Thursday night's anticipated DeWitt County Board Meeting saw an unexpected
happening regarding the vacant District B seat. 

Chairwoman Sherrie Brown brought forth the appointment of former County Board candidate Jeff Gibbs to the full Board.  She explained she has always preferred to meet with a potential Board Member. Brown continued saying Christy Pruser, the widow of the late Tom Pruser, failed to respond to her request for a meeting.  
 

[audio:82214Gibbs1.mp3] [/audio] 
 
Gibbs received a fairly negative reaction from the public sector as he approached the board. However Gibbs' response to the Chairwoman's appointment shocked everyone in attendance including the Chairwoman herself. He received cheers from the crowd after saying he would "do the right thing" and ask Brown to appoint Pruser.
 

[audio:82214Gibbs2.mp3] [/audio]
 
When asked why he declined the appointment of Chairwoman Brown Gibbs replied that he had a great deal of respect for the late Tom Pruser whose seat he would have filled and felt it was the right thing to do for the citizens of the county. He added he would still speak out regarding the Clinton Lake Marina which he feels passionately about.
 

[audio:82214Gibbs3.mp3] [/audio]
 
After Gibbs declined his appointment, Brown attempted to skip the appointment of Pruser on the agenda. Board Member Danny Ballenger challenged Brown by saying he didn't respect her skipping a motion he put on the agenda. State's Attorney Karle Koritz said Ballenger couldn't make a motion to appoint Pruser, but he could motion for a vote to formally request the appointment.  Brown still declined the recommendation.

[audio:82214Gibbs4.mp3] [/audio]

The motion to request Brown to make the appointment passed 6-4 with Brown and Ron Savage abstaining. Several in the crowd along with Board Member Sue May-Witted questioned Brown'sattempts to contact Pruser. The Board Chair said she contacted her one time and asked Pruser to give her a call back.
 
[audio:82214Gibbs5.mp3] [/audio]

For now ,the vacant board seat remains open for yet another two weeks. Stay tuned to Regional Radio News for more information on the vacancy when the Dewitt County Board meets again on September 11th.