Idaho Impasse: 'American Tragedy in the
Making'
Edgar J. Steele
Veritas News Service -- Thursday, May 31, 2001 -- The McGuckin family home and the 40
acres upon which it stands were recently sold for a pittance by the county government for
past-due taxes. It brought only $50,000, while the property is in prime territory, with fully
half of Beaver Lake on its eastern edge.
Dad died recently, after a long and valiant struggle with multiple sclerosis, not of
"malnutrition and dehydration," which has widely and falsely been reported as the cause
of death. Just a couple days after this tight-knit family buried Dad, county government
lured her out with a promise of money and free groceries, then arrested her, leaving them
only to have to deal with the kids. That was a mistake, of course, but not their first.
Rather than allow this tightly-knit family a decent period to grieve the loss of their beloved
husband and father, the county government instead is doing its best to make the family's
worst nightmare come true.
For years, Mrs. McGuckin has been fearful of the government taking her property and her
kids. Today, that fear is realized, with the issuance of an order through Child Protection
Services, making the six children its wards. Of course, the Sheriff can't get near the house
to make good on that order.
She has been jailed on a charge of felony child endangerment, allegedly for not providing
a proper home for the children, including food, hygiene and education.
Well, admittedly the running water is off temporarily, because the well pump broke and,
what with Dad's severe condition as his days drew to a close, they just didn't have the time
or the money to deal with it properly. So, they drew water from the crystal-clear lake on
their property for washing and to flush their toilets with. And, yes, the laundry did pile up,
but what family doesn't have a few domestic backlogs when it loses its patriarch?
And the children are home schooled, fact which makes them politically incorrect, even by
North Idaho standards.
But, they do have food, contrary to reports, and the power was hooked up and paid for
when Mrs. McGuckin was arrested.
Are they armed? Who knows? Nobody has seen any weapons and no gunshots have been
fired. Sheriff Jarvis has shown great prudence in executing the orders he is lawfully
obligated to follow. He did not cut off any essential services, as has been reported. He
has vowed to keep his men well away from the house and allow us time to effect a
peaceful resolution to this crisis.
That resolution must begin with the release from custody of JoAnn McGuckin and the
rescission of the order giving custody of her children over to the government. Friends and
family stand ready to accept responsibility for the children while Mrs. McGuckin puts her life
in order and proves the outrageous charges against herself to be false. However, the
demand by the county Prosecuting Attorney that the bail, initially set for $10,000, be
elevated to $100,000, effectively guarantees that Mrs. McGuckin will not be given that
opportunity.
We are now asking the court for a reduction in the bond requirement and will then seek a
modification to the CPS order, whereby the children are given over, as a single unit, to the
custody of a trusted family friend. Then, we will take on these outlandish charges and give
them the ignominious end that they deserve. We are also investigating this
highly-questionable attempted seizure of the McGuckin family home.
Donations to the family can be made to: McGuckin Family Trust, PO Box 1255, Sagle, ID
83
-- Anonymous, June 01, 2001
Shoot, and here I thought Idaho was the place where the last of the
mountain men were hanging out.
News for you - all those sales for tax liens in the local paper were
not issued by freedom fighters.
And, in Texas, an 85 year old woman's house was seized by the local
homeowner's association (!) this year, and sold at auction for about
10% of its value. Houston is in an outrage over it, though this is
hardly the first time this has been done. BTW, I believe she owed
the HOA about 800 bucks in dues.
Everybody wants a hook into your house, because they figure you'll
sell your soul before you give it up.
-- Anonymous, June 01, 2001
MANURE ABOVE. READ THE REAL STORY:
June 3, 2001
Five Children End Stalemate by Leaving Home in
Idaho
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARFIELD BAY, Idaho, June 2 (AP) — Five children left their
isolated
home tonight, where they had fended off sheriff's deputies for five
days, after
negotiators promised to try to help them stay together in state
custody.
The police had vowed to wait out the impasse for as long as
necessary to
avoid a violent confrontation with the children, who were suspicious
of the
authorities and were believed to be armed.
"I would term it a total success," Sgt. Rob Rahn of the Bonner
County
Sheriff's Department said of the end of the impasse. The authorities
had been
trying since Tuesday to get the children to come out.
Bill Walker, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and
Welfare, said
the children must be evaluated before the authorities decide what to
do with
them.
"We don't know yet if they are all physically or mentally ready to
take the
next step," Mr. Walker said.
The children were driven past sheriff's barricades in a large
sport utility
vehicle about 6 p.m. today to a hospital in nearby Sandpoint.
"They're in very good shape," Susan Montgomery, the hospital's
director of
nursing, said.
The children had been speaking to three negotiators for most of
today,
Sergeant Rahn said. One negotiator was identified as their sister
Erina, 19, who
had left the house earlier after a dispute with her parents.
The children and a 15-year-old brother, who surrendered to
authorities on
Thursday, retreated to the house when their mother, JoAnn McGuckin,
was arrested
on charges of child neglect on Tuesday. Their father died on May
12.
After the mother's arrest, sheriff's deputies returned to the
home, about 10
miles south of here, to take the children into protective custody.
But Benjamin
McGuckin, 15, yelled, "Get the guns!" and the children unleashed more
than two
dozen dogs.
The family had become increasingly reclusive after the father,
Michael
McGuckin, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. His death was
attributed to
dehydration and malnutrition, complicated by his illness. Neighbors
said the
family was suspicious of the government and refused help despite
financial
hardship.
-- Anonymous, June 03, 2001