Carlisle appoints former candidate to vacant council seat

The second time was the charm as a Carlisle resident was appointed to a vacant seat on Village Council.

Nicholas Lamb was selected by council from a field of seven applicants to complete the unexpired term of former councilman Jonathan McEldowney, which ends on Dec. 31, 2019.

Last December, Lamb unsuccessfully applied to complete the final two years of former councilman James Lickliter’s term. He was one of five applicants then for that seat that went to Councilwoman Barb Tankersley, who was forced off the 2017 ballot due to errors on her petition to run for re-election.

Lamb was a first-time candidate in 2017 as he was seeking one of two seats on the Franklin Twp. Board of Trustees. He finished fourth of five candidates.

According to Council Clerk Jennifer Harover, the seven candidates included Christopher Eckhardt, Shane Estep, Zachary Fryman, Donna Stewart, Christopher Stivers, Craig Harris and Lamb. Harris, however, withdrew his name from consideration.

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Council interviewed the applicants on Aug. 21 and selected Eckhardt, Stivers and Lamb for a second interview on Sept. 4 before appointing Lamb, Harover said. Lamb will take his oath of office at Tuesday’s council meeting.

“I would like to serve my community with the integrity and commitment that I served my country with,” Lamb said in his application letter. “After the Army, my wife and I moved back to Carlisle with our daughter who we plan on raising in the community we were raised in. Carlisle is a great place to live and I believe a great place to raise children. I would love the opportunity to give back to the community and continue to make it a great place to live.”

An Army veteran, Lamb served an intelligence sergeant at Fort Riley, Kan. He is currently a utility worker for the city of Franklin Public Works Department and had previous employment as a laborer with the Franklin Twp. road department. Lamb is a 2005 graduate of Carlisle High School and attended Otterbein College and Wright State University, where he has completed 135 hours toward a bachelor’s degree in geography.

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McEldowney, who was in his first four-year term, announced his resignation July 24 because he was offered an administrative position with the Fairfield City Schools.

In the resignation letter he submitted to Carlisle council, McEldowney said, “this has been a professional goal of mine for the past two years… This will allow me to focus on my new career and it will allow an appointed council member to fully devote their time and energy to the needs of the community.”

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