We all know (and most of us hate) the cliche saying, "It's a small world."

As cliche and annoying as it may be, it's so true. Last week a story fell upon me that had to do with a city I cover and the city I grew up in, worked in and still live in.

I worked for the parks and recreation department in Wayne for almost seven years before working at The News-Herald. I also wrote for the Wayne paper. Through both of those I knew a lot of people in Wayne. I attended council meetings regularly to hear about updates on whether they were closing the parks and rec building or not, so I knew who was advocating to close and who wasn't.

I was already with The News-Herald when the filing deadline for council candidates came about, but I still followed very closely who was running. Someone was running who I knew had a bad record in the city of Wayne and other neighboring cities. Ok, so I know I'm not voting for him. That's that.

Until last week, when I wrote a story about this whole deal. I was able to get the police reports and court records which stated that in February he pleaded guilty to providing minors with alcohol. He was given one year of probation, which orders: he wear an alcohol monitoring tether for 60 days; have no contact with nine former and current Riverview students either in person, through phone or via the Internet/computer; continue mental health counseling; forfeit his cellphone; do not go within 1,000 feet of any school/place where children congregate; have no unsupervised contact with minors under age 17; and mandatory incarceration for violation of his probation.

So of course, I wrote a story. It went live online late afternoon Friday. It was on the front page of Sunday's paper. I posted the story on a few Facebook pages, one being the Facebook of the Wayne Dispatch Newspaper.

And the hate-mail began. I was accused of only writing this story because I wanted another candidate to win council (mind you there are three other candidates, none of whom were mentioned in the article). I was told that posting it on a Wayne page proved my bias. I was called a "terrible reporter" and "breaking every rule of journalism."

All of these things were said by people advocating for the candidate. Does it bother me that they didn't like the story? Not at all. They read my story after all.

Eleven residents in Wayne contacted me to thank me for the story because they were unaware of these charges. Five residents in Riverview contacted me to thank me for the story because they don't want someone who "wronged" their students/children to hold a position of authority in any city.

Sanders posted on a Facebook page that he and his friends created a few months ago to advocate "change for the city of Wayne."

It reads: "Ok. So here it goes. My name is Chris Sanders and I am running for City Council. It has never been a secret that I have had an extremely bad five years. First, January 6, 2006 a under age drinking party was held at my home and 2 fake id's were found on the coffee table in the house when the police arrived. Let it be known that I am the one who called the police that evening. I was not there not did I supply the alcohol. I tried, with the help of counsel to find a way out of this legal predicament, however, because my home is by law an extension of my person, there was no deal. I completed my probation without incident! Second, the Riverview incident happened on October 30, 2010. I was contacted by an individual to rent a limosuine for a person home from Marine bootcamp. This individual was 20 years old. I did it under my company name because it was a business transaction. Plane and simple!!!!! It is my undertanding that the downriver "party patrol" had recieved word that this individual was going to have a party by an individual that wasn't invited. They tailed the limosuine. Again, I was not present, nor did I purchase alcohol for for minors. I was issued a citation as were all the children and the limosuine driver. The limosuine company was not because they were incorporated. It is quite disengenuous of some to suggest that I am a danger to children or worse. Atleast one of you are feeding at the site of blood. Do not put blame on either John Rhaesa or Erica Persist, as they are only reporting. Hey, they are only reporting that which I have provided ammunition. It is my hope that people will see all the good that I have and continue to do for our community. I think it speaks a lot about my dedication to our city and the vision that I have for it. Knowing that this campaign would get ugly, I chose to run anyways."

 If you're asking if I reported on the 2006 incident - no, I did not. If you're asking if he wrote in here that he pleaded guilty - no, he did not. Also, if you're asking if my name is Erica Persist - no, it is not. But hey, he admitted to doing some wrong and providing me (or someone with my same first name) with ammunition.

Here are my questions:

* How can he be on council if he cannot be within 1,000 feet of a school or anywhere children congregate? City Hall in Wayne in located directly in front of one of the 17 parks in Wayne.
* His probation says he must be supervised when around children under 17. Who is going to take on the responsibility?
* He has recently been in schools and parks and is co-hosting an event this weekend in which children will be in attendance. How has none of this violated his probation?
* How am I in the wrong for writing a story that tells everyone what his probation orders entail?

It just seems scandalous and sketchy. It seems like there is a lot more behind the scenes that people don't know about. I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Riverview police for all police reports in his name. Today, WXYZ (local Channel 7) was at Wayne City Hall interviewing the city manager about the topic. Apparently word got out.

I told the people criticizing me for writing the story that it is newsworthy and it's something people should do. If you're running for a public office, you should know that your criminal past will be made public.

Oh, and the Michigan State Police conducted an investigation into how he obtained some signatures on a petition and the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office is pressing charges. You can read that in the story linked above. It's really just a little icing on the "charges cake."

Thanks for reading the blog and you should definitely read the story. And leave comments, whether you agree or disagree with me.

Check back for more stories on this topic and many other controversial items - as those seem to be my prime areas!

Catch ya later, Internet World!

"As journalists, we keep pushing and pushing." - Mary Hart