[Coco] Re: Lonnie Falk died June 9, 2006

[Richard E. Crislip]

Hello tim

I for one, am very saddened to hear this. I have conversed with Lonnie via
e-mail a couple of times and he was gracious with me and my opinions. The
first time I e-mailed him was to wish him a speedy recovery after hearing
about his first heat attack (at least the first one I heard about). I will be praying for his
surviving family.

On 07/21/2006, tim lindner wrote:
> http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20060628&Categ
> ory=NEWS0102&ArtNo=606280320&SectionCat=&Template=printart
>
>
> Prospect mayor takes office 
> Kehlbeck fills in after Falk's death
> By Matt Batcheldor
> mbatcheldor at courier-journal.com
> The Courier-Journal
>
> It was a job Joe Kehlbeck never expected to have, and when first
> offered he turned it down.
> But the longtime Prospect resident reluctantly took the gavel as mayor
> last week, appointed by the City Council to fill the term of the late
> Lonnie Falk.
> Falk, 63, died June 9 of a heart attack.
> Kehlbeck, 79, said he rebuffed Councilwoman Nan Milliman when she
> suggested he serve as interim mayor until January, when someone elected
> in November would take over.
> "She said, 'Think about it,' " Kehlbeck said.
> Later, Kehlbeck said he recalled a conversation with Falk a couple of
> years ago, when Falk asked him if he would run for mayor.
> "I said no," Kehlbeck said. "He said, 'Well, if we need you, you will.'
> "
> Kehlbeck decided to accept, leaving a message on Milliman's answering
> machine.
> Kehlbeck has also decided not to run for the office in November.
> Like Falk, Kehlbeck will not be paid. The Prospect City Council has
> discussed adding salaries, but members haven't agreed on an amount.
> Kehlbeck is Prospect's first new mayor in 13 years, but he's no
> stranger to the city or City Hall.
> He moved to Prospect in 1972, relocated by his employer, General
> Electric. He served in several GE management positions before retiring
> in 1988 after 36 years.
> And Kehlbeck served on a committee that spent more than a year
> reviewing and updating Prospect ordinances. As a result, he's familiar
> with even minor rules about barking dogs and property lines.
> "I've seen his work in the city of Prospect," Councilman Lee Zimmerman
> said. "He is somebody I would certainly be very comfortable with being
> in that position."
> A Clifton, N.J., native, Kehlbeck has an engineering degree from the
> University of Iowa and a master's in business administration from
> Rutgers University. He briefly served in the Army during the closing
> months of World War II. He has a wife, Kathryn, and a son, Keith, who
> lives in Dallas.
> Like Falk, Kehlbeck is a computer hobbyist, and for years he has
> programmed software for the city's police department and reading
> center. He became friends with Falk, and often had lunch with him.
> Kehlbeck has served on the board of his homeowners' association in the
> Estates of Hunting Creek subdivision and has done other volunteer work,
> but hasn't dabbled much in politics before.
> "I'm not that political," Kehlbeck said. "I'm interested in what's
> right for the city."
> Kehlbeck isn't quite sure what he'll do in his six-month term. He said
> he wants to continue the programs Falk started, and wants the city to
> stay "green."
> "A lot of it is keeping the momentum going," Kehlbeck said.
> Aided by a decade of residential growth, the city's budget grew under
> Falk. He added festivals and pushed development restrictions to keep
> out commercial ventures.
> He built a new City Hall with a reading center on the second floor, a
> small lending library that stocks fiction and nonfiction titles. The
> council named the reading center for Falk last week.
> City Council members praised Kehlbeck as someone who could carry on
> what Falk started.
> "He's always been someone who has volunteered to serve on different
> committees to help at City Hall," Milliman said. "He's familiar with
> City Hall. He's familiar with computers. He just seems like the most
> natural person to try to fill in."
> Reporter Matt Batcheldor can be reached at (502) 582-7086.
> tim lindner
> tlindner at watermarkpress.com                                   Bright
>
Regards
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