We, like many in the county, were glad to hear the news last month, when the Ohio Department of Development, under Gov. Mike DeWine, announced that they were $3,615,000 to resolves the issue of lack of water service for the Macedonia Road area of Burlington.

The announcement, touted the executive branch, will help to bring a fix to a problem that local officials have long worked to resolve.

The funding comes from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds that the General Assembly and the governor have put to the Ohio BUILDS water infrastructure and the Macedonia funds were part of a larger $114 million package announced this summer.

But, lost in the hype was the fact that ARPA was passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021. Every Republican in congress voted against, from the state’s then-U.S. senator, Rob Portman, to U.S. Reps Brad Wenstrup and Bill Johnson, who have both represented Lawrence County these past few years.

In fact, at the time of ARPA’s passage, the Santa Claus of the BUILDS announcement, DeWine, said he opposed the package.

While we a are thankful the money that became available was put to a good and long-sought in the county by the governor, it should be pointed out that, as those funds are spent, they would not have been possible if it been up to Republicans, many of whom denounced ARPA as “socialism.”

Such knee-jerk opposition benefitted no one and, as the resolution to Macedonia woes shows, it doesn’t take much for one person’s “socialism” to become another person’s much-needed infrastructure investment.