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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County Judge Daniel J. Milliron will retire at the end of this year.
Milliron, elected to a second 10-year term that started in January 2016, was supposed to remain on the bench through the end of December 2025.
"I'll be 66 this year," Milliron said Monday when asked for the reason behind his pending retirement. "It's time."
In a written statement, Milliron said he had given "much thought" to the idea of retiring and expects to offer additional statements closer to the end of the year.
"No, I'm not going to change my mind before then," he said.
Milliron's announcement, 11 months before his departure, gives himself and fellow county judges -- President Judge Elizabeth Doyle, Wade A. Kagarise, Timothy M. Sullivan and Jackie Bernard -- time to make transitional plans for ongoing cases and for Milliron's longtime management of the county's DUI Court.
"I've seen him excel as a judge, especially in DUI Court where he and his team have saved lives through its tough but fair programming," President Judge Elizabeth Doyle said.
Milliron, since joining the bench in 2003 when appointed to the post, has handled a wide range of criminal and civil court proceedings over the years, including multiple drug-trafficking cases with lengthy jury trials and significant sentences.
A former mayor and former Altoona Area School Board member, Milliron ran for judge in 2005 and secured his first 10-year term.
When he ran for retention in 2015, he had no trouble keeping the post that he described as having been the "highest privilege of my life."
Doyle said Milliron, who is known by many and loved by his staff and colleagues, will be missed.
"I am sad for the court, but happy for his family that my colleague, the Honorable Judge Daniel J. Milliron, is ending his illustrious judicial career in retirement at the end of the year," Doyle said.
After Milliron's seat becomes vacant, it could be filled through a gubernatorial appointment subject to Senate confirmation, pending the 2023 judicial election cycle. The state Office of General Counsel posts information on judicial vacancies at www.ogc.pa.gov.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.