Jones appointed County Clerk

At a special meeting last week, the commissioners appointed Melissa Jones as the new Crook County Clerk.

The commission followed the statutory rules governing the appointment of a replacement for an elected official who resigns their position before the end of a term. This involves asking the elected officials political party – in this case the Crook County Republican Party – to provide the names of three candidates for their consideration.

Brad Marchant attended the special meeting in his capacity as chairman of the local party, which had convened the night before to consider the names of all interested candidates.

However, he said, “Only one applied”.

The party unanimously decided to forward the name of that applicant to the Crook County Commission. A motion was passed to accept this name and appoint Jones, with Commissioner Jeanne Whalen commenting, “I would highly recommend Melissa Jones for the clerk’s position”.

Jones has been Acting County Clerk since the departure of Linda Fritz at the end of May and is running unopposed for the seat at this year’s elections.