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By Robert Sorrell
Star Correspondent
Two Carter County commissioners and one constable have resigned in recent months and the county is working to fill their seats.
Commissioners Cody McQueen and Daniel McInturff and Constable Mark Carrier have submitted their resignations since December. Public notices regarding the vacancies were featured in the Elizabethton Star over the weekend, according to Deputy Clerk Gwen Crowe.
The names of McQueen and McInturff have also been removed from the county’s website.
McQueen submitted his resignation in December. He has served as an Eighth District commissioner since being elected in 2022.
McQueen told the commission that health issues led to his decision to leave the commission, which discussed his departure at the Dec. 21 meeting.
At the time, County Attorney Josh Hardin said the board had 120 days to select a temporary commissioner for the district.
Commissioners Kelly Collins and Thomas Proffitt serve as the two remaining commissioners for the district, which includes the city of Elizabethton.
McInturff submitted his resignation in January. He was first elected to the commission in 2020 and has represented the Seventh District. McInturff had also served as the chairman of the commission’s buildings and grounds committee.
Commission Chairperson Ginger Holdren said both commissioners submitted their resignations due to health and family reasons.
The Seventh District, which covers the Gap Creek community, is still represented by Aaron Frazier and Jason Rasnick.
In Carter County, three commissioners represent each of the eight districts, which results in a total of 24 commissioners. New commissioners could be elected by county voters in August of 2024, Hardin told the commission in December. The deadline to be elected in May has already passed, he said.
Carrier also recently submitted his resignation as constable for the Fifth District, which covers the Happy Valley and Milligan areas. He has served as a constable in Carter County since first being elected in 2010.
Carter County has a total of 16 constables, two from each district.
The public notice to fill the vacancies, with information about qualifications and how to submit applications, was in the Star over the weekend.
“We are currently accepting applications for commissioner appointments in those districts,” Holdren said.
The public notices say the commission will fill the three vacancies at its meeting on March 18. Those interested should submit their nominations to the county clerk’s office by March 13, according to the notices.