Yes It Is, It’s True: Cell phones bring out our best, worst

Cell phones have brought out the best and the worst in people since they invaded our society more than three decades ago.

They bring out the best when they are used as tools to have save lives in critical incidents. They bring out the worst when they are just toys that invade the public arena and interrupt important deliberations. And even worse when they are distracted driving culprits in traffic crashes.

It was the latter aspect of this two-edged sword that was on display Thursday evening at the Dorr Township Board when Treasurer Jim Martin’s phone rang during the meeting. Not long afterward, Trustee Terri Rios declared the interruption rude and yet another verbal battle erupted between two public officials who have a hard time concealing their obvious contempt for one another.

It wasn’t that long ago when former Trustee Patty Senneker’s cell phone went off in the middle of a Dorr Township Board meeting, but hardly anyone commented.

As said earlier in this column, cell phones can be very useful, particularly in public safety situations, prompting quick response to stranded motorists or those involved in accidents. It can be useful if someone goes to the grocery store and uses it to ask the spouse about something that needs to be purchased.

But I’ve seen them too often as intrusive toys in embarrassing public situations.

One of my earliest encounters with former Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf was when he stopped at the J-Ad Graphics offices and summoned me to the front desk. As I arrived, he took a cell phone call, forcing me to wait for more than a few minutes while he chatted with the caller. I didn’t take kindly to the incident because I was on deadline.

But the most egregious offense occurred in 2003, when the Hastings Board of Education held a series of meetings with candidates for new superintendent. In the first session, Board President Patricia Endsley solemnly told everyone present to turn off all such communication devices so as not to disrupt the interview proceedings.

Shortly afterward, Board Vice President Mike Hubert’s cell phone erupted and he answered and left the room. I told J-Ad Graphics Vice President Fred Jacobs of my intention to write an editorial criticizing Hubert for disrupting the meeting after the Board President’s instructions. Jacobs responded by saying, “Yes, but Mike Hubert is a businessman.”

Nonetheless, I was permitted to write the editorial and in the next meeting Hubert angrily and publicly, looking me menacingly, announced that he took the call because it was very important in his business as an executive with the Felpausch grocery chain.

So a businessman can do publicly what ordinary citizens cannot, a good example of privilege.

Mr. Hubert a couple of years later took a job as a village manager for a town in the Upper Peninsula. I suspect he approached his post with an eye toward “running government like a business.”

To be sure, it’s the owner of the device who can determine whether it’s a tool or an intrusive toy. Martin insisted that his phone was activated in error because he had put it on settings that would keep it quiet. Of course, Ms. Rios refused to accept his explanation, and the circus that is Dorr Township Board meetings was assured of continuance.