Once again it’s the time of year where there seems to be a controversy surrounding the Christmas celebration downtown.
I think I have made my opinion very well known so I will not bore anyone with that. However, there are several things that come to my mind with all of this so hold on to your hat.
In the story referenced on the front page of this paper with the county supervisors, I tried not to make anyone out to be a “Grinch,” and I hope you do not either. Each person is entitled to their opinion whether we all agree with it or not.
I do believe currently a couple of the supervisors do not realize how important the lighting of the courthouse, and downtown is to everyone. All of us, including the supervisors, love our cherished courthouse and we all consider it a source of pride. But, I also remember last year when there was a rumor the celebration was not going to take place and how at the next Board of Aldermen meeting, people were standing out the doors in support of the festivities. I believe it will be the same thing with the meeting Monday morning at the Board of Supervisors meeting.
I once again caution people about posts on social media. Posts on social media can be misinterpreted, especially if the post was done in haste. During the mix-up last year, it was posted on social media that an alderman was against the downtown Christmas celebration. The alderman received a verbal beatdown from more than one person. The post said he was against lighting downtown when all he asked for was a little time to review the proposal. But in the passion and love we have for Columbia, it blew up into something bigger.
We have to be careful. Our supervisors, mayor and aldermen are our elected officials. We chose to put them into office, and they do deserve our respect. Yes, we need to let our officials who represent us know how we feel about a topic being they represent us, but allowing the heat and passion of a matter get in the way and become disrespectful is wrong.
Now I am going to take this to a different direction. A supervisor said some of the people in his beat do not care about a ballfield, yet there has been talk about having the sports complex in the Marion County Businessplex that falls in the Board of Supervisors’ domain. If the ballfield is not important, then what kind of support will there be should the sports complex be built at the Businessplex?
In light of the comments made, I am expressing my concerns over whether the two boards will be able to work together to make Columbia and Marion County better, whether it is with the Christmas celebration, sports complex or what. Columbia and Marion County will never be able to flourish if the boards cannot work together.
The boards need to remember their decisions affect everybody. I live in the county, but I shop in Columbia like most county residents. Citizens in the city may have a Board of Aldermen, but they also pay taxes to Marion County. All of us are in this together. There is no room for “If you are for us, you are against them” mentality and vice versa.
As the craziest year ever is winding down, I hope we as a community can end it on a positive note with hope on the horizon. We need it; we need community.
While the court of popular opinion on social media has been going crazy over the lighting of the courthouse, I hope those who have contacted their supervisors to express their feelings have done so in a way that will make the supervisors not only let the courthouse shine, but also the county.
Susan Amundson is managing editor of
The Columbian-Progress. She may be
reached at (601) 736-2611 or
samundson@columbianprogress.com.
