For the past week, the two most powerful men in the parish have been locked in a war of words. The disagreement is over funding for the parish jail. St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain says he needs $2 million to help keep the jail going. He says that if he cannot get the money, he will have to let some prisoners go, because there will be no money to maintain the jail. However, Parish President Kevin Davis says that there is no money in the already frugal parish budget to help the sheriff. Davis says that there is a tax dedicated to the upkeep of the jail, and the sheriff should use that money. The sheriff said that the parish has $2 million that rightfully belongs to his department for the jail. The parish president says that is not so.

The angry words have gotten louder, and the rhetoric has escalated to the point where Davis has asked the Legislative Auditor to audit the sheriff’s books.

We say enough is enough. This is no way to run a parish. We do not know who is right and who is wrong in this brou-ha-ha and frankly, we don’t care. What we do care about is that we need a functioning jail that will keep dangerous people off the streets.

At the same time we also know that everybody, including the parish government and the sheriff’s office are going through tough economic times. Both depend on sales tax revenue to cover expenses, and tax revenue has decreased.

What we suggest is that both sides quit yelling and sit down and talk. Nothing gets done when emotions run high. Both men are seasoned politicians and they should know that politics is the art of compromise. Both sides are aiming for the same goal — a parish that is safe and where the government can provide the needed services to keep our enviable quality of life sustainable.

See? There is something both can agree on. It’s a start. Now lets just calm down, put your heads together and find a suitable solution. Enough with anger, let’s work it out.