Letter: parent not responsible for truancy

In response to John Simm's letter in the Nevada Appeal dated Dec. 5, one of

his premises is a generality and when examined, false.

He states parents have always been responsible for the actions of their children. It is true that parents have been held financially responsible for acts of vandalism or any property damages perpetrated by their children. The idea that parents have commonly been criminally prosecuted for their offspring's truancy is ludicrous. Children have been taken to juvenile hall in cases paralleling this one.

Based on the facts provided in the appeal, this child should have been cooling her youthful wanderlust in juvenile hall, not the parent who was responsibly doing everything in her power to get the kid to go to school. The parents have not been jailed. How this poor working mother could have prevented her daughter from sneaking out of school, remains a mystery.

This incident is a perfect example of government enacting too many laws, and a bureaucracy that is out of control. An innocent, hard working citizen has had their rights trampled upon by overzealous bureaucrats. It is also highly doubtful that the mother would have been jailed if she were the daughter of a legislator or other high public official. This was truly a travesty of justice.

MICHAEL KENEDY

Carson City