County auditor takes no regrets into retirement

When Joan Knoll walked out of the Chickasaw County Courthouse last Thursday, there was Kurt Knoll waiting to give his wife a ride home.
The longtime county government employee will miss those daily rides to and from work with her husband. And she will miss a vast majority of the people she worked with and helped in a career that spanned more than 40 years.
Yet, as she took that final walk down the stairs from her second story office, she had nary a regret.
Retirement beckoned.
“I will miss the people a lot,” said Knoll, whose 12-year run as county auditor ended on New Year’s Eve, “and I was so lucky to work with so many great people. Saying goodbye to them, that will be hard, but it’s time for a new chapter.”
Knoll had hoped that new phase of her life would be as a county supervisor, but that was dashed in November when she lost to incumbent Jacob Hackman for the District 3 seat. Meanwhile, Stephanie Mashek claimed a victory in the auditor’s race, took the oath of office on Thursday and began work on Monday morning.
“I’m OK with that,” she said. “I ran, I didn’t win and that’s that. I’m proud of my years in county government, and hopefully I did right by my county and the people who live here. I’m sure I’ll find a few things to do to keep me busy.”
For the full story, please see the Jan. 5 Tribune.