Resignation

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman resigned Tuesday to become U.S. ambassador to China, leaving Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert in control of the state. Herbert immediately assumed the duties of governor following Huntsman's resignation, but the Utah Constitution also required him to take an oath of office, which was scheduled for noon. Immediately after resigning Tuesday, Huntsman took the oath to become ambassador. Huntsman is a moderate Republican who was the most popular governor in state history, winning re-election in November with a record 77 percent of the vote.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Morgan County school board member Margaret H. Zembower resigned her position effective Wednesday due to health reasons, Board President Laura Smith said at Tuesday night's meeting.  Zembower's term expires June 30, 2010. She is from Magisterial District 1 and has been a school board member since 1990. She had served as its vice president since 1996.   Zembower is a retired educator who taught for 40 years.  Morgan County residents in Districts 1 and 2 may apply for the open seat, Smith said, and the board has 45 days to fill it. Applicants must be 18 years old and have a high school diploma or GED.   Board member Larry Omps, who also is from District 1, agreed to serve as vice president of the board.

By The Associated Press VIERA, Fla. - Jim Bowden resigned Sunday after four seasons as the Washington Nationals general manager, leaving under the cloud of a federal investigation into the skimming of signing bonuses given to Latin American prospects. He has maintained his innocence in the matter, but said Sunday, "I've become a distraction. " "It's an emotional decision. It saddens me. But I feel it's in the best interest of two of the things I love the most, and that's the Washington Nationals and baseball," Bowden added.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- A Maryland Correctional Training Center correctional officer has been charged with possession of contraband with the intent to deliver it to a place of confinement, and a second officer has resigned amid an investigation, a Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesman said Wednesday. Prison officials allege that an officer or both officers were delivering tobacco products to inmates. The officer who was charged Friday, Timothy Parks Jr., 21, of Hagerstown, was placed on administrative leave pending termination, the spokesman said.

BOONSBORO -- Boonsboro Town Council member Mervin F. "Frank" Nuice has resigned from his council seat, another member of the town council said Sunday. Nuice, who has been on the council for about three years, told town officials he needed to step down because of family issues, council member Barbara Wetzel said. Wetzel said town council members are expected to discuss how to fill Nuice's seat during a council meeting today at 7 p.m. Nuice could not be reached for comment.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Berkeley County assistant prosecutor who was sued in circuit court last year by a West Virginia State Police trooper in a landlord-tenant dispute has resigned from Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Jean Games-Neely's office. Games-Neely notified the Berkeley County Commission of Gregory V. Smith's resignation in a Jan. 14 memo and noted his last day of employment would be next Friday. It was not clear whether the lawsuit, which is still pending in circuit court, contributed to Smith's resignation.

HAGERSTOWN -- The correctional officer named as the victim of an assault by an inmate in charging documents filed Dec. 16 in Washington County Circuit Court has resigned, a Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesman said Wednesday. Spokesman Mark Vernarelli confirmed that Timothy Mellott, the assault victim, had been a correctional officer at Roxbury Correctional Institution south of Hagerstown. Mellott resigned, but Vernarelli could not disclose when or why, he said.

o Poll results as of Wednesday at 10:35 a.m. Should Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich resign? Yes -- 1,014 votes (93%) No -- 81 votes (7%)