I was terribly disappointed to read the recent La Conner Weekly News article about Linda Clark and her arrest and conviction for taking a couple of dogs that she thought were being mistreated. The article was shockingly biased and presented only the facts that would present Clark in the worst possible light.

There is little doubt Clark committed a crime, sure. But her only motivation (according to her guest column the week earlier) was that the dogs were being abused, and the local authorities wouldn’t intervene because one of the dog’s owners was the town’s code enforcement officer. Out of frustration she busted the dogs loose. I don’t disapprove.

Aside from Clark and her difficulty with achieving justice (and protection for the dogs), the larger issue is that the Weekly News presented such a one-sided and deliberately vindictive portrayal of Clark and her actions.

It is as if the Weekly News has taken sides in the unrelated Hedlin Field ballpark issue, and is attempting to tarnish Clark due to her advocacy for keeping the ballpark as open space.

Curiously, the Weekly News also botched an article last summer explaining why the Hedlin Field will no longer have affordable housing, as we were initially told that was part of the deal.

The facts in that story have yet to be clarified, to this day, and may have contributed to the impending lawsuit.

We deserve better from a newspaper that purports to be a community asset. Hatchet jobs on well-meaning community activists should not be tolerated. I strongly support newspapers (I subscribe to five of them), but only if they strive for a fair presentation of the facts. The La Conner Weekly News needs to learn a few lessons about journalistic integrity, and apply them.

Tim Hyatt

La Conner