The public has a right to know

Continued from July 6, 2016.

The General Assembly in 1967 passed Act No. 93, commonly known as the "Freedom of Information" act. It represents one of the finest stands that has been made in this state to protect the public.

There are 10 sections to the Act, and the two that would make the above suppositions illegal are Section 5 (Open Public Meetings) and Section 2 (Declaration of Public Policy).

Sometime back, a local person expressed to this editor the wish to know a certain thing about some business that had been handled by the city, then added: "But I don't guess they would let me see the records on it."

Now, really! Whose records are the city records? They are, of course, the city's, and the city, of course, is you and I and the other residents of that city.

However, somewhere in the state there may actually be a city clerk or school board secretary or some other comparable official who has not let the public look at its own records, for the General Assembly a year ago took time to assure the public the right to see such records.

Section 4 of the Freedom of Information Act says: "Except as otherwise specifically provided by laws now in effect, or laws hereafter specifically enacted to provide otherwise, all state, county, township, municipal and school district records which by law are required to be kept and maintained shall be open to inspection and copying by any citizen of the State of Arkansas during the regular business hours of the custodian of the records... Reasonable access to these records and reasonable comfort and facilities for the full exercise of the right to inspect and copy such records shall not be denied to any citizen. If the record is in active use or in storage and, therefore, not available, at the time a citizen asks to examine it, the custodian shall certify this fact in writing to the applicant and set a date and hour within three days at which time the record will be available for the exercise of the right given by this act."

Americans have lost much of their freedom as creeping socialism and a later complication of the disease called Galloping Socialism has spread. But a big hearty note of appreciation is due the current law makers of Arkansas for making a decisive stand on the matter of assuring the citizens of their right to know what their officials are doing with their money, their property and the things that affect them.

This new Freedom of Information act has already been proved in Arkansas courts. The weekly North Little Rock Times won its suit against the City Council of that city and showed that a city council does not have the right even to exclude the press when it is consulting with its attorney on what otherwise might be confidential -- if the consultation were between a business and its attorney.

Of course, not every citizen can or will go to find out about such matters. And that is where the grave responsibility of the news media lies.

The Pea Ridge Graphic recognizes this responsibility and is doing its best to attend such meetings and developments as affect the reading public and to interpret through conscientious reporting the happenings as accurately and unabiasedly as possible.

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Editor's note: Earle and Billie Jines were the publisher and editor of the Pea Ridge newspaper from 1947-1975. Billie wrote this editorial to be published annually.

Editorial on 07/13/2016