FAILURE OF SOCIETY, NOT FAMILY

Early Saturday morning a young man exhibited an egregious lack of
judgment in Rice Lake. Young Adam Carr made several bad decisions, not
beginning with but ending with the decision to get behind the wheel of
a vehicle allegedly after drinking. An assortment of drugs, including
marijuana and cocaine, and a gun were found in the man's vehicle after
he was pulled over for speeding by a Rice Lake police officer. (The
police department is still investigating the case.) Just another
traffic/drug stop in Rice Lake, except for the fact that the name of
the subject's father will appear on the ballot for the Barron County
Sheriff's election Nov. 7.

The story reads like a Hollywood script, minus the cover-up by a
high-profile candidate. The ironies are unparalleled. Not only is Rick
Carr running for Barron County Sheriff, but he also directs the
Barron-Rusk Drug Task Force, which has led the battle against the
explosion of methamphetamine distribution in the last five years. If
that weren't enough, Carr's wife, Sheree, has been the Barron County
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) coordinator for many years.
Both claimed they never saw it coming.

First of all, Carr deserves credit for calling a press conference
immediately Monday instead of sending out a "blanket" press release
that would provide few answers. The couple was obviously crushed by
the news. And not because of the ramifications on a suddenly
meaningless campaign. There are now bigger fences to mend.

You would hope that voters could see this case for what it is: a
mistake by a young man who needs some help. We as adults spend 18 to
22 years raising children to make good decisions, praying they can get
through that time period without an unplanned pregnancy, an arrest, an
alcohol or drug problem, an unforeseen tragedy of any kind. And then
we spend 20 more years praying our grandchildren encounter none of
those unfortunate circumstances. Sometimes we're successful in
instilling a sense of core values in our children. More often than
not, there's a slip-up somewhere along the line.

Of course, that's not how decisions are made in this community,
county, state, or nation. Rick Carr will get raked across the coals in
the media and in the court of public opinion. Voters will question his
ability to lead a drug task force, let alone a county's law
enforcement department, when he's losing the drug battle with his own
kid.

If anything, this should be a lesson teaching us how far we still need
to go in the fight against drugs. Sheriff Tom Richie prides himself in
the fact that Barron County is leading the way in curtailing meth use
in northwest Wisconsin, and Carr has apparently played a role in those
accomplishments. Are we as far ahead as we think? We all need to take
a look in the mirror and realize, if this demon can grab the necks of
two trained professionals in the field, what kind of chance do we
laypersons stand?

This is in no way an endorsement of a candidate, but rather a plea to
keep the sheriff's race concentrated on the issues. A young man's
arrest with possession of drugs has little or nothing to do with two
grown men competing to lead the county's sheriff's department.

One month ago Rick Carr was a forgotten man, especially in Chetek, as
many pinned their hopes on John Postle in the Democratic primary
against the incumbent Richie. No doubt Carr wishes he was still the
forgotten man.