5th Estate 1, Commissioners 0

Kudos to Ron Harper, Jr., of 5thEstate.com for taking the County Commissioners to task for canceling their meeting 9:15 AM meeting on Feb. 13th due to weather conditions and then convening it later in the morning.

According to the Feb. 17 Sunday News, the commissioners have consented to allow discussion and a new vote on all matters at their next meeeting.

While NewsLanc.com also mentioned the incident in its coverage (which was second hand because the reporter also was told the meeting was canceled), Harper demonstrated the moxie to challenge the validity of all decisions.

As Harper pointed out, apparently the commissioners were not apt students at the special public seminar on the Sunshine Law that they organized and attended just a couple of weeks earlier.

Another example of carelessness of government officials was the failure two weeks earlier of the Drug & Alcohol Board to note on the building's front door that the scheduled meeting had been moved to another location. In that case, the public was deprived of a report on very important matters.

NewsLanc.com objected in print and by private correspondence to the Drug & Alcohol Board's violation and published a letter on one of the matters discussed from a participant. But we fault ourselves for not being assertive enough.

If this occurs in the future, Newslanc will follow Harper's lead and demand the meeting be voided and a replacement scheduled.

Wake up Lancaster....to the Sunshine Law!