From left, Sheila Browning, Jayme Eldridge, Dean Bailey, and Danny Pertuset.  Photo by Patricia Beech
From left, Sheila Browning, Jayme Eldridge, Dean Bailey, and Danny Pertuset. Photo by Patricia Beech

Danny Pertuset and Jayme Eldridge step into vacancies –

By Patricia Beech –

During a recent retirement reception, Peebles village officials and Mayor Victor Warfe praised the town’s retiring Village Administrator and the outgoing Village Clerk for their service and dedication to the town.

The two longtime officials, Administrator Dean Bailey and Clerk Sheila Browning were praised by their fellow employees and honored for their service with proclamations from the county Commissioners Office.

“It has been a pleasure working with these two dedicated employees,” said Mayor Warfe.

As one of City Hall’s longest-serving employees, Bailey worked with four mayors, three solicitors, and one clerk during his 22 years in office.

While he admits his decision to retire was not an easy one, he says he feels good about the state of affairs in the village.

“I think anyone wants to leave things better than when you started,” he said. “All small towns suffer from the same illness – money and the lack thereof, but we have a lot of good employees, they’re hard-working and they have a lot of good years left in them.”

Bailey currently serves as President of the Adams County Historical Society and says that he plans to focus on that organizations plans to build a new facility. “The Historical Society needs another building,” he says, “There are a lot of people who would like to give us items if we had the space to keep them and display them for future generations.”

Before assuming the Village Clerk’s position Sheila Browning was a long-time employee of attorney Alan Foster. She served as clerk for 22 years. “The people who work for the village are like a family,” she said. “We have worked together, and laughed together, and supported each other through good times and bad.”

Bailey praised the village employees’ work ethic and said their ability to work together for the common good allowed them to be effective servants of the people.

“The people of Peebles have been good to me, and I try to be good to them,” he said. “And at the end of the day I think that’s what life’s all about, it’s important that we be good to each other.”

The two vacancies have been filled by Danny Pertuset as Village Administrator and Jayme Eldridge as Clerk. According to Mayor Warfe, Pertuset and Eldridge have slipped seamlessly into their new roles, “Speaking for our Village Council,” he said,we have complete confidence that our new employees will continue to provide excellent service to our village.”

Eldridge credits Browning with her smooth transition into the Clerks position. “Sheila helped me adjust to how things are done in this office,” she said. “I’ve done this type of work before, but it’s a bit different in some ways, and she really helped me get past that.”