East Texas Commissioners Drop Public Forum at Meetings

LUFKIN (AP) – Some elected officials in East Texas have dropped the public forum part of meetings amid concerns about abusive speakers. The Angelina County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to eliminate the public forum portion of future meetings. County Judge Wes Suiter says the forum had become more of an attack or a grievance against a member of the court or another elected official. One resident, Don Lymbery, said the public forum is a way for individuals to let commissioners know about things coming up in the county. Lymbery says doing away with the public forum takes away the opportunity to talk to commissioners directly. Commissioners, whose meetings are held in Lufkin, previously allowed a person about three minutes during the public forum to bring up a topic.