Charlie is an asset to Adams County and I truly understand his position on retiring. I was a little sad when Charlie told me, but him wanting to spend time with his family is completely understandable.

Down the road we may call Charlie for budget consultation. He is so familiar with the budget we may have to call him to help get the new person adapted.

I remember coming up on weekends and Charlie would be here working. He's made sacrifices to do his job and been very dedicated.

It is a lost opportunity for us to make our [playoff] position better. We can't come up with a sloppy effort like that, not this time of the year.

That may raise the obvious question of whether there's an insatiable appetite on the part of the county commission to raise as much money as they can at any point in time. Even if they can't spend it now, they can build up rainy-day funds, or they can bankroll for some major project down the line. I don't think there's going to be tremendous public support for that.

He started the season off a little slow. But he's getting in better position as of late.