EDITORIAL

The Advocate-Messenger

Danville and Boyle County officials have often found themselves at odds with each other over the years. But maybe there’s something in the air this Valentine’s Day, because we’re seeing a growing sense of partnership and cooperation between the two governments.

Much of that cooperative atmosphere is due to law enforcement officers.

It was just announced this week that the Danville Police Department and the Boyle County Sheriff’s Office will be partnering with the Danville Schools to provide school resource officers.

Danville’s thinned force was unable to continue providing an SRO last year, but the department is strongly staffed again and able to resume SRO duties come July. In the interim, the sheriff’s office stepped in and has provided two SROs.

Such a situation could have easily turned into a bitter turf war, but it didn’t — it never even came close. Instead, all the groups involved behaved like adults and the result is a useful partnership that benefits everyone in the end.

Last month, cooperation between the law enforcement agencies was also on display, when they worked together to quickly assist a Boyle County deputy who wrecked when a rock was thrown through his windshield. The two agencies also partnered on the investigation, which quickly led to the arrest of a pair of juvenile suspects, accused of having thrown the rock.

There are countless other times every day when the sheriff helps out Danville police or vice versa that we never hear about.

Outside of law enforcement, there’s also the possibility Danville and Boyle County governments will soon come to a mutually agreeable situation concerning Millennium Park and the (currently) joint Parks and Recreation agency. The idea for Danville to acquire Boyle County’s half of Millennium Park and become the sole provider of Parks & Rec services, with Boyle County paying an annual support fee to the city, is in its infancy. There will be plenty of opportunities for things to change one way or another.

Whether such a substantial change should happen at all is a topic for a different editorial and a later time, when more details have been worked out. But the fact city and county officials came together, saw a possible path of mutual happiness and left a joint meeting not angry with each other is a good sign.

Of course, there are still plenty of things to disagree about. And disagreements aren’t necessarily a bad thing. If the city and county only ever agreed with each other 100-percent of the time, that would be a red flag that underhanded dealing could be going on.

We like the balance being struck right now by both governments between cooperation and standing up for what they want.