What you need to know
About The Missoula Osprey
And Mayor John Engen
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Foul Ball! What you need to know About The Missoula Osprey And Mayor John Engen |
My family and I live down the street from the Osprey ballpark. A few years ago, the Osprey management abandoned their contractually-bound duty of keeping Hickory Street closed during events. As a result, our neighborhood became a shortcut for the ballpark patrons to speed through during and after the games.
Concerned with our safety, I asked the Osprey and the City to enforce their contract which says Hickory Street will be closed during events. When I did this, Matt Ellis, manager of the Missoula Osprey, childishly told Riverfront Neighborhood Group members that he would no longer communicate with our neighborhood, because of my actions. Did I say I was part of the neighborhood group? No. Did I act in a rude, threatening manner? No. My dialog with Mr. Ellis, over the course of the last few years, has consisted of less than a half-dozen, entirely polite emails to him. You can read them on this site in fact.
Because they chose to ignore my inquiries, I put up this website and started asking questions of our City Council, Minor League Baseball, and other interested parties. Our City Council members seemed determined to cater to Mr. Ellis's every desire without question, and without requiring him or Playball to obey the terms of the contract they signed with the city.
When they had to beg the City of Missoula to allow liens against the property that their stadium is on, they didn't want ANYONE to show up who might point out a few inconvenient facts. So, Matt Ellis, and his dad, Mike Ellis, owner of the Osprey, saw fit to file for a Restraining Order against me, to ensure that I would not be anywhere near them as they put on their act for the City Council. Seeing no objections, the City Council allowed them to use the property to secure $6 MILLION dollars. (UPDATE 7/12/11 - now Play Ball can't pay off these loans, so the Mayor is trying to secure MORE City funds for them, even though we voted NOT to pay for this.)
The Restraining Order Petition they wrote up (viewable here on this site) is filled with lies, stating that I had threatened them, their staff, and their family. When I stood to face them in court, they sheepishly withdrew the petition, probably to avoid perjury charges.
I have asked the Missoula County Attorney to file charges against the Ellises for lying on a sworn document, which I can prove quite easily. However, County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg does not feel that there's enough evidence.
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October 2, 2007: Matt Ellis Reaches New Low! Yesterday the Missoulian printed a pathetic letter to the editor, accusing me of "incessantly harassing" everyone associated with the Osprey. Did Matt Ellis write this letter? I don't know. But I believe he recruited Linda McCarthy, head of the Missoula Downtown Association, to submit it. I believe this to be a man who does not have the courage to put his own name behind his lies. I pity anyone who is suckered into doing his dirty work for him. Seriously, this is sad. |
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This is the most frustrating part of my crusade for justice. Nobody seems to believe that a "Profesional" organization would behave as badly as I say. They think "No way, no professional businessman would be this bad. Obviously you have been threatening and harassing them." And I agree! No Professional businessman or organization would behave this way. These ARE totally unprofessional people. I put all the evidence out here. If I were at all guilty of these things they accused me of, would I do this? Remember, it's not the ballpark that I'm against, it's what I perceive to be callous disregard for the law, and aggressively hostile behavior by Missoula Osprey Management that I'm complaining about. Also note that if any of this were untrue, they would have taken legitimate legal action against me long ago for my mailings and this website. Of course they haven't, and can't, because it's all true. |