Contract Controversy Concluding

The controversy that erupted over the Town Manager's contract in September is now drawing to a conclusion. The more radical and dangerous proposals which would have reversed the role of the Town Manager with regard to the Commissioners are now history.

While not perfect, the document can be lived with. It is, however, only as strong as the will of the Commissioners to enforce its provisions. The Town Manager is being given a second chance to establish residency here. The requirement takes effect in six months which is, of course, after the Commissioner election. It will be up to this group to follow-up on this and other provisions (and, living here, certainly doesn't simply mean giving the Commissioners a new drivers license with a 21660 zip -- it means really living here -- the understanding of which has has been stated by the TM at many public meetings). Remember to vote for some backbone when the time comes.

Monday the 19th at 7:00 is the Commissioner's workshop. This will be the last chance for public comment on the issue before the formal vote in December. You can also comment on this blog below.

Thanks to the many who made their voices heard about the contract. The old America is still alive and well in Ridgely. People still stand up for their rights and we still have a free press (in the form of this blog) to shine the light of reason and publicity on what was a pretty awful proposal.

Finally, wouldn't be great to again have a town paper or blog? "Town Talk" as it used to exist couldn't be a forum that contained editorial content because it was the "official" town paper. Something which is independent is needed to air citizen concerns. My blog, as you have seen, isn't only about Ridgely. Although I'm happy to have been of assistance to the town's concerned citizens, we need something exclusively dedicated to this need. To accomplish this, it needs to be private or independent (in other words, not town financed). All blogs are public, of course, but all blogs aren't open to the type of criticism I've posted and hosted. We need to be free of the likelyhood of censorship that comes with being funded by town hall.

We don't need funding anyhow because setting up a blog is simple and free. However, maintaining it and filling it with stories can be time consuming. Many people contributed to "Town Talk" but two (Arlene Hege and Nancy Gearhart) did a huge amount of the work. We need to establish an independent and free press in this town but it does require a dedicated team to produce a quality blog. "Town Talk" can rise again on the blogosphere. Are there any volunteers out there?