Walnut mayor to resign
WALNUT — Mayor Gary Brooks will be handing in his letter of resignation to Walnut Village Board members at the regular Aug. 16 board meeting.
“I just feel with the economy at present, our work ... at the (Walnut) Leader (newspaper) is requiring much more of my time than I anticipated. Even back in December, I thought that maybe the economy was beginning to rebound; I was hoping that I could maybe spread out the work load to more people, but that is just not possible.
“Linda and I have a strong commitment to the Leader. We feel a need to keep the hometown newspaper strong, and the only way to accomplish this is to put forth additional effort.
“When we combined this with an extraordinary offer I received in June, from the district superintendent of the DeKalb District, United Methodist Church, that I consider an assignment as pastor of the United Methodist Church in Malden for the next year, Linda and I were very excited. I was assigned to that church by the bishop beginning on July 1 and held my first worship service there on July 4.
“This was an opportunity that was in front of me at this particular time in my life, and more than likely, an opportunity that would not have been available to me at the time I would have completed my term as president (of the village),” said Brooks.
In May, Brooks had begun his sixth year as mayor of Walnut. While Brooks has never been a board trustee, he has always been a strong leader in the Walnut community.
“While I may have never been a board member, I probably attended more meetings than the average person,” Brooks said. “I don’t want people to think that I have not enjoyed my position as mayor of Walnut. I thoroughly enjoyed my time as mayor and will no doubt miss it, as well as the board members.
“We as a board accomplished many things I am proud of. A couple of years ago, we put in a diesel generator at the water tower, so that when the village would lose power, the generator would make it possible for the town to continue to have water,” Brooks said.
Most recently, the village board set up a cemetery fund and opened it up to the public for donations to assist in the replacing of grave markers and cleaning up a lot of the old stones in the cemetery. Brooks commented this was another one of those good moments, where the village board can do something simple and make something right.
“There really isn’t one thing that I have accomplished on my own. I have a good board. Walnut has good people looking out for them, and even though I will not be a part of the board any longer, I have complete confidence in our board, knowing that they will be making good decisions.”
Once Brooks hands in his resignation, it will be up to village board members to either appoint one of them to fulfill the mayoral position until Brooks’ term ends, or appoint a member of the community.
“I informed the board members of my decision after our last board meeting. I also told them that I would be happy to stay through September, if they needed me to, until a suitable replacement is found,” he said.
“It is my hope that the residents in Walnut will continue to support the village and the person that will be appointed to fill the presidency until the next election in the spring. You have a conscientious board that continually works for the best for Walnut, and that will continue as a new president comes to the office,” Brooks said.
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