New Mayor Beth Holmes and two new Town Council members were sworn in at a Spruce Pine council meeting last week.
Tessa Taylor and Larry McKinney (who has served as a council member before) joined the council, having been elected with Holmes in November. Former Mayor Phillip Hise and former Council Member Jackie Rensink both stepped down, having chosen not to run for re-election this year.
In addition to swearing-in new members, the council also voted to keep Council Member Rocky Buchanan as mayor pro-tem, and appointed other members to various volunteer boards.
A number of former mayors attended the meeting, including State Sen. Ralph Hise.
“I look at all of you as mentors, and appreciate all your service to this town,” Holmes said to the elected officials in the crowd, past and present.
Hise said that he wanted to be at the meeting to welcome the new council members.
“It’s been 18 years,” he said. “It’s the first thing my boys did in their life — they came from the hospital and two days later they were here for the swearing-in.”
Ralph Hise encouraged the new leadership to keep in touch.
“Anything you need from myself or (State Rep.) Dudley Greene … let us know; make your needs known,” he said.
Former Mayor Darla Harding praised the dedication of the new members.
“I appreciate your heart to serve — it can be a thankless job,” she said.
Rensink thanked the new members for coming in as she steps down.
“Larry … you click that pen one more time and I’ll feed it to you,” she said. “Tessa, it is a huge learning curve. … Thank you for stepping up.”
Rensink also praised Town Manager Daniel Stines, who began work earlier this year.
“Daniel has said several times that he’s here to stay, and I’m holding him to it,” she said.
Rensink laughed about times when she was attacked for things that were beyond her control as a council member, such as failing to bring Red Lobster to Spruce Pine.
“My challenge to the new council is to be thick-skinned, be kind,” she said. “We have to learn what is the business of a municipal government, and what is not.”