This editorial is not about medical care or politics. It is about good news and bad.
Here's the good news about Sebring's city election Tuesday: There was no waiting in line, it did not take long to count the votes and the voting tallies were uncontroversial.
Now here's the bad news: Of the 5,501 registered voters within Sebring's city limits, only 278 bothered to vote. That rounds up to about 5 percent.
City Councilman John Griffin, who won re-election, blamed the media for the low turn-out saying we had not publicized the election, nor covered it well.
We must agree that we did not do the thorough job our readers expect and need to be responsible citizens. The Sunday before the election, for example, we didn't mention it at all.
That will never happen again.
We cannot agree with Councilman Griffin, however, when he lays sole responsibility for the miserable turn-out on the media.
Surely the candidates have an equal responsibility to fire up citizens and get them involved.
If candidates don't put out any effort, why should citizens bother to put any effort into them?
On the other hand, the fact is elected municipal officials put a lot of time, energy and money into their work, which amounts to volunteering, the stipend is so low.
Why should candidates take part in public forums or spend money on their campaigns -- boosting the local economy by the way -- when 95 percent of registered voters stay home?
And don't prattle on about apathy being a sign of contentment. It is not.
Highlands County has a long history of poor turn-outs, except in presidential elections, and even then the numbers are nothing to brag about.
We urge voters to engage in the next municipal election. Surely if you're happy with the way things are going, it's not too much to ask you to actually re-elect the officials responsible.
After all, if some of our neighbors are willing to sacrifice their time and energy, serving the community -- making decisions most of us prefer to avoid - the least we can do is turn out in numbers to say thank you.
Beyond that, high turn-outs at the polls attract attention -- especially from elected officials whose jobs depend on public approval.
By voting, in other words, you do more than fulfill a civic responsibility, you serve your own interests.
Next time: Vote.
Friday, March 15, 2013 - www.newssun.com/edt-031713