If you still read the daily paper papers, which section do you flip to first? Or if you go online, where does your Mouse take you right off the bat?

Almost always, letters to the editor here. Knowing the set-up in newsrooms, knowing the predictability with which news is identified and gathered, I'm always curious to see what readers have to say.

Three recent letters to the editor of the Star were notable. Two were responding to the Star's look at the savings the police merger will produce in Marion County -- hardly what was originally forecast. In one case, the reader chastised the Star for not digging deeper into the story initially and in fact for being part of the mayor's staff to "sell" the story to the city. The other also indicated he got the Star's game and asked that in the future, the paper please not insult the reader's intelligence by trying to cover up what was obviously a major expense. Un effect, both readers took the paper to task for having an agenda (in reporting as well as editorially).

The third letter was from David Wantz Sunday. Wantz is the father of a son with epilepsy. He was writing to defend Gov. Mitch Daniels for the work he has done so far in cleaning up the Family and Social Services Administration. (The letter was inspired by a recent Dan Carpenter column, "poking" at the governor for outsourcing.

Said Wantz: "Under two previous governors my son languished, waiting to be placed in a group home. When we applied for services, we were told to expect an eight to 10-year wait...One measure of a society is how it treats the weakest of citizens. I am sure the two previous administrations cared about the plight of the disabled, but they were unable to help my son. Gov. Daniels coupled his care with action.

"I am a Democrat and I did not vote for Daniels," continues Wantz, "but he has earned my confidence by diligently following through with his pledges..."

As a former daily Star columnist, I heard countless stories of children and adults whose needs were not being served by the state despite federal money, etc., allotted to do the job. It's refreshing to hear a success story. And Daniels, who can't seem to win for losing if you read the daily papers, is to be commended.

comments: ruth@ruthholladay.com