Let me set the scene:

I’m in 2nd Grade, sitting at my desk doing my work. The fire alarm starts to ring and the rest of the students start to leave the building.

Not me. I just continue to sit at my desk because I haven’t been given any training on what to do when the alarm goes off to signal there might be a fire or other hazard.

I’m not going to follow the others out the door. I don’t smell any smoke, so there’s no need for me to leave what I’m doing.

Even after the principal comes in and asks me to leave, I refuse.

After all, I am a very knowledgeable person. I don’t need someone else suggesting that I leave like all the other students and teachers.

So goes the story of Butler County Commissioner Jim Eckstein in an incident at the county government center.

Only thing is that he’s much older than a 2nd-grader.

It’s one thing to put one’s life in danger, but Eckstein shouldn’t put others’ lives in danger when they ask him to leave and he refuses.

I’m not surprised that he has been late to meetings in the past. After all, I saw him on my neighbor’s roof one Thursday at 11:15 a.m. I should’ve just called his office to ask his assistant where he was at that time.

If I were to see him working on his run-down property in Evans City, I would applaud him for that. Thankfully, the trees, weeds and shrubs have grown over the summer to hide some of the property’s deplorable condition.

There seem to be many contradictory statements in what this public official says at commissioners meetings, including about where he’s lived. I’m a bit confused as to where he exactly has lived.

He has created a very hostile working environment in Butler County government. Being a very smart man, as he never fails to remind us, he should know that respect for others garners respect for oneself.

Even a 2nd-grader has learned that.