Some disgruntled district 5 residents have twice sought to recall their supervisor, and Hanson obviously has felt the heat. The good news is Hanson and his constituents are communicating again.

Many of those residents have said they like Jack Hanson as a person — they just believe he’s done a very terrible job representing their interests on the Lassen County Board of Supervisors.

Several times during the meeting Hanson openly acknowledged and accepted the criticism hurled at him by the residents for actions taken or not taken in the past.

But he emphasized his purpose in meeting with the Honey Lake Valley residents was to find a way to move forward.

Hanson’s purpose didn’t deter many of his constituents who had many old bones to chew. For the most part they kept their anger and resentment in check, but they still pressed Hanson hard about their dissatisfaction. As they see it, their supervisor and county government have abandoned them and let their area deteriorate despite the acquisition of military properties in the Herlong town center from Sierra Army Depot and hundreds of thousands of dollars in redevelopment grants (or even millions of dollars, according to some). For some residents, the dreams of a decade or so ago have become an absolute nightmare today.

The conversation didn’t stop with the old complaints, and the residents expressed many current and legitimate concerns as well — the poor condition of many roads, health and safety issues such as plowing of snowy roads used by school buses or the conditions of bathrooms in county buildings and the immediate future of area.

The people in the Honey Lake Valley have a First Amendment right to petition their government for a redress of grievances, and we commend them for exercising that right.

The residents made it clear they want representation on the board of supervisors, and if Hanson is unwilling or unable to provide that representation, they will work to elect someone else who will get the job done. They want to see tangible results and not more words. There’s nothing wrong with that.

We also have to commend Hanson for having the courage and integrity to face his constituents and to re-establish and open lines of communication.

It’s encouraging to know our democracy and our form of representative government are alive, well and active right here in Lassen County.

Despite the frustration felt by everyone involved, it’s good to be reminded the system works when the people stand up and demand the attention of their representatives and those representatives also stand up to respond to those demands.

We hope this meeting will be the beginning of a new relationship between the people of the Honey Lake Valley and the Lassen County Board of Supervisors that will lead to the kind of community development the residents desire.