By Max Fontaine | Hard news beat reporter

After scant participation in a recent Beacon reader poll, a staff member who suggested polling as “a good way to serve our readership” has been put on paid leave for two weeks.

Margin of error for the disciplinary action is +/- 24 hours.

The poll, “Whatcha like about April?” received a mere 1 vote in a more-than-10-day span — and that response came from a Beacon advertising department intern, during a mobile-device mishap.

The employee’s name was withheld because most of the public is unaware he or she is a Beacon employee.

Early today, Beacon senior editor Jackson Frolic explained the decision for suspension.

“We admire (the employee’s) initiative, but it’s clear that polling has not ‘engaged our readers,'” Frolic said. “Multiple-choice surveys of this nature may eventually prove a worthy addition to our prodcut, but for now, the plan is to put it on hold until further notice.”