Six line up for vacant port seat

Six applicants have filed for the District 3 seat on the Port of Whitman County commission. The seat has been left vacant by the death of Bob Gronholz of Colfax.

The six applicants are Don Cox, Jack Fulfs, Tom Kammerzell, Eric Larsen and Jeff Phelps.

Port commissioners Dan Boone and John Love decided May 6 to interview the candidates following their next regular meeting, scheduled for next Monday.

The candidates will be interviewed by Boone and Love for 15 minutes each. They plan to vote on the new commissioner at their June 8 meeting.

The new commissioner will be the 13th since the port was founded in 1958.

Once selected, the new commissioner will serve until the next scheduled port election, which would be when the District 2 seat, now held by Boone, comes up in November of 2011.

The person elected to the District 3 post will serve until 2015, the balance of Gronholz’ term.

Mr. Gronholz, who died April 14 following an extended bout with lung cancer, served two full terms on the port commission and was re-elected to a third term last November.