Page 8 The Advocate News (Wilton-Durant, Iowa) Thursday, July 25, 2013

Opinion

'Depraved' shouldn't be difficult to define

sons left to run an errand, Meerdink called to say the dog had an accident by the door. Upon Holladays arrival, she met Meerdink heading t may seem a bit strange that whenever I toward the front door with the dog under his write about pets I refer to the late George arm. She testified that he had a blank look Carlin for wisdom. However, being an on his face. A few minutes later, Meerdink returned animal lover like myself, Carlin spoke a lot of truth within his comedic bits about dogs with no dog and a baseball bat. Holladay asked where the dog was and he told her it was dead. and cats. I begin with the quote above this week She panicked, got hysterical, told him to because I was saddened when I read the July leave and called the police. Police found a pool of blood and later found 17 edition of the Muscatine Journal, which contained an editorial from the Fort Dodge the dog dead due to apparent head injuries. So why the reversal by the Court of ApMessenger. The headline This isnt animal tor- peals? The case came down to the description of ture? drew me in. The editorial dealt with a July 10 decision from the Iowa Court of animal torture under Iowa Code 717B.3A(1), which states a person is guilty Appeals that reversed and of animal torture, regardless remanded an animal torture of whether the person is the conviction handed down to animals owner, if the perZachary Meerdink, 31, a son inflicts upon the animal former Wilton High School severe physical pain with a student. depraved or sadistic intent to Sometimes in this busicause prolonged suffering or ness, due to printing police By Derek Sawvell death. matters, we have to run The key terms that Meerdink asked the information that makes our skin crawl. Our Dec. 22, 2011 issue was especially tough due court to look at in his appeal were depraved to the story we printed about Meerdink, who and sadistic, claiming there was no evidence was arrested in Davenport and charged with to support that he acted in those ways. The animal torture after he had beaten a Boston court looked primarily at the word depraved and said it had not been defined by the Iowa terrier puppy to death with a baseball bat. In January, 2012, he was charged with legislature. Therefore, the court used the following words to describe depraved: corrupt, animal torture. After waivperverted, heinous, morally horrendous. Then ing his right to a jury trial, it tried to define some of those words with Meerdink received a bench terms and phrases such as twisted, vicious trial in April, 2012, where he and atrocious. was found guilty of animal While the District Court said putting that torture by the Iowa District poor puppy to death was enough to prove Court of Scott County. animal torture, the Court of Appeals said Meerdink was staying that definitions of depraved show that a with his girlfriend Jamie Meerdink depraved intent to cause death requires more Holladay, who had bought the dog for him. Holladay testified that the dog than an intent to cause death. When looking at those words above, am had stomach problems that led to accidents and that it had problems with jumping on and I the only one who says the shoe fits? Like the editorial from the Fort Dodge Messenger biting people. I never read anything about that at the time (reprinted to the right) states, what more would of the incident. The only thing we knew at that someone had to have done? Regardless of the point was that the dog had occasional accidents. messes our pets make, it takes a depraved mind to beat a defenseless animal to death. Puppies do need to be potty trained. Envisioning a person beating a dog to In December, 2011, Meerdink was reportedly using pain medications after having shoulder death is a pretty black and white definition surgery. One evening while Holladay and her of depraved to me. All the sadness in the world is right in the eyes of a dog. George Carlin

Case in Point

I can remember Meerdink vividly from our days in high school, as he was a year older than I was. He was one of those young men who had the body of a Greek God. He always appeared so sturdy and strong. When I think about that compared with a puppy, it makes MY stomach uneasy and brings me right back to the quote at the beginning of this piece. To Chief Judge Larry Eisenhaurer and Mary Tabor, two of the three judges listed as reviewing the case, Im sickened and disappointed. To Judge Anuradha Vaitheswaran, who cast the lone dissenting vote, Id like to say thank you! Vaitheswaran talked a lot about a reasonable fact-finder in his dissenting remarks, saying a reasonable person would have understood that Meerdink acted in a depraved manner. Also, there was no evidence that the dog bit anyone the day of its death. Vaitheswaran also said a reasonable fact-finder could have inferred that Holladays sudden defense of Meerdink at trial reflected her remorse at hav-

ing reported the incident to police following her reconciliation with him. A reasonable fact-finder could have found depravity based on the dogs age (seven months), the fact that the act was precipitated by nothing more than a puppys weak stomach, the inference that Meerdink spent some time searching for a blunt instrument with which to kill the dog, the uncontested fact that Meerdink inflicted severe physical pain, and the fact that the animal was a family pet. I was heart broken the first time we had to print something about this and Im even more so now. This isnt about Meerdink as much as its about the act. Dogs are not toys. They are precious pieces of life that are 100 percent dependent on their owners for love, affection and care. For anyone to treat another life with such unrelenting violence is despicable. I certainly respect due process, yet for our Court of Appeals to not affirm leaves me ashamed.

This isnt animal torture?

A man who beat a puppy to death with a baseball bat didnt commit animal torture, according to the Iowa Court of Appeals. It appears that two members of the threeperson court didnt believe Zachary Meerdink acted with depraved intent when he bludgeoned to death a 7-month-old Boston terrier puppy. The court vacated Meerdinks conviction for animal torture. Lin Sorenson, founder of the Des Moinesbased St. Francis Foundation for Pets, called the courts decision inconceivable and said it breaks the logic barrier. Evidently, the majority of the court believes Meerdink wasnt acting with enough depraved or sadistic intent to support an animal torture conviction. That begs the question, what more would he had to have done? Chief Judge Larry Eisenhauer said, in his ruling, that it wasnt clear how many times the dog was struck. Had Meerdink been defending himself from a vicious, attacking, oversized animal, that might have been a reasonable factor to consider. But, theres nothing to indicate Meerdink was trying to protect himself from a dog whose breed, at full-size, rarely tops 25 pounds. Meerdinks girlfriend testified that the puppy had a weak stomach, often resulting in accidents in the house, had jumped on people, had bitten her sons and wasnt responding to coaching. None of that justifies hitting a puppy with a baseball bat, even once. Meerdink had to have known doing so would be extremely painful and would likely kill a small, young dog. If the puppy wasnt working out in the home, there are animal shelters and rescue groups throughout the state that would have given it refuge. Scott County Attorney Mike Walton, who prosecuted the case, said its up to the Iowa attorney generals office to decide whether to ask the state Supreme Court to review the ruling. The Messenger strongly urges Tom Millers office to do so and send a message that beating puppies to death, regardless of the reason is, indeed, torture. Fort Dodge Messenger July 12, 2013

Wiltons Oakdale Cemetery information

The Oakdale Cemetery Board meets every month on the second Monday at 6 p.m. in the Wilton (Meal Site) Community Room in downtown Wilton. Attendance at these meetings by members of the public are welcome, according to Becky Hansen, who serves as the secretary of the board of trustees. We welcome everyones attendance and participation at the monthly meetings, volunteers for any cemetery projects and all ideas, suggestions or comments. The five-member board is elected by a vote of the lot owners and first generation heirs during the Oakdale Cemetery annual meeting. In addition to Hansen (732-3208), the current trustees include: Dwayne Lenker, president/ Sexton (732-2253); Sue Bradley, vice president/ Sexton (563-299-1693); Carla Thurston (7322886); Mary (Larry) Bender (732-3098); and Terri Becker, treasurer (she is not currently a trustee). Information and often-asked questions about Oakdale Cemetery are as follows: Located in Muscatine County, the cemetery is not managed by the City of Wilton, but it is subsidized by $10,000 a year from the City. Oakdale is a perpetual care (PC) cemetery with a PC fund where only the interest is available for use by the Oakdale Board. There is a general use fund which comes from the lot sales, interest from PC fund CDs, burials and donations. This fund is used for cemetery maintenance and improvements. Donations are welcomed from owners or the public and must be specified for the general fund in order for the board to use the money

VBS at UMCEverywhere Fun Fair was the theme for vacation Bible school at the United Methodist Church in Wilton July 16-17. The focus was on learning about being good neighbors as taught in the Bible. Students rotated through centers focusing on music, crafts, recreation, discovery science, lunch, missions, puppet times and DVD shows. There were characters in Bible costume who met with the children in the Bible time bazaar, where Bible stories focusing on how neighbors should behave were enacted. In keeping with the theme, the students also learned about the Imagine No Malaria campaign, a nationwide program conducted by the United Methodist Church. The offering collected was enough to purchase 13 nets to protect children in Africa. Eighty students and staff participated in the day camp. Contributed photo
for improvements or special projects. (As required by the state of Iowa, donations made to the cemetery must be designated for a specific project or the donated amount must be deposited in the PC fund.) Individual lots currently sell for $400; 80 percent of all lot sales go to the general use fund and 20 percent is required to go to the PC fund. The cemetery receives $100 for each burial. The board also reminds the public that the cemetery should be respected and not be used as a play area for local children. During previous board meetings, the following suggestions and ideas have been presented as projects for the board to consider in the future: Adding more concrete roadways. Clean-up and necessary work on the waterway. Cleaning up the south cemetery lot line and installing a fence. Resetting fallen, older grave stones. Tiling low areas to eliminate standing water. Filling in and leveling the southwest corner of the cemetery. Refurbishing or destroying the small octagon shed. Hopefully, this information will help people to better understand the management of the Wilton Oakdale Cemetery, Hansen said. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 12, at 6 p.m. in the Wilton Community Room and is open to the public. Please call any of the trustees if you have questions.