“All letters are subject to editing. Those that are judged as personal attacks or complaints about neighbors, businesses or other letter writers will not be considered.” – Fountain Hills Time Letters to the Editor policy.

So, it stands to reason that a letter that includes a threat would not be accepted for publication.Yet, my Feb. 15 “Waste of time” letter was published in this newspaper. Could it be that it was determined there was no threat or personal attack? If you wanted to harm someone, would you announce it in the town newspaper?

Allen Skillicorn extracted words from my letter, twisted them, contorted them and proclaimed they constituted a death threat against him. Outrageous.

Consider the timing of this charade. On Feb. 15, my letter appeared in this newspaper. Twenty-three days later, March 10, Skillicorn decided to call MCSO, saying he considered my letter a threat because I used the common phrase, “ready, fire, aim,” to describe what I considered an ill-informed approach to decision-making. The next day, MCSO recorded this: “no probable cause to support the allegation of threats being made were found.”

In mid-April Skillicorn proceeded to distribute a press release. As a result, here’s what appeared in a national e-newspaper: “Dianne Price and [name deleted] have taken to social media and letters to Fountain Hills Times to use gun and threatening language in reference to Skillicorn.” Using gun language? I did not, have not – and never would – threaten any living creature.

Ask yourself why Skillicorn would create this turmoil. My guess is that he thinks it’s fair game to take potshots at constituents to get the kind of publicity that will fuel his rise up the ranks of the wrong side of Arizona politics.