COVERUP AT THE H-T! PLEASE PHONE AND/OR EMAIL HERALD TIMES EXECUTIVES AND TELL THEM TO STOP COVERING UP THE FACTS ABOUT WILLIAMS DAM! Cory Bollinger, Publisher (812) 331-4251 cbollinger@heraldt.com Scott Schurz, Editor-in-Chief 812-331-4250 sschurz@heraldt.com Bob Zaltsberg, Editor (812) 331-4364 rzaltsberg@heraldt.com A once-proud newspaper is putting its legacy to shame. News Editor ROD SPAW has been withholding facts on the Williams Dam controversy for a month and probably much longer! What's his bias exactly? Is it partisan, because Todd Young's fingerprints are all over the scandal? (That's the other carp in this debacle!) Is Schurz Communications (which owns the H-T and Bedford Times) trying not to anger Lawrence County politicians? The excuse from Spaw today (finally!) was based purely on his personal superstition and is contrary to science! Please see his email below. FACT: Asian carp passed Williams Dam, at least once, in 2008, and they've been breeding about as much as they're going to above the dam. That fact was confirmed today in a conversation with a top DNR biologist. Williams Dam is NOT a barrier to Asian carp, it merely degrades habitat for native species! Such as our endangered lake sturgeon! The lack of a fish ladder does NOT inhibit the spread of Asian carp, it merely prevents native species from passing the dam and spreading their genes! BUT, according to Rod Spaw: "Thank you for your persistence in bringing this matter to our attention, and for your recent phone calls. However, we are not going to be pursuing a story about lack of a fish passage at Williams Dam. The dam is an important obstacle to the transfer of invasive species upstream, especially the silver carp. That species now can get past Williams only during high water, and has. Making it easier to do so with a fish ladder does not make a lot of sense to us. I have discussed this with our outdoor editor, who has [allegedly] discussed it with DNR [they won't say WHO at the DNR], and we don't see much point to your argument. Of course, you would be free to pursue this matter with the [relatively puny] Bedford Times-Mail, which does more reporting on the Williams area than we do [they're the same company!]. You also would be free to submit a letter to the editor of The Herald-Times, but the deadline for consideration of political letters [THIS IS NOT POLITICAL!!] for the Nov. 8 election is 5 p.m. today. Thank you for your interest in The Herald-Times. Rod Spaw The Herald-Times" (Subsequent phone call elicited "I'm not going to waste time [learning the facts]" from Spaw.) See more FACTS from FISH in our petition: http://ow.ly/VUGK304U2aZom