The Winchester City Council has a new member.
Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandy Long resigned last month to move to the State of Florida.
Mayor Rex McIntire says he started scanning the registered voter rolls for Ward 2 to find a potential person to nominate for the position when he found a familiar name. McIntire says Melinda Hembrough grew up on Walnut Street together and have known her and her family for a long time. He says when he came across Hembrough’s name knowing she had recently retired from Illinois Valley Paving after working there for many years that he believed her to be a good fit for the vacancy: “When I was looking through the book of registered voters for Ward 2, when I saw her name I thought that she would be a perfect fit. I figured she might have some time on her hands now that she’s retired and might be looking for something to do. When I called her and asked if she would be interested, she said ‘yes.'”
McIntire says that Hembrough has some experience with civic engagement through mission work as well as organizing annual vacation Bible school at her church: “She’s pretty involved with her church. In fact, she was going to be sworn in last month but was wrapping up vacation Bible school. I asked her to take care of that first, and at first chance, come in and try to get here by the July monthly meeting so we can get you started.”
Hembrough’s appointment will last until April 2025.