Sarah Nigbor

Last week was a stressful week and frankly, a lot of it was not fun.

First off, thank you to everyone who reached out and wished me happy birthday. The messages and phone calls were by the far the highlight of that day. I am extremely lucky to have so many people who care about me and my family. My husband had a surgery last week also, a C5-C7 Anterior Cervical Disectomy and Fusion after years of severe pain. We’re not sure if it was from his time in the military, sports or a car accident, but all the prayers for a successful surgery were much appreciated. He’s in a lot of pain but is recovering at home now after a brief hospital stay. I’m not sure I’m the best nurse, but I try.

On Wednesday, July 8, I posted a story on the Journal’s Facebook page about a confrontation that occurred between an Ellsworth resident and an Ellsworth Village Board member at a local gas station. The Ellsworth Police Department, at my request, sent me the report Tuesday, July 7 once it was completed by Officer Darrin Foss. This is public information. Anyone can request the report.

One man in particular, in the comments on the article post, accused me of interpreting the actual surveillance video from the gas station myself and questioned my “journalistic integrity.” I clearly stated multiple times that I had not seen the video myself, that the information in my article came from the police report. This man also claimed that the store manager interpreted the video unethically, which is also incorrect. All she did was turn the video over to police. They are the ones who watch the video and write about it in their report.

We all know police officers are human beings. They can make mistakes. We all do. But no one from Ellsworth Police Department gave me the surveillance video and the report I read described the movements of each man in the video. They did not give me any information “under the table” or “illegally.” In fact, I had to wait for the report to be finished because they were making sure it was thorough and complete.

This man also accused me of unethical reporting, framing the narrative without transparency and outright lying about the report. I didn’t argue back, because you can’t argue with irrational people who refuse to listen to facts. I don’t know Sean Hall and I don’t know Tony Hines. I don’t care who was at fault. It’s not my job to have an opinion on this issue, whatever it is. But it is my job to report if someone is arrested during a confrontation involving a public official. I will continue to report on the story as it progresses through the court system.

My advice to people who don’t want to be featured in a Pierce County Circuit Court report story is to keep your nose clean and don’t get arrested. Instead of being angry at me (as another commenter on the story was who was involved in a story in Martell), maybe look in the mirror and take accountability for your own actions.

You may wonder how I decide to report a full court/crime story. My policy is this: If it’s something the community is talking about, report on it. If someone is ordered to pay a high cash bond in a felony case, report on it. If it involves a public official, report on it. If it involves a death or high public safety risk, report on it. The Hall/Hines story falls in two categories: Public official involvement and something the community is talking about. My goal in reporting any story is to battle misinformation, which many internet trolls love to spread. Misinformation was running rampant in this case. I doubt it will stop because people who stir the pot do so to feel important.

One last point: Police reports are only one side of the story. This is why I made sure to include Mr. Hall’s comments in the story defending himself, that he has posted on Facebook. If people actually clicked on the link and read the whole story, they might have known that.