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Residents urge Warren County supervisors to restore maintenance for Samuels Public Library amid dispute over lease and content
Summary
Multiple residents testified that Samuels Public Library should keep county-supported maintenance and called for transparency after board questions about who must pay for building upkeep under a 2008 lease. Commenters accused the board of political retaliation over past book challenges; supervisors said they would review the lease.
Several Warren County residents told the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 15 that Samuels Public Library should not lose county-funded building maintenance and asked for clear, public explanations of any change.
"Samuels Public Library is being penalized not because of building maintenance, but because you didn't win the book-banning battle," said Kelsey Lawrence, who identified herself as a Fourth District resident. "This isn't about broken windows or leaky roofs. It's about LGBTQ+ books that some of you don't like." Lawrence accused unnamed board members of using maintenance funding as leverage and called the practice "dishonesty."
Other speakers, including Steve Forman and Bethany O'Neil, described the library as a long-running local institution that earned…
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