Editorial: Sumpter Twp. backs off move to fire Independent

An agenda item was before the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees at Tuesday’s regular meeting, put on by Supervisor John Morgan, to change its newspaper of record from the Independent to Associated Newspapers, which publishes The Eagle.
After a long, feisty discussion in the work/study session, Trustee Oddy, one of the supporters of the move, asked the item be deleted from the agenda.
Dave Willett, owner of Associated Newspapers, had been invited to speak and he told the story of his family and the newspaper and how he would make them happy if the board made The Eagle newspaper of record.
But resident, after resident spoke of the Independent’s value to the community and festering issues in the township. “You have issues here that have nothing to do with me,” Willett said. “Putting this out for bids is a waste of time,” adding the Independent would underbid them and keep its agreement in place.
Mary Sherwood said she loves the Independent and it tells everything that’s going on in Belleville. She said if the editor got bad information and printed it, “a mistake is not a criminal offense.” The answer to the problem is to do good things and “maybe Rosemary would like us and maybe she would say good things about us…We love one another in Sumpter. We even love Rosemary … Remember what the people of the township think,” she told the board. And the board dropped its plan.