Hey, Vancouverites! Come get something off of your chest at a Town Hall meeting

Town Halls are every bit as American as your mama's (or your papa's) best apple pie, but these little community get-togethers won't saddle you with even half the calories.

Clark County folks will have a chance in a couple of days to pull up a chair for a Town Hall of their own. Three Vancouver lawmakers are inviting southwestern Washington residents to a meeting Saturnday morning, January 8, from 10:00 till noon. The gathering will be held in the sixth floor hearing foom of the Clark County Public Service Center, which is located at 1300 Franklin St. in Vancouver.

State Reps. Jim Moeller and Jim Jacks will be joined by state Sen. Craig Pridemore. The three represent the 49th Legislative District, which includes Vancouver west of Interstate 205 and Hazel Dell. They are preparing for the 2011 legislative session that kicks off Monday, January 10. No doubt, the thorniest issues in the upcoming 105-day session involve the hunt for answers to the economic quandary. But a number of other pressing matters also await consideration. The legislators will use what they hear at the town hall to help make sure their work in the state capital reflects what constituents in the real world are really thinking.

Yes, you're darn tootin' these types of town meetings are an American tradition. Without a doubt, public involvement must forever play a starring role in the way we Yankee Doodlers govern ourselves. And that holds true whether you're talking citizen participation in the tradition of Norman Rockwell's famous Freedom of Speech painting or citizen participation in the manner of modern-day political blogs.