New faces on the board of supervisors

Story by Chris Graham

Nancy Sorrells has already hit the ground running in her work on behalf of Augusta County residents.

The Riverheads District supervisor-elect met on Wednesday with Riverheads District school-board member-elect Chad Shomo to talk about issues of importance to Southern Augusta County residents.

“We also wanted to try to begin to build the rapport that we’re going to need to have to represent the Riverheads District for the next four years,” Sorrells told The Augusta Free Press on Thursday.

Sorrells, an independent who defeated another independent, Tom Sensabaugh, and Republican nominee Tom Nelson in Tuesday’s balloting in the Riverheads race, said she is glad that “the politicking is over.”

“That election stuff, that was something I had to do to get elected, but I don’t think of myself as a politician. I hope I never think of myself as a politician,” Sorrells said.

“All the sign stuff, the games you have to play to get elected. That’s not me at all. I stopped campaigning for a time after Hurricane Isabel to concentrate on working with residents who were having to deal with the flooding, and I remember telling my husband, ‘This is what it’s all about. This is the difference you can make,’ ” Sorrells said.

 

New blood, new focus

Sorrells will be one of three new members on the Augusta County Board of Supervisors when the board convenes in January.

Joining her will be David Beyeler, a Republican who was unopposed for election in the South River District, and Wendell Coleman, an independent who knocked off three-term incumbent Tom Sikes in the Wayne District.

The three will meet formally for the first time on Nov. 14 for new-board-member-orientation training at the Augusta County Government Center.

“It’s an exciting board to be able to work with. With the new members coming on board and the holdovers from the past board, we have an interesting mix of experience and new ideas,” Sorrells said.

Sorrells hopes that her election is a signal that county voters are ready to talk more about issues involving agriculture and the preservation of open space – both of which she said have been ignored largely in recent years.

“Hopefully, now we can get agricultural issues back into the discussions at the county level. It’s not the only issue, to be sure, but we haven’t heard hardly any talk about agriculture the past few years. I hope I can help change that,” Sorrells said

“I think the voters made it pretty clear that they want these issues addressed at the board of supervisors level. The people have been talking about them for years. Maybe now we can begin addressing them through the board,” Sorrells said.