New trustee to join hospital board

The Board of Trustees for Crook County Medical Services District has selected a replacement board member to serve out the remaining time in Joey Kanode’s term as the trustee for Moorcroft. Kanode stepped down in February, announcing that he did not want his name associated with the board and disagreed with decisions that had been made.

On Wednesday, the board announced that his replacement will be Ed Ray of Moorcroft.

“We did have a lot of interest over this,” said Trustee Sandy Neiman.

Ray was chosen from two candidates who had been selected for interview via the internet by Neiman and Trustee Trish Habeck.

“They explained some about themselves and why they are interested in being on the board. They also went into their background,” said Neiman.

Neiman gave details to her fellow board members about the two candidates. Ray, she said, is a private investigator who also works at a power plant; though his wife is employed at the clinic, said Neiman, he stated during his interview that he did not feel this would be a conflict of interest and that he would recuse himself if necessary.

The second candidate, who was not named because she was not chosen to fill the seat, has been in public health for 32 years in another county in Wyoming. Currently retired, said Neiman, she expressed during her interview that she would be keen to follow the board’s bylaws very closely.

Both would have been willing to run for the seat when the current term expires in the fall. Both were “very forthcoming” and “we learned a lot about both of them, I felt,” said Neiman.

At the recommendation of Habeck, the board passed a motion to approve Ray as the new trustee. He is expected to be seated in time for the May meeting.