Nurre takes Council oath

Olney’s newest city councilmember, Steven Nurre, was sworn in at 9 a.m. on Dec. 3 at his home on West Oak Street, City Administrator Simon Dwyer said.

City Secretary Tammy Hourigan administered the oath of office, and Mr. Dwyer held the Bible, he said.

Mayor Rue Rogers and Police Chief Dan Birbeck witnessed the swearing in.

Also present at the brief ceremony were Mr. Nurre’s wife, Brenda, their daughter Emberly Nurre and Emberly’s fiance, Fenn Millea.

Mr. Nurre, who was hospitalized for several weeks after breaking his pelvis and sustaining facial injuries in an Oct. 7 traffic accident near Poolville, said he plans to attend the Dec. 9 City Council meeting.

“I’m excited to get started and I would love to hit the ground running on the initiatives that the City has already started and I want to see where those are before I make any suggestions,” he said.

Mr. Nurre won the Nov. 5 special election to fill a vacancy created by the departure of Councilmember Harrison Wellman. That term expires in May 2025.

Mr. Nurre joins the Council as it ponders whether to rehabilitate the City’s existing, century- old water treatment plant or to find a way to bridge a $2 million budget gap for a new plant.

The Council also is working on attracting more housing for the hundreds of workers who commute into town each day, and on repairing aging infrastructure.

During his campaign against candidate Kathy Muncy, Mr. Nurre listed the continued upgrade and beautification of Main Street and updating the City’s infrastructure among the top issues facing Olney.