MOUNT VERNON – The District Advisory Council (DAC) for the Knox County Combined General Health District re-appointed Eric Siekkinen to the Knox County Board of Health during the council’s annual meeting last week. Terrance Maloney of Morris Township was elected council chairman; Knox County Commissioner Thom Collier was elected secretary.
Siekkinen is a pharmacist at a Danville pharmacy. This is his third term on the board; he was first appointed in 2005.
The district advisory council is comprised of the chairman of each township’s board of trustees or a designee, the mayor of each village and the president of the Knox County Board of Commissioners. It is responsible for appointing five of the nine members to the board of health; three members are appointed by Mount Vernon City Council and one member is appointed by the health district licensing council. Members of the board of health serve staggered, five-year terms.
In other business, the DAC approved several changes to its bylaws including: the authority to organize an executive committee when a quorum is not present for the sole purpose of making an appointment to the board of health or licensing council; designation of the annual meeting as the third Tuesday of March at 7 p.m.; clarification of who can be appointed to the board; and established procedures for each annual and special meeting.
Following the business meeting, Environmental Health Director Nate Overholt presented an overview of the division’s household sewage and public health nuisance programs including a breakdown of the township or municipality where activity took place. Health Commissioner Julie Miller presented the agency’s annual report. Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Zach Cooper gave a presentation on the importance of townships to have plans in place to handle emergency situations including weather disasters.
