Yesterday, like many other concerned residents of Josephine County, we arrived at the Anne Basker Auditorium at 10:30 a.m., expecting what was promised — a meeting between the Josephine Community Library and the Josephine County Board of Commissioners. What we were all hoping for, as a community, was some form of resolution or at least an honest discussion regarding the future of our community library system — an issue that affects every resident, young and old.
Instead, what we found were the doors locked, and witnessed an empty platform where our elected leaders should have been. Absent were the commissioners. Present were library representatives and citizens — left standing in disbelief and disappointment.
The reason? According to the Board of Commissioners, they claimed to have “canceled” the meeting based on an email from the library. Let us be clear — we have a copy of that email and have read it thoroughly. Nowhere in that correspondence do we find any language remotely close to a cancellation request. If anything, the library’s message expressed a willingness to adjust to the board’s needs to ensure that the conversation would happen. So how this became a “cancellation” in the minds of the commissioners is anyone’s guess.
Rather than clarifying or correcting the issue, it appears that the county commissioners would prefer to point fingers, call people liars, and accuse others of “spreading misinformation.” But let me remind everyone — we are a newspaper. Our job is to report the news. We are not here to engage in political games, nor are we here to provide every single document we obtain in raw form. Newspapers operate to gather the facts, report them, and let you, the public, form your own conclusions. If you are looking for raw video or streaming content, that’s the job of television reporters and YouTubers. We are here to write the truth.
Yet, sometimes the truth is right in front of everyone’s eyes. And yesterday, when only the library and community members showed up — and the Board of Commissioners was nowhere to be found — the truth was plain as day.
This county board has repeatedly shown a lack of respect and compassion for the very people they are supposed to serve. It would have taken minimal effort to adjust their schedules and make the meeting happen — as the library had done to accommodate them. But instead, once again, the people were left without answers and without leadership.
What makes this even more insulting to the public is that while no commissioner bothered to attend this crucial meeting, at least one managed to find time for live media appearances just hours later in the day to announce the “news” of a new salad shop opening—an issue seemingly more pressing to the commissioners than the future of the library. Apparently, they’re not too busy to promote their own business and narrative during county kept hours, but too busy to engage with their constituents in person.
This is not how government should operate. The people of Josephine County deserve better — we deserve transparency, accountability, and respect. And yes, we need our library, perhaps now more than ever — a symbol of knowledge, truth, and community unity in a time when leadership is lacking.
As always, we will continue to report on these matters — truthfully, factually, and without spin. It is up to the people to decide what to do next.
