City Official Admits False Name On Letters

A city official has admitted that he used a false name to publish letters to the editor in a local newspaper concerning controversial environmental issues.

Using the name “Omar Howler,” city Environmental Coordinator Brad Gilmore wrote letters in 1998 that expressed views on a proposed hog farm and blamed livestock for contaminating Rock Creek.

City Manager Tom Courtney said officials were discussing whether Gilmore would face disciplinary action. The newspaper has permanently banned Gilmore from publishing letters to the editor.

Gilmore’s true identity was discovered after a rancher became suspicious and contacted an editor who then called the phone number listed on Howler’s letters. The person who answered eventually identified himself as Gilmore.