Small Town Showdown

Keen Umbehr, a trash hauler in rural Kansas, was an "affliction" to the county commissioners in Wabaunsee County. He did what most of us only talk about: He got involved in local politics by attending meetings and writing a weekly newspaper column questioning how taxpayer money was being spent and insisting on accountability from elected officials. Apparently viewing participatory democracy as better in theory than in practice, however, the commissioners demanded that the editor of the local paper censor Umbehr's articles or face withdrawal of all county business. When that failed, they took a more direct approach and terminated Umbehr's contract to haul solid waste for the county. The message to other citizens could hardly have been more explicit - speak out against government abuses at your economic peril. Robert A. Van Kirk "Costly Criticism" The Washington Post July 24, 1996 This is fascinating reading! A page turner! ~ Barbara Lerma, Adjunct Instructor in the Humanities