Attend city meetings

After years of being absent at City Council meetings, I have decided to become more involved.

I have discovered that some meetings are short and sweet and yes, you guessed it, a total bore! Others are actually very interesting. I'm beginning to find it rewarding to have the inside information on what is going on in this unique little community that we live in.

There is a lot of thought and work that goes into making our town function smoothly and successfully to be the city in which you want to raise your family. This is precisely why I realize that it's not beneficial to any of us to have a very small select group of citizens making all those important decisions that impact us all without the knowledge and involvement of us, the tax paying citizens.

This is our town and we should not be finding out what is going on in the city government through the local gossip mill, nor is that the place to complain or voice our disagreement. The place for that is City Hall at the town council meetings.

It may be the only time in a month that you get to visit with certain people, maybe see some old friends or make some new ones. But you will feel like you really belong to the community and your opinions matter. Best of all, the city officials will remember that they work for the tax paying citizens of Pea Ridge, not the other way around.

I know how easy it is to make excuses for not attending -- "it's too boring," "no one cares what I think," "it doesn't affect me directly," "I'm too busy," " the chairs are too uncomfortable." I know, because I have used them all. This was until my husband finally shamed me into going by saying he would "appreciate a little support from someone."

I remembered that all those years ago I was the one who encouraged him to run for City Council and then I simply dusted off my hands, told him to "go get them Tiger," and went my merry way. Kind of the same apathetic attitude as most people in the town it seems.

Now I find myself wondering -- where are the leaders of our town? Where are the men? Come on guys, we really want to see and hear from you at these meetings.

And ladies, the chairs at the new City Hall are amazingly comfortable. The only complaint I have is that it is so cold I feel like I'm in a meat locker. The remedy for that is to simply throw on a jacket or sweater and come along with the guys and enjoy the meeting and the socializing afterwards.

Sue Cottingham

Pea Ridge, Ark.