Sadly, this is a time when Congressional Republicans thumb their noses at Democrats and Democrats plop themselves down on the floor, and when state lawmakers and our governor rum rough-shod over us Kansans. Somewhere along the line, political civility has left the building, at least on the state and national stages.

That is why it was refreshing, in a way, to attend the Barton County Commission meetings over the past couple of weeks. 

Sure, there has been controversy over the hiring of a human resources person. This issue has split the commission on two occasions thus far and it looks as though it will do it again whenever it resurfaces.

One can’t condone how the commission leadership handled the dissension and subsequent debate. The discussion escalated into heated exchanges that were not necessary and failed to accomplish anything, except tarnish the body’s reputation.

However, despite the sharp differences of opinion on this topic and how it should be handled, commissioners were able to move on through their agenda. On Monday, they went on to approve funding for the much-needed Teen Court and accepted a check from Be Well Barton County to improve pedestrian transportation opportunities for all county residents.

They came together to for the betterment of Barton County voters. 

Now, we all know commissioners are humans like the rest of us and they are bound to disagree from time to time. This give and take is what makes our democracy vibrant.

But the difference between our commission and Congress is that it can see past the divisiveness when it is necessary. We can only hope that our local leaders can continue this positive statesmanship and continue to set an example for those higher up the totem pole.

Dale Hogg