Voices What Do You Think?
Should a Village Be Allowed to Keep a Secret From Itself?
After one Nebraska village board voted to bind itself to a confidentiality agreement with itself, the Reporter asked residents whether the arrangement is sound.
“I’ve kept a secret from myself for thirty years, a birthday cake in the freezer, and it has never once been discovered. So yes, I think the village is in good hands.”
Marlene Dorsey, 67 Retired school secretary “If the village can’t keep a secret from itself, who can? I’d want the same deal at my own house, with the same person on both sides of the table.”
Terrence Oakley, 42 Grain elevator operator “I think a secret only counts if somebody is left out. The village is the only one in the room, so technically it’s just talking to itself, which is a meeting.”
Priya Lindqvist, 29 Pharmacy technician “I read the agreement. It’s three pages long. I’m not going to say what it says, but I will say that I’m not the one who signed it.”
Dwayne Kittredge, 55 Feed store owner “In my day, you kept a secret from the public, and the public found out anyway, the same afternoon. I don’t see why the village should be any different from the rest of us.”
Ada Fenwick, 81 Retired postmaster