Dear sir, you cur

To the editor:

I write this not in anger but in deep disappointment — both as a public servant and as a member of this community.

Your most recent article regarding the termination of our former public works supervisor presents several troubling inaccuracies that I must address.

First, the executive session referenced in your reporting was conducted in full compliance with state law. As is standard and legal practice, personnel matters are confidential. To suggest otherwise or to imply that information was improperly withheld is both misleading and irresponsible.

Another inaccuracy: Your article incorrectly states that council member Linda Martinez made the motion to terminate. In fact, the motion was made by council member Tom Spencer and seconded by council member Kevin Burke. The vote was unanimous. As a reminder, I do not vote as mayor except in the case of a tie.

It’s also worth pointing out that this information was clearly documented in the official meeting minutes, minutes that were included in the publicly available packet sent last Friday and formally approved at the very meeting your new reporter attended.

These materials were also sent directly to the Marion County Record. Whether this detail was overlooked — perhaps due to ongoing challenges with turnover or the result of a misprint, I’ll leave to your editorial staff. But the facts were plainly available.

Your article also claims that I “refused to answer more questions.” That statement is false. No additional questions regarding his termination were asked of me at that time.

I met your current reporter for the first time this past Monday, and while I’m not making assumptions about his employment history with your paper, I do know that follow-up questions regarding termination were never brought to me directly.

Equally concerning is the handling, or lack thereof, of budget-related information. After being asked about the treasurer’s report not being published, I promptly responded to reporter Phyllis Zorn on Sept. 6 with the requested information.

Those responses were never followed up on, acknowledged, or published. Actions like these raise a more serious question: Is your pursuit really about transparency — or have you become a victim of confirmation bias, something I imagine you once cautioned your journalism students against in the classroom?

The weight of preserving the integrity of the free press in this country and, yes, even in our small towns rests squarely on the shoulders of those who claim to practice it.

The public deserves reporting that seeks truth, not predetermined narratives. When journalists abandon fairness, they don’t just jeopardize their credibility, they weaken the very institution they claim to defend.

Let me be clear: I do not begrudge the press its right and duty to report freely. But with that right comes the responsibility to engage honestly, to build trust, and to report with care.

When journalists fail to invest in real relationships with the communities they cover, they don’t just damage the public discourse; they alienate the very people they rely on for access, cooperation, and, yes, advertising revenue.

So, as you continue your important work, I urge you to reflect on the consequences of careless storytelling. You may find the roadblocks you encounter as a journalist aren’t caused by a lack of transparency — but by a lack of trust, earned or maintained.

Mayor Catherine Weems
Peabody

Editor’s note — Nowhere did our story suggest or imply wrongdoing. It merely reported — accurately and without spin — that the firing was discussed behind closed doors and that Mayor Weems, when asked twice about the situation, provided no details.

The mayor is right that we wrongly reported that the person who made the motion to go behind closed doors also made the motion to fire the employee. Our reporter got a line off in minutes of a meeting that occurred before he arrived. We acknowledge and regret that error.

We await the mayor acknowledging that Kansas Open Meetings Act never requires closed-door sessions. It merely allows them under certain specific circumstances.

We also remind her that trust is a two-way street. High-handed lectures with oblique references to advertising boycotts and misleading innuendo about staff turnover when all that happened was one reporter’s yearlong fellowship ended and he was replaced do not help. Like anyone else, new reporters appreciate being welcomed, not immediately condemned.

The situation regarding the treasurer’s report failing to be published as required by law remains under investigation in part because the mayor’s stated remedy does not appear to fulfill legal requirements. We will continue to investigate that situation and will publish a news story once all facts become clear.