Despite its often slow, ineffective reputation, sometimes government does, in fact, help citizens solve problems that would likely otherwise go unresolved.

For an example of that, look no further than the problems that faced residents in the Kingston community in southern Adams County.

A pipeline company’s decision to simply cap a main natural gas pipeline that fed the community due to the pipeline’s age stood to leave customers without a utility on which they’d come to depend for decades.

Enter Adams County Supervisor David Carter who personally lobbied the pipeline company to give him time to find a solution, leaving natural gas flowing while he did so.

Carter presented the solution he found earlier this week to an appreciative group of residents.

The solution — a company that will install a large tank that will disburse a hybrid version of propane through the existing natural gas infrastructure — will cost more on a monthly basis, but will allow residents to continue to use their existing natural gas appliances.

We applaud Carter’s strong representation and work for the people of his district, which includes Kingston. He’s shown his constituents and the rest of the county, that with some hard work and ingenuity, a seemingly insurmountable obstacle can be overcome.