NEWS BLOG (WSAU) Bottom of page 3 in today’s Wausau Daily Herald:

Correction: A letter to the editor that appeared on page 8A of the Oct. 11 edition reported that 85th Assembly District candidate Pat Snyder’s talk radio show mocked a local teacher. A segment about the teacher appeared on the show hosted by Jerry Bader, which aired on the same station after Snyder’s show. Snyder said he did not mock the teacher on his show, and the Wausau Daily Herald found no evidence that he had.

Indeed, teacher Sarah Yoho’s letter to the editor was discussed on The Jerry Bader Show, not by WSAU’s Pat Snyder. You can hear the clips here:

Part One (about 2/3’rds through the audio file):
http://wsau.com/podcasts/jerry-bader-show/letter-says-teachers-dont-do-it-money/

Part Two:
http://wsau.com/podcasts/jerry-bader-show/emails-about-teachers-who-do-it-kidsnea-top-lawyer/

Teacher Yoho moved out-of-state, in part, because of this incident yet she wasn’t clear about who was speaking. And she’s still confused. Just last week she posted in the newspaper’s comment section, still believing, incorrectly, that Pat Snyder berated her:

"I'm saying Pat Snyder claimed I made a certain amount which was inflated for his own purposes, and targeting someone like that is bullying. He was trying to make a point in that broadcast, not entertain, so he either fabricated my salary or found a faulty web posting that met his needs. What Wausau needs right now, is someone who can bring people together to intelligently discuss problems and rationally brainstorm and implement solutions.Wausau needs someone who's willing to work with many different people, not someone who isolates groups of people by lashing out at individuals within their midst."

And then, yet another inaccurate post from Ms. Yoho:

"Here is what I recall from that day back in February of 2011. I arrived at work and was preparing my classroom for the arrival of my students. A custodian stopped by and asked, "Do you really make x amount?"

I said, "No, why?"

He asked if I listened to Pat Snyder in the morning. I told him I did not, and he suggested that I look up the transcript for that morning's broadcast. I did so. Then I called my husband because that number was wrong. I knew it was wrong, but I needed to hear it from someone else as well.

I said to my husband, "You just did our taxes, did I earn x amount last year?"

His response was, "I wish!"

Throughout the day I processed what had happened and realized why I was upset. It wasn't because Mr. Snyder got it wrong. And although I was angry that he'd aired my personal business, I realized that didn't get to the heart of it. It was because Pat Snyder had twisted my letter to the editor, titled "It's Not About the Money." To his listeners, it became about the money, and I became a whiny teacher."

Ms. Yoho, in a public forum, tells people not to vote for someone – using words they didn’t say. (Ms. Yoho also knows that the state’s public records show the cost of a teacher’s salary and benefits – her employment did indeed cost taxpayers x amount when her health care and pension are included.)

And if she reviewed a transcript, as she claims she did, she’d have known that Jerry Bader was the speaker.

85th State Assembly candidate Mandy Wright has said in several candidates forums that Pat Snyder was so divisive that he drove a family out-of-town. Will she offer a correction, like our newspaper? Perhaps an apology?

Chris Conley
10/17/12