Editorial: H’wick needs to try honeymooning again

The Howardwick honeymoon didn’t last long, but it’s time for both sides to try again to work together.

A petition calling for the removal of Howardwick Mayor Greta Byars was presented at the close of the City Council meeting on August 14, but it was somewhat anti-climactic since the meeting had been largely productive and low-key, a change from the raucousness of recent meetings.

Resident Steve Phelps presented the petition but made an impassioned plea for folks to work together, to be more “Christ like,” and to become friends again. Phelps specifically complimented the mayor for her handling of that meeting.

But later that night, the wheels came off the Howardwick wagon again when a former city employee got arrested for disorderly conduct for basically causing a disturbance in the vicinity of the mayor. The mayor and others felt so threatened that they obtained criminal trespass warnings against the former employee, and there was even an attempt to hold an “emergency meeting” of the city council following the incident.

Since then, the Enterprise has learned of another flare-up between the administration and the volunteer fire department at Howardwick, which seem to stem from an ongoing conflict between City Hall and the leadership of the department. Or perhaps there just needs to be better communication between the parties involved. That could go a long way to diffusing volatile situations before they even arise.

For the good of the residents, the city and its fire department need to find a way to peacefully coexist. Safety, as Mayor Byars said at the last meeting, should be a top priority. A conflict with the fire department – or even miscommunication with the department –improves the safety of no one. Whether you like those individuals personally or not, they are volunteers trying to serve their community as best they can.

As the paper goes to press, the city council was preparing to meet over the budget and taxes Tuesday night. Hopefully that meeting went well.

Next week’s regular meeting will be the next test. Civility needs to be the order of the day. Citizens should, like last month, be respectful and the let the council do its job. City leaders need to work together, and all concerned need to, as Mr. Phelps said, try to be friends again.
There are a lot of good folks at Howardwick – on both sides of the issues. It’s okay to have healthy debate on matters facing the city, but everyone needs to ultimately pull together for the best interests of the city. Agree to disagree in some cases, but always try to work for the betterment of the community.

Meanwhile…
The newspaper industry breathed a collective sigh of relief last week when tariffs on Canadian newsprint were rolled back.
Earlier this year, the US Department of Commerce imposed a tariff on newsprint from Canada. This action came after one company claimed Canadian mills were dumping newsprint on the US market at low prices. In response, the Commerce Department gave preliminary approval to duties up to 32 percent, according to the News Media Alliance. Amid enormous push back from the industry and members of Congress, Commerce revised those duties downward on August 2, and then the US International Trade Commission reversed them entirely last week.

A bipartisan chorus of lawmakers joined media outlets and industry leaders across the country to combat the threat that the tariffs posed to the publishing industry in general and newspapers in particular.

Among those leaders who stepped up was Clarendon’s own Congressman Mac Thornberry, who signed on as a co-sponsor of a bill that would have suspended the tariffs until a study could be done of their impact.

The tariffs on newsprint were bad for American businesses and consumers, and it was right that it should have been rolled back. But it is just one of many tariffs that have sprung up in the wake of the president’s ongoing effort to “make America great again.” A pissing contest with our allies and trading partners doesn’t seem to be doing much to make America great, but it is making a great mess of things.

Shocked by a 32 percent increase in the price of newsprint, some publishers have already made long-lasting changes to their businesses that probably didn’t serve their customers or employees well.

Other tariffs are being felt in different ways, especially in the construction world. Close to home, city leaders have expressed concerns about the costs of materials for the proposed swimming pool and the water system improvement project. Texas agriculture leaders worry about the effects that the president’s trade war with china might have on cotton exports and other crops.

While there is always the desire by some to wall off America and just play in our own sandbox, the fact of the matter is that we live in a global economy in the 21st century. Going around kicking sand in the faces of our trading partners isn’t the best way to do business.