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Butch Furse
It was a busy day at the courthouse a week ago Thursday (April 28) when taxes would come due on May 1(Sunday) and state and county offices were also closed on Friday (April 29) for the state Arbor Day holiday.
Now don’t misinterpret this observation as a complaint against offices closing or against paying taxes. It is a complaint about the timing when the Betterhalf requested I deliver her completed absentee ballot to the County Clerk’s office.
Earlier, the Betterhalf had picked up her absentee ballot for the upcoming election because we were going to be out of state on the upcoming voting day. I decided to get that chore done and get my ballot and vote when I was delivering her sealed completed ballot. Did you notice? I said, “SEALED completed ballot?”
The Betterhalf many times during previous election years has contended that our own ballots have actually canceled out several of each other’s candidate choices. Now the question arises did the Betterhalf seal her ballot envelope so I couldn’t peak, or did I vote later to prevent her from scanning mine?
We’ll never know for certain. But, we should all be thankful we are able to vote and live in a democracy where we have the option to vote . . . despite those who questioned our voting procedures and accuracy. We hope you took advantage of your voting privilege.
It should be mentioned the heaviest people traffic at the courthouse on that Thursday came from those paying taxes. As we headed out of the building we were greeted by taxpayers who were going in to pay and those who came out after paying. Many of those still managed to have a smile on their face.
Again, we need to be reminded that deep down we live in a nation where we have a lifestyle that enables us to pay those taxes. A reminder . . .we could be living in the Ukraine.
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What a pity it is that a person cannot dispose of his experience for as much as it cost him.
RL Furse is publisher emeritus of the News-Register
