Dent County District Two Commissioner Gary Polk was sworn in by County Clerk Angie Curley July 5, and he began his official role as commissioner the next day during the county commission’s regular meeting. Polk’s appointment comes in the wake of the resignation of presiding commissioner Darrell Skiles earlier in the year. Then-District Two Commissioner Gary Larson was appointed to fill the vacancy, leaving the district two seat open. A new process began to seek a gubernatorial appointment for the position, and Polk was chosen to fill the spot.
After the July 6 meeting of the commission, Polk sat down with The Salem News, and said his appointment fulfills a long-held desire.
“I’ve always kind of wanted to be a commissioner,” said Polk. “But in my younger years… I was running two businesses. I had Polk Excavating, and Polk Farms, and I just didn’t have the time to do this job. But things have changed. The farm was sold. I’m no longer a full-time farmer. Excavating is still full time, I’m just not super busy with it, enough that I can do this job now. When (Gary Larson became presiding commissioner), I said ‘I can do that now,’ so I put my hat in the ring, and we’re here.”
Polk described the selection process preceding his appointment.
“(It was) pretty long and lengthy, and they needed a lot of information. Then we met down here at the library, and we were interviewed by the Republican party. They gave their recommendation for the position, and the governor went ahead and chose me,” he said. “That’s how we got here.”
Polk is a longtime resident of Dent County, and was born in Rolla, he said.
“I have four children. My oldest son passed away. My next oldest is DeeAndra, and she’s getting ready to have our third grandbaby. My next oldest is my daughter Whitney, and she lives in Springfield. She works there at Nixa Hardware. She takes care of the plant division. My next oldest son is Hayden, and he just graduated from State Tech. He lives in Jefferson City, and he’s applied for a job with the state. He’s had his second interview, so I believe he’s going to get that job,” he said. “My wife, Denise, she still works part-time out at the Dent-Phelps R-III school. That pretty much takes care of my immediate family,” said Polk.
Polk said his excavating business had provided valuable experience which will help in his new position.
“It’s kind of like what I do. Not to the extent that I build roads like they do, but I did build roads, clear land, and I hauled a lot of gravel,” he said. “So, this part of the job I’m familiar with. Being in the office here is probably going to be a learning curve. I’ve got a lot to learn. What we’re doing, the chain of command, this and that.”
When asked about his goals in his new position as commissioner, Polk said he wanted to focus on fixing “problem areas.”
“We’re starting to do roads. I want to fix little problem areas as we go. Like we’re grading the roads today,” he said. “We’d like to do small little improvements as we go; and some of the bigger projects, we’d like to do one or two a year.”
During Polk’s first meeting as a sworn-in commissioner July 6, he gave his first road report, and responded to his first requests for maintenance.
