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Saints!

Friday
March 29th, 2024
L&T Opinions Page

earl watt newL&T Publisher Earl Watt

 

In a recent response from Starley Craig about the misgivings of previous city commissioners and previous city management, she made the statement that the paper’s position was that we should “move on,” which is absolutely correct.

What was incorrect was the additional statement that said we should move on “as if it had never happened and that we learned nothing from it.” Those words were never mentioned by us here at the newspaper.

Of course we should remember what happened, but we can’t dwell on it any longer, and that was our point.

Mrs. Craig also stated that “the paper knew” that the deal with Walmart violated the agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration.

At the time, no, we didn’t, and neither did most of the community.

But we asked questions. Managing Editor Emeritus Larry Phillips spent eight months researching this issue, and we made public records requests at the local and federal level to acquire the documents to report on it.

The fact is, Mrs. Craig is informed about the issue because the paper did its job in discovering the difficulties between the city and the FAA and wrote about them.

She is aware of the contract debacle between former City Manager Mark Hall and former Mayor Joe Denoyer because we reported on it.

I challenge anyone to find any other source for that information. You won’t, because we were the only news outlet to provide the public with that information.

masons lost treasures article

Mrs. Craig also said, “Our paper wants us to forget, forgive and ‘move forward,’ in spite of the fact that forward might be a step off the cliff.”

You won’t find the words “forget” or “forgive” in our Feb. 9 editorial. She wrote those herself.

She mentions it’s the paper’s job to “remind” the public of past misgivings.

Perhaps. When the time is right and the information is necessary.

But we aren’t going to rehash our past over and over.

There is a word for that type of behavior — repressive.

We have to move forward, and that doesn’t mean we forget what happened yesterday. It simply means we can’t live in yesterday and let that consume our tomorrow.

Towns that move forward are constantly improving, with street enhancements, park upgrades and even new schools. Towns that live in the past wither away because they never invest in themselves or believe in a better tomorrow.

I serve on the Seward County Historical Society, and I take pride in knowing that our past guides our future. By knowing who we are and what we’ve accomplished, we know that we can confidently move forward to even greater accomplishments in the future.

Mrs. Craig mentions some key missteps in the past, and they will never go away. What we can do is make sure we do not repeat those as we continue to find ways to expand our economy, enhance the quality of life for our residents and expand opportunities for those who choose to call this their home.

We won’t prejudge every new venture with gloom and doom projections, nor will we consider every recommendation a pie-in-the-sky silver bullet solution to our challenges.

Neither are realistic.

We take pride in keeping the community informed as the only news source willing to report on the tough issues. Mrs. Craig’s letter is proof we are doing our jobs.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR, Reita Isaacs, Liberal

 

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