DeSantis: Open discussions are needed

It has become fashionable over the past few years to bash the press, often for bringing attention to issues that are or should be of concern to the populace. In our nation public servants are entrusted with serving the people and being accountable. It is why in this nation the press is free and unfettered, as the founders intended. During travels this year I have been in nations where there are restrictions on the press, and while in the cases I have learned of the stakes were not terribly high, they also reminded me of the slippery slope that we tread upon when press freedoms are not protected and cherished. There are instances where civil law reins in irresponsible reporting, writing and broadcasting. But these face serious tests and are regarded warily by the courts.

For more than a year I have written of various issues surrounding one specific recreation district in Terrebonne Parish, and at various points individuals with close ties to the former board members of District 2-3 have asked why I have continued doing so. There is a new board of directors for the district, duly appointed by the Parish Council. What mismanagement may have occurred in the past will not occur now, I am told, so why waste the time of readers and the ink that goes into printing the newspaper to discuss a dead issue.

The issue, however, is not dead, as a report released by auditors recently indicates. And it shall not be dead until an authority that can find facts which tend to slip through audits and have specific conversations with former board members and employees.

All of this is important because recreation for both children and adults — and provision of opportunities to recreate by government — are essential to this community’s health and welfare. There are few areas, other than things like storm protection, road maintenance and similar tasks, that are more important for local governments to address. This is why recreation boards were created by the state many years ago and why they still exist even after the consolidation of Terrebonne Parish’s government with that of Houma. In most cases they appear to be functioning well. Certainly those in Montegut, Bourg, Chauvin, Dulac and Dularge maintain facilities and programs that bring recreation opportunities to all. Their boards are very careful as well to make sure the public knows when they meet and what they are doing. This is one of the reasons why critics of the overall recreation scheme in Terrebonne have laid off the topic of consolidating districts in the bayou communities, focusing instead on how things are done in and around Houma.

As Terrebonne moves forward into a new era of recreation services, it is our plan here at The Times to continue looking at both the future and the past. Leaving the past to just quietly die without proper examination and investigation, when it is clear that management issues existed and were allowed to continue unchecked, would be irresponsible. It would be less than readers deserve. I don’t write stories that are intended to please those who are in public service, although I don’t write them just to be mean either.

The more people who have access to facts and information become open and discuss their experiences in a public forum, answering questions of accountability, the more the public is served.