Boards set to shuffle leadership

The Columbia County Commission and the Board of Education will spend part of this week planning their leadership for 2003.

On the commission, one slot is for sure: Ron Cross was elected to a four-tear term as commission chairman by voters in December. That's a change from the past, where the chairman was elected from within the commission.

Up for grabs is the commission's vice-chairman slot. That election is complicated by current commission vice-chairman Tom Mercer's hospital stay after heart bypass surgery.

The commission will meet Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the Evans Government Center Auditorium for the swearing-in ceremony for Cross and new District 1 Commissioner Steve Brown. A reception will follow. Then, at 6:30 p.m., the commission meeting begins.

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The Columbia County Board of Education will start the new year Friday.

A called meeting will be at 8 a.m. at the office in Appling, where the board will elect officers, including a chairman and vice chairman. Two of the recently re-elected board members - Regina Buccafusco and Mildred Blackburn - will be sworn in by Probate Court Judge Pat Hardaway.

The board also will set meeting times and dates for the new year and will appoint its legal counsel.

After the meeting, the board members plan to go to the new Grovetown Middle School, where they will participate in the dedication ceremony that begins at 10 a.m.