Many people were disappointed and somewhat chagrined at finding no mention of Kermit in last Sunday’s 2010 Progress Edition and no picture of our mayor, Johnny Linville.

Many years ago, when I was a high school teacher studying journalism at Marquette University, the chief point stressed for a news publication or a writer for a news publication was accuracy. The article titled “Meet Mingo’s Mayors” should accurately have been titled “Meet Four Fifths of Mingo’s Mayors.”

When I called, a second time, to question the reason for the omission, I was told htat the reporters doing the article couldn’t reach Mayor Linville. A second point much stressed at Marquette’s School of Journalism was the need for perseverance and persistence on the part of a newsperson. The reporter, like the lawman, doesn’t give up until he gets his man. And if the subject refuses to be interviewed, the reporter can say, “_______ declined to be interviewed.” No such statement was made in the article.

I doubt that Mayor Linville declined to be interviewed He is an approachable man of the people. I suspect that, rather, the reporter’s perseverance and persistence waned.

Mayor Linville may not mind the omission, though I think he should. But in omitting any mention of him, a whole municipality was written off. Kermit was relegated to nonexistence. And many of us in Kermit object to that. So let me say a word in its behalf.

Kermit is a small, friendly town. When Sister Janet and I moved here, we were welcomed by its citizens, who took in their stride the extra traffic and perhaps occasional disturbance caused by construction of our two buildings and, later, by clients seeking our services. Although none in Kermit shared our religious denomination, we were always greeted in the local churches, as well as the post office, in the stores and on the street, and reminded that our shared faith in God and love of all His children were greater than any doctrinal differences.

Kermit is a warm place, a homey place, with a mayor who has done a lot to give it that spirit and to improve conditions for its residents, the most recent improvement being its sewage treatment plant.

So, WDN, I think you owe an apology to Mayor Linville and the Town of Kermit.

Sister Brendan Conlon

Kermit

WDN’S response to letter to editor

It is very unusual that the Williamson Daily News will make any type of response to a letter to the editor, however, this time we are doing so.

Yes, it is correct that Mayor Johnny Linville did not have a feature in our recent PRIDE edition. This was because he did not respond to attempted contacts by the Daily News staff.

And, yes, Sister Conlon, we are familiar with the concept of persistence as the reporter doing these articles attempted to contact Mayor Linville no less than a dozen times. Our reporter was told several times to call back at certain times. When calls were made at the times the mayor should be accessible we were again told he was still not available.

Because the PRIDE Edition is a positive representation of our communities, the Daily News did not add a negative statement about the mayor of one of our towns not responding to multiple telephone calls and messages.