Editor's note: This editorial was written before the news broke today about old county records being dumped at the landfill, at the sheriff's direction.

When newly elected Athens County Engineer Jeff Maiden took office in January, he didn't expect a seamless transition. The primary election battle the previous spring had been especially bitter, and the entrenched Democratic incumbent who lost his seat, Archie Stanley, and his staff had taken it as a personal affront that anyone, especially a fellow Democrat, would challenge Stanley's 32-year reign in the Engineer's Office.

If a tree falls in the woods, and the sheriff won't comment about it, is it still a tree? Also, too: Chem trails, the engineer's records flap, global warming and tornadoes. This is your voice, Athens, cherish it.

It's the summer of 2013. Time has flown by faster than you can say "Ohio University," and I now find myself a junior in college. I am jobless, directionless and stressed out. You could say that I'm the perfect example of a college kid.

In Jewish/Christian tradition, the word Bethesda refers to a pool of healing that served as the desired destination for people of the Holy Land traveling for weeks or months with their crippled loved ones in tow in hopes of experiencing the pool's healing powers.

Marietta native Mark Kelso will offer a concert of uplifting piano music and songs 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, at ARTS/West in Athens.

Deadlines for letters are noon on Tuesday for Thursday's edition, and noon on Friday for Monday's edition. Sometimes we will consider late letters if we know ahead of time when the letter will arrive and how much space it will require. Remember, send them to news@athensnews.com.

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