About a week ago, a dozen residents attended a meeting in the J.H. Robbins basement community room to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Ellsworth County as it moves into the future.

When a participant mentioned the county newspaper as a strength, another resident took the opportunity to express an opposite view. It was an unfortunate move for several reasons. The resident tearing down a local business was Ellsworth County commissioner Dennis Rolfs and the Independent-Reporter wasn’t the only business on his list of concerns. He also thinks Ellsworth County needs a hotel.

We suspect his comments were directed at Ellsworth, but the county is much larger than one town. We have America’s Best Value Inn at the intersection of Kansas Highways 140 and 156; however, farther west is the elegant and historic Midland Railroad Hotel & Restaurant and Simple Haven B&B. The county also has an AirHub we’ve heard good things about.

A few words about our hotel here in Ellsworth. Given our occasional long hours, we are no stranger to the Best Value Inn. We often spend the night there when we have a late night or early morning meeting.

We have no complaints. The service is good, everyone is nice and the owners have invested in the hotel to improve its appearance and make it more comfortable for guests. The lobby had been updated the most recent time we stayed there a few weeks ago.

In the case of the newspaper, Mr. Rolfs apologized for his remarks after retired teacher Jerry Marsh attended Monday’s commission meeting and asked him about his comments. To his credit, Mr. Rolfs almost immediately offered a public apology. We appreciate his response; however, we would encourage him to include the county’s hotels in his mea culpa.

To paraphrase an old saying, “making a success of a business in rural Kansas isn’t for the faint hearted.” Every bit of support helps, especially when it comes from a county commissioner.