February 14, 2007
Editorial

Our First Apology

As hard as we try to get it right, occasionally in the race to bring you quality reporting and real news, we will get it wrong.

Last week’s Editorial was one of those, which leads us to our first apology since the Record came under new management.

We promise it won’t be the last.

Based on information given to us, we mistakenly stated that the Lincoln County Commission had no firefighting experience aside from stomping out the bureaucratic fires which always crop up while governing.

We were wrong.

By a lot.

County Commissioner Tommy Rowe has over 35 years of battling blazes and riding with blaring sirens.

In fact, for 17 of those 35 years, he served as chief of the Caliente Volunteer Fire Department.

Thanks to a pointed note from one of our readers, we now understand that Commissioner Bill Lloyd also has more than 30 years of experience in handling hoses and saving homes.

While mistakes can be made in the reporting business, they’re usually minor, like identifying the wrong color of a car or a mistake in the spelling of someone’s name.

But we consider this a big mistake, because we have so much respect for men and women who risk their lives to protect us, our homes, and our families.

People who answer the call in the middle of the night, who race into buildings that others are racing out of, who put it all on the line to help neighbors and strangers alike, are a special breed.

It takes courage to jump into the middle of a fire, whether it’s the less lethal form of political fire, or the more physically dangerous flames of a building or brush fire.

They deserve our gratitude and recognition for their deeds.

We showed neither, something for which we are sorry.

These men have served their communities in ways that most of us never have.

They deserved better from us.

To Commissioner Rowe and Commissioner Lloyd, we sincerely apologize for ignoring their firefighting contributions to Lincoln County.

If we have somehow missed a firefighting credit on the resume’s of commissioners Hornbeck or Poulsen, we apologize to them as well.

While we may not always agree with their positions on governmental matters, (and so far this year, we believe they are doing an excellent job on that front), it should never obscure the fact that they are good people, dedicated to their community and constituents, and have given so much of themselves over the years.

Hopefully, they will forgive us for this slight.