Page 16 - Arkansas 811 Magazine 2022 Issue 2

Spare the Rod...
Spare the rod...
By Joe Igel Spoil the Child
As a first-time grandparent, I watch intently the interaction of our son with our grandson,
trying to observe the kind of father he is and guess the kind of father he will be. As I watch him, I cannot help but remember my experience as a father, trying to do the right thing yet failing from time to time. The age-old dilemma of being too hard on him or not hard enough haunted me. Knowing that
this decision can strongly influence the kind of person he would be, the kind of spouse he would be, the kind of parent
he would be, all those worried me. That feeling of concern has never gone away, although observing his behavior now does significantly relieve it.
Ten years ago, Ohio passed revisions
to its underground dig laws. I was privileged to be one of the chairs of
the working group developing the legislative revisions to the law in effect at the time. I knew that the real work had just begun. A lot of effort was expended informing the excavating community, sharing the proper focus of the law and the group. There were a lot of questions, a lot of worries voiced.
When I was given the opportunity to serve on the first committee that would review complaints that were filed, I seized the opportunity. I wanted to correct behavior through any means necessary but not necessarily by relying on huge fines against violators. Some of the same worries I had as a parent, the concern over doing the right thing for all the right reasons, re-surfaced.
Spoil the child?
From time to time, observers of our committee’s work have, both verbally and non-verbally, appeared critical
14 • Arkansas 811 Magazine 2022, Issue 2