What do Northwest Arkansas residents think of when they read the following quote?

“We’ve got our missile silos pointed at each other. We don’t need to do that.”

Does it evoke memories of the historic thawing of relations between the United States and the old Soviet Union?

Is it someone’s opinion about Israel and its various enemies in the Middle East?

Did it capture that moment when Kim Jong-un realized the tensions on the Korean peninsula had gone on long enough, or just a plea from NBA airhead Dennis Rodman for the United States to stop treating the North Korean dictator as if he’s a danger?

No, the comment made last week didn’t focus on any of those international clashes. It had to do with circumstances far, far more difficult to resolve: Politics in Tontitown.

City Attorney J.R. Carroll offered the statement as he described the situation between the city of Tontitown and the Tontitown Area Volunteer Fire Department. The department for years has contracted with the city to provide fire protection, as Tontitown does not have a full-time municipal fire department of its own. But as Tontitown gets bigger, the day will eventually come that state law requires the city to operate its own fire department. The most efficient solution, of course, would be for the volunteer fire department to transition into a new life as a municipal agency.

The famed city of Italian descent is filled with people of passion, and some of them unfortunately channel that into political drama. According to the folks involved in the city-fire department talks, the political volatility in Tontitown is a primary concern. For any rational, forward-thinking resident, it should be.

Jason Steele, a member of the fire department’s board, said it’s the almost constant upheaval within Tontitown’s political structure that concerns those whose energy and time have been devoted to the volunteer firefighting effort. “We don’t want the next council or the next mayor to screw it up,” Steele said.

It’s an entirely legitimate concern. For example, if the city takes over operation of the fire department, the fire chief and any paid employees would become city employees. The mayor would have authority to hire and fire the chief. If the mayor fired the chief, an appeal could be filed with the City Council.

Who are we kidding? In Tontitown, it’s not “if”; it’s “when” the mayor fires the chief. There is no way to be part of today’s Tontitown without getting doused in political skulduggery and manipulation.

The sign at the city limits should say “Welcome to Tontitown, where there’s more drama than an Italian opera but the fat lady never sings.”

We traditionally would support the transition of a volunteer fire department into a more stable, municipally funded operation. But when it comes to politics, Tontitown is radioactive. Nobody can be involved in city government without it devolving into a personal feud.

Tontitown’s leadership (and sometimes the lack thereof) has allowed the town’s politics to become infamous. It’s got more twists and turns than a plateful of pasta. If political firings sparked flames, Tontitown would have created an inferno by now. The town’s leaders are now living with the reputation they’ve fostered, and that leadership is the only place the community can start to rebuild a town people might want to join.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 02/04/2014