Then refuses to clarify what he meant by alleging the newspaper made “bonus claims” or apologize
We are all warned about careless handling of email. We know that caution must be exercised about what and how we say things in emails because it is so easy to accidentally send one to a person we didn’t intend to receive it. What happens when you make that mistake is illustrated by the mess Yavapai Community College Vice President Rodney Jenkins finds himself in.
Jenkins apparently sent out an email intended for Vice President of Academic Affairs Diane Ryan about questions being put to the Community College president by the Red Rock News and Cottonwood Journal Extra. However, somehow the email ended up in the computer email boxes of the Red Rock News.
In the errant email Vice President Jenkins alleged in part the following: “Diane, below Larsen (sic) Newspapers are making bogus claims.” Larsons’ operate both the Red Rock News and the Cottonwood Journal Extra. What Jenkins was apparently referring to as “bogus claims” involved the 11 questions the newspaper had sent to President Dr. Lisa Rhine for comment.
The problem he created is that If you are going to make allegations a newspaper is making “bogus claims,” you need something to back you up. Unfortunately for VP Jenkins, it appears he could not support his use of the bogus claims phrase.
The newspaper asked him directly for clarification of his “bonus claims” allegation. According to the October 26, 2022, Cottonwood Journal Extra newspaper, Jenkins “declined to clarify” what he called “bogus claims.” The newspaper also noted that he also did not provide a response to any of the 11 questions posed to Dr. Rhine.
Someone should advise VP Jenkins to send the newspaper an apology. That shouldn’t be too hard and it’s what a person in an errant email hot seat normally does. We are waiting.