The Ledger Dispatch's penchant for negative headlines aimed at Ione is getting tiresome (Sept. 5, "Ione mayor investigated"). Rather than taking the "if it bleeds, it leads" tack, why not use a headline that advises the reader of what they will discover in the article, such as "Citizens back mayor of Ione"? Or "Accusation of impropriety bounces off Ione mayor"? Although author Kelly Scott didn't relay any falsehoods, I would encourage her editor to put a more constructive spin on future headlines regarding Ione, especially when the story bears out a positive result.

I have lived in Ione for nearly 10 years. I have watched Andrea Bonham blossom from a new council person into her rightful turn as mayor. I have worked alongside her in her tireless quest to make my city a better place in which to live, and have participated with her in meetings both public and personal over the past four years. She consistently comports herself in a professional manner, and deserves the respect of one who has earned her stripes in every case. She flows gracefully from deciding challenging issues on behalf of the people to being the Pied Piper of fun to her beloved constituency. I would be the last person to deny a person their right to question the actions of their public officials, but in this case, Jim Ulm would have been well served by more careful consideration of these trivial charges before lobbing them at this terrific woman.

As to the opening sentence, I believe Ione has been mischaracterized. This town is far from dysfunctional, and in fact is quickly coming into its own, due in large part to the collective experience of Ione's city manager, police chief, financial officer, council, and city staff in general. Not to mention all the smarts belonging to the local citizenry who have stepped up to ensure that Ione is a leader in Amador County. We have what it takes to do that, plus one more positive feature: We are determined to abolish the word dysfunction from the list of words that writers use to describe our town.