Schuyler appoints Thurston highway superintendent

SCHUYLER COUNTY--The Schuyler County Legislature appointed Kenneth Thurston as the new highway superintendent during a special meeting of the legislature held Thursday morning, April 23. Thurston will be filling the position vacated by former Schuyler County Highway Superintendent Greg Mathews last year.
"Thurston has been deemed highly qualified by the selection committee based on his strong administrative experience in the private sector," Schuyler County Administrator Tim O'Hearn said. "With over two decades of experience as plant superintendent for Hanson Aggregates, [Thurston] has successfully managed a large facility and workforce. His responsibilities included fiscal, operational and regulatory compliance. We look forward to utilizing his excellent management and organizational strengths as he assumes an administrative role with Schuyler County."
Schuyler County had initially looked to share the vacant position with neighboring Yates County at the beginning of the year in order to have Yates County Highway Superintendent David Hartman assume all the responsibilities that go along with being Schuyler County's highway superintendent. The original plan was for Schuyler to pay Yates $50,000 on an annual basis for this joint effort, but due to liability concerns from the Yates County Legislature, Yates pulled out of the proposition, forcing Schuyler County to rescind the resolutions it passed to share the position.
Despite the setback, O'Hearn said the county will continue to look to share services in the future.
"Thurston's appointment in no way diminishes our desire to share services and collaborate with our government partners," O'Hearn said. "However, in filling this vacancy, future opportunities will now be centered upon our assuming additional management roles with any future partner. We will not be looking to eliminate this position as part of a shared service initiative."