Brock’s the one!

This is quite a birthday for Amanda Brock. She’s a year older, but she also has been elevated in rank in the Oconee County government. After a short closed-door meeting, the county council selected her as administrator. Brock had served in the role of interim since the start of this year. Under terms of her hiring, she will get a contract for 18 months at a salary of $125 thousand, the use of a county vehicle, in addition to the regular benefits afforded other county workers, such as health insurance. Brock’s supporters are pointing to her years in the role of executive assistant in the administrator’s office as a key reason why the council suddenly abandoned a national search. All five councilmen voted in favor, although District Five’s Glenn Hart let it be known that Les Blankenship, an attorney and county official in Berkeley County, as of this morning, still considered himself a candidate. Blankenship was one of three finalists in a search conducted last year, but never formally voted on.