Opinion: This won’t be the last one, so we’d better try harder
Steve Hallstrom
Publisher of The Farmer
Many of us live in various states of denial about issues that affect our community. We know there are problems, but we generally turn our heads the other way, not really wanting to know the full story. At the McKenzie County Farmer, we were recently reminded of this in a stunning and shocking way.
Lois Beane, according to court documents, was brutally murdered by her son when she was burned alive in her Watford City home in September while her son admitted to watching from a nearby room. It’s a story that caused a lot of discussion in the newsroom about how to cover such an unspeakably graphic crime. The fact that the killer was a biological son added a level of horror that puts this incident squarely in the category of crimes so macabre that you’d expect it to someday be a cable TV documentary, if it can get past censorship standards.
The accused is someone known to law enforcement. There’s been a history of bad decisions, and sources tell us drug and alcohol abuse are part of this story. But most people who struggle with substances don’t make decisions like this. Clearly there’s something deeper in play.