E-mails, voice-mails and modern communications
There's probably a good reason that Johannes Gutenberg was the Man of the Millennium.
He introduced movable type – with the so-called Gutenberg Bible, no less – more than 500 years ago.
While Gutenberg was a professional printer, he was not an e-mailer. In fact, there are absolutely no records of Gutenberg e-mailing anyone.
There's no evidence that Johannes sat around on a rainy Saturday morning and fired off an e-mail or left a voice-mail to Christopher Columbus or Joan of Arc or Montezuma, for that matter.
Granted, there are considerable rumors on the Internet that Gutenberg did, indeed, exchange a number of e-mails with Queen Isabella. But at some point, Ferdinand of Aragon put an end to the correspondences.
"You just never know, Isabella," ol' Ferd told the queen, "Someone else might be reading your e-mails or listening in on your voice-mail.
"And if our pal, Guty, gets ahold of it, well, he's got that new-fangled printing press. Who knows what political shenanigans he might be up to? He'll twist and turn it to make a printer's impression."
Maybe today's alleged leaders in government and public office ought to heed the words of Ferdinand of Aragon – before we have another Spanish Inquisition.
For the life of me, I cannot recall more than a handful of thousands of e-mails sent that I've ever regretted. I stand by most of them. But one thing is certain: I've never sent an e-mail – personal or professional – on the taxpayers' dime or on the taxpayers' computer.
Not once.
Sadly, we have some local public officials who cannot say that.
Professional e-mails sent by public officials on behalf of the public they purport to represent are understood; but when any public official uses taxpayer-purchased computers or Internet services for non-professional purposes, it's a waste of valuable time and resources – both at our expense.
Two recent instances bring to light the misuse of today's modern electronic communications.
One involves a voice-mail left by Hillsboro City Council member Dave Shoemaker for Hillsboro City Auditor Gary Lewis. The other involves a Common Pleas Court case between former Highland County Board of Developmental Disabilities superintendent Chuck Biggert and the board itself.
In the former, Mr. Shoemaker left a voice-mail for Mr. Lewis that, in retrospect, he probably shouldn't have. If nothing else, Mr. Shoemaker ought to have stopped talking prior to referencing the auditor's budget in such fashion.
He didn't.
The auditor took exception – which is understandable – and now there's a call for Mr. Shoemaker to be removed from the Hillsboro City Council Finance Committee.
Council President Lee Koogler has been asked to make a decision.
All because of one unfortunate (and ill-thought-out) voice-mail message left on the auditor's office telephone. Mr. Shoemaker is better than that.
It's time to apologize and move on. Shake hands and get over it.
The other regrettable use of public communication involves a Common Pleas Court case between former Highland County Board of Developmental Disabilities superintendent Chuck Biggert and the board itself.
Some of the e-mails exchanged in this sordid affair are beyond reasonable comprehension.
It is my personal opinion that Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss reached the only logical and legal conclusion in this matter.
However, it is also my personal opinion that the conclusion's ultimate arrival may have been more difficult because of some public e-mails entered into the civil action.
Both the former Board of DD superintendent and the board president could have exercised a bit more discretion prior to hitting the "send" key.
In defense of Board of DD president Linda Allen, the portion of an e-mail entered into the legal action by the former superintendent may have been taken out of context from the overall correspondence. The fact of the matter is that shortly after that July 2011 e-mail, Allen and the board voted 6-0 to terminate the superintendent's contract.
Still, that portion of the e-mail was intentioanlly used against her.
When discussing these cases at the newspaper office, someone mentioned that one should never send something in an e-mail, post on Facebook, or leave on voice-mail that he or she would not want to be shared with everyone else.
And when any of this is done on taxpayers' time or taxpayers' computers, it only magnifies the problem.
Don't do it.
Taxpayers are watching and they are not happy.
Rory Ryan is publisher of Highland County's only locally owned and operated newspaper.
Editor's note: Hillsboro City Councilman Dave Shoemaker has issued a public apology to Hillsboro City Auditor Gary Lewis for a comment regarding the auditor's budget.