Editorial: Who’s afraid of a mediator?

“What if they hired a mediator?” That question has been asked more and more often by those of us following discussions over the future of fire service in Eldridge. Both the city and the fire department are aggrieved and bitter. Both have said bitter and grievous things. In recent weeks, what looked like bluffs—the fire department would pack up and go home, the city would trudge blithely forward—have become realities.