United States on the Verge of Losing Its Technological Superiority

By Ron Munden — 3/10/2021

The United States quality of life is due in no small part to the technological superiority that it has possessed since WWII. I have written on my concerns about the US losing that superiority for the last 15 years.

Recently I have also written about the Country’s second civil war which is underway in this country today.

On Sunday I heard a program that was consistent with my concerns about losing our superiority but they projected the United States could lose its technology lead in a much shorter time.

Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, was interviewed by Fareed Zakaria. Mr. Schmidt is the chairman of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. This blue ribbon committee, composed of 15 people, was tasked to do an assessment of the role of AI in the future and the United States position in the field.

The commission was established two years ago. It provided its report to the White House and Congress last week.The commission concluded that AI will be sprinkled throughout the entire world economy in the future. It will be the basis of everything we deal with over the next 5 to 10 years. The three examples he mentioned were information technology, medical care, and automobiles.

AI is becoming an essential part of the world economy;particularly in developed countries like the United States.

Mr. Schmidt said that today the United States is ahead of China in AI technology but is at high risk of losing that lead fairly quickly. China has decided to focus on taking the leadership role in AI by 2030. It is committed to doing whatever is required to take the leadership role away from the US.

The Commission believes that this problem is a national emergency and unless the country gets its act together quickly China will take the lead very soon. They feel the race for AI development must become a focus of the federal government. Even though most of the commission’s members were from the private sector, they feel that the federal government must take the lead. We are in a race and our competitor is China. China has committed to spending the resources required to win the race.

The United States continues to have the best innovators today but Chain already has the lead in facial recognition and electronic commerce. China has a significant lead in 5G communication technology and is committed to taking the lead in synthetic bio technology.

Today China is our global competitor. Three advantages China has today are: Large data sets, which are important to AI. A larger and more educated workforce than is available in the US today. Today China has twice as many supercomputers than the US. The worlds fastest computer was built in China using Chinese designed parts. Finally, China has lots of money that it has committed to winning the race.

America could still win the race but it is not organized to win the race today. To win it would need to commit to a very significant increase in R&D funding and a massive increase in training.

Today, China has much more money and very smart people committed to their goal. China has global ambitions. Today, the United States is not prepared to compete.

What does the United States have to lose? Alot!

The market winner is looking at $55 trillion in business over the next 20 years.

The AI winner has not yet determined but the United States needs to act now if it hopes to stay in the game. The report submitted to the White House and Congress recommends doubling the country’s R&D funding each year until it is up to $30 billion a year. That sounds like a lot of money until you realize that there is a $55 trillion market at stake.

If we don’t make this investment the next great technology companies will come from China. 20% of the US stock market is in technology. Soon this sector of the stock market may be technology companies owned by another country – not the USA. Also our national security is based on us being the leaders in technology.

Mr. Schmidt listed additional markets that the US could lose — energy, robotics and adaptive manufacturing.

That concluded Mr. Schmidt’s remarks.

After the program I thought — A divided nation cannot stand and there will also be another nation ready to take its place.

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Non-profit Housing Finance Corporation Achieves Critical First Step

Non-profit Housing Finance Corporation Achieves Critical First Step in proposed Marshall Lofts Project

The non-profit Harrison County Housing Finance Corporation (HCHFC) announced today that the first critical step, which needed to be accomplished in connection with the proposed Marshall Lofts Project, was successfully achieved last week. The Marshall Lofts Project envisions the conversion of the historic Marshall High School building, located on West Houston Street in the historic New Town district of Marshall, Texas, into low-and-moderate income apartments. The HCHFC’s application for a reservation of allocation for authority to issue tax-exempt bonds to finance the conversion of the historic building was approved by the Texas Bond Review Board in Austin on February 26, 2021.

The application was filed by former State Senator and former Harrison County Judge Richard Anderson who serves as general counsel for the HCHFC. The application was filed on behalf of the developer, STC Marshall Lofts, L.L.C., a Texas corporation. The application authorizes the issuance of some $20 million in tax-exempt bonds during calendar year 2021.

The bond proceeds, together with additional dollars generated by the sale of Federal and State historic tax credits and housing tax credits, will be used to develop up to 130 apartment units on the property. The financing package assembled by the developer, Mr. Jim Sari, will include these funds, as well as other funding from private investors. These funds will be used to construct the apartments as well as amenities on the ten-acre tract, which was formerly known as the old Marshall High School and, more recently, as the old Marshall Junior High School, prior to being sold by the Marshall Independent School District in 2018.

Notably, the bonds will not constitute an obligation of the City of Marshall, Harrison County, or the State of Texas, but will be payable solely from apartment rentals and associated income from the developer.

Judge Anderson stated, “We are very pleased to have assisted with this critical first phase needed for the proposed Marshall Lofts Project. It’s a general consensus that there’s a need for low- to moderate-income housing in our community and, if successful, the Marshall Lofts Project will help to address this need, in addition to repurposing an historic local building for a beneficial use in our community.”

HCHFC President Anne Yappen, a local realtor, shared: “In addition to assisting with these important housing needs, our Board of Directors felt that this project could also help to ensure that this ten-acre tract in the west end of the Marshall central business district does not fall into a blighted condition in the future.”

The other members of the Harrison County Housing Finance Corporation Board of Directors are Mr. John LaFoy, a Hallsville-area builder, Mr. Barry Lovely, a Marshall businessman, Dr. David Nelson, the owner of Texas State Optical, and Mr. Jack Redmon, former interim Marshall City Manager and long-time director of Public Services for the City of Marshall.

Judge Anderson explained that, in late October of 2020, County officials, including County Judge Chad Sims, City officials, including Mayor Terri Brown and City Manager Mark Rohr, as well as Tom McClurg of Marshall Housing Authority, and other community leaders met to consider the proposal for the Marshall Lofts. All were in fundamental agreement that this represented both a challenge and an opportunity to rehabilitate this property which had been dormant for more than two years. A consensus emerged that the project move forward with the Harrison County Housing Finance Corporation heading up the application process for the project.

Judge Anderson explained that it’s now up to the developer to pursue additional funding through the applicable tax credits and private financing, following HCHFC’s successful reservation of allocation for authority to issue tax-exempt bonds to finance the conversion.

Anderson said, “We’re familiar with this rather complex structure as we have utilized historic tax credits to create the Courthouse Endowment in 2009 to assist Harrison County, and have utilized housing tax credits to promote multi-family housing projects in Smith County in the past. Again, we’re glad to have been able to have done our part to afford the developer this opportunity and we wish great success for this project.”

Hilltop Securities of Dallas, Texas will serve as financial adviser of the Marshall Lofts Project. Mr. Tim Nelson, a principal with Hilltop, noted that Mr. Sari is in the process of completing the conversion of the historic Hotel Grim in Texarkana into apartments, with the opening of this project in Texarkana scheduled for the spring of this year. Robert Dransfield of Norton Rose Fulbright law firm will serve as bond counsel.

Background on the Harrison County Housing Finance Corporation

The Harrison County Housing Finance Corporation is a Texas corporation chartered by the State of Texas in 1979. It was formed in Judge Richard Anderson’s initial term as County Judge, and was designed to address the crisis in housing mortgages that existed at that time. The establishment of the Harrison County Housing Finance Corporation was the first county housing finance corporation in the State of Texas, using the state’s recently-enacted statute.

With present mortgage rates of less than 3.5%, it is difficult to imagine the crisis which existed in the 1980’s. However, during 1980, fixed rates for thirty-year mortgages had reached some 14.5%. As a result, some young families were simply not able to afford to purchase a home. Realizing this problem and working with a recently enacted statute, the HCHFC worked with local lenders, and sold tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds for some $23.8 million in the public markets, and produced a mortgage rate of some 9.45%. These funds were then made available to local lenders to loan to families in the County in order to address this problem.

The program made a tremendous difference in affordability since the monthly payment for a $60,000 home in 1980 was the difference between a payment of $735 per month and $505 per month, a savings of some 30%. When compounded over a thirty-year period, this represented tens of thousands of dollars in mortgage payments saved on the $60,000 mortgage.

Through this public-private partnership, the HCHFC worked with local financial institutions to make the benefits of home ownership available to over 430 families in Harrison County, saving millions of dollars in interest over the thirty-year life of their loans for young home-owners.

The HCHFC was also instrumental in the construction of West End Park on West Houston Street in the historic New Town district of Marshall in 1995.

A proposal had been made to utilize this site for a solid waste collection site, as it had long-since been vacant following the location of Maverick Stadium to the new high school on Pinecrest Street. This property had devolved into a blighted 18-acre site, which had been the location of the old Stephen F. Austin School and football field. Judge Anderson proposed instead and structured a plan to convert this property into a public park to serve the community in an underserved area of Marshall. The structure for the plan to build the park was to bring local, county, state, and federal resources together to provide the funding and services needed to construct the park.

Long-serving MISD Superintendent Pat Smith-Gasperson, facilitated the approval of the donation by MISD of this 18-acre property to assist this HCHFC-driven project to transform the acreage into an urban park. The structure for the park plan included a grant obtained from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, contributions of labor and equipment from Harrison County, and federal assistance provided from the AmeriCorps program. AmeriCorps is a federal program which was established in 1993 to provide labor and resources to help address critical infrastructure and other needs in local communities in America, plus educational grant funding opportunities for the students and other citizens who serve in the AmeriCorps program to help strengthen these communities.

West End Park represented the first park constructed in the underserved west end community in many years. The park now consists of two basketball courts, a covered pavilion, a soccer field and children’s playground equipment. More recently, lights and a concession stand were added to the facility through the efforts of SWEPCO and Mr. Jack Redmon. The HCHFC continues to maintain this park for the benefit of the residents of the city’s west end. The HCHFC is also currently in the process of planning upgrades for West End Park.

With the participation in the Marshall Loft project, the HCHFC continues its mission to assist with making sanitary, safe, and affordable housing available for the benefit of the Harrison County community. #

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2020 Has Demonstrated One Thing

2020 Has Demonstrated One Thing

By Ron Munden — 01/04/2021

COVID-19 has demonstrated one thing — the United States cannot win a war against an adversary — be it a nation or a virus.

This country’s response Covid has been a complete failure. We have more cases and deaths even though other countries have bigger populations and less resources.

We can say that this is because of poor leadership by President Trump. While Trump contributed to the failure, he is not the big reason for the failure.

We have met the enemy and it is us — the American people.

Thank God – World War II was fought by America’s greatest generation. If my generations and the following generations had been responsible for winning WWII, we would be speaking German today.

COVID demonstrated that today the American people can’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag.

While the US military is still the best military in the world, that is less than 10% of the country’s population. Health care workers have done their job but that is less than 20% of the population. The rest of us, the majority of the country, have demonstrated we are unfit for duty.

Our COVID failure points out our county’s critical weaknesses:

Lack of Leadership – Trump said he was a war-time president but he did not manage the COVID problem like you would manage a war. The old saying goes: Lead, follow or get out of the way. Trump just layed down across the road and went to sleep.

While this was a problem. A much bigger problem is the attitude of the American people.

To win a war you must be united. During WWII Americans were united. Our parents demonstrated character and discipline. There was a spirit of shared sacrifice.

Today the United States is at war with itself. Both political parties put party above country. Both parties would rather fight to the death against each other party rather than do something good for the country.

Today rural America is in a war with metropolitan America.

The hatred of Americans for Americans has never been more intense since the Civil War.

Sadly the pandemic has shown the United States is a nation in decline. The US is on a trajectory to take it from the World Superpower to the newest banana republic.

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It Was A Very Strange Year

It Was A Very Strange Year

By Ron Munden — 01/01/2021

Normally during the last week of each year I post “Year In Review” articles on the website. This year I did not do that because in some ways 2020 did not happen. To be more precise the last 3-months of 2020 did not happen.

2020 did start off like years always do. In January and February I shot events on my normal shoot list. In late February we left for Florida as we have done for the last 5 years. When I returned in mid-March the world had changed.

By the time I returned to Marshall, all of the events I normally shoot in the Spring had been cancelled. Cancellations continue through the rest of the year. My photography year was over. Normally I shoot between 30,000 and 40,000 images a year. This year the number was less than 5,000.

In the past I tried to write an article every week or two. I don’t recall writing any articles in 2020. I am sure that some of you are now thinking — well at least one good thing happened in 2020.

It was a very bad year for EastTexasExposed. In a regular year at least 60 percent of the content for the site is driven by event photography. That went to zero. I quit writing about the city when they move to virtual meetings. One thing have we learned for sure is content drives readership.

In early March the site had 3000 to 5000 unique visitors per day. By September the number had dropped to 500 to 1000 visitors. While the numbers have improved some in the fourth quarter, the number of visits is still below 2000 visits each day.

So EastTexasExposed.com has a hole to dig out of in 2021.

We have used our time over the last few months to enhance the site:

During the last quarter of 2020 we completely rewrote the “php” code for EastTexasExposed. The code was over 5-year old and badly in need of attention.
We have worked to change the graphic mix of the site from 100 percent photos to a mix of photos and videos. Since surveys show that more people now prefer video, we will continue to increase the video percentage.
We have integrated the website with social media including facebook, instagram, youtube, twitter and a WordPress blog. We feel this will increase our potential audience.
Finally, Dr. Jim Harris allows us to publish his COVID-19 Update daily. This is a valuable document that should be read by all of us.

In summary, like most people and organizations, 2020 was not a good year for EastTexasExposed. We recognized that things don’t change overnight. There is very little difference between December 31, 2020 and January 1, 2021. All the problems we faced yesterday are in large part still there today. But there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. Six to nine months from now we will reach the “new norm.”

Happy New Years 2021!

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Stray thoughts as we start a new year

Stray thoughts as we start a new year

By George Smith — 01/01/2021

Stray thoughts as we start a new year:

— Yo! 2021. What took you so long?

— At 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1, for the first time ever, everything was truly hindsight 2020.

— Buckle your seatbelts. 2021 won’t be 2020 but then, no other year has been either. One thing is sure: “Different” has been a way of life for almost a year. Everybody is ready, I believe, for a different “different” than the “different” experienced last year.

— if you are a member of the Republican Party, after January 20, you have a decision to make: Are you going to be a traditional “Republican” or join whatever party Trump will form? Either way, your influence in national politics will be severely curtailed.

If you stay a loyal member of the GOP, you must figure out how to expand your base in order to be relevant; if you are a die-hard MAGAist, you are a cohort of racists, neo-Nazis, crazed evangelists and QAnon conspiracists.

— Remember: There is a difference between a socialist and a democratic socialist. America is a democratic socialist republic. It is. Seriously. Look it up. Go on! Google it!

— If you are tired of old rich men and women like McConnell, Schumer, Pelosi, Collins, Gohmert, et al, gumming up the works of the federal government…we are on the same page.

— Ditto if you believe it is wrong for one person to have the power to prevent a bill, any bill, from coming to a vote so our elected officials have to record a vote.

— Ditto again if you believe that politicians who lie, lie about lying and refuse to own up and label themselves a liar should not only be summarily dismissed from the public position they hold but also should be publicly flogged with a graphite fly rod.

May 2021 be the Year of the Do Right Revolutions, a movement where folks pledge to “do right” in their personal and professional lives.

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Alternate plans for annual Community Veterans Day Commemoration

Alternate plans for annual Community Veterans Day Commemoration

In order to reduce risk and help to ensure the health and safety of all veterans and community members during the pandemic, the Annual Community Veterans Day planning committee consulted, as they do each year, with local veterans and veteran organizations and they made the following alternate plans for this year’s Veterans Day commemoration.

Instead of the annual Community Veterans Day program, there will be a brief Patriotic Vehicle Procession around the Harrison County Courthouse Square to honor the brave service and sacrifice of all Veterans.

The slow procession around the Square will take place from 11:00am–11:15am on Wednesday, November 11, 2020 in downtown Marshall, Texas.

Christina Anderson, who heads up the coordination of the Community Veterans Day commemoration every years, shared: “ As our community knows, the annual Veterans Day program in Marshall and Harrison County has always been held at the 11^th hour on the 11^th day of the 11th month. For many years, the program was held at the Marshall Mall and, more recently, at ETBU and then, last year, at Memorial City Hall.”

Ms. Anderson continued: “But, this year due to our wanting to make sure everyone stays safe during the pandemic and so that we comply with all the important health guidelines, the planning committee invites veterans, veteran organization, civic organizations, and community members to participate in or watch a brief slow procession of vehicles around the Courthouse Square at 11 o’clock on Veterans Day. This procession will be a way that we, as community members, can gather together safely during the pandemic and show our deep appreciation to all veterans for their courageous service and sacrifice for our nation.”

Ms. Anderson explained that community members and veteran or civic organizations are encouraged to display on their vehicles signs of appreciation to veterans and/or American flags and flags of the various military branches.

To reduce the risk of spreading the virus, all participants are asked to remain in their vehicles before and throughout the brief procession around the Square.

Here’s how the logistics will work:

· Those wishing to participate by having a vehicle in the brief Veterans Day procession on November 11 are urged to call (903) 938-8373 or email cca@andersonpartners.org to let the planning committee know that they wish to have a vehicle in the procession. Please contact by 3:00pm on November 10.

· Then, between 10:30am and 11:00am on Wednesday, November 11, those participating in the procession will gather in the parking lot on the EAST side of the Courthouse.

· At 11:00am, the East Texas Patriot Guard Riders, in coordination with the Marshall Police Department, will lead the procession of vehicles, departing from the east parking lot, and slowly process around the Courthouse Square twice. Following the second time around the Square, the procession will stop for the playing of “Taps.” The commemoration will then be concluded.

· Veterans wishing to observe the brief procession on the Square itself will be able to park in the parking lot on the WEST side of the historic Courthouse and will be able watch the procession from inside their vehicles. Since Veterans Day is a City, County, and federal holiday, there should be less traffic on the Courthouse Square that day.

· Those participating and watching the procession can listen to patriotic music during the procession in the safety of their own vehicles by tuning in to local radio station KMHT 103.9 . KMHT has graciously shared that they will play patriotic music for the procession.

· For those wishing to view from home, the procession will also be live streamed via Facebook Live by the Marshall News Messenger and KMHT.

· KMHT 103.9 will also broadcast a Veterans Day program at 11:15am, immediately following their coverage of and music for the brief procession on the Square.

On behalf of the Community Veterans Day planning committee, Ms. Anderson expressed deep gratitude for the kind assistance of the local veterans organizations such as the East Texas Patriot Guard Riders, American Legion Post #267, American Legion Post #878, and other local veterans groups. She also expressed appreciation to Harrison County, the City of Marshall, KMHT-Radio, Marshall News Messenger, and Meadowbrook Funeral Home for their kind assistance with the procession.

Ms. Anderson concluded: “Most importantly, we want to ensure that the logistics for the procession will provide for the health and safety of all veterans and participants involved. But, we also want to make sure that we, as a community, don’t miss an opportunity to express how profoundly we appreciate our Veterans and all they have given and sacrificed for our nation. We appreciate them, not just on Veterans Day, but every day.”

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Dr. Shaun Kelehan Letter

Editor’s note:
This letter appeared on the Access Heath Systems facebook. Since reades were encouraged to share it on social media, I have taken the liberty of posting it on this website.

To whom it may concern,

My name is Shaun B Kelehan, MD. I have been licensed in Texas for 20 years and have practiced in Marshall for the last 17+ years. I am writing this statement only to protect my staff and my family from any more heartache brought on by the allegations of sexual misconduct reported by a 45 year old male patient (My Patient–MP).

There is much misinformation already on Facebook about this. I will take the highroad and not detail my side of the story because I do not want to reveal information regarding MP that is not already publicly available.

Everything that happened that led to the Texas Medical Board decision on October 28, 2020 occurred prior to April 20 17. In April 2017, I passed a lie detector test 100% to clear my name. A Grand Jury looked into the allegations made by MP to the police against me and determined that no charges should be brought against me. That was in July 2017. Prior to the Grand Jury making its final decision, MP demanded a large sum of money from me in exchange for him dropping his allegations. Since his allegations were 100% false, I refused his attempt at extortion.

The Medical Board panel was made up of two doctors and a public member (not 12 members as falsely reported on someone’s Facebook page). The panel heard testimony from Dr Michael Arambula, an expert witness in forensic psychiatry and sex addictions. He is also the ex-Medical Board president. He spent five hours with me earlier this week before the hearing interviewing me and another five hours hearing the audio tapes and seeing the evidence. He told the panel that he felt after thorough review of the record and my examination that I had not done any of the things MP said I had done, and in fact that it was “highly unlikely” for me to ever do anything like that in the future.

I disagree with the Board’s decision. However, the Board believed in me enough to allow me to continue to see female patients, and I have brought in another physician to see my male patients while I am temporarily unable to see male patients. My clinic remains open for business and I look forward to my clinic continuing care for you as we have since 2003.

I appreciate all of the support my community has given me. I know most, if not all, of you who know me firsthand know that I was not capable of what MP said I did. I write this for you as a thank you for your continued love and support in this matter.It’s almost embarrassing for me to ask for everyone to pray for me yet again. But when you’re doing so, please say an added prayer for all of my perpetrators to find some kind of joy in their lives so they don’t keep going through life trying to ruin the lives of others.

Deepest love to my son who has to go through this with me and to my family and friends in Marshall, Texas. I feel a loss….another hole in my heart that will take time to mend.

All my love,
Shaun Kelehan MD

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A VERY SAD STORY

By Ron Munden
November 1, 2020

The first thing I did after posting the story about Dr. Kelehan and the Texas Medical Board’s decision was to write an email to a friend. It said:

“I have known about this for 9-months. Every day I hoped it was not true, but I knew there was audio and video to prove it true.”

A short time later he replied:

“This is one of the saddest stories I have read in a very long time. We have been patients since we moved to Marshall. We have always thought how lucky we were to have Dr. K as our doctor. What more can I say, “So very sad.”

As I normally do with articles, I went on facebook and posted a link to the article. I expected people to respond. Here are a few of the responses**:

“Ron very disappointed in your handling of this, first I do not believe anything George Smith says,I believe he has been the one pushing this the whole time,by the way you are innocent until proven guilty”

“Why the hell do you get a thrill of putting other people’s business on social media. I myself support dr kelehan. But you will one day reap what you sow.”

“You and George are both Cancers for our city which you seem to hate. I would say, why don t you leave Marshall, but George Smith left decades ago but cannot keep from being a cancer to our city.”

I am not surprised by these comments and I fully support peoples’ rights to make remarks on facebook.

Dr. Kelehan is one of the most liked people in Marshall.

I have known Dr.Kelehan and his wife since they moved to Marshall. I worked with his wife doing photography and advertising the entire time she owned Under the Texas Sun. Later I did photography work for Dr. Kelehan when he opened Access Family Health. I have always liked him and despite what has happened I still do.

That being said, I make no apology for posting the article. The Texas Medical Board’s findings is news, and it is media’s responsibility to publish that news and make it available to the public.

For 10 years, I have posted good news stories and bad news stories. On several occasions I have posted stories that I wished I did not have to post but I posted them because I believe it is media’s responsibility to publish all of the news, not to censor the news.

To meet that commitment, I have a policy that I will print anyone’s Letter to the Editor if it is signed and does not contain known lies. That policy is still in place and I encourage anyone to submit letters.

I am pleased that both KMHT and the Marshall News Messenger have chosen to report on this story. That is what media should do.

Finally. Yes, this is a very sad story. There are no victors only losers, but this is a story that must be told.

**Editor’s note:

I posted the social media communications I received exactly as I received them. Nothing was altered including words, spelling, etc.

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Sidebar – Questions and Answers

Q: During the past three and a half years, since the sexual assault by Dr. Kelehan, what has been your state of mind?

A: Reflective. When life slows down, especially when one puts down alcohol and drugs after years of using them as a means of emotional support and “medication”, you’re left with a very raw “you”.

I have had to concentrate on looking at the harm I’ve done to others as a result of entertaining such an extremely selfish view of life.

That’s what drugs and alcohol do. They demand you remain selfish in an effort to keep you dependent and willing to do anything to obtain them. But, it must be noted that examining the harm you’ve done to others includes moments that you must also consider the harm that you may have done to yourself. That sort of reflection involves examining the person that I would or could have been without alcohol and drugs. That’s not easy.

That reflection, in order to be effective, requires me to divorce myself from regret. As I write this, I’m still plagued by this regret. But, I’m told that this will pass.

Q: After the no bill decision by the grand jury in 2018, what kept you going to seek justice?

A: I don’t think I was seeking “justice” after the no-bill. I don’t know if that can be had considering the politics involved.

I’m not even sure if there is such a thing as justice in this situation. I wrote a letter to the medical board as a cathartic exercise. It was suggested, by a therapist, that I write myself a letter forgiving myself for placing myself in that position. Also, as a “message in a bottle” exercise,

I was asked to write a letter to a governing body and, after mailing the letter, forget about it. I did forget about it. The medical board didn’t.

Q: When you contacted the Texas Medical Board to file charges, did you think you had a chance of vindication or were you just going through the motions, trying anything to get justice.

A: I had no expectations. And, after the political (situation)in East Texas, I was jaded and carried around the idea that no one would care.

Q: What were your thoughts during the hearing? At the time the board announced its decision?

A: I was relieved to have been given the opportunity to tell my story and have it behind me. I wasn’t too anticipatory concerning the verdict. It was almost a non-issue in my mind. I truly felt better after simply testifying and that’s all I was seeking to begin with.

Q: There will be a followup hearing by the medical board to determine if Dr. Kelehan is permanently suspended from practicing medicine, but the decision to forbid him or any physicians assistants from seeing patients, administering any prescriptions for drugs or do telemedicine consults is pretty crippling for a practicing physician.

Your thoughts?

A: I believe the whole affair is sad. There is no “gain” in this situation. I’ve never said Dr. Kelehan is a bad person or a bad physician.I don’t think there’s anyone on this earth who can say that.

Conversely, there’s not many people who can say I lived a “good” life. There’s plenty of people that can rightly claim that I was a “bad” person by all the normal standards of society. Even so, I don’t know when I stopped being a “person”, even with the adjectives, and should simply be okay with being drugged and taken advantage of. That never sat right with me.

In a way, that’s the kind of attitude that contributed to keeping me intoxicated over all those years. I always discounted my worth as a human and accepting that behavior from another human is nothing but an exercise in self loathing.

I simply needed to talk about what happened and find a way of releasing myself from my past surrounding that time of my life.

Q: Watching your mother Sandy Dunham testify for Dr. Kelehan must have been hard. Thoughts about watching that?

A: I was only disturbed when my mother testified. I knew that was a possibility. In fact, I would have been surprised if they’d not called her as a character witness.

I was only disturbed because she looked very tired and I knew, once again, I was partly responsible for that. You see, it’s been some years since I’ve seen my mother and not many kind words were passed between us in the prior years.

I didn’t disagree with anything she said about my prior dishonesty. And, knowing her well, I knew she was fine with relaying all the dirty inter-family secrets that would discredit me. That’s never been a problem for her.

My problems with addiction and alcohol have always been something that she refused to look at from a logical perspective. Just as she refused to ever review the evidence in this situation, my mother refused to acknowledge alcohol as an issue beyond, “just don’t drink”.

In 20 years of multiple rehabs and visits to ICU surrounding alcohol, she never once visited me or called me.

My mother’s take on alcoholism was always an emotional one. And a regurgitation of my past in that hearing was possibly emotionally soothing for her. My past is low hanging fruit and I really take no offense to it being used.

I truly hope she felt better afterwards. I certainly owe her any amount of latitude she needs in an effort to “feel” better.

Q: Any other thoughts?

A: Life is hard. People are strange. Tragedy is the dirt… while joy is the diamond

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Dr. Shaun Bobbi Kelehan of Marshall Practice of Medicine Curtailed

By George S. Smith
Retired Editor and Publisher

Dr. Shaun Bobbi Kelehan of Marshall had his practice of medicine severely curtailed Wednesday, October 28 by the Texas Medical Board following an 11-hour disciplinary hearing. Kelehan was accused of administering drugs to a male patient and then sexually abusing him in March of 2017.

Specifically, according to a release by the board, Kelehan’s “continuation in the unrestricted practice of medicine poses ‘a continuing threat to the public welfare.’”

The board further found Kelehan “engaged in nonconsensual sexual encounters with a patient and administered medications to the patient during these encounters.” The board determined that no “record of treatment” was provided to the patient.

Based on a complaint from Marshall native Steven Trey Wood, which was backed up by video and audio recordings, Marshall Police Department investigation documents and a months-long investigation by Samer Shobassy, board litigation staff attorney, Kelehan was handed an initial harsh punishment. The board decreed:

Kelehan could no longer administer medical treatment to male patients;
He can not prescribe prescription drugs to male patients.
The doctor’s Physician Assistants (PA) at his clinics could not see male patients;
Female patients can only be seen at his clinics; and
Kelehan cannot provide telemedicine sessions.

Additionally, the board will meet within a few weeks, after an evaluation of medical needs in the communities in which he has clinics to determine whether to permanently suspend his license to practice medicine.

Kelehan is owner of Marshall’s Access Family Health clinic on Alamo Boulevard. He is also listed on the internet as an owner and a physician at a clinic by the same name on Judson Road in Longview, a third clinic on Fifth Street in Tyler and another one on Wells Branch Parkway West in Pflugerville.

He is a 2000 graduate of the University of Texas School of Medicine in Houston. He also is listed as a co-owner of Wellness Properties of America, a property owner and management company that buys and builds commercial buildings.

In mid-2017, charges brought against Kelehan following an investigation by Marshall Police Department’s Det. Rob Farnham . Harrison County District Attorney Coke Solomon, recused himself for the case, citing the fact Kelehan was his personal physician.

A special prosecutor from Longview was appointed and a grand jury was called. The grand jury declined to bring charges, delivering a nolle proseui ruling (will not prosecute). Wood was not called to testify, nor did the grand jury members hear or see the recordings of Kelehan the medical board heard of him admitting the acts.

During the police investigation of the charges, Wood was requested to meet with Kelehan and make, first, audio recordings, which he did. He was later requested to make video recordings, and secured two videos, with Kelehan admitting the sexual encounter. In one of the recordings, Kelehan admitted a previous sexual encounter, which Wood did not remember taking place.

Wood is a graduate of Marshall High School, a former Maverick football player and a former student at Texas Tech. He is also a former blogger for the Marshall News Messenger, winning two first place awards in state press association contests for his articles.

Wood will be the first to admit that for most of his life, he has gone out of his way to get into trouble. While he said it would be an “easy out” to blame myriad circumstances in his life for “wasting big part of his life,” he blames no one but himself. “I chose to do what I did at the time I did it,” he said. ‘Me. All the misfortunes in my life fall right back on me.”

In addition to trying every addictive substance he could obtain, he spent more than two years in a Texas prison for “robbing a drug dealer.” He makes no excuses for his actions – “Whatever trouble I got into, I deserved it.”

Of the sexual assault, Wood said, “I am an alcoholic who has been clean for almost two years.” A regular at Austin Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, he said, “I know what hitting rock bottom means. But, nothing in my life led me to deal with a situation like this.”

Wood said, “I was betrayed at the hands of a friend. A homosexual encounter … no, apparently two encounters … that I have never thought about on any level, was pushed on me by a person I knew was gay but who also implicitly knew I was not gay. I had derailed previous attempts at ‘gay play.’ When he previously tried to put his hands down my pants, I would tell him to stop, that I didn’t think it was funny. He had always complied.”

In March of 2017, when Wood readily admitted he was at rock-bottom during a breakup of a personal relationship. He went to Kelehan residence in Marshall for help and drugs to deal with the pain, emotional and physical. Kelehan let him stay in his guest house.

Wood said, “He decided to do what he wanted to do to me, to take advantage of my self-destructive condition by lying to me and administering drugs that incapacitated me; the drugs basically paralyzed me.”

After the incident, this writer, a longtime friend drove to Marshall, picked up Wood and took him to his home in Southwest Arkansas almost a week, until a visit to a Texas rehab facility could be arranged.

A surprise witness at the medical board hearing was Sandy Durham of Marshall, Wood’s mother. She testified for the defense. When asked by Shobassy if she had seen the video of Kelehan admitting he had sexually assaulted her son, she said she had not. She was then asked if she did view the video that showed Kelehan admitting the abuse, if Kelehan then told her that he did not commit the act, would she believe her son or Kelehan. She replied she would believe Kelehan.

Shobassy had no further questions for Dunham.

The Texas Medical Board is the state agency mandated to regulate the practice of medicine by Doctors of Medicine (MDs) and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs) in Texas. The Board consists of 12 physician members and seven public members appointed for a six-year term by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.

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