Published Saturday, Jan. 19, 2002
FARRELL, WHEATLAND
6 apply to fill vacant seat on school boardBy Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
Five Farrell residents and a Wheatland resident have put their names in the running for a vacancy on Farrell Area School Board.
Topping the list are Sadie Benham, who missed a May primary victory by one vote, and Brenda M. Branca, the daughter of the woman whose death caused the vacancy.
Rose Marie Branca died Jan. 1 after 26 years on the board, just as she was supposed to begin another four-year term.
The board accepted letters of interest until 4 p.m. Friday. Those who submitted letters are:
The candidates were asked to fill out informal questionnaires and return them by the middle of next week.
Public interviews of the candidates will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 28. The board will select a new member after the interviews, with deliberations and the vote also done publicly.
The new appointee will serve for two years, and then the seat will be subject to election.
Mrs. Benham is the only candidate to have run for a school board seat in recent years. After losing in the primary by a single vote, she ran a write-in campaign in the fall, but fell at least 300 votes behind Mrs. Branca, the fourth-place finisher.
You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Joe Pinchot at jpinchot@sharon-herald.com