County manager on the job

Pike County commissioners welcomed new county manager Mike Phillips at the July 31 meeting as they thanked interim county attorneys Tom Morton and Rob Morton. Phillips’ first day as a Pike employee was Wednesday, Aug. 1, but he attended the meeting as a citizen and was introduced to many local leaders and residents. The Mortons were honored with plaques and thanked individually by each member for their contributions to the county since the May 4 resignation of former county manager Bill Sawyer. Phillips settled into his office last week, meeting all the county’s heads of departments. He and his family have located a residence to move into in Zebulon.’I’m trying to take it one page at a time,’ he said. ‘There are a lot of issues to understand.’