VansOpinion - EXTORTION ATTEMPT FAILED - VANSOPINION BACK ONLINE

Its a rather long story as to why vansopinion.com went "off the air" but at long last, Lincoln's "news behind the news source" is up and running. Since there may be legal action against the young man who designed the web page and his wife, it would not be appropriate to share all of the gory details of what took place at this time, however, let is suffice to say, a young couple attempted to "put the heavy hand" on Van for more bucks and their game didn't work.

Some time ago, I hired a young chap - Derek Winterstien - to build for me a web page since I know little to nothing about how to do such. At the time, he and his wife had or had access to a server and indicated they would give me a real good monthly rate if I would allow them to "host" vansopinion.com on their server. In fact, I even agreed to pay for a year in advance so there would be no need for monthly billing and they indicated they needed the money at the time. Part of the deal was that Derek was to design my web site in a format which could be run on other computers if for any reason I needed or wanted to change servers or if I wanted to buy my own server. Additionally, he was to provide me with a "back-up" copy of the program which incorporated the design and contents of vansopinion.com and to provide me with daily "hit" or reader statistics.

Derek was given a partial advance payment on the design work since he indicated he was out of work and "could use the bucks." When the design was up and running, he was paid the entire balance which we had agreed upon. Further, he was given a check covering an advance payment for hosting my web page on his server which he referred to as "Robotz.com."

It was months after the payment was made that Derek finally produced the agreed upon "back-up" copy disks. He was doing business under the name "Trans American Software" but wanted checks made payable to Lisa Winterstien, his wife.

As the first year of operation was ending, I received notice of a substantial increase in the monthly cost of server hosting and Lisa was not requesting but rather demand that I pay for a year in advance. Derek and Lisa refused to provide any surety they would be in business for the entire forthcoming year. Further, they refused to supply me with an employer identification number or a social security number needed for tax filing. In short, it was either pay the increased amount on their terms or they would shut down the web site. If their conduct did not qualify as extortion, it came dangerously close. They knew I had paid for advertising of the web site in a local business publication. They also knew they could inhibit my using vansopinion.com to publish information about candidates in the spring elections. And finally, they felt they had me "over a barrel" and would cave-in to their demands. They were sadly mistaken!

When I refused to be "ripped-off" by the two young people I tried to help at a time when, according to them, they were hurting for money, they bushwhacked vansopinion.com. First, they posted a message which came on the screen when my reader tried to "log on" to vansopinion.com indicating "The domain name you are requesting is not being permitted on our equipment." Later they added a bottom line to their slanderous posting - "(ref): "van", "van valkenburg", vansopinion", "robert j van valkenburg", "bob van valkenburg", "non payment", "collections", "offensive content", "expletive language."

The childish if not slanderous action caused an investigation into the credibility of Derek and Lisa Winterstien. It was discovered their "company name" - "Trans American Software" - was a defunct trade name. The reason for it having expired or otherwise being removed from the active list by the Corporation Division of the Office of Nebraska's Secretary of State was not determined and is not known. It was further learned there never was a corporation by that name in our state. The reason checks were to be made payable to Lisa never was fully and clearly stated. Bottom line, I trusted a young couple and they tried to take undue advantage of a good thing.

For the readers information, Derek and Lisa Winterstien were paid ever single penny due to them for web page design and web-hosting on their server. There never was any "non payment" or "collections" involved in the now ended business relationship with them and, thus no justification for the slanderous comments the two of them caused to be posted about me on the Internet.

At no time was any profanity, ethnic or racial slurs made or tolerated on vansopinion.com and any statement to the contrary is an absolute fabrication.

The final lie was discovered when I made arrangements with a subsequent web page designer to take the disk provided by Derek and make vansopinion.com operable on another server. It was learned that Winterstien had used a format for the web page which was not compatible with any other local server.

So there you have it. My opinions relative to the most recent city elections were blocked by Derek and Lisa Winterstien in their attempt to extort additional money for the web page owner, Van Valkenburg & Associates, Inc.

When attempts were made to straighten out the mess with Derek by phone, he had the unmitigated gall to call in a "harassment" complaint to the Lincoln Police Department. Ample evidence was made able to appropriate authority that the Winterstiens had given "law enforcement" personnel false information - which is indeed a crime!

But their devious deeds have only causes a costly delay. They did not and will not get additional work from Van Valkenburg & Associates, Inc. There are plenty of good, reliable, honest and appreciative people who will do quality work for a reasonable price. I invite the business men and women in our community to call (402) 486-0000 for possible names of such people. Want to know the name and e-mail address of the chap who rescued vansopinion.com and put it back on the air? Call me, I'd like to share it with you.

It is regrettable Derek and Lisa Winterstien are still holding some of the early stories on vansopinion.com " hostage for ransom", but such is the price to be paid when you overly trust some people these days.


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