Opinion and Commentary By Donna Westfall- May 4, 2026 Jury Duty. I had to appear this morning at 8:30 am. But, the only thing that happened was handing in our form after signing it and putting down our mileage from home. In about an hour, we were allowed into the court room. Judge McElfresh presiding. The first 18 people were called up to sit in the jury chairs. I was number 2. After much explanation about the history and process of being on a jury, the question was asked about each of us individually. I let it be known that I was working on collecting 2,000 signatures by the end of this month to prevent the doubling of our water/sewer rates. I was excused. Whew! While waiting to be called into the court room, I collected some signatures on the petition. Actually everyone that was affected was eager to sign. My husband, Doug, filmed our spokes woman, Jody Mangum about how to fill out the protest form. Takes about a minute to watch. If you have any questions on how to fill out the form to Protest doubling of water/sewer rates, watch this video on YouTube. We're currently at 414 signatures that have been turned into the City. We should hit the quarter mark with 500 in the next day or two. That leaves 26 days to get the next 1,500. I take petitions with me wherever I go. Standing in the bank in line, I got a sig. Going to a restaurant, I got a sig from the owner. This is what we need. Families. Kids that play baseball or involved in wrestling. Lots of parents there, but so far we don't have anyone standing outside the baseball diamond collecting sigs. Get involved.