Last week the Lawrence County Commission sent out requests for resumes as they seek to appoint an interim county engineer following the resignation of Doug Cade.

That appointment will be temporary until the Republican Central Committee makes the permanent selection, more than five but less than 45 days after Cade leaves.

Now the commission is looking for a replacement to head up the county job and family services now that longtime director Gene Myers will retire on May 1.

That appointment will be permanent and resumes are sought for it as well.

Commission president Les Boggs said he would like to start interviewing for Cade’s position in the next two weeks. However, the only candidate for the job must be a licensed professional engineer, licensed professional surveyor and a qualified elector in Lawrence County, meaning he or she is a registered voter. To be appointed by the party, the candidate must have voted as a Republican in the last election

According to the Ohio Professional Engineers and Surveyors website, there are only three in Lawrence who would qualify: Cade, retired county engineer David Lynd and Patrick Leighty of E.L. Robinson Engineering.

Leighty will come on board at the engineer’s office on May 4 as Cade’s chief deputy engineer.

As far as Myers’ position, there are no such strict ORC requirements and right now, at least there are publicly saying they will apply for the post.

Current DJFS assistant director Terry Porter said his almost 20 years at the department make him qualified.

“When I came to work here in 1996, I had the lowest position in the building and I worked my way up,” Porter said. “I love my job and with my experience probably 15 years of them have been as a supervisor or management.”

Also interested is Ironton Mayor Rich Blankenship who is term-limited and will be out of office at the end of this year.

“I feel I am well-qualified for that position and will most likely apply for that job,” said Blankenship, who spent seven years as an investigator with the DJFS before becoming mayor.

Another candidate is attorney Christen Finley, who is currently with the Richard M. Lewis law practice in Jackson. Finley has also worked with the firms of McCown and Fisher and Price Waterhouse Cooper.

“We do a lot of civil litigation and a lot of domestic relations,” Finley said. “I am a qualified individual interested in seeing positive changes in Lawrence County. As an attorney I understand and appreciate some of the constraints but there is always room to do better.”

In other action the commission:

• Requested a prosecutor’s opinion on a $250,000 check county received from the sale of the Sherman Thompson Towers;

• Approved the release of $10,900 in federal funds to build a picnic shelter in Washington Township;

• Proclaimed March 27, as Sgt. Earl Hilgenberg Day as his remains are interred in Lawrence County today;

• Approved resolution authorizing Lawrence-Scioto County Solid Waste District to purchase food and other amenities for solid waste board meetings.