 Longtime Bemidji area school superintendent Dr. James Hess is retiring after 14 years. He made the announcement this morning during the district's in service. Hess says he felt it was time to step aside and let someone else lead the district. During the span of his career, Hess has received several awards and worked in Colorado and Kansas. The kids, staff and daily work that kept him busy is what he will miss most. Hess's retirement is effective on June 30th, 2018, but he still has priorities for this year such as school improvement goals. See to it that we complete Gene Dillon Elementary School and make that the kind of top flight school that it's designed to be. I'm looking forward to bringing that school online. That'll occur about a year from now. Life after retirement for Hess will be more, he'll try to get more use out of his fishing boat and he'll get to sleep in on snow days. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.