That almost imperceptible sound you heard this morning was the collective sigh of relief - it's over.

Barring any last-minute election issues, today should mark the end of the 2005 election season.

If it seems like some of the races, particularly the Ironton Municipal Court judge one, have been going on for nearly a year, you are not alone.

This year's campaigns started months ago as candidates began squaring off and putting out their signs and their campaign propaganda.

Having a local election begin so early in the year is a bit rare these days. And because of that early start, this year's election has caused much heartache and turmoil for many, many residents.

Some of this year's races have become ugly at times - really ugly. Some of the acts and actions we have witnessed have made us embarrassed for the candidates involved and our community as a whole.

But today is the first day to begin forgetting about the issues that split the community; it is the first day of healing those wounds.

As the campaign signs slowly begin to come down, we hope the political factions from all over the county - judicial, school board, township, council - begin to slowly rebuild the bonds that the election have torn down.

One of the most amazing and precious parts of our country is that we can come together periodically and flip-flop significant portions of our political structure and still have a solid, sound government that keeps on operating without missing so much as a single beat.

The notion that all of the political hatchets will quickly be buried in the past may seem hard to fathom now as the wounds are still fresh, but rest assured that time will come soon.

Soon, this election, with all of the joy and pain that come with the manner in which we choose our leaders, will be behind us.

But for now, we should all be content to take a deep breath and let the healing begin.