Bucklin named interim Jasper County engineer

The Jasper County Board of Supervisors is acknowledging that finding a replacement for County Engineer Jim Christensen may take awhile.

In a special meeting Tuesday, the supervisors named current Road Superintendent Dennis Bucklin as interim engineer until a permanent replacement can be found. The process of finding a replacement has taken longer than expected.

Christensen, whose last day was Dec. 31, announced his impending retirement in late July, saying the early date would give the supervisors ample time to hire a replacement and Christensen time to break in the new guy. Unfortunately, the supervisors are still looking.

A total of seven candidates were lined up by October, with four of them meeting the position’s criteria, and then things began to fall apart. Assistant County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt, who had been a candidate for the top spot, has accepted a position in Marshall County. Ryan Simbro of Prairie City, also a candidate, has withdrawn his name from consideration, and Tim Enrich, Wayne County’s engineer, did not want to relocate to Jasper County, a prerequisite for the county engineer position. Ken Coffman, a former county engineer from Cass County, was interviewed on Sept. 11.

Board chairman Denny Stevenson said Coffman is still in the running for the county engineer position, as well as two others, one of whom will be interviewed on Thursday.

Stevenson said he hoped to have the position filled by mid-February.