Middleburg's Town Staff has begun the new year by delivering good news on two fronts.

Water

With the help of the Virginia Water Resources Association the town appears to have both found and addressed the mystery of Middlburg's "Missing Water," an effort which first reports indicate may prevent the loss of some 300,000 gallons of purified water a month from the town's distribution system.

What is important about this news is not that it took so long to address the problem but that it has been addressed at long last, as part of an ongoing and systematic effort to correct the system's deficiencies.

Thanks . . . and congratulations.

Police

Working together, Middleburg's new Police Chief, Bill Klugh, and Town Administrator Martha Semmes have delivered to Town Council draft revisions of critical parts of the Middleburg Police Department's Rules, Regulations and Standing Orders. Council began formal consideration of the changes at its last work session in January.

Council and staff began to re-evaluate those rules and regulations after formal complaints about the conduct of the former Middleburg Police Chief were lodged by the Eccentric, following the arrest and public humiliation of the newspaper's editor on November 30, 2010, on charges that later proved to be unsubstantiated.

Since the events of November 30, 2010, Town Administrator Semmes has been assigned personal responsibility for oversight of the department. Acting in that capacity she worked with Middleburg's officers to manage the force after the June 28 retirement of former Chief Webber, and led the recruitment, hiring and integration of a new and well-qualified Chief.

The new Chief, Bill Klugh, in turn, has gotten to know the police force, the town, and the people he serves. He has hired and trained a new officer, and worked with Semmes to draft rules and regulations that will, we hope and believe, prevent what happened on the streets of Middleburg on November 30 from ever happening again.

A good start.

We look forward to both further progress, and unwavering dedication to the oversight required to ensure that Middleburg enjoys both clean water and sound law enforcement.