Every once in a while, when our house begins to tilt towards the east under the extreme loads imposed by the stacks and piles and heaps of paper strewn around my office, my wife tells me that I have to start cleaning it all out. Well, I honestly do begin with diligent, spirited effort, but I seldom get far before I slow down considerably.

You see, all of these mountains of papers are made up of newspaper articles, printouts of meeting minutes, notes from research in law libraries, magazine articles, and various and sundry other similar items that I have gathered over the years with the intent that I either answer an editorial, comment on an article, cite a law or court case, back up a comment to council, or use while composing a post in an on-line forum or some similar means of communication.

It always seems that, no matter which heap or pile I choose as my starting point to “Clean this mess out!”, I soon run into some scrap of yellowed newsprint or other that I feel I cannot toss without commenting upon. Here is one that I found today:

In the Sunday, June 11, 2006 edition of The Middletown Journal, on page A10, there was an editorial concerning city council. At the bottom of the editorial they had a box with the heading “IN THEIR OWN WORDS” containing quotes by some of our local luminaries. Besides the quotes from Brian Daley (former A.E.I.F. President), Alan McCoy, Laura Williams, and Bob Wells, there was this quote:

“I’d be looking at the Springboro/Liberty Township area. This town is a joke. When you look at the council, the lockout at AK Steel, the weeds we can’t cut, the streets we can’t repair--well, I’d get the hell out of here quick.” …Jim Armbruster

Well, Mr. Armbruster, here it is nearly three years later. The AK lockout has ended (no thanks to you), but most of the council is still here, the weeds still aren’t cut, and the streets are no closer to being repaired,. In fact, it is fair to say that they are in worse shape than when you took office!! In the three and one-third years that you have been on council, you have done nothing but tell stories (and not very interesting stories at that).

I don’t know if you are still “looking at the Springboro/Liberty Township area”, Mr. Armbruster, but I wish that you would reconsider your decision to run for reelection. In fact, I wish that you would “get the hell out of here quick”! (Your words, not mine!)

If you resign now, perhaps your handlers could get another of their selected, groomed, speech-coached, non-issue oriented, on board with their aganda, recruits appointed while the council is still stacked with their puppets. This would give him/her the advantage of the incumbency for this November’s election.

I think he/she will need it.