Editorial

Things get solved when you get involved

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Suppose they gave a war and nobody came?

That became quite the popular protest refrain during the Vietnam War years, although you can trace its relevance back to the "sometime they'll give a war and nobody will come" line in the 1930s Carl Sandberg prose poem, "The People, Yes."

But suppose we redirect that notion toward local government and citizen involvement today.

Suppose they conducted a public meeting and nobody came.

As reporters, we've actually seen that occur. But more often, what transpires is a handful of citizens attend, usually because they have a vested interest or a request for the school board, town board or city council.

Tuesday night, for example, the Greencastle City Council met for the first time in its new seven-member format and for the first time in the Mayor Bill Dory administration. There were more councilors at the front table than people in the audience at City Hall. In fact, if you eliminated department heads and media representatives, the general public actually numbered a paltry three at that meeting.

Putnam County Commissioners have experienced a similar fate. In fact, after splitting their twice-monthly meeting slate with morning and evening sessions for a number of years, the commissioners have opted for all morning meetings in 2016.

The evening session had been considered a convenience for citizens who cannot make a daytime meeting. However, seeing a general lack of engagement, the commissioners chose to move their second meeting to 9 a.m. as well.

"Looking at turnout, I think we get more people at the 9 a.m. meetings," Commissioner Rick Woodall reasoned.

At Cloverdale, the idea has even been floated about televising its meetings over YouTube (see story, Page 1) in an effort to reach a broader and younger audience that lives and dies with personal electronic devices. It may not happen but at least someone is trying to think outside the proverbial box.

Yet at least one Cloverdale Council member is uncertain, suggesting that young people should care enough to physically come to the meetings.

We all know getting involved isn't easy sometimes with all the distractions tugging on use in this day and age.

But getting involved and creating an engaged community is and always will be a great thing. For example, where would the splash park project have gone without the women of the Civic League? Citizen involvement has grown the farmers' market, helped the local music scene flourish and is at the very root of the great success of the Putnam County Fair.

So the local examples are there.

It's up to us to get more involved and assure that our local voices are heard on all issues of importance and substance. Governing shouldn't be done in a vacuum. Can't be done that way.

After all, things get solved when we get involved.