Uncle Oscar's one-legged milk stool also has a message

By Gordon Garnos

AT ISSUE: The importance of open government needs to be told and retold. There are many ways to describe what makes good government. Today's column compares three of these elements. In other words, good government is like a three-legged stool. When this comparison was made in a column I read, I couldn't help but be reminded of Uncle Oscar's one-legged milk stool. This simile or metaphor both send a message.

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of the Kentucky Press Association, David Thompson, recently wrote a column that appeared in a number of newspapers across the country. His theme was on what is needed to make good government. It doesn't make any difference if it is a school board, or a city, county, state or the federal government, to be successful, it must have these three elements.

Thompson explained it this way, "My mom used to have a small, three-legged stool. I don't remember the stool being used for any reason, just something to set a newspaper or magazine on for a minute.

"...No matter if it was strong and sturdy, the three-legged stool was no good if something happened to one of the legs. It couldn't stand on just two. Any of the three being absent you don't really have open government.

"OPEN GOVERNMENT is a three-legged stool. It takes open meetings. It takes open records. It takes public notices."

As I read Thompson's column I couldn't help but remember my Uncle Oscar's one-legged milk stool. Using it without good balance I don't even want to describe the mess you would be in. I remember Uncle Oscar milking in his big red barn just a short way from the house. I don't think Uncle Oscar ever lost his balance on that one-legged milk stool because he obviously had good balance.

Balance is also needed for good government. Whether you compare it to the three-legged stool or Uncle Oscar¹s one-legged stool, missing any one of them, open government is off-balance.

GOVERNING BODIES must have open meetings. Yes. There is an exception. Closed meetings (executive sessions) are allowed in some circumstances, but only to discuss items as prescribed by law. And then no voting can be held behind closed doors. Only discussion. Open meetings also gives the public the opportunity to speak on a particular subject. Open meetings flow from open records.

Government records, be they local, state or federal, also need to be open to the public. Sure. They can be closed under certain conditions set by law, but the important records need to be open. In a sense they are like an insurance policy which demands good government.

That third leg of the stool, public notices, are often misunderstood. There are those who feel they should not have to pay for public notices with tax dollars.

They exclaim, "That's what a newspaper is for--to report the news."

STILL, A NEWSPAPER will print what it feels people want to read and there is a lot of the business of government that isn't very exciting, but by paying for public notices, government is then assured that other information is printed as well. This could include the call for bids for a new garbage truck to advertising to fill a position at city hall. A newspaper, being free enterprise, may not think this is news worthy and wouldn't ordinarily publish such items. Paid public notices assure their publication.

Far too many people take open meetings and open records in government for granted and they give little attention to the need for public records. Taking government for granted on any level and not recognizing the need for the publishing of government's business is a tragic mistake. Our history books tell us that.

Again, take just one leg off that three-legged stool and that stool, like government, will fall. This gets us back to my Uncle Oscar¹s one-legged milk stool, he needed good balance to sit on it. Likewise, to have good government you must have balance of those three elements, open government, open records and public notices.

I JUST KNEW that old milk stool of Uncle Oscar's was good for something besides sitting on it while he milked cows....

Gordon Garnos was long-time editor of the Watertown Public Opinion and recently retired after 39 years with that newspaper.  Garnos, a lifelong resident of South Dakota except for his military service in the U.S. Air Force, was born and raised in Presho.

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