A week ago, Ellsworth County Commissioners approved a burn ban and — at the same time — inadvertently offered their constituents yet another reason for the importance of a newspaper to a community.

This was the resolution signed by commissioners:

You will note that nowhere does the resolution use the term “burn ban.” Instead, it talks about “severe damage, injury or loss of life or property in disaster proportions in Ellsworth County.”

The next stop for Resolution 2022R05 was Facebook, where it was automatically posted on the page of the Ellsworth County Sheriff ’s Office. Several readers went into panic mode as a result.

“What does this mean?” asked one.

In response to the question, the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter posted the resolution on its Facebook page with a short report on its meaning.

How did we know the meaning of the resolution? The I-R’s Alan Rusch was at the commission meeting — as he has been most Monday mornings for almost 20 years — and it was explained in that’s week’s edition, which was on the newstands a day or two before 2022R05 was posted on Facebook.

Not to brag, but the I-R is the only media outlet to devote resources to the coverage of Ellsworth County government. We are the county’s only resource for local news that not only reports on what is happening but also takes the time and effort to explain what it means to our readers. In short, we are not Facebook nor do we want to be.

That’s no small job, especially in these times of “disaster proportions.”

Linda Mowery-Denning