Seward County voters will not participate in a recall election this fall.
     Rob Schroeder, who spearheaded an effort to collect enough signatures to force a recall, said in a written statement April 16 that he did not collect the requiste number of signatures.
     "In the interest of protecting those that signed, the names will not be submitted to the clerk and will therefore not become public record," Schroeder said.
     "Despite many claims of ulterior motives, I wish to reiterate that my actions were not based on a personal agenda. As I have stated before, Joe Yocum and Wendy Elston have never wronged me personally or professionally. The court's decision and testimony from the trial strongly indicate that serious mistakes were made in the investigation and prosecution of this case. When county government makes mistakes, it is the voters' responsibility to ask critical questions rather than turn a blind eye.
     "I join the rest of the county in anticipation of the appeal. I hope that the appeal answers the community's question about why during the investigation and prosecution of this case our elected officials broke state statute and repeatedly failed to provide Lucas Peterson his constitutional rights."
     Schroeder's drive stemmed from a ruling by Seward County District Court Judge Alan Gless, who said felony charges of child abuse, death of a child, and unlawful burial filed against Peterson should be dropped and replaced with a misdemeanor charge of concealing the death of a human.
     Gless found that Seward County sheriff's deputies had not read Peterson his Miranda rights before each interrogation. He also found that Peterson's actions in leading deputies to the body of his daughter, 11-month-old Trista, in April of 2007 came as a result of a cooperative agreement. The agreement, which was not in writing, said felony charges would be dropped if Peterson took officers to his daughter's body.
     Appeals of Gless's rulings are pending at the state Court of Appeals.