MOUNT VERNON — With Knox County Commissioner Teresa Bemiller not seeking reelection, two candidates will vie for the open seat this November.
One of those candidates is Chuck Rogers, a Democrat.
Here’s his biography:
Chuck Rogers
County commissioner candidate Chuck Rogers was born and raised in Knox County, graduating from Mount Vernon and the Knox County Career Center.
After graduation he worked at Ward Kraft in Fredericktown for several years before striking out to see the world. During that time he graduated from Butte College, became an EMT/ firefighter and over the next 20 years moved up to paramedic before finally retiring as a flight paramedic.
For the job of charge medic, Rogers supervised 80 employees and 10 trucks at eight stations. Also during that time, he taught at Butte College molding our future EMTs and paramedics to serve our communities.
After 22 years of public service, Rogers decided to move back to Knox County with his wife Amanda. They started an animal sanctuary called the Shady Owl Ranch, where they take in cats, dogs, chickens and whatever the community calls about.
He volunteers at several organizations including the Knox County Dog Shelter, and is on the board of Habitat for Humanity and the Front Porch Concert Series.
With Bemiller not seeing reelection, Rogers saw the opportunity to serve the community.
One of the issues with Knox County that Rogers would like to address is ‘unaffordable’ housing. He wants to work with townships to update zoning codes for multigenerational housing options.
Also, the lack of access to cannabis dispensaries. The commissioners banned dispensaries even before medical cannabis was legal. It’s time to allow local access for patients to receive their medications and to keep the taxes that we are currently losing out on.
And thirdly Knox County has a public transportation issue. The county is growing and Rogers believes that we need updates and options to our current public transportation system which is essential for all residents, young and old.