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The three are Jonette "Jonie" Tibbs,
Ward 3, who defeated incumbent George Mitchell for the seat in the
February primary; Orville "Buzz" Busby, who ran unopposed for the
Ward 4 seat vacated by Bill Melton; and Derrick Crane, who defeated
recently appointed Martha "Marty" Neitzel in Ward 5.
Neitzel, however, still has a seat on
the council. Because of the resignation of Michael Montcalm in
February and the sudden death of Alderman Joseph Stone last fall,
two seats were vacant in Ward 5, and Mayor Beth Davis appointed
Neitzel to fill the other vacancy several weeks ago.
Although not a newcomer, Melanie Riggs,
former deputy city clerk, also assumed a new position, attending her
first meeting as city clerk. Juanita "Nita" Josserand, who served as
clerk for the last 16 years, retired as of April 30. Riggs has often
sat in on meetings when Josserand could not attend and has been with
the city since 1988.
Mayor Davis also reappointed four
department heads and the city attorney, Bill Bates. Rich Montcalm
continues as police chief, Bucky Washam as fire chief, Les Last as
building and zoning head, and Donnie Osborne as street
superintendent. Osborne plans to retire this summer.
City Clerk
Melanie Riggs goes over some of the city’s many documents with newly
elected council members Derrick Crane (left) and Orville “Buzz”
Busby
Davis also appointed incumbent Pat
Madigan as mayor pro tem and named committee chairs and members.
Although she said her philosophy is generally not to reappoint the
same council member twice, she made an exception in two cases this
term. Ward 2 Alderman Verl Prather will continue as finance
committee chair and the other Ward 2 Alderman, Steve Fuhrer, will
stay on as chair of the ordinance and zoning committee.
She said she believed it was important
to keep some continuity in these committees because of the financial
difficulties the city has faced in the past two years and because
the finance and zoning committees are still working on readjusting
city fees to match those in neighboring communities. Vice-chair for
the finance committee is Benny Huskins, and vice-chair of the
ordinance committee is Busby.
Other appointments are Busby as chair
of the fire, water and ESDA committee, with Madigan as vice-chair;
Crane as chair of the buildings, grounds and local improvements
committee, with Tibbs as vice-chair; Neitzel as chair of the
insurance committee, with Fuhrer as vice-chair; Glenn Shelton as
chair of the police committee, with Prather as vice-chair; Tibbs as
chair of the sanitation committee, with Crane as vice-chair; Huskins
as chair of the sewerage and drains committee, with Shelton as
vice-chair; Madigan as chair of the sidewalks, forestry and lighting
committee, with Dave Armbrust as vice-chair; and Armbrust chair of
streets and alleys, with Neitzel as vice-chair.
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[Photos by Joan Crabb]
The three newly elected members of the Lincoln City
Council study city documents before the regular meeting Monday
night. Right to left are Jonette “Jonie” Tibbs, Ward 3; Orville
“Buzz” Busby, Ward 4; and Derrick Crane, Ward 5.
Additional assignments as
representatives to various organizations are Shelton to the Healthy
Communities Partnership; Huskins to the Lincoln Planning Commission;
Prather to the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce; Neitzel to
the Looking for Lincoln program; Tibbs to Main Street Lincoln; Crane
to the city's Historic Homes and Buildings Commission; and Madigan,
Shelton and Neitzel to the Mayor's Commission on Disabilities,
Minorities, Seniors, Veterans and Youth.
Also Prather to the Logan County Board;
Fuhrer to the Tourism Bureau of Logan County; Huskins as a voting
member of the Logan County Joint Solid Waste Management Commission;
Armbrust as a voting member of the Logan County Planning and Zoning
Commission; Fuhrer as a voting member to both the Logan County
Economic Development Council and the Logan County Economic
Development Foundation; and Prather to the Lincoln Statue
Corporation.
Davis also pointed out that the city
will be down 10 employees as of Sept. 1 of this year.
Because of the projected budget
deficit, the council laid off two employees each in the fire
department, the police department and the street department. Davis
said another firefighter and another police officer have resigned
and pointed out that the resignation of Josserand has left a vacancy
in the clerical department. When Osborne resigns as street
superintendent in August, the number of vacancies will be up to 10.
None of these vacancies will be filled at the present time, she
said.
In addition, the half-time position in
the Office of Building and Zoning office has been eliminated.
Lloyd Evans, director of the Logan
County Health Department, presented the Lincoln City Police
Department with the Public Health Partnership Award for supporting
the Health Department with its programs and services.
Lloyd
Evans, (right) Logan County Health Department director, presents the
department’s Public Health Partnership Award to the Lincoln City
Police Department at Monday’s city council meeting
He said for 12 years the police have
been helping the Health Department do its best for area citizens,
such as helping with the domestic abuse programs, the Alcohol,
Tobacco and Other Drug Task Force, conducting tobacco and liquor
"stings," and working at the health fairs.
"In Lincoln
we are blessed with people and organizations that go beyond the
confines of their jobs," he said.
[Joan Crabb]
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