Jane Fulk was chosen to fill the vacant Dan River District seat on Patrick County Board of Supervisors.
The board made the selection at its May 28 meeting.
Fulk will serve in the post until a special election is held in November. The winner of that election will then finish out the remaining year of Brandon Simmons’ 4-year term.
Simmons resigned from the board earlier this year.
Fulk, who was officially sworn in as the interim on May 31, resigned as a member of the Planning Commission because she can’t hold both offices due to a potential conflict of interest.
Fulk said she decided to seek becoming the interim as she thought she could help the board out for a short time.
“I didn’t want to run again, but I could do the short-term. I felt it would be a good fit right now because we have so many new members and so many new employees. That maybe I could lend a little hand here and there,” she said.
Fulk, who previously served in the post from 2018-2021, said her goals involve working with the rest of the board.
“I know they have concerns and maybe things they want to work with, I’ve talked a little bit about that with them,” she said. “I told them that in the time I’m there, we might not accomplish the goals, but if we could have some solid ideas to go forward with, that would be good.”
She noted a board can have a lot of ideas, but it’s necessary to look at them and see if they’re feasible.
“Or can you do them, or what do you need to have to do them. Hopefully, we can make some of those ideas into a concrete plan that even if I’m not there, they can go forward with,” she said.
Fulk said she would like to look at getting some type of medical establishment.
“We may never have a hospital again, but I’m a little worried over Dr. Cole’s clinic because he’s retirement age. So, that’s one thing that we need to talk about, is can we do” something about that, she said.
While she doesn’t yet know what the board is concentrating on, Fulk said if she had gotten onto the board before it approved the budget, she would have worked on that with them.
“So, I just need to see where they are to start with,” she said.
Fulk hopes she can help the county out during her short tenure on the board.
“I hope we can find somebody who has a really good interest who will run for the position. I think maybe some of the other candidates that applied” to be the interim “will run, but I’m not sure,” she said.
