St. Joseph County board approves Christina Yunker’s appointment as commissioner
Yunker, who did not speak Monday, has been approved for a two-month term starting Friday. The meeting included awards for longtime county employees.
Christina Yunker’s appointment to the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners was approved during a meeting held on Monday, October 28. She will serve District 5 beginning Friday.
Yunker, who did not speak at Monday’s meeting, has been approved for a term lasting from November 1-December 31, 2024. She will be sworn in prior to the board’s next executive meeting on Tuesday, November 12.
District 5 includes Nottawa and Sherman Townships and parts of both the City of Sturgis and Sturgis Township. Yunker is running uncontested for District 5 commissioner, which will be determined by the results of the Tuesday, November 5 election.
Former District 5 Commissioner Dennis Allen resigned earlier this year to run for St. Joseph County Sheriff. Allen came in third among five candidates in August’s sheriff primary.
The commissioners also unanimously approved Director of Veterans’ Affairs Stoney Summey’s request for an exemption to the current hiring freeze. Summey asked for the exemption so he can fill the vacant budgeted position previously held by former Veterans Service Officer Sherry Swartz. Summey did not have an individual for the position as of Monday.
“This position can create a hardship on our department in relation to filling the (paperwork) for disability claims, emergent needs, and nursing homes and assisted living benefits that veterans have earned from their service to our country,” Summey said.
Additionally, there was a unanimous vote for Operation Green Light, which will be observed from Monday, November 4-Monday, November 11. St. Joseph County is taking part in a National Association of Counties (NACo) and National Association of County Veterans Service Officers (NACVSO) event to light government buildings green in support of veterans.
Monday’s meeting also included the presentation of service awards for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 40-year county employees. While not all recipients attended Monday, the following awards were recognized:
- Buildings and Grounds: Kole Mostrom and Mark Pratt, both 30 years
- Central Dispatch: Regan Lucas, 10 years
- Commission on Aging: Jeanette Cage, 20 years
- Drain Commission: Traci Wenzel, 10 years
- Elected Offices: Drain Commissioner Jeffery Wenzel, 15 years, and Treasurer Kathryn Humphreys, 20 years
- Equalization: Erin Lamb, 20 years
- Friend of the Court: Kristen Brandys, 10 years, Lisa Youga, 20 years, and Andrea Guy, 40 years
- Information Technology: Tony Skidmore, 10 years, and Dustin Bainbridge, 20 years
- Juvenile Court: Bryanna Bradford, 10 years, and Julie Hakeos, 20 years
- Parks and Recreation: Jaymes MacDonald, 10 years
- Parks and Recreation, MSU Extension: Tonya Barrington, 25 years
- Probate Court: Terri Crabtree and Tiffany Howe, both 10 years
- Sheriff’s Office: Paulino Hernandez, 10 years, and Jeffrey Bingaman, 15 years
- Sheriff’s Office, retired: Peter Vandenbrink, 15 years
- Sheriff’s Office, jail, retired: Donald Heath, 25 years
- Unlike the last two meetings, Monday’s meeting did not include comments from people on behalf of Brittany Shank’s case. Saturday, October 26 included protestors outside the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office, calling for Shank’s case to be given over to the Michigan State Police.
- The county board will have a 4 p.m. executive committee meeting Tuesday, November 12, and a 5 p.m. board meeting Tuesday, November 19.
Frank Stanko is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.
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