DENTIST TO JOIN MUROC.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

NORTH EDWARDS -- Muroc Joint Unified School District trustees have appointed a Boron dentist to the school board. Ross Swindlehurst, 53, of Boron was the only person who applied for the seat left vacant by the resignation of former trustee Jeremeh Job.

``I've been here 20 years, and the community has always been good to me. I decided this would be a good way to give service back to the community,'' Swindlehurst said.

Swindlehurst will take his seat in December and serve until Job's term expires in 2008.

Swindlehurst was interviewed and appointed by the board at its Wednesday meeting. Job resigned in June to take a job of director of facilities, operations and planning for Muroc. No one filed to run in the November election for Job's seat, which is one of two that represents the Boron area, so the board had to appoint someone.

For Muroc's other Boron seat, incumbent Diane Boroff, who was the only one to file, will keep her seat. In other seats up for election Nov. 7, there will be no election for the Edwards Air Force Base seat held by incumbent David Ah Sing because he was the only candidate to file.

Incumbent Brian Hall did not seek re-election for the other Edwards seat. Three people have filed to run for that seat: secretary Monica Hall, training development manager Jason Higgins and adjunct professor Michelle Tucker.

The district has grappled with board vacancies for years. The board has a high turnover rate because trustees are usually spouses of EAFB personnel, who are reassigned every few years. The school board is required to have two seats filled by EAFB residents, two by residents of Boron and one from North Edwards.

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