LETTER TO THE EDITOR, David Box, Seward County

At the June 1 Seward County Commission meeting, Commissioner Todd Stanton raised concerns about payroll coding, budget authority, and the use of county funds. I am not writing to argue those questions here. I am writing because I believe those concerns should not be reduced to personalities or politics. They should be understood in the context of the responsibilities each commissioner assumes upon taking office.

Commissioner Stanton wasn’t acting as judge and jury. He was asking the Board to examine potential statutory and budget concerns. I applaud any commissioner willing to ask hard questions. Commissioners, whether elected or appointed, are not placed in office to avoid uncomfortable issues. They serve to protect the public treasury, follow the budget, and ensure county government operates within the law.

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, news of the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts had already spread throughout the colonies. This Congress would not be like the first; it became in fact the first government of the united colonies for the next six years. Each colony had one vote, regardless of population or number of delegates it sent; it was simply a representative assembly, but it exercised legislative, executive, and judicial powers.

L&T Publisher Earl Watt

Attending the annual Kansas Press Association convention last week Was an encouragement as well as an eye-opener to the challenges of providing local news.

It’s not easy to report on friends and acquaintances who are being questioned by the public. It’s much easier to either ignore it altogether or try to defend the actions we know are not appropriate.

And many outlets do just that.

But we have a duty to inform, even when it means losing a friendship.

THE POSTSCRIPT, Carrie Classon

“The Bells”

“What’s up with the bells?” I asked someone who looked as if he might know something.

I live near a cathedral. I can’t hear the cathedral bells from our apartment, but I walk past the church coming and going on my walk every day and, when I got back from Mexico this spring, I discovered that one of the bells had stopped ringing.

I am sure you have heard bells like these. Sometimes the bells are now recorded, but these are the real thing. There is a short melody at a quarter past the hour and a longer one that plays at half past. At a quarter to the hour, almost the complete melody plays, but it stops early on a different note. Then, on the hour, the full melody plays. It is very satisfying.