Really? Front page top headline of 11/6 Sentinel-Tribune says BG "sacks" fracking issue,
like some quarterback was downed in some kind of game? This is just another example of how the ballot
initiative was consistently attacked and falsely portrayed to misrepresent the good intent of the Charter
Amendment. Instead of congratulating on a job well done, respecting the 1,194 voters who supported it and
the hard work of caring citizens, and appreciating the value and quality of the educational programs, the
article portrayed the ballot initiative as a criticism of the city’s ability to provide the "best
possible" drinking water and sewerage treatment. How did this issue get so horribly misrepresented when
right along, the Amendment was simply an additional measure needed to protect BG citizens from a new
industry coming into the area exempted from important environmental regulations and even zoning
restrictions? City officials and the Sentinel-Tribune portrayed this issue falsely, misinterpreting it as an
assault on a "pristine" city charter. Not only were voters seriously misled by those in positions
of authority, the false threats of job losses or utility rate increases were never justified, nor could they
be.What has happened to the democratic process when the local paper gloats over a loss of a ballot
initiative simply intended to protect the people and restore rights and regulations that have been stripped
from state and federal laws? When people realize what really happened, they will see that they have been
deliberately misled by those more invested in the status quo than being proactive and protective against an
imminent threat to the community. Across the country, ballot initiatives have been passed because people are
realizing they must take things into their own hands because their government is compromised by corporate
monetary influence. I am dismayed that the sincere effort of the people was met by the uncivil and even
mean-spirited assault by elected and appointed officials and the Sentinel. The fact that even a few people
believed that the Charter Amendment could do damage attests to the ability of those in power to wield
unwarranted influence to defeat what may possibly be the most timely and effective way people could protect
themselves from a single, highly unregulated, temporary industry known to harm public health and property
values for the sake of exporting gas and oil overseas for huge corporate profit at tremendous public
expense.Leatra HarperSenecaville, Ohio