My home burned in the Hayman fire. Is the Terry Barton sentence fair? Absolutely not!Mr. Collyer offered to make a fire break with his heavy equipment when the fire was under 10 acres. The U.S. Forest Service supervisor denied Mr. Collyer access, stating “his equipment was not ‘certified’ to work on Forest Service property.” The same excuse was given that day to commercial dozers from Cripple Creek and a fire department from Colorado Springs. Individuals fighting the fire were told to leave – the U.S. Forest Service didn’t want to assume liability if anyone was hurt.The U.S. Forest Service placed the fire control office in Pueblo – 80 miles away.They waited a week before accepting help from Peterson AFB C-130’s.My home was destroyed by a back burn – lit by firefighters hired to “protect” it.But the government insists on avoiding liability. It’s cheaper to place blame on Barton.Do you honestly believe a part-time, seasonal U.S. Forest Service employee had control over all those poor decisions?In Terry’s initial trial, U.S. Forest Service employees were forbidden to discuss who was supervising that day without losing their job. Why?The state’s first comment in her last trial requested permission for additional media coverage. If they keep the public focused on Barton, we’ll fail to find the real culprit.In a letter from Joel Hefley dated May 6, 2003, he said, “To sanction damage payments for Ms. Barton’s action would be the equivalent of saying that, if one of my employees was involved in a fatal accident while in my employ, I would be responsible. That flies in the face of legal precedent and common sense.”Well, the state of New Mexico disagreed with Hefley’s logic. They awarded the victims of the Los Alamos fire $1 million each for a fire caused by U.S. federal employee negligence.The real criminals in the Hayman Fire still work for the U.S. Forest Service. They’re waiting to protect YOUR property the next time there’s a fire. Do you think that’s fair?And now the state wants to add MORE felony charges to Barton’s sentence. What a smoke screen! (no pun intended) If the forest service had not made an incredible series of bad decisions, Terry Barton would face misdemeanor charges, not trumped up felonies.How can we claim we’re a just society when a serial rapist in Vermont gets 60 days, and a distressed mom who burns a letter in Colorado gets 12 years?Come on, I’m one of the victims and even I say enough is enough!Jamie JohnstonPre-fire resident at Wildhorn RanchNow living in Peyton
