No matter what the outcome of Saturday’s runoff in Louisiana, it was going to be historic.

And with Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco elected the state’s first female governor over Indian-American Bobby Jindal, it is time for all of us now to look toward the future.

It seems that with the choices voters had in this race Louisiana was already looking to the future &045; either candidate would have been a &uot;first&uot; for the office that has been home only to white men. Each candidate also had good ideas for the state.

Blanco knows the challenges of rural areas like Concordia Parish, and we hope she will reach out with programs and promises to help our community.

Sheriff Randy Maxwell has been re-elected to his office in Concordia Parish, but we will have a police jury made up of veteran officials and some new faces.

We encourage them to work hard together to bring jobs and greater opportunities to the parish.

Several winners said Saturday night they are ready to move into the future, looking at ways to secure grant funding, improve roads and drainage and attract more industry.

We congratulate the winners and thank the other candidates for their hard work in the campaigns.

We hope the new ideas raised during these races will bring new enthusiasm for public service &045; and inspire opportunities for the parish and for the state.