I suppose that one of the hazards of covering news stories in your hometown is knowing more information about what you are covering than what is pertinent to the story.
When I’m sitting in front of a computer screen (generally near the deadline hour on Wednesday), I’m forced to cut down my notes and collection of funny and interesting quotes into a “Just the facts” sort of style.
Thus is news reporting.
I’m not saying this is a bad thing.
I don’t know that anyone actually wants to hear the one-liners floated by various members of the city council. What kills in council chambers may fall flat out here.
Sometimes, events occur that are noteworthy, that is to say worth me picking up a pen and jotting something down about it, but not actually newsworthy, for some reason.
This week, I present for you two examples of “non-news items” that occurred during regularly scheduled public meetings.
Are these actually news? Probably not, but this is my space, and I think they deserve mention.
What do you think?
Opelika City Council
During last week’s city council meeting, a young woman got up to address the council during the Citizens Communications portion of the meeting.
Usually, former councilman Clarence Harris or T Speir are the only people to speak, so I listened as the young woman began to tell the assembled citizenry about her issues in dealing with custody of her children with the Alabama Department of Human Resources.
She said the children were being tossed around from foster home to foster home – a seven-year-old, four-year-old, two-year-old and two-month old deserve more stability than that.
The woman said she had approached Council president pro tem Patsy Jones to ask her advice, and Jones pointed her to the council, telling the young woman she wasn’t sure the council could truly be of help to her situation, but that someone there might be able to help.
The woman raised questions about inadequate legal representation, and city attorney Guy Gunter stepped in and offered the woman his legal advice.
While the council may not have had the ability to do anything, the Reverends Tom Tippett and John Rector, on hand to help lead the meeting in prayer, immediately hopped up to offer their assistance to the woman, taking her out into the hall to ask her further questions and get her what she needed.
Councilwoman Jones seemed touched, adding, “I know we have a mixture of people here, and God is always good,” with what appeared to be a small bit of moisture in her eyes.
Opelika City School Board
“I have something to say,” Patsy Boyd Parker, school board member and veteran educator, said during the Opelika school board’s meeting Tuesday, directing her comments directly at Superintendent Mark Neighbors.
Her tone seemed to imply something important was soon to come forth.
Parker is not known for speaking in vain. Neighbors seemed slightly taken aback.
She began by giving “all due respect” to Phil Raley, then proceeded to upbraid Neighbors for his apparent refusal to go and pose for his official superintendent portrait to be displayed in the lobby of the performing arts center.
Parker gave him a three week deadline to go and get it done.
After she finished, Neighbors breathed a sigh, saying “I wasn’t sure where you were going with that one. Thought I might be in trouble.”
“Three weeks,” Parker snapped back. “You very well might be.”
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