Sometimes, you tap into a stream of anger and resentment and frustration that you never knew existed.

Whenever we've run articles and editorials and columns in the past on Sunshine Week to promote public awareness of open government issues, the response from the public has been a resounding thud. Nothin'.

Glens Falls Town Clerk Robert Curtis, left, and Queensbury Town Clerk Darleen Dougher, right, have always aided The Post-Star with Freedom of Information requests. (Derek Pruitt Photos)

All well and good, we assumed. Obviously, you've got better things to do. Like your jobs and taking care of your children and paying the bills. We understand.

But recently, with the introduction of a new Your Right to Know blog and a renewed push to entice people to understand the importance of free and open government, we found passion for the issue.

People do care about their government operating in secret. And what we've learned over the past few weeks is that there's a group of people who've been tilting at the windmill of secrecy for years.

Their stories are shocking and discouraging. We've had people tell us how for years they've been trying to get basic information from their government, only to be ignored or turned down. They talk about acts of retribution being brought against them for daring to exercise their rights.

They talk about being dismissed by state agencies and put down at meetings of their own local governments for simply asking for information.

In our own experience, we've been pretty successful in getting our Freedom of Information Law requests honored. It's due in part to dealing with public officials who understand and respect the public's right to know (more on that later.) But also, it's because we have an avenue at our disposal that individual citizens do not. It's called a printing press. People are often afraid that if they don't honor our FOIL requests, then they'll be publicly taken to task by our newspaper through editorials and articles. And for the most part, they're right. In fact, even though New York's Right to Know laws are among the most comprehensive in the country, they lack sufficient legal muscle to compel compliance, short of litigation. So the state Committee on Open Government and public access advocates rely on public pressure that can be generated through the media as an enforcement tool for these laws.

But that shouldn't be the case. Every citizen has a right to public records. That right doesn't belong exclusively to the people with the most clout or the people who can make government officials look bad with scathing commentary.

Yet many members of the public feel that if they speak up, they'll be punished in some way. In feeling powerless, they either give up or continue to suffer in silence.

In instituting our Your Right to Know blog, we learned very quickly that there are many courageous people who've been fighting their own anonymous battles for open government for years, without any help and without any support.

We're chastened to think our Your Right to Know blog might give them encouragement and to let them know they're not in this alone.

What we also found in our latest push for open government how many public officials deeply share and respect the public's right to know.

Last week, in speaking to the former access officer at the state Department of Education, an editor apologized for asking so many questions about a particular records-access topic and taking up the person's time. The person's response was: "It's perfectly fine. It's your right."

Locally, we have public officials who regularly go beyond the call of duty to respond to any public request.

Glens Falls City Clerk Robert Curtis is one of them. He and the entire staff at City Hall are remarkable in how they respond to FOIL requests. In more than one instance just this past month, Mr. Curtis responded to records request not only by providing the information, but including additional information he thought might help our reporters. He also provided contact people and phone numbers for others in city government who might be able to shed more light on the information being sought. Often, he'll deliver the records in person to make sure the requests were filled satisfactorily. And while cost of copies often deters people from pursuing FOIL requests, Mr. Curtis usually doesn't even charge us for the records.

Another public official with a reputation for respect for open government is longtime Queensbury Town Clerk Darleen Dougher.

In one of our internal meetings earlier this month, an editor unfamiliar with Dougher, upon hearing that she'd given us pages of documents well beyond what we'd requested, suspected she was trying to discourage us from seeking records by inundating us with paperwork. Two former Queensbury beat reporters in the room jumped up to quickly erase that perception. Ms. Dougher, like Mr. Curtis, regularly goes beyond the open government law by providing as much information as the individual might need for their record search. Like Mr. Curtis, she hardly ever charges the allowable copying fees. And like Mr. Curtis, she's really nice about it.

Open government doesn't have to be a fight. Access to your government is a basic right, and citizens shouldn't be fearful of exercising that right.

While we've found public officials who don't respect open government, we've also been lucky to find others who embrace it and honor it with their actions.

We've also found that that there are many devoted citizens out there working behind the scenes to keep government accessible and responsive for all of us.

We're happily surprised. And rightfully encouraged.

Local editorials represent the opinion of The Post-Star editorial board, which consists of Publisher Rona Rahlf, Editor Ken Tingley, Editorial Page Editor Mark Mahoney and citizen representative Michael Cruz.