County Commissioner Josh Letcher (D-3) took the reins as the chair of the county health board last week as members elected new officers to mark the start the year.

Letcher joined the group in late 2020, replacing Mark Peck as the board of commissioners' representative to the panel. Libby’s appointee to the board, Amy Fantozzi, nominated Letcher for the position, which he won by acclaim after no other challengers stepped forward.

Letcher succeeds at-large member Jan Ivers, who held the job throughout the pandemic. A target of vociferous criticism and occasional invectives, Ivers suggested in January 2021 that another member to take the position. Letcher, at the time the only other nominee for the spot, begged it off, citing logistical hurdles.

Fantozzi emerged as the board’s vice chair. Like Letcher, she faced no competitors for the spot. Troy representative Jim Seifert nominated her for the role.

The only contested position was that of secretary. Ivers nominated Seifert while Eureka representative Deb Armstrong nominated Patricia Kincheloe, the board’s designated member at large from north Lincoln County.

Voting ended after the panel’s four Eureka area members — a majority — backed Kincheloe in lockstep.

In other action, the board unanimously approved its mission statement, an effort months in the making.