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Avery County appoints three interim county officials
Summary
The Avery County Board of Commissioners unanimously appointed Cindy Curpeth as interim county manager, Caleb Houghton as interim assistant county manager (part-time, retaining finance duties), and Don Parker as interim clerk of the board.
The Avery County Board of Commissioners on an unanimous voice vote appointed Cindy Curpeth as interim county manager, Caleb Houghton as interim assistant county manager and Don Parker as interim clerk of the board.
Chair (name not stated in the record) opened the action by saying, “I need a motion to appoint Cindy Curpeth as interim county manager.” A motion, second and vocal approval followed. The board later moved to appoint Caleb Houghton as interim assistant county manager; the motion carried on a voice vote.
County staff clarified that Houghton will serve part time in the assistant manager role while continuing his duties as finance officer. A staff member stated, “Caleb is part time. He's still finance officer,” and the board discussed holding both positions concurrently. Don Parker’s appointment to interim clerk was also moved and approved by voice vote.
No dissenting votes or recorded roll calls were made for these appointments in the hearing record. The appointments take effect immediately; no additional conditions or effective-date language was recorded during the meeting. The board did not specify a timeline for filling permanent appointments during the session.
