observermedia

Observer Media - The Home of the Wareham and Tri-Town Observer	Welcome Visitor Fri, Sep 10, 2010 8 people currently online.
	Get Your Online Subscription Today!!

Back

FrontPage News

A Christmas miracle in Wareham

Martha Ramsey will never forget that terrible sound. It exploded like a bomb from the back of her Toyota Camry. Then the entire world fell silent.

“That’s what I remember the most,” she said. “It was the eerie silence that followed. It was like the whole world just stopped.”

Around 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve six-time drunk driver Carlos J. Owen of Bourne plowed into Ramsey’s vehicle with his Jeep Cherokee as Ramsey prepared to turn on to Elm Street from Route 28. The 51-year-old Owens fled the scene, only to be apprehended minutes later by fast-acting Wareham police officer Kevin Walsh.

Ramsey, a 47-year-old registered nurse from Onset, unbuckled her seatbelt and turned around to see her nephew encased in twisted metal. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth. He was slipping in and out of consciousness.

“He was absolutely white,” Ramsey said. “I didn’t know how badly he was hurt. I couldn’t see anything below his waist.”

Ignoring the severe pain in her back, Ramsey reached over and tried to hold her nephew’s head still.

“He was totally encased in the car,” she said.

Ramsey, calling upon her experience as a nurse, did everything she could to stabilize her nephew.

“I do believe my experience helped to keep me calm,” she said. “But when it’s your family it’s hard to do.”

Emergency responders arrived within minutes. Ramsey's nephew – 27-year-old John Knowlton of Onset – was extracted from the vehicle with the aid of the Jaws of Life.

Then Ramsey witnessed a miracle.

“John wasn’t seriously injured,” she said. “He didn’t have any broken bones or severe lacerations. The people who got him out said it was a miracle he wasn't killed. He wasn’t even that badly hurt.”

Knowlton was transported from Tobey Hospital by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston as a precaution. He was released on Christmas Day.

“Everyone who saw our car said they can’t believe nobody was killed,” Ramsey said. “All I can say is there was a guardian angel with us on Christmas Eve.”

Ramsey said she feels very blessed.

“Everybody is alive. We’re stiff. We were all bounced around quite a bit. John is stiff from head to toe. He didn’t have a broken bone. Whatever guardian angel was with us that night took good care of that boy.”

    Owen has been charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, serious bodily injury resulting; negligent operation of a motor vehicle; and leaving the scene of an accident after causing personal injury. He was arraigned in Wareham District Court on Monday. He is being held without bail pending the results of a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Thursday.
    According to his attorney, Jack Atwood, Owen was comvicted five previous times of driving under the influence but received no jail time. Atwood said his client sucessfully had completed his probation periods set by the court relating to the previous charges.
    Owen can be held up to 90 days if the court determines that his release could put others in danger.
    Ramsey admits she is angry at Owen.

“This is his (sixth) offense,” she said. “I can’t believe he still has a license. It angers me. If my daughter had been in that seat, I might have watched my daughter died. My nephew is very thin. That may have been what kept him alive. A normal-sized person would have been crushed.”

Ramsey said the issue of drunk driving cannot be ignored.

Heather MacGregor was at her mother-in-law’s house when her father called. That’s when she learned that her brother John had been injured in the crash.

“Thank God nobody was killed,” she said. “But I have to ask why (Owen) still had a license. After the first offense it should have been taken away from him. He could have killed my family. There is no excuse. If he had enough money to be drinking he had enough money to take a cab. If (Owen) has children I hope they read this. I hope they can see what their father almost did. Maybe if they do they will never drink and get behind the wheel of a car.”

For Ramsey, Christmas Day was bittersweet.

“I was so thankful when they released John from the hospital,” she said. “We were all very shaken by this. We are all very sore. But it truly was a miracle we could all be together again on Christmas Day.”

Read More ...
By Robert Slager - 3 opinions posted

DA forces town to violate public records law

A public records request made by The Wareham Observer to the Town of Wareham regarding material pertaining to the audit of town-owned computers this spring has been denied by the town.

As expected, the town could not fulfill the request because the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office confiscated all evidence pertaining to the computer audit in June.

    In a letter sent to the Observer by new town administrator Mark Andrews, he wrote “We are in receipt of your public information request for copies of disks from the computer audit that was performed in May, 2009, on the Town of Wareham's computers. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with the information you are requesting. As you are aware, the computer audit is currently being investigated by the office of the District Attorney. Consequently, that office has any and all documents and/or disks related to the audit. Because we are not in possession of the disks, or any other documentation related to this topic, we are not able to make any copies.”
   In a follow-up e-mail, former interim town administrator John Sanguinet wrote: "The statement (made by Andrews) is based on a conversation I had with Town Counsel. The Town has no knowledge of what the District Attorney is reviewing on these disks. Additionally, we have had no discussions with them. Normally when a District Attorney retrieves materials it can be assumed that they are performing some type of an investigation."
    The Observer now intends to file a formal complaint against the town with the Secretary of State’s Division of Public Records.

“The Observer does not hold the town of Wareham responsible for this violation of public records law,” said Observer Publisher Robert Slager. “The town did its due diligence in addressing the Observer’s request. We realized the town would not be able to comply. This was a formality that needed to be taken. This is a step in the process toward getting the computer disks returned to the Town of Wareham. The District Attorney’s office has never stated why the disks were taken or when they would be returned. They have never even acknowledge there is any active or pending investigation. The Observer considers the information on those disks to be a matter of public record. We would like the District Attorney to explain to the citizens of Wareham why every single piece of information contained on town-owned computers can be confiscated by a law enforcement agency with absolutely no explanation. We would also like the DA to explain why an organization supposedly dedicated to upholding the law forced Wareham town officials to violate public records law.”

The Secretary of State’s Public Records Division will now be required by law to investigate why the Observer’s public records request could not be completed by the Town of Wareham.

“It has been the long-held position of the Observer that the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office confiscated those disks illegally,” Slager said. “No court order was sought. The disks were taken without the knowledge of town officials or the residents of Wareham. An administrative subpoena issued by the District Attorney’s office. A Special Grand jury was convened and reportedly dissolved pertaining to the computer disks. The District Attorney’s office does not have the right to confiscate town-owned property paid for by tax dollars and hold such material indefinitely.”

Slager said he hopes the Secretary of State’s office conducts a full investigation into the matter.

“The Observer continues to believe these disks are being held for political purposes,” Slager said. “The disks were confiscated days after an illegally broadcast executive session meeting revealed that a member of the Board of Selectmen suggested the computer of Municipal Maintenance Director Mark Gifford be audited. Gifford’s department has been under investigation by the Inspector General’s office for alleged improprieties. The District Attorney surely knows that. Gifford’s wife is a Republican state representative. District Attorney Timothy Cruz is also a prominent Republican from Plymouth Country. There are many questions that need to be answered. It’s high time the DA’s stalling tactics come to an end. I call on all members of the media to join the Observer in demanding that the disks, or at the very least a copy of the disks, be returned to their rightful owners.”

The Observer filed a separate public records request pertaining to documents involving the Wareham Free Library. The Observer has agreed to extend the deadline for providing those documents as many have been reported as missing. The town has widened its search for the documents in order to comply with the Observer’s request. The Observer will issue a report on the information it acquired through this public records request next week.

Read More ...
Andrea Smith - 4 opinions posted