Editor, and my fellow citizens,

I screwed up! I’m sorry. I was so disgusted that most of my fellow board members were requesting that the county abandon the long-heralded “support our local businesses” policy that I failed to vote against it. I was too focused on trying to get the full legal notices printed in the local papers in the interim before the county attorney brought back a draft of a resolution to adopt his hybrid system, which would essentially cut the local newspapers out of some revenue. More importantly, it denies a good number of the county’s citizens from even the possibility of getting the full details of any legal notices regarding the county. I requested that the full legal ads be printed in the interim in the local papers, but a fellow board member’s motion requesting the hybrid draft did not incorporate my request. I was thinking it did, so I voted for it. My mistake. I will do my best at the next meeting to see that the hybrid system is not adopted and that a policy that requires full publication of all legal notices in The Smithfield Times and The Tidewater News; which had long been the practice until it was changed without notice to we supervisors. Furthermore the county’s website home page should indicate that all public notices are posted in those two papers. Exceptions to advertising in only these two papers will require approval of the Board of Supervisors.

By the way, the Chicago paper (The Daily Press) charges $69.36 per inch ($73.22 for Sunday), while The Tidewater News charges $17.84 per inch (8 lines at $2.23 per line), and The Smithfield Times charges $9.45 per inch. Anybody else fail to see any savings? Surely we need to support our local businesses; especially when it saves us half our money. Seems like we’re already violating the latest slogan of “Local roots, global reach” by preferring the global guys over our locally-owned newspaper. It’s just wrong.

Al Casteen
Board of Supervisors
Smithfield District