Farley named to Greencastle Borough Council

January 04, 2011|By RICHARD F. BELISLE | richardb@herald-mail.com

By Richard F. Belisle/Staff Writer

GREENCASTLE, Pa. — They already had a Foley. Now they have a Farley, too.

On Monday night, the Greencastle Borough Council voted 6-4 to appoint James R. Farley to serve a one-year term replacing Mark Singer who resigned the seat to take a state job.

Farley, of 79 Celestial Terrace, was picked from two other applicants: Wade G. Burkholder and Frank L. Webster Jr. All three were interviewed in open session, as was the vote naming Farley immediately following the interviews.

Council members who voted for Farley were H. Duane Kinzer, Paul T. Schemel, Craig D. Myers and Council President Charles R. Eckstine.

Harry R. Foley and Matthew D. Smith voted for Burkholder.

According to Eckstine, Farley was appointed for a one-year term. As a condition to his appointment he agreed to run for re-election to fill out the remaining two years of Singer’s four-year term. That will require a run in the May primary, if there are party opponents, followed by a run in the general election in November if he survives the primary, Eckstine said.

Farley also has his name listed as a candidate for a vacant seat on the Greencastle-Antrim School Board. He had to agree, at the council’s insistence, to withdraw his name from consideration for the school board opening.

“You can’t do both,” Eckstine told him.

A 30-year Army veteran, Farley has a master’s degree in education, served as principal of Berkeley Springs High School in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., and taught electronics technology at James Rumsey Technical Institute in Hedgesville, W.Va. He retired in 2008 as vice president, CEO and co-owner of a concrete burial vault manufacturing company. He has lived in Greencastle since 2003.

All three candidates were given three minutes to list their qualifications for Singer’s seat and explain why they wanted to serve. They were also subjected to questions from the council members. Questions included what the candidates believe to be the three most important issues facing the borough over the next five years and how they would decide between a proposed much-needed commercial venture in the face of heavy opposition from property owners in a large nearby residential development.

After being sworn in by Magisterial District Judge Duane Cunningham, Farley took his seat on the council to Foley’s immediate right.

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