The process of change in the natural world is methodical and excruciatingly slow. Creatures do not simply evolve before one’s eyes. It often takes millions of years of adaptation before outdated traits are abandoned and more perfect traits appear. And the process never stops, but continues to change as does the environment in which that creature exists.

So, too, are the ways of Man; particularly when it comes to deeply rooted attitudes and modes of behavior.

At last, it appears as if there has been some change, however small, within the attitude of the Jenkinsville Water Company’s Board of Directors — change for the better, it would seem, and such change is laudable. Certain attributes remain, however, that still require tweaking by the delicate hands of time, particularly with the attitude of the Board’s president.

It is becoming more and more apparent, as evidenced by this month’s meeting of the Board, that some Board members are beginning to get the picture. The minutes from the previous month’s meeting were, upon request, turned over to the shareholder from Dawkins. They were presented, however, by an individual Board member, and not the Board president, who offered only double-talk about minutes not being public record until approved by the Board. Not only does this attitude fly in the face of the letter of the law, but the fact that the Board had just voted to approve the minutes places such an excuse in direct opposition to logic, reason and reality.

In spite of the best efforts of the Board president, the minutes were given over, and that, after all, is the main thing. But the attitude of sheer defiance, for the sake of nothing more than defiance itself, is baffling and sophomoric.

Another troubling pattern of behavior that remains unchecked is the tendency of this Board to conduct public business out of sight of the public it serves. On March 28, the Jenkinsville Water Company Board held a budget workshop without providing proper public notice. It is easy to understand, given the enormous increases proposed for certain line items, why the Board and its president might want such a meeting held in secret, but the law requires otherwise. And the company’s shareholders should demand it. After all, it is their company.

Given the track record of this Board of Directors and its president, any change for the better is like an Olympic victory, and we will applaud those when we can. Still, much work remains to be done in order to bring the entirety of the public’s business out into the brilliant light of day.