A sad day in what I hoped would be a great week

Chelsea King, 17 years old.

Chelsea King, 17 years old.

I’m sitting here stunned tonight.

Chelsea King, 17 years old, found dead in a shallow grave near Lake Hodges, in North San Diego County.

I know we’re committed to writing local stories, but when I read about this promising young gal, a straight-A student, jogging along the roadway, it reminds me of many of our local young people.

My plan today was to write about the Toshiba Classic, one of my favorite weeks of the year.

This year was even better.

Corey Pavin. Ryder Cup captain.

Fred Couples. Golf’s greatest swing.

Paul Azinger. The Zinger, our giant killer.

The list goes on and on.

I’ll be on the first tee today introducing the pros and the amateurs as they play through.

Yesterday, I joined 500 others listening to Pavin talk about golf. About the world and two recent trips to Iraq.

He talked about the Ryder Cup.

I was excited.

Then, I came home and heard the news, Chelsea King, a 17-year-old high school student out for a run, found dead.

The apparent guilty party is John Albert Gardner III. Gardner is 30.

When you’re a "III", the name should mean something.

This loser has visited the big house before.

He served five years for a previous attack on a 13 year old in 2000.

In December he is thought to be the person who attempted to take down a 22-year-old woman who managed to escape.

This is an election year and we have a local elected official running for Attorney General.

That would be our own Tom Harman.

One of Tom’s claims is to get tough.

I couldn’t agree more. 

Why in the world have we allowed our society to let monsters such as John Albert Gardner III return to our streets?

This is going to sound tough, and it’s meant too.

If a mountain lion comes into a neighborhood and attacks a local child, we hunt it down.

Done. Gone.

“It’s a predatory animal and we can’t allow them to roam our streets,” an official might say.

Yet, when an animal such as Gardner works the system and gets out, some young, unexpecting and unassuming person becomes “the next victim.”

Gardner’s not the first of these monsters.

Unfortunately, he’s the most current in a long line of losers.

Last month we had a skinhead who chose the death penalty over life in prison, because the living quarters were better on Death Row.

Some system, huh.

This fall comes the election.

Change is a comin’.

What I hope is that we remember the innocent people like Chelsea King.

All she wanted to do was run for her health and do well in school.

Shame on her.

Let’s start changing our society that has become unacceptable around us.

Chelsea and her family – I wish you peace, comfort and answers.

Gardner III, you wretched soul, if guilty, you deserve nothing.

Please, come fall, don’t forget.

A change is a comin’ and we need to make a difference.