Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment Newspaper topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident urges removal of Pender Post Invoice from county offices and schools after published cartoon
Summary
A Hampstead resident asked commissioners to remove the Pender Post Invoice newspaper from county offices and county schools, citing a recent cartoon she said depicted commissioners beside a graveside and calling the imagery hateful.
During public comment, Beth Butler asked the board to remove copies of the Pender Post Invoice newspaper from county offices and public schools, saying a recent cartoon and article in that paper depicted three commissioners standing "beside a graveside" and that the imagery amounted to hate speech.
Butler identified herself as a Hampstead resident and said she had come to a memorial event that evening and returned to address the earlier published image. She told the board she did not want the newspaper available for county employees, visitors to the county manager's office or in county school buildings and asked the commissioners to remove the paper from public locations. "We don't want hate circulating in our county," she said.
Commissioners did not take action on Butler's request during the meeting. The exchange occurred in the public comment portion of the agenda; no county policy was changed and no formal removal motion was made.
Why it matters: public distribution of print media in government buildings can raise free-press and public-space questions; the request reflects local concern about a specific editorial cartoon and its perceived effect on public officials and community climate.
What comes next: the matter was not placed on the agenda for action; commissioners or staff may follow up after the meeting if they choose to investigate distribution policies for print materials in county facilities.
