Thursday’s thumbs

Summer in 2018 means municipal filings

Our neck of the woods probably has another couple of months of summer-like weather ahead — humidity, warm temperatures, a few thunderstorms and the like. Believe it or not, though, there are just a couple of weeks left before the kids are forced back into the habit of waking up early for school.

If we recollect our younger years right, the young’uns, if parents were dense enough to ask, would give the return of a school-day schedule and all that homework an emphatic thumbs down. Ask a parent and there’s a high likelihood their digits would be turned skyward.

Enjoy those last days of summer freedom, kids. And get off the video games and phones long enough to bask in what’s left of our Northwest Arkansas summer.

Now we’ll turn our attention to our own collection of up-and-down thumbs, always appropriate whether school is in session or out.

August in an even-numbered year means the filing period for municipal offices is underway. This year, it will continue through Aug. 17. Candidates must file petitions on nomination, affidavits of eligibility and political practice pledges with their county clerks. Several candidates have already filed for office or announced their intentions to do so. Now is the time for folks who have felt they have something to offer in the way of political leadership for their communities to put such feelings into action. Communities are made better when smart, reasonable people run for office. Every community can use a dose of that. Don’t feel prepared? Here’s a prediction: More elections will come. So why not get involved now by volunteering for a municipal commission or committee? That’s the best training ground for eventually serving as an elected local leader.

It’s pretty much standard procedure for a municipality to claim “sovereign immunity” in the face of a lawsuit. It’s a legal principle that government is immune from injury claims and, in general, it’s designed to have the practical effect of letting government do the work it’s intended to do without being subject to constant litigation. And who can deny that we, the people, need government to do its work? But does it really mean government can do no wrong? The city of Fort Smith tried to claim immunity from litigation from a resident complaining the city wrongly collected fees for a recycling program even as the city intentionally hauled those materials collected to landfills. Now, it would hardly be just for a city, under the guise of sovereign immunity, to be able to get away with purposeful fraud. The case remains to be litigated, but it’s bogus for a city to get a free pass if it essentially dupes ratepayers into paying for a service that’s not being provided. Thankfully, a judge rejected Fort Smith’s immunity claim.

Police say a man whose car was stolen got an intensive — and successful — law enforcement response when he told officers his 14-year-old nephew was asleep in the back seat of the purloined vehicle. According to police, the man went inside Sally Ann Market and Liquors in Fort Smith. Another guy got into the first man’s car and drove away. Officers issued an Amber Alert for the missing teen and eventually found the car. The teen, however, was not inside and had not been at any point that day. Police suspect the untrue story was an effort by the car’s owner to get a better police response to recovering his car. It worked, but it’s a horrible way to manipulate police and intensifies not just the search, but the potential reaction to the thief once he’s found. Yes, a police response to a stolen vehicle ought to be less intense than one for a kidnapped child. It’s just a car. This incident could have gotten messy very fast.

At times, even the most enthusiastic supporter might have doubted ever hearing these words, but now these words are true: Construction of the United States Marshals Museum in Fort Smith is underway. It’s been more than 11 years since the announcement of Fort Smith as the museum’s location. Now, its opening is slated for sometime in the fall of 2019, when visitors can start to learn more of the story of the nation’s oldest law enforcement agency. What an outstanding, meaningful contribution to tourism and historic preservation this facility will be. Fundraisers say they still need $17.8 million to fully fund the 53,000-square-foot facility, so donations are welcome. It’s exciting to anticipate the museum’s contributions to the cultural offerings in the region.

Let’s set aside, for a moment, the debate over religious freedom and whether a monument to the Ten Commandments on the state Capitol grounds is tantamount to the establishment of a state religion. We hear a group calling itself the Satanic Temple plans to visit Little Rock hauling a 7½-foot statue of a half-man, half-goat deity of its own fabrication (both physically and spiritually). Let no one misconstrue our comments as support for state Sen. Jason Rapert and his supposedly non-religious monument, but the Satanic Temple’s role is simply to turn the matter of faith on its head and poke fun at it. They are a group of atheists who find satisfaction in conjuring up a ridiculous statue with a goal to maximize offense to people of faith. Our editorial opinion: Don’t waste time on them.