This week we've shut down Letters to the Editor and advertising pertaining to the upcoming school board election in Ennis, with the exception of responses to last week's letters from the candidates themselves. The idea is to try and be fair to the candidates and the election process and not allow someone to make final jabs or outlandish claims right before the election. I think it's a fair way to do it, but the problem is it leaves a lot of gray area, which leads to questions and differing opinions.
I'm not the greatest at dealing with conflict, but ultimately I'm the one responsible for what is in the newspaper and the policies we put in place. That's hard for people to understand sometimes, particularly when I tell them I won't run their letter. But, in a way it's good that people have a hard time with it, because it means they see the value in The Madisonian. The community feels an investment in the newspaper and the way it's written and how issues are portrayed. They should feel passionate about the opinion page and the letters people write.
Like many contentious issues, this school board thing in Ennis has shown us just how messy and complicated dealing with public issues can be in a small community. But experience tells me there will be some good things that come out of this. I'll keep looking.
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