I’ll try to be clear about one thing and that is this: I’m not quite sure I can be clear about everything that went on at Monday’s Hood River City Council meeting.

But I’ll try anyway.

Here are a few things I think I observed, followed by some comments (I should point out here that these are my personal comments and not those of the Hood River News. If they were the official comments of the newspaper, they would be printed in the space above.):

• That the council — as a whole — stands behind its mayor, because I heard five of the six members say so Monday. What I’m not so clear on is the meaning of “standing behind the mayor.” Does that mean council members agree with the mayor and her “personal” stance that there should be no casino in the Columbia River Gorge? I’m OK with that if they do, but they need to say so.

Or, does that mean council members agree with the mayor that there should be no casino in the Gorge, unless higher powers say it can be there. And, if that’s the case, then it’s okay to build the casino in Cascade Locks but not in Hood River. I’m okay with that, too — in fact, I agree with that statement.

• That the council — as a whole — thinks this newspaper treated the mayor unfairly in a March 19 editorial. The editorial was critical of the mayor; that’s the point of some opinion pieces. Often times, critical editorials are tempered with niceties — last week’s opinion piece had but a few — but the point is to make a point. (By the way, most Hood River News editorials are written by either Editor Kirby Neumann-Rea or me; they are the stance of the newspaper and not necessarily the opinion of everyone who works here. Regarding last week’s editorial, Kirby started it, I tweaked it. Sometimes those roles are reversed. There are no bylines on editorials, because they are the stance of the newspaper.)

• That some members of the council think this newspaper made factual errors in a March 19 Page 1 story about the proposed casino in Cascade Locks. Monday night I e-mailed one council member, who I’m certain made such a statement at the meeting, and asked her for more specifics about any errors. If this newspaper makes mistakes in stories, it will do everything possible to correct those mistakes. (I make hundreds of mistakes each week — just ask my teen-age daughter.)

• That there have been errors in recent letters to the editor about the casino. That also may be true. The Hood River News does its best to confirm facts printed in letters to the editor and columns. When an error is spotted, we point it out to the author and have her or him correct it. That happened with one of the letters on this page that addresses the casino topic. The bottom line is this: Sometimes factual errors slip into print.

• That the council directed staff to draft an ordinance that outlines the council’s official position on the casino. And that the council will discuss that ordinance at its April 14 meeting. (That is one of the things the Hood River News — in its editorial — suggested the council should have done a few months ago.)

• That the casino issue has lingered so long that it’s hard for people — city council members included — to accurately recall exactly everything that has happened regarding the process. An example of that occurred during Monday’s meeting when a 1999 county survey was brought up; the survey showed almost 73.5 percent — of those responding — did not want a casino “in their community”

Early in Monday’s meeting, that survey was portrayed as an election. Later, one councilor correctly pointed out that the vote was part of a survey and not an election. There is a difference.

• That the media, by being critical of elected officials, will discourage others from volunteering their time to do so. There is some truth to that statement, and it has been true since newspapers and democracy have both existed.

However, many people who seek public office are passionate about their community — whether that community is locally or nationally. Some choose to serve on city councils, others sign up to coach Little League or kids soccer. Still others start co-ops, lead Scout troops or organize peace marches. They are willing to accept some public scrutiny — and accolades, for that matter — because of their chosen commitment.

That, I hope, will never change.