October - Wingspan

October 12, 2009lccc.wy.edu/wingspancampus news Wingspan 5College trustee resigns; 5 apply for seatTony Mendoza to move out of local districtWingspan archive photoResigned:Laramie County Community College Trustee Tony Mendozaresigned effective Sept. 30.WHERESTUDENTSSHOP FIRST!FREE EVERYFRIDAY!wyotraders.comFollowing theannouncementSept. 18that Laramie CountyCommunity CollegeBoard of Trustees’member TonyMendoza wouldresign his positionon the board by theend of September,the president of thecollege outlined thequalities the trusteeswould seek in hisreplacement.Mendoza, whowas elected inNovember 2008, toldWingspan Sept. 18he has been unemployedfor fourmonths and unableto find any work inCheyenne.He has workedat the University ofWyoming and withUpward Bound andhas taught Spanishin middle school andhigh school in Texasand New Mexico.Most recently,he worked for aCheyenne mentalhealth center.“It’s purely aneconomic thing,” hesaid. “For whateverreason, I cannot geta break in Cheyenneas much as I tried. Iwas surprised. WhenI first came back [toWyoming], I hadthree jobs right in arow. I haven’t beenable to find anything.I don’t knowif it is a function ofthe economy or justexactly what.”He planned tomove to Laramieat the end ofSeptember, he said.Mendoza submitteda letter of resignationto be effectiveat Sept. 30.He said he hadtold LCCC BoardKaiser and LCCCPresident Dr. DarrelHammon of hisintention to make theresignation effectiveSept. 30.“They are aware ofthe difficulties I havehad,” Mendoza said.Late on Sept.18, Hammon toldWingspan he had notofficially receivedMendoza’s resignation,but he explainedthat historically inthe process for fillinga vacancy “the boardwould review namesas a collective whole.”The president saidthe trustees will lookfor a replacementwho “loves studentsand the communitycollege system.”During Hammon’stenure at LCCC notrustee vacancy hasoccurred; however,the usual processinvolves gatheringa list of names andconducting interviewsin an executivesession. He noted thevote does not have tobe unanimous.As of Oct. 6, thefollowing had appliedfor trusteeposition: RochelleS. Ames, Leighton P.Gammon, Carol A.Merrell, Edwin M.Mosher and HerbertW. Stoughton. Thedeadline for applicationsis noon Oct. 13During theNovember 2008election, Mendozacaptured the fourthposition on theboard of trustees,beating incumbentRon Rabou, whowas serving as boardchairman, garneringnearly 10,000 votes.Mendoza said hewas amazed that hehad been elected onhis first try for LCCC’sboard. He explainedhis original plan hadbeen just to obtainname recognitionamong the votersduring the first raceand then try a secondtime to win.“I was astounded.I was so pleased bythe outcome and theexpression of confidencethe LaramieCounty voters had inme,” Mendoza said,“and the board wasreceptive, respectful,and cooperative andencouraging from thevery beginning.I didn’t have toearn my stripes. I wason as an equal. It wasvery, very pleasant,very, very professionallyhandled.”He credited hisgood experienceon the board to“Dr. Hammon andChairman Kaiserand the other goodpeople. They are reallyoutstanding.”The trustees mustselect someone to fillMendoza’s unexpiredterm within 30 daysof officially receivingthe resignation.In the Novemberelection, the topvote-getting candidatesafter Rabouwere as follows: SteveOlmstead, JamesCole, Steve Bahmer,Matt Kruse and JackWininger. However,the trustees are notlimited to those whoran for office.The last time avacancy occurredwas in 2004 uponthe death of IlvaChilders, who diedAug. 19, 2004. At thattime, a local attorney,John Metzke,who had been on theboard and was then amember of the LCCCFoundation board,was selected, accordingto Sept. 1, 2004,LCCC board minutes.Hammon said heexpected the trusteeswould want tofill the vacancy “assoon as possible.”“They never want toelongate this, ever,”he said. “There arelots of big things theyneed to do. I thinkthey would like asmuch input as theycan.”The Wyoming statute“on vacancies inother offices, temporaryappointments”reads as follows: “Thetrustees of a schoolor a community collegedistrict shall filla vacancy in office bytemporary appointmentin a mannerprovided by law.“If the trustees failto appoint a qualifiedperson to fill a vacancywithin thirty (30)days from the datethe vacancy occurs,or if, for any reason,the entire membershipof the board oftrustees of a school orcommunity collegedistrict is depleted,the board of countycommissioners of thecounty or countiesinvolved within ten(10) days of eitheroccurrence, shallappoint a qualifiedperson to fill each vacancyuntil the nextelection at whichtime an election shallbe held to fill theunexpired term, andeach appointee shallserve until his successoris elected andqualified.“Each appointeeshall be a resident ofthe trustee residencyarea, or election subdistrict,if any, previouslyrepresented.”