Commissioner Parsons criticizes local LNP coverage during meeting; Commissioner Yoder defends independent press

During his remarks on the Black History Month proclamation, Commissioner Joshua G. Parsons used part of his time to sharply criticize a local reporter and the Lancaster Newspapers (LNP) for coverage of the proclamation’s timing. Parsons called the reporting "false, made up, and malicious," said it was designed to "drum up division and drama," and accused the paper of seeking public money to sustain itself. He stated, “Now, we do many, many proclamations each year... But now LNP and Tom Lisi have done two ginned up malicious stories on the fact that it was not done in February in order to drum up division and drama where none existed.”