If democracy were seen as a ladder, then this office might very well be its first rung up from the floor.

It's an elected position that holds few perks but a title and many hours in meetings away from families and evening meals.

The "junkets" for these elected officials usually do not mean overseas trips to exotic locations as "fact-finding" missions. In fact, most conferences are in-state.

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to the two articles in last weeks People-Sentinel regarding the Barnwell School District 45 problems.

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to some of the things said by Mr. Myers as a representative of the NAACP at the last district meeting. I was not able to attend this meeting but did read his comments in the paper and can assume they are his words.

I am not replying in anger, malice or any intentional ugliness whatsoever; I am responding only to tell my story. Here is just that:

Spring is not here yet but the city recreation department is hard at work on the Lemon Park ballfields.

Workers are currently redoing the infields and adding 25 tons of professional clay to the infields. This will allow the fields to better absorb rainwater and recover to a playable state faster than last year. The city's first tournament this year will be in early March. The exact time will be announced later. The tournament will be sponsored by the South Carolina Independent School Association.

Dear Editor,

I am writing to remind voters of Barnwell County of our upcoming school board elections April 13.

If you are not a registered to vote, the last date you can register is March 13. The voter registration office is located at 34 Pechmann St. in the agriculture building.

Dear Editor:

My son, Marcus Fields applied for one job in Barnwell 45 school district for the position of a teacher.

When the school superintendent recognized his leadership ability, she promoted him to the position of director of transportation. Marcus performed this job so well until when the new superintendent came on board, he recognized the superb job that this director was doing.

When I introduced myself to Mr. Sapough at the drop-in to welcome him to Barnwell, he commented on the fine job my son was doing with the transportation department.

Maybe no one caught the quiet irony within the charged atmosphere of the Feb. 25 Barnwell 45 school board meeting.

The meeting was crowded with about 90 people. They weren't all parents there for the students who qualified as National Merit scholarship finalists or the ones selected for the Hugh O'Brian Leadership awards.

Many in the crowd were there because of the controversy that emerged again over the transportation of sports teams by the regular bus drivers.

"Consolidation" is a term that many industries have come to know - both in definition and reality - in 2009. Barnwell County itself has felt the positive and negative effects of the double-edged sword of consolidation. Consolidation has shuttered some of the county's plants and dissolved local jobs, such as with the Hanesbrands and Allied Air factory closings.

Yet as we have felt that sting of disappointment, we have experienced the glow of anticipation when Crane Corp. announced that it would be nearly doubling its Dixie-Narco plant.

People who can fix and build things with ease are a mystery to me.

My granddaddy built his own house, outhouse, chickenhouse, car house, smokehouse and barn. All six were still standing decades later.

I didn't inherit any of granddaddy's good genes (although I do have a pair of his overalls). It took me three days to build a rabbit hutch. Trying to do it myself has been frustrating at times.

My wife gave me a beautiful tool chest on wheels, and it's full of nice tools. The only thing missing is a lock to keep me from getting to them. Tools are dangerous.

I've long believed in the value of government transparency - showing people how decisions that affect them are made and how their tax dollars are spent.

Not only are public officials more accountable when they know their decisions will be examined by the public, but transparency can help restore the trust that many people have lost in government.

Simply put, when the "people's business" is conducted in full public view, everyone wins.