Government incompetence costs so much

Well, that was an interesting week.

Emotions ran from jubilation to mourning to outrage as government impacted our lives.

If you think government does not impact your life, think back to Sunday morning and what time — remember, we’re going by Standard Time for the next four months — you went to church or started watching football.

And even if you don’t care about the next president we elected on Tuesday, you probably care about the week’s big news from Curry and Roosevelt counties — yes, it was about the jails again, yes, they’re costing you millions of dollars because of incompetent leadership.

Our take on it all:

• Changing the time twice a year doesn’t keep the sun up, or down, any longer. And just changing it twice annually doesn’t produce a consistent time for sunrise / sunset daily anyway.

So what’s the point? Especially in the 24-7-365 world we’ve become?

Of course we need a way to measure time, and a government mandate is good as any. Just pick one. And then leave it alone.

• President-elect Trump — like all presidents before him and those who will follow — will likely inspire applause and cause for pause.

We’re encouraged by his ideas about spurring the economy, but horrified by his social agenda.

A better solution is to limit the power of the president, and all government leaders, by taking individual responsibilities for our actions.

Trump will not bring about the end of civilization as we know it. And he won’t fix all of the world’s problems.

The responsibility of making the world a better place rests with each of us, one action at a time.

Everybody chill, and be nice to each other.

• Curry County Commissioner Chet Spear continues to allege former commissioners, County Manager Lance Pyle and County Attorney Steve Doerr, robbed taxpayers of $236,000 four years ago in a land swap.

It’s great to have a public official shining a spotlight on dark places. It’s going to cost us all a lot more than $236,000 if Spear keeps making public allegations without any evidence.

Libel and slander lawsuits are not cheap to settle.

Pyle and others have already said they failed to follow state guidelines in securing property next to the jail. The state auditor has reprimanded them for the mistake. But there is no evidence anybody intentionally misled anyone in securing the property.

Past commissioners did cost taxpayers millions of dollars with their bizarre fixation on building a new jail and courthouse, plus a new space for office staff. They overruled voters in their quest. Their actions were unconscionable — but minutes from the public meetings and newspaper accounts show they weren’t done in secret.

Dear Commissioner Spear:

That money is gone. Pyle and Doerr don’t vote; they work for commissioners. You can’t turn back time. You are here to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Focus, man.

• And in Roosevelt County, we’re not suprised to see a lawsuit has been filed in connection with a 2014 assault on a county employee.

Leroy Manzanares was beaten by a jail inmate who was supposed to be working with Manzanares at the county fairgrounds.

Unknown to Manzanares, and apparently unknown to county jail officials, the inmate was in jail because he was awaiting trial for murder.

He should never have been given an ax and sent to work, unsupervised, with a county employee.

Senovio Mendoza Jr. has since been convicted in the murder case and in the assault against Manzanares.

Yes, government incompetence is going to cost taxpayers a lot of money when that case is finally settled.

What a week ... a week that could have, should have, been prevented by a smaller, more responsible government with less authority over the rest of us.

Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Clovis News Journal’s editorial board, which consists of Publisher Rob Langrell and Editor David Stevens.