Tenino mayor blames news coverage for son's beating
TENINO, Wash. -- The mayor of Tenino says his teenage son was brutally beaten while at school on Monday, and he says it all has to do with a controversial news story.
Mayor Eric Strawn made headlines throughout the region in September after he was caught performing what some witnesses called "lewd acts" with a woman in a city owned car.
Strawn said his 15-year-old son, Gavin, has been harassed and bullied at school ever since those reports came out. He said Gavin was attacked at school on Monday and had his two front teeth knocked out.
Gavin, who's a freshman, went to the emergency room at noon after a fellow Tenino High School student smashed the boy's face into a wall three times, Strawn said.
The worst part, according to Strawn, is that this wasn't the first time Gavin has been bullied. Fellow students have been making derogatory remarks and threatening him since since late September, when Strawn was caught sharing what he called an "intimate moment" with a female friend while parked outside of a Lacey fitness club.
Worried the story would adversely affect his son, Strawn said he met with Tenino high's principal and a counselor a day or two after the incident and asked them to keep an eye on Gavin. He also said he addressed the school board and superintendent in late September and was told the issue would be handled.
Strawn said school administrators have yet to hand down a punishment for the boy who allegedly assaulted Gavin.
Mayor Eric Strawn made headlines throughout the region in September after he was caught performing what some witnesses called "lewd acts" with a woman in a city owned car.
Strawn said his 15-year-old son, Gavin, has been harassed and bullied at school ever since those reports came out. He said Gavin was attacked at school on Monday and had his two front teeth knocked out.
Gavin, who's a freshman, went to the emergency room at noon after a fellow Tenino High School student smashed the boy's face into a wall three times, Strawn said.
The worst part, according to Strawn, is that this wasn't the first time Gavin has been bullied. Fellow students have been making derogatory remarks and threatening him since since late September, when Strawn was caught sharing what he called an "intimate moment" with a female friend while parked outside of a Lacey fitness club.
Worried the story would adversely affect his son, Strawn said he met with Tenino high's principal and a counselor a day or two after the incident and asked them to keep an eye on Gavin. He also said he addressed the school board and superintendent in late September and was told the issue would be handled.
Strawn said school administrators have yet to hand down a punishment for the boy who allegedly assaulted Gavin.
So this is the same mayor who first was caught pulling a Clinton in front of a Health Club, and the same mayor who was promoting t shirts for the distribution of marijuana, and the same mayor who wants to get rid of the Tenino Police Department. Hmm, he may want to rethink the Police Department idea or consider a better dental plan, but what the heck it gives him more press which I think is whats more important to him anyway instead of whats best.
Thank you i dont need a restraning order i have 5 german sheperds gaurd dogs and i know all about them im long time friends of their family that cannot stand that side of their fam.giving them a bad name.not all are bad . But for my son at school and threats by his adult family members .his relatives have told me i should get one on them.
And only from tenino. unless your the parent or a student that is involved in this you shouldent be posting nothing ! We dont fight at my house nobody in my house has ever been introuble with the law for drugs or violance . Were it seems to run through alot of the stawn's family .
My son has never been kicked out of school for fighting get facts straight befor posting . And never went to another school .....only in tenino...and yes let the law deal with this.but i would like to see the video that some of the kids took since the camras at school didnt work and the boys got in fight right in front of the office windows .i dont see how none of the teachers didnt see a crowd of kids right in front of them......and only in tenino !you sure thank you know my son why dont you post your name so people know whos spreading lies this sounds like a stawn talking..hes not a person that looks for a fight but will stand up for him self if put in a spot were he has to defend him silf against a bully My son has never been kicked out of tenino for fighting ever!!!!!! I cannot weight to goto court . My son use to be best friends with gavins cousin tell i made my son stop going to his house becouse of his mom and sister are mager drug heads and yes they are stawns too in tenino.so my son does not hang out in tenino .hes only their for school and sports .and tenino does not protect their kids only there asses .
I would like everyone to know stawns son is a bully he has been trying to fight my son for over a yr.but since his dad got in trouble hes gotten more aggresive with my son and when gavin found out that my sons cousin cought his dad with that girl at his place of work hes been pushing my son harder to fight him even calling him out on facebook making lude comments .he pushed him and took a swing at my son right in front of the school where was the teachers .my son had every right to defend him self .my son is 5 ft 2in and 125lbs gavin is 5ft11 and takes weight training for football my son does not...and my son is kicked out of school for 10days ...gavin has seen his dad not get punished for what he did and took it to far thinking he wont ...where is my sons justice
 @wahuntress I tell you what this is sad but the Stawn family thinks they can do what they want and not have any punishment . Mr straw is a bully to an 18 year old as seen on you tube Tenino city meeting . All i have to say is the apple does not fall fare from the tree. Think your so cool and pick on smaller kids well some times you may run across that one kid that stands up for him self and oops you get beat up. Then you cry wolf that you were being bullied. Being a bully has its back fires and kids are sick of being bullied and will protect them selves. From the kids i have talked to your son was protecting him self .
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 @only in tenino well guessing you do not have the facts really none of us do as you post you heard the strawn kid did not throw the fist punch as i heard he did.  get the police report and see what happened oh that is right the only report i have seen is what Mr Strawn is telling komo. I feel bad for both kids. Just a note to the other kids parents get a restraining order on Mr Strawn because he turn on a dime plus some of the threats from grown adult relatives of Mr Strawn. I would worry myself.
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& Freckles.......Its really the child the community is helping! & hopefully we will be leaving our kids with a compassionate world! Whether or not the mayor has done wrong, If it were me, I would want someone to help my child! I feel bad for his son, he has no choice in his fathers actions! ):Â
myfamilyis1st.......One of the 2 "fighters" were at school yesterday attending normal classes, while a child (who wasnt part of the physical fight) is sitting in 3 days of ISS for the same incident! I agree that both "fighters" should be suspended but they weren't(yet)! Nice no tolerance policy Tenino School district!! BTW My 8 yr old is still being bullied & I have spoke up multiple times! since sept. 2012 my lil guy has been choked, slapped, punched and kick in the side resulting in a shoe size black bruise(all seperate incidents) and not one time was a child punished for it! My little guy is a sraight A student & has never been in trouble and they still dont take the little guy serious or protect him enough!!!
 @Christine you should be proactive call the police, pull your child from school, or seriously file a lawsuit against the school district if what you say is true. you are your childs only advocate. this is horrible.
 @Christine im sorry to here that christine but if your son is eight and these things are happening. As a parent i would be in that class volunteer at the school.  he is 8 then he is at parkside school and sorry but they have an amazing staff i cant see them not doing any thing. And i also you keep saying your child children are strait A students and on are on  honor roll what does that matter are you saying there being bullied because they are smart??There are kids that are be bullied to the point they want to or do kill them selves. I am sick of every one blaming schools extra every time there kid has a confrontation with another kid they yell bulling when the child being bulled for real they miss it.  There are 20+ kids to a class . and one teacher has to baby sit them all. Call the parents of child oe children as you say being a bully to your son.You say they don't take him serious come on he is 8 no one would walk away from an 8 year old that is being abused (shoe size bruises) you should have call police if you thought another child did that to him.
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Hey maybe the public would be interested in knowing that the lovely mayor went around town and asked for donations so he could get his son's surgery deductible paid for. Â And the real kicker is PEOPLE PAID IT!!!! Â What kind of world are we leaving to our kids???
This is just another in a long line of disgraceful behavior by the Mayor.Â
 @Freckles I think we need to just stop once a scam-er always one:( Get a card bored box and pen stand on the corner and expect every one else pay for it .Â
This article makes me sick in many ways for one i am sick of Mr Stawn and the media he is getting . For His son its sad but this right up is only what Mr strawn is saying he was not there as a parent yes i would be pissed and want to know what happened i would be calling police extra not Komo news that's is most likely on speed dial sad !! still thinking of him self not his family. I have children that go to Tenino and love the school . There are kids that don't like one another and what my children and some other kids that were there said they planed to fight each other after school and Mr Strawns son and the other boy both were out side the school pushing each other they were both fighting with each other Mr Strawn son was just the one who got the bad end when you push and want to fight no good will come from it you may even loose . So sad that Mr Strawn is saying the other kid attacked his son because of Mr Stawn actions . Get the Story first !!! Mr Strawn ask the police to talk to the kids who witnessed it they dont care what you have done they just know what they have seen. its sad that this happened to your son. But get the fact and your family members who are threatening the other kid right here on this sight may want to also.
sorry not done as a parent and a moral respectable person i would feel responsible and do what ever needed to take care of my family if they were in any way effected bye my actions . Man up take your blame in this so sad . Kids Learn from there parents take responsibility If you truly think this was bulling  because of you. Maybe your son was the bully (if son like father) and the other boy was sick of it and just fraught back you don't really know .Bad taste to even talk to reporters bad bad bad all together .
The Tenino school district didnt even suspend the boy for his actions but a student who wasnt part of the fight got ISS for "allegedly" video taping it! This student happens to be the victims friend and the 1st person to intervene & stop the fight! The student that committed the assult was in school today and I feel this is putting all the other student at risk!!!! its pathetic but this isnt the 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd time Tenino schools have failed to discipline a student for assult! This same student that is getting ISS for 3 days, who wasnt even a part in the fight, got his ribs broke by another student last year & nothing happened in that case either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Something needs to be done about the corrupt, retaliatory, school district that continuously breaks students civil rights in huge ways!! Â
The school district has strict policies laid out by the state as to how to handle these situations. They are doing exactly what that should be doing. The police are involved. I suspect the one boy is in alot of trouble. And not to say that bullying or fighting should be ok but the Strawn boy was bullying the other kid on facebook and then continued it at school. There are always two sides to every story. And I wouldn't believe any story the Mayor told.
 @Christine well he was not at school so he chose not to come ????? they are Suspended there fault or not both boys
 @myfamilyis#1  @Christine wtf are you talking about jackass?!?Â
A note to the mayor-----------
Man up and take the blame for your families problems. It was not the media that did
a stupid thing. It was you, and they simply reported the story, although it was more
suitable as an article in a tabloid than in area newspapers.
The individuals that are responsible for bulllying should be punished, but it is you and
not the media that created this environment for your family and it is you are responsible
for this entire mess.
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I suspect if the people of Tenino have any brains, this is your last term. You have no moral fiber, no ethical backbone, no consideration for your child.
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Secondly, to the parents of the cowards responsible for taking a father's stupidity out on his son - you must be real proud of the cowards you raised. Â I suspect they inherited their lack of character from you.
Seriously, Mr. Mayor, you want us to believe that the media is responsible? Â The responsible parties are 1) the kids who beat up your son, and 2) you. Â If you had acted with integrity, there would never have been any media reports.Â
 @justanothervoter so you ARE saying it's the medias fault?
I've just got to stop reading the news, I mean, lies, inaccuracies, etc. Asking KOMO or any other news media to get their facts straight would be like asking for a million dollars.Â
FYI!!!! My nephew has never started any fights in school!!! And as for Tenino High school, i attended that school and the do not have a very good anti bullying system and thats a fact. If you don't like what im telling you then your more then welcome to come to my house. And for the lil punk that beat my nephew up watch your back!!!
 @Ray Jennings This post puts Tenino High School in a poor light just like you're attempting to do.
But it's not because of the subject of whatever garbled, babbling gibberish you're spouting; it's your complete failure to learn the most basic rules of grammar, capitalization and punctuation.Â
Wow, threatening kids and intimidation seems to run in the family!
Mr Mayor, instead of blaming everyone else, try taking responsibility for this. Apologize to your son for what you have done to your family. Why would you blame the media when you yourself are the one always contacting them. It is YOU!
 @own itnot a good one...
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Sounds like the Mayor is blaming the media for this whole thing. Maybe if it is the fault of the media, he, himself should not have contacted the media and taken care of this by having a true sit down with the school. As usual, it sounds like he takes NO RESPONSIBILTY for what his family has been going through. I don't believe that his son was innocent in the fight but I do think that perhaps he had been bullied and had enough. Grow up Mr Mayor and take some responsibility instead of as usual blaming everyone else.Â
Why are some of you so angry and judgemental? Are some of you passing judgement because you are trying to hide something in your own closet? "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
The comment made about Clinton;  "at least having enough smarts and to do his job done in the office private..." Where does smarts and private come into it since the whole world knows about it. Why is this everybodys business anyway. Aww gee! Did he tick some people off when he seemed to make public some information that was aparently swept under the carpet for a long time?
Please forgive me for also taking the name Justsayin; not to be confused with justsayin. (Although I liked your comment.)
Perhaps if the Mayor acted like a mayor and his conduct was above reproach his son would not be a victim. The boy deserves better but so does Tenino. The town should start by removing the car from the mayor's use. The next step is to vote him out of office. Â Â
People should not believe everything they hear... Especially from mr strawn. This district has like others a strong anti bullying and harassment policy. Mr Strawn not only did NOT have a sit down with high school administrators about this .. He has NEVER been to the Tenino school board about this or anything else for that matter!! Son started this fight and is not missing his teeth nor was a wall involved!!!! Komo please get accurate information before you trash a high school or district!!!!
I am not related to either of the fighters but I know 1st hand that Tenino does not have a very good anti bullying policy! I have a couple honor roll students myself that have been bullied & nothing gets done about it no matter how much I call or how many suggestions I have made! in fact I have pulled my son out of Tenino and home schooled him due to a teacher bullying him and nothing was done about it!!
maybe komo should get both sides of the story
So more news coverage will make his son's life at school better? The Mayor needs to stay out of the spotlight. He should also consider that he brought this down on his son's head. It's only been 24 hours and he's already leaked the story to the press. The school district and high school haven't had a chance to investigate the incident. There is a zero tolerance policy for bullying in public schools. Both of the boys will be expelled or suspended. Bullying is not ok and neither is fighting but no matter how the schools handle it, it's a fact of life. KIds are going to fight. Parents have a duty to their children to at the very least , try to conduct themselves in moraland ethical ways. If you are a public official, you are held to an even greater standard. I feel sorry for the Mayor's son. Life in high school is hard enough without all the added turmoil his father is causing.
@ICU2TV :  Are you serious? "There is a zero tolerance policy for bullying in public schools." What planet do you live on, anyway? That is absolutely not true. Many schools don't deal with bullying and the consequences show up in the news everyday.
I don't know how they handle it elsewhere but on earth and in Tenino, bullying is taken very seriously. If there is a fight and both kids are involved in throwing punches, wrestling around, etc., both will be suspended or expelled. If acts of bullying are not reported to school officials, there is very little they can do. The school officials are not omniscient. They have to know there is a problem. By the same logic, if the school officials are not make aware of threats to use a gun and a gun is snuck in to the school, there are tragic consequences. We could, of course, have every child searched before entering the school, monitor all emails, facebook, phones, IM, have video recorders in all school rooms, halls, surrounding the schools. That might make it easier.
Hope your children (if you have any) are not learning tolerance and how to relate to people from you. I have no idea what incident you are talking about. I was addressing this incident. And I stand by what I what I said and, while I think your remarks are way out of line, am glad I live in a country where you are free to spout whatever idiocy you like.
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 @ICU2TV You are a blatant liar! How does a kid who gets his ribs broke get expelled but the one who did it stayed in school with no punishment? You are an idiot! keep your yap shut when you know nothing about what happened!
 @wheresthecommonsense  @ICU2TV Well, isn't it "Zero Tolerance" if the school has an assembly about bullying, then completely ignores its existence it the school halls?Â
If merely stating a policy made the problem go away, then ICU2TV's comment would be accurate. However, under the same logic, stating that all schools are "gun free zones" would mean that there are no school shootings.Â
@ICU2TV finally somebody who gets it
What I don't get is why this student who beat his son, waited nearly 2 months before doing it. That doesn't sound right. Maybe the mayor's son was mouthing off and that's why he got the snot beat out of him. There is clearly more to this story than the mayor having a tryst with some woman in his car back in September.Â
 @PrairieDawn There certainly does appear to be unanswered facts in this matter, but who's to say that the "bully" hadn't been bullying the mayor's son for 2 months with little jabs, "accidentally running into him in the hallway"- (Oops, didn't see you there before I lowered my shoulder into your chest...), and after 2 months of that the Mayor's son decided that he'd had enough?
"Strawn said school administrators have yet to hand down a punishment for the boy who allegedly assaulted Gavin."
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What the hell? Why is this guy waiting for the administrators at the school to do anything? Why doesn't the MAYOR call 911 and get the POLICE to go arrest the other kid?
I hope that the school administration and the bullies are all held totally accountable.
Maybe the person the school assigned to keep an eye on him was having an intimate moment.
 @IrishMike we do not have enough money to pay our teachers as it is or have new books ,our school is falling apart now we want the school to baby sit . come on there is only so much we can do why did Gavin choose to walk out the door with him instead of walking in to the office ??????
note that the mayors son did throw the first punch so this was an act of self defence
Note to THS student....even if you are hit 1st it is still illegal to brutally hurt the person in return! only necessary force is ok! & this was far from that!! & FYI Gavin never hit Joey!!!!!
 @Christine Brutally really  so if my child is punched they just punch back and wait till the next punch i don't think so . You punch back till you know your not going to be hurt back and your safe to walk away. A threat to you small or large you protect your self ....... Sit and call names extra when you throw a punch you are trying to physically hurt some one no but about it you have chose to go down that road . Not saying its at all right but protect your self......