GUEST COMMENTARY: Four things Columbia did badly in 2009

Pundits write commentaries about newsworthy events that have occurred over the past 12 months. These appear for local and regional events as well as for those of national import. Occasionally there will be a piece highlighting events that are mediocre, wasteful or result in unwanted consequences. Over the past year a number of these in Columbia have left average citizens puzzled. They call to mind a saying by the great writer of the early 20th century G. K. Chesterton. As he took note of the really dumb events taking place in England at the time, he observed, “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” In Columbia there were many things worth doing, and some of them were done badly. All of them are too numerous to mention but there are four that should not be ignored.