He spoke with county leaders and then spent about an hour at a Warren County Democratic Party function at the DeFrees Pavilion at Betts Park.

Casey talked about infrastructure. He talked about education. He talked about COVID-19. He talked about ensuring care for those who need it.

He also spoke about international affairs.

With regard to the Thursday terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed over 100 people, including at least 12 U.S. service members and 90 Afghans, Casey said now is the time to work together to prevent further loss of life.

Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Sen. Bob Casey speaks Thursday evening at Betts Park in Warren.

“We lost a lot of soldiers today, in a distant land where there’s a lot of tension… a lot of strife,” he said. “We pray for those who lost their lives. We pray for those who are still on the job.”

“We have to continue to support that effort to evacuate,” Casey said. “We need to focus our attention and our resources on getting people out of there.”

“The last thing we need right now… is pontificators,” he said. Finger-pointing, investigations, and accusations can wait. “There will be a lot of time for that later.”

“What happened over the last 20 years wasn’t just a couple of presidents,” he said. “There were a lot of people in Congress, too. I am one of them.”

Casey spoke for about 20 minutes starting at 5 p.m., then spoke to individuals until after 6.

Warren County Democratic Committee Chairman Aaron Stearns was pleased with the visit.

“It’s exciting,” Stearns said. “It is very good for Democratic turnout.”

“The senator and his team are always willing to come up and talk,” Stearns said. “Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, seeing your elected officials taking an interest in your community is very important.”

Warren County Commissioner Jeff Eggleston also expressed his appreciation for Casey’s continued interest in Warren County.

“No statewide official has come to Warren more often than Sen. Casey,” Eggleston said. “That’s so important to have statewide officials that care about rural communities.”

He said the senator sat for about two hours with local officials to talk about the issues that impact the community – “most of that was him listening,” Eggleston said. “I wish there were more statewide officials that would do that. It’s an example of his focus on our area.”