This week marked a changing of the guard at the Marquette County Register of Deeds Office.

After 25 years of dedicated service, Register of Deeds Patricia Manley retired. Her last day on the job was Friday. Thursday afternoon, a three-member panel of elected officials appointed Manley’s chief deputy clerk, Carla L’Huillier to fill out Manley’s unexpired term, which ends Dec. 31, 2016.

Manley recommended L’Huillier for the job and the panel – which included county Clerk Linda Talsma, Probate Judge Cheryl Hill and Prosecutor Matthew Wiese – unanimously decided to support Manley’s recommendation, rather than advertising to fill the vacancy.

L’Huillier thanked Manley for preparing her for the job and said she anticipates a smooth transition. We agree the transition should be smooth given L’Huillier’s 17 years working in Manley’s office, with 14 of those years as chief deputy clerk.

If L’Huillier still wants the job when her appointment concludes, she can ask voters to elect her to a full four-year term in the November 2015 general election.

We thank Manley for her years of service to the county and we wish her well in her retirement. We also wish L’Huillier well in her new position.

We think the move to appoint her to the job was a good idea.