Ashland Daily Tidings Editor Arrested

Submitted by LynnS on Sat, 01/26/2008 - 1:08pm.

Promoted from the open thread

Ashland Daily Tidings Editor Andrew Scot Bolsinger has been suspended from his position after his arrest in Salem on sexual abuse charges:

Bolsinger has been suspended from his job as editor at the Ashland Daily Tidings, according to Mail Tribune editor Bob Hunter. The Mail Tribune and Daily Tidings are both owned by Ottaway Newspapers Inc.

“We have no comment pending resolution of the case,” Hunter said late Friday night. “We’re in no position to judge guilt or innocence in this.”

The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by Marion County Sheriff’s Office detectives, who were contacted in September 2007 by a former female student of the Willamette Valley Christian School in the town of Brooks.

A press release from the sheriff’s office said the student was 16 years old during the time she alleges having a sexual relationship with Bolsinger. He was a coach and teacher at the school in the spring of 2000.

Bolsinger was last employed at the school in May of 2000.

Yikes.

Like this post? Add it to del.icio.us!

LynnS's blog | quote

( topics: General Media )

blogs

Submitted by Greg (not verified) on Mon, 01/28/2008 - 3:18pm.

I sometimes reflect that the back and forth blogs on this site can appear a tad harsh.
I guess it is relative. Take a peek at the Bolsinger blog at Ashland Daily Tidings. Yikes.

reply | quote

Comment out of line

Submitted by Pdxmediawatchman on Mon, 01/28/2008 - 5:57pm.

Lynn, you need to remove "liar, liar"'s comment.
You should never reveal the name of a sexual assault.

reply | quote

done

Submitted by LynnS on Tue, 01/29/2008 - 12:21am.

I approved comments in a hurry that batch and the name slipped right past me. Extreme apologies.

-----
Lynn Siprelle * Fairy Blogmother

reply | quote

Accused editor fired for business conflict

Submitted by Anonymous Source (not verified) on Thu, 02/07/2008 - 1:23pm.

http://www.dailytidings.com/2008/0205/stories/0205_bolsinger.php

February 5, 2008
Tidings editor dismissed from position

Andrew Scot Bolsinger has been dismissed from his position as editor of the Ashland Daily Tidings.

Bolsinger drew headlines when he was arrested Jan. 25 and jailed on allegations that he had participated in sex acts with a 16-year-old girl when he was a teacher in the Salem area. That was followed by the news that numerous court judgments had been awarded against him and his wife over issues related to small businesses they operated in Ashland.

"We just felt that, given the circumstances of the past week and a half, it was no longer possible for Scot to remain on the job as the editor of a community newspaper," said Bob Hunter, editor of the Mail Tribune and one of Bolsinger's supervisors.

Hunter said the criminal charges did not lead to the dismissal.

"Scot deserves his day in court on those charges, but the other issues created a climate that made it impossible for him to continue in such a critical position," said Hunter.

Bolsinger was released from the Marion County jail on Jan. 29 after posting $25,000 bail. On Friday, he was indicted on four counts of second-degree sexual abuse. A former student of the Willamette Valley Christian School, where Bolsinger was a teacher and coach, said she and Bolsinger had engaged in sexual activity in 2000, when she was 16 years old.

In addition, Bolsinger was successfully sued on numerous occasions relating to his Ashland businesses. An Ashland businessman won a judgment after he claimed Bolsinger had failed to return a $25,000 down-payment when a sublease agreement fell through. The city of Ashland was awarded more than $10,000 by a court after Bolsinger's restaurant business failed to pay food and beverage taxes. The courts also ruled for the plaintiffs in several other cases involving failure to pay business or personal debts.

No replacement editor has been named. Tidings City Editor Myles Murphy will be in charge of daily operations at the newspaper for the time being, while Hunter will take over Bolsinger's administrative duties.

"" Staff reports

reply | quote