Local government is accountable to citizens

A teenage girl is thrown into a fire by a young man who, after learning that her father is Catholic and her mother is Muslim, says "Jews burn. A Lack of education is clearly tied to bigotry. I think we can improve this by teaching respect and tolerance for all of our differences. Where does our local government stand on this issue?

I believe that the elected officials in Boundary County and Bonners Ferry will listen to our concerns about this crime (sounded like a hate crime to me, but not according to the judge. We've elected our community members to represent us, to administer justice and protect us from harm. We also determine whether they continue to do so.

All organizations, especially government, do best when they are open, responsive and accountable. Those in public service hold those values near. With that in mind, I believe we will be treated with respect as we carry out our civic responsibility to express our opinions.

I want to call our county commissioners, our county prosecutor, our local judicial branch, and our county sheriff and ask at least these questions:

1) Why did it take two months to investigate and file charges?

2) What does it take for a crime to be designated a hate crime?

3) What can we do to prevent this bigotry and violence from happening again?

In fact, I'm going to call them right now. I hope you will do the same.

LISA ROBBE-SOULTS

Naples