Despite what your dad may have said, your initial, gut reaction may not always be correct. Following your &8220;gut&8221; can get you barking up the wrong tree if you aren&8217;t careful.

Look no further than the mystery surrounding Tuesday&8217;s Natchez Board of Aldermen meeting, or should we say &8220;attempted&8221; alderman meeting.

The meeting was cut short when two aldermen, James &8220;Ricky&8221; Gray and Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis walked out, leaving the board without enough members to legally conduct business.

The walking aldermen have implied that they left because other members of the board were attempting to push through a development deal of which the pair did not approve.

Mathis said the issues had to do with several proposals for development projects involving city property.

None of the board members will confirm the details but sources say the issue involves a potential second casino development.

Regardless of the specifics of the development potential, the city needs to come clean on its plans and let the public have input.

Secret deals never seem to pass the smell test with us, or the taxpayers.

&8220;It&8217;s worked behind closed doors to protect against competition,&8221; some people will say. Hogwash.

In the years since gaming was legalized a number of developers have sought to woo the city. This isn&8217;t something new.

Our gut reaction is to be disappointed in a few of the aldermen. At this point, however, we&8217;re not sure if that should be the two who stopped the meeting or the ones who allegedly were pushing a pet project behind closed doors.