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Holiday spirit is not about lights, political infighting

It seems some holiday-minded residents of Bowie County aren’t too happy with some elected officials. For years, the county has decorated the courthouse in New Boston for Christmas. And then the sheriff’s department helicopter would ferry Santa and Mrs. Claus in for a reception that was open to the public.

It was a fine tradition, one that many in county enjoyed and looked forward to every year.

But this year, things are going to be different.

The problem is the costs. Even though the decorations were put up with inmate labor from the Telford Unit, that doesn’t mean the whole thing was free. Inmates have to be fed. The reception costs money. The sheriff’s helicopter costs money. In all, it amounted to about $5,000. This year, somehow, the Christmas display seems to have fallen through the cracks. There was no official action by the Commissioners Court for or against the lights, though there apparently were questions about where the money would come from.

The idea of no holiday lights set off a minor firestorm. County Judge Sterling Lacy and some members of the public were very unhappy with the news.

There was a fund-raising effort via Facebook to gather funds for decorating the courthouse. They raised $500. Not bad, but not enough to cover all the costs.

Unfortunately, there are legal issues over donations from the public. There is no clear written county policy on donations. And there was some indication, legally, that each donor would have to be vetted to assure none had business pending with the county, owed the county money or faced criminal charges. There could be no appearance of impropriety.

That didn’t make the donors or organizers any happier.

Lacy issued a statement this week, saying that the courthouse will not be lighted for the holidays. He said there would be a public Christmas reception, even if he had to pay for it himself—a very nice gesture. But he put the blame for the lack of Christmas cheer squarely on the shoulders of the four county commissioners, which doesn’t seem quite fair.

We love Christmas. We love the lights and colorful decorations. We love the spirit behind the holiday.

But we also think too much is being made of this—especially because some are trying to turn this into a political squabble.

Well, the Christmas spirit was never meant to be a weapon against political foes.

We haven’t seen a lot of Christmas decorations on public buildings over the past few years, certainly not as many as were common years ago. And we don’t expect to see them this year.

Money is tight for everyone. Some cities, such as Marshall, Texas, have turned their Christmas lights into a tourist attraction. They can be said to pay for themselves through increased sales and other tax revenue. Texarkana and our surrounding cities have never really gone that far.

Christmas will happen no matter what. The holiday will be here whether the courthouse is ablaze with color or totally dark. Christmas isn’t about the lights on the outside, but the light within us.