Jill's Journal: Drink the water, Brandon

Brandon’s water is OK to drink. It has been for years. Eighteen years, for that matter.

Yet, someone wants Brandon residents to think otherwise. And they led the public astray by falsifying a recent water report that told otherwise and posted it on social media, where the problem only escalated through public comment and nasty accusations. It led members of our community to question if our city leaders and employees are telling us the truth. 

The fake report cast a dark shadow on our community. It made us look bad. It made us look ignorant. It made us angry.

But the news was misleading. It was completely false.

So, shame on whomever has taken it upon themselves(ves) in their multiple attempts to take down this great community one social media post at a time.

I pity to think how the public will react when – and if – the name(s) of those responsible for falsifying the report are revealed. I imagine there will be ample comments shared by the public, none of which I expect will be complimentary.

I applaud the city of Brandon for putting the truth out there. I believe it would be fair to say that last week’s press conference opened the eyes of many: social media is not the place to gather facts of important topics like our city’s water. Social media isn’t the place to inquire about detailed topics. Pick up the phone and call City Hall. Venture to City Hall. Email City Hall. Ask those who have the knowledge. We’ve all heard, “Too many cooks in the kitchen …”, well the same could be true here.

Brandon has so many good things going for it. We have beautiful and multiple parks. We have a business community that cares. We are home to the No. 1 school district that’s had continual success in the classroom and on the playing field. And there’s more.

To support this great city and our city leaders, we need to look past the temporary road construction, place confidence in the decisions they make to provide us with good water, smooth roads, ample police and fire protection, quality parks and the like.

So, drink up, Brandon. The water’s fine.