Saltville council member resigns

By DAN KEGLEY/Staff

Citing health concerns, Craig Barbow resigned from Saltville’s Town Council Tuesday.
Mayor Jeff Campbell read a letter from Barbrow in which he said his resignation would be effective immediately. “My health will not allow me to complete my term that ends next year,” Barbrow wrote.
“My prayers are with him. He has had a difficult year,” Campbell said.
That year began with the sudden death of Barbrow’s wife, Helen, on Christmas Eve 2006.
On top of recent health concerns, Rusty Cahill said Tuesday Barbrow lost a nephew over the weekend.
The resignation, which one council member said privately he expected several weeks ago, set off a debate Tuesday about how to fill Barbrow’s seat. Campbell, an attorney, said Virginia law provides no guidance for the process of filling a vacancy.
Council member Sabrena Ison said in filling vacancies, a runner-up candidate should be appointed, but council members could not agree on whether they should go back to the most recent election or to the election when the person vacating the seat was initially elected.
In a closed session Tuesday set for the discussion of other personnel and legal matters, the council decided to advertise a request for letters of interest in Barbrow’s seat on the council.
Town manager Steve Johnson said the council did not discuss names in the closed session.
Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act permits governing bodies to discuss in closed session candidates for appointment to office or employment.