Dorchester Banner/Susan M. Bautz
Hurlock Mayor Joyce Spratt swears in new District 3 Councilman Russell “Rusty” Murphy at the Sept. 14 council meeting.[/caption] HURLOCK — The District 3 council seat vacated in April by former Councilman Parker Durham was finally filled at the Sept. 14 Hurlock Town Council meeting. Following Mr. Durham’s resignation the Council and Mayor decided to wait until the November election rather than go through the process described in the Town Charter. After several citizens raised the issue of possible charter violation in July, the Council agreed last month to open the seat for interested residents to apply. Russell “Rusty” Murphy was selected from the applicants each of whom underwent an interview process. Four-year resident of Hurlock, Mr. Murphy and his wife Julie have a 25-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son. Following a stint as a Navy Seabee he worked for a year at DuPont but decided to change careers. For 27 years he has worked for UPS and, in the interest of full disclosure, Mr. Murphy has been the driver on this reporter’s route for 14 years. He said following the council meeting, “I’m excited about this and I’m going to work hard with my fellow council members so we can get a lot of stuff done.” In an interview with The Banner, Mr. Murphy said “I have thought for a while that I wanted to be a voice for the people in my district. Because of my job I see people in Hurlock every day and I talk to them. I think I have a good consensus of what they want and can really be their voice.”