and on top of that, they had all
become targets of suspicion!
Although accusations were insinuated and rumored, nothing was ever officially reported to local, state or federal authorities. A trial was never conducted. But the good names and personal reputations of the citizen volunteers were never fully restored. No apologies have ever been offered by the county official who made the insinuations and started the false rumors. An email was sent to her requesting such apology last September but she publicly denied having ever received the email request.
The unfounded accusations did, however, serve one purpose, intended or otherwise. The false accusations have been effective in dissuading
Penning's cleaning volunteers from doing any further work at the courthouse. For 52 consecutive weekends now, no citizen volunteers have been organized to perform cleaning, maintenance or renovation work at the county courthouse. The citizen volunteer efforts were not appreciated by some of the very people they were intended to help, and volunteers don't continue to volunteer when their efforts are not appreciated!
I believe this is a downright shame! Much needed work has gone undone at the county courthouse during he past year. And the lieing county official has not yet been called to atone for the harm she has done.
