On board

Last week, four hats were in the ring for five open seats on the Lake Orion Community Schools? Board of Education.
When the filing deadline passed at 4 p.m. Tuesday, the final number was 14.
Missing from the list, however, was Tiffany Weber-Phillips, who was elected to the board in 2009 but faced controversy last year when her residency came into question. She was ultimately cleared, according to reports formerly published in The Lake Orion Review.
Candidates stepping up in hopes of hanging onto the board seats they currently occupy the first and third Wednesday of each month include Janet Wolverton, first elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. Board member Kelly Weaver, appointed to replace then-President Bill Walters is also listed among the 14 candidates, as is Steven Drakos who was appointed to the board when Tina Peterson stepped down last year.
According to state law, anyone appointed to the board must seek voter approval in the next election in order to serve out the remainder of their predecessor’s term.
Drakos is the only candidate running for the two-year term.
Winners of the other four seats will he serve four-year terms.
School Board President Mary Jo Burchart, originally elected to the board in 2000, and Treasurer Jim Weidman, first elected in 2001, are both currently serving terms ending in 2013.
All five elected May 3 are likely to have their work cut out as the board faces a potentially bumpy ride through the Feb. 22 bond issue, the superintendent search process and the shrinking prospects for budget cuts amidst continuously shrinking revenue.

Lake Orion Village Council member Michael Toth is the newest member of the Paint Creek Trailways Commission.
The village is entitled to one non-voting representative. A year ago, Richard Mazzenga was appointed as the village’s representative, but has not attended the meetings for many months, according to LO Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel.

Although he’s not a village resident, Richard Mazzenga is the new Lake Orion representative on the Paint Creek Trailways Commission.
Village council members on Oct. 12 picked the Orion Township resident because no village resident has expressed an interest in serving.
Mazzenga, an employee at Paint Creek Bicycles located downtown, regularly uses the trail. He will have a non-voting position.
Village officials are still looking for anyone interested in serving on the Orion Community Cable Communication Commission and a person who would like to be an alternate on the board of zoning appeals