Months after the issue of business travel first surfaced, Butler County government still is wrestling with the issue.

It's time for the matter to be resolved. The county commissioners should be devoting their time to more important issues.

Friday's Butler Eagle reported that the commissioners will be posting proposed changes to the existing policy for a 30-day period before voting on them. But, if the commissioners know how the policy can be improved, a review period should not be necessary.

The travel policy is a management decision that the three commissioners — as the county's managers — should have resolved quickly as a matter of common sense and fiscal responsibility. All of the debate that has occurred about the policy is a waste of time.

If the travel policy has resulted in a waste of taxpayers' dollars in the past, it shouldn't have taken so long to make changes. If taxpayers' dollars haven't been wasted, the issue is nothing but a poor excuse for the way county government should operate.

The issue should be put to rest — and quickly.

Slippery Rock University and the Butler Family YMCA merit praise for their partnership this year that allowed the two-week Camp ROCK program to again be held.SRU started the camp, which is for young people with autism spectrum disorder, last year with the help of a Department of Education grant. With no grant available this year, the university joined with the YMCA to make the program possible. Camp ROCK — Recreational Opportunities Connecting Kids — was held June 18-29, focusing on three goals — physical, social and transition — for the 14- to 21-year-olds involved.Besides the university and YMCA, praise is due to the dozen SRU students and 19 teen peers who gave their time to helping make this year's program successful.According to Carrie Dunkow-ski, YMCA school-age director, Camp ROCK aims to bridge the gap for participants to help them transition into the community. It's the only program of its kind in the county for teenagers and young adults with autism, she said.The program is a valuable resource that should be continued for many summers to come.

The Butler Transit Authority has been a valuable community resource for a while, but the 2011-12 fiscal year revealed a beefed-up awareness of its benefits.Passenger trips were up by more than 26,000 for the 12-month period that ended June 30. In all, the authority recorded about 245,000 passenger trips.Butler County Community College provided the biggest boost to transit numbers for the year in question, with BC3 students' ridership increasing by 52.2 percent.But the authority's role in the increase cannot be overlooked or minimized. As John Paul, authority executive director, observed, the new terminal, coupled with online availability of bus schedules and GPS-tracked locations, have made the bus service more palatable to many people — although riding The Bus always has been a great value.“I'm hoping it's because we have informed more people about the benefits of the service and it's not all because of a bad economy,” Paul said, referring to the ridership increase.While the economy perhaps is part of the reason for the increase, word of mouth also is a key factor in building ridership. When riders tell others of the benefits of the service, those others often give the service a try — and, in some cases, when they try it they're hooked.Convenient schedules perhaps provide the biggest incentive for people to choose to leave their vehicles at home.Even with the July 1 rate increase, it's to be hoped that ridership will continue to grow. When factored against the price of gasoline and parking, plus the inconveniences of finding a parking space, the transit authority offers riders a significant bargain.