PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE

I posted a video https://youtu.be/PVNeTKNPwKY after receiving a few phone calls regarding a few other videos we posted on the DMC’s social media accounts about public notices that appear to violate the law. If you are a reader of this newspaper and care about reading the notices your government entities are required to publish, then you might remember the: “DISCLAIMER FOR PUBLICATION A NOTE TO OUR READERS REGARDING PUBLIC NOTICES” that appears in the August 15, 2025 edition on page 10.

After phone calls and some face to face conversations, I felt this most recent video was important to release, to let those who would rather gather their information online to know where exactly I stand on such matters before I release the next video series.

One upcoming video will show exactly why a correctly worded public notice is important, even if government meetings are livestreamed. Another video will focus on one step a citizen can take, and continue to take it a step further before filing a lawsuit.

However, there was one comment on this recent video we posted Sunday night that I thought was perfect. Patti Morrow’s question stuck with me: “So what are the people liking this post agreeing with?”

When I replied, “and THAT is the right question,” it was not snark.

Think of the holographic recording of a murdered professor in the sc-fi film I, Robot. The pre-recorded image does not hand over truth on demand. It responds when you ask the right question.

That scene is less about advanced technology and more about how truth often works. You do not get it by being passive. You get it by pushing past the easy take and confronting the system in front of you.

Patti’s question forces that step. What are people agreeing with when they hit like?

Are they agreeing that care for our neighbors requires courage, not comfort? Are they agreeing that silence lets bad habits spread from local rooms to national halls? Are they agreeing that accountability is not antagonistic? Are they agreeing that love often requires a backbone?

Have we let fear take the wheel for what we tolerate? Is that how our standards have slipped?

Look around our counties. By my count, there are roughly two dozen churches in Fisher and Stonewall. Most people in office or on boards attend one of them. Some have even led them.

I’ve sat through a decade of meetings and watched many of the same people duck the public by heading to closed session when the law does not allow it.

One board member told me they “love going into closed session” because then they can say what they want. Statements like that tell you almost everything you need to know. Fear of losing friends, business, votes, or donations is running too many boardrooms.

If you run to be the people’s voice, why are you afraid to speak in public?

If you profess courage on Sunday and practice silence on Monday, your neighbors notice. At least this Publisher and Editor has.

We see it when bodies rush to closed session, hunt for reasons to exclude the public, or joke about “really saying what we want” once the door shuts. They refuse to answer questions while fear speaks on their behalf.

When it comes to our State and Nation all I hear from everyone is “Follow the money.” Across parties, decisions keep bending toward donors, contractors, and lobbyists.

That is not why we created public office, and if you treat your office like a platform instead of a trust, you will govern for your circle, not your citizens. No wonder people are cynical.

Elected officials at the state and national level are not celebrities. We need to stop treating them like they are, and they need to stop acting like they are. Social media likes are not accountability nor reflective of approval ratings.

If you want change, it starts at home, not in Austin or Washington. Culture climbs the ladder from the counties, city hall and the school board. If we tolerate shortcuts here, we will continue to see them there.

A WORD TO OUR COMMUNITIES

With roughly 25 churches across Fisher and Stonewall, we are not short on sermons about courage and truth. Let’s see that integrity in

See PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE Page 3B our meetings. Courage sounds like, “This discussion belongs in the open,” and looks like admitting mistakes without hiding behind procedure.

That is character, and scripture gives a path for this.

Galatians 6:1–2 calls us to restore those who stumble with gentleness and to carry one another’s burdens. That is accountability without contempt.

Matthew 18:15–17 tells us to start private, bring others if needed, and, if that fails, address it openly. That is a process aimed at repair.

James 5:19–20 says turning someone back from a wrong path saves them from harm.

That is courage with purpose.

These verses are not weapons. They are instructions for how grownups handle conflict in public life and what I hope our children learn in the process of watching us.

We will not let fear decide what we allow. We will stop treating officials like celebrities and expect them to behave like trustees or public servants. We will ask hard questions before decisions are final.

We will follow the money and expect answers that make sense. We will hold friends,elected officials and ourselves to the same standard. We will choose daylight over whisper networks and keep at it when it gets awkward.

I am tired of watching a small group decide what the public is allowed to know and when the public is allowed to know it. I am tired of the hush, the huddles, the side channels, the closed doors. I am tired of fear setting the rules.

I am also tired of anyone thinking if I am warned I might lose friends or business, and will bow to those “suggestions.” I am a full blooded Gen X’r, and I have dealt with bullies for years. Watered down threats will not stop me from doing what I believe is right.

God gave us this business.

When He says it is time to move on, we will try not to question. I am not a good Christian woman and I will not pretend otherwise. I am a work in progress. Thankfully, Jesus does not give up.

I love people. I love their stories and perspectives. I love to celebrate their wins and pray when prayers are needed. I welcome conversations that change minds. If I ask a question, I am genuinely interested in the answer.

I want everyone to do good things and make good decisions, especially the people in the Double Mountain area we serve.

But change needs much more than outrage on social media. It needs people who sit in the room, ask the right questions out loud, puts requests in writing, and stays on it until there is an answer.

Change needs courage to take the next step… and then another.

Your job is citizenship.

Attention is good. Action is better. If you liked the video, live out what you liked. If you didn’t, well then tell us all why.