 Following the resignation of former Prestonsburg Mayor Les Stapleton during a special council meeting March 12th, Rick Hughes has been appointed mayor. Hughes is a longtime resident and business owner in Prestonsburg and hopes to continue to aid the community in his new position. We want to see the city continue to grow and that's the object right now is to bring everybody together on one page, help it grow and move forward with the things that were already on the agenda that needs to be done. I want to work with our community, I want to work with our citizens. Like I said, I love this town, I love what it stands for and we're second to none with our police, fire, emergency, we're second to none. And not just them. We love our parks, we've got great workers with our public works and our city utilities. So I feel comfortable coming in here. I will feel nervous when the first time I have to hit that gavel and have to lead a meeting, you know, especially the first one, but you know, I'm looking forward to, I'm looking forward to the challenge. Appalachian Wireless is all in on Tag Madness right now. Select devices get up to $750 off on the Appalachian Advantage Unlimited or Nationwide Makes a Mash Plants with renewed or new lines plus trade in up to $750 off because we are you. We are Appalachian Wireless. Workers will fill the seat until the election in November of 2024 and plans to run for re-election. Well, as far as the plans right now, I'm just going to come in and get my feet wet and see what is actually on the agenda and on the board. You know, I went to some training with our Kentucky League of Cities with him. I've sat in on a couple of board meetings just to see, you know, if it was something that I felt I could handle. And those are things that I feel I can handle. Being in business, I've been in business about 24, 25 years. So it's, you're always dealing with the public. This is just more of a, more of a public eye. Reporting for Mountain Top News, I'm Brianna Robinson.