Dec. 18, 2007 — Eight people have now applied to fill vacant seats on the Lassen Municipal Utilities District Board of Directors. Dec. 18, 2007 — Eight people have now applied to fill vacant seats on the Lassen Municipal Utilities District Board of Directors.

Frank P. Turner, of Turner Drilling, applied on Dec 10 to fill the vacancy created by the Oct. 26 resignation of Ward 5 Director Nancy Cardenas. Ward 2 LMUD Director George Sargent also resigned on Oct. 26 and Ward 4 Director Darrell Wood resigned on Dec. 3.

The Lassen County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to interview applicants for the three vacant LMUD board seats at an open public meeting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 27 in Jensen Hall at the Lassen County Fairgrounds.

Applications must be turned into the county clerk’s office at the Lassen County Courthouse by 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 21.

The board of supervisors will interview all applicants or pick the top candidates to interview during the Dec. 27 meeting. Applicants must be registered voters and live in LMUD Wards 2, 4 or 5 to apply for a seat.

Those interested in applying may simply write letters expressing interest and detailing whatever background and qualifications they have, the members of the board of supervisors agreed.

Turner, a 50-year resident of Lassen County and a graduate of Shaffer Elementary School and a 1972 graduate of Lassen High School, is also a former equipment operator for the Lassen County Road Department and Packway Materials, in Burney.

“As a successful business owner for 26 years in Susanville,” Turner wrote, “I know what it takes to keep a business running.”

With the “very good people working at LMUD,” Turner wrote he believes good management, hard work and common sense “can make a difference we can all be proud of.”

Saying he has built a business with a reputation for honesty and integrity, Turner wrote he can bring solid work ethics, diligence, reliability, unbiased opinions, fresh ideas “and most importantly, no agenda,” to the LMUD board.

He added, “As a business owner, I know that it all starts at the top. If you don’t have a board that works together for the good of all, then you won’t have a productive (company). If you have good management starting from the top then you will have a great team that follows.”

Other Ward 5 applicants include Ron Andrew Beauchman, who attended Herlong High School, worked as a correctional officer from 1986-2000 and ran against Nancy Cardenas in 2002; and Richard E. Parker, who formerly served on the LMUD board for one year until he was recalled in March 2002. Parker is the owner of Integrate Insurance and worked as a consultant for Invenergy Wind North America, a company seeking to develop a wind generation facility in Lassen County.

Ward 2 applicants include Phil Bertanzoni, who is retired and serves as the current chairman of the Lassen Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation; H.W. “Bud” Bowden, a Susanville Realtor and former correctional sergeant and correctional lieutenant for the California Department of Corrections, and the vice president of the Lassen County Humane Society; Robert Feller, who said he would get rid of jobs that are not needed and get things donated so rates would go down; Stephen Pezzullo, a self-employed certified public accountant who also served on the Lassen Community College District Board of Trustees; and William D. “Rudy” Valentine, the owner of the Iron Horse Gym, which he opened in 1993. Valentine was also the former head wrestling coach at Lassen High School from 1994-2003.