Extra chairs were set out at the Clinton Township meeting Monday, but few people were there to fill them.

The week prior, a Facebook post mentioning Clinton Township had garnered much more attention.

“Sad day today folks. While our catering is doing fine and going strong after 30 years and will stay unaffected, we have had to remove our Pizza Sub sign which was 80 feet off the road because Clinton Twp. said it was an ordinance violation,” the Monday, March 20 post from LeFevre's Pizza & Subs said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the post had been shared 76 times. There were 41 comments and 74 likes on the post.

But no one showed up at the Clinton Township meeting to talk about it.

The post said a call was made to the the township chairperson and called the request to remove the sign “another blow to the Mom and Pop stores.”

“Very defeating when you work hard for something, then have it taken away for nonsense reasons. If local governments are not kept in check, it won't be long until you need approval to hang a picture in your own living room,” the post continued.

Earlier this year, a similar scenario played out at a Callery borough council meeting. At the February meeting where council unanimously voted to reject an effort to allow residents to keep chickens, no one was present to support the cause.

To be fair, residents had shown up previously and brought along a petition signed by more than 50 residents. Perhaps they didn’t show up at the following meeting because it wouldn’t have made a difference.

We’re here to tell you: It does matter. It is important to call your supervisors about your concerns and to show up at the meetings.

If you have a concern in your community, pipe up. Social media is certainly a powerful tool. A social media post might gain traction, but the decision-making process happens within municipal buildings, not social networks. Bring your voice there, too.

— TL