Salem treasurer retiring from public service, law lawyer - Morning Journal News
SALEM — Outgoing city Treasurer K. Bret Apple is hanging up his public servant shingle and legal career for good.
The Salem resident is retiring effective Tuesday, saying goodbye to a long stint serving both the citizens of Salem and Columbiana County.
That time in public service included not just the last four years as city treasurer and currently as an assistant prosecutor at county Municipal Court, but also past terms as a Salem city magistrate, as a councilman on Salem City Council, as Salem City Council president, as a county court judge and as an assistant prosecutor in Juvenile Court, the civil division of the Prosecutor’s Office and the former Northwest Area County Court in Salem.
“I don’t believe that I’ll miss the work that much, but I’ll miss the camaraderie of the people that I worked with on a daily basis,” he said.
He specifically mentioned being blessed with two prosecutors he worked with, naming Allyson Lehere at county Juvenile Court and Danielle Menning at county Municipal Court, saying it was always teamwork. He also mentioned county Municipal Court Judge Tim McNicol, saying their relationship has gone full circle. McNicol was the assistant prosecutor for Southwest Area County Court in Lisbon when Apple wore the judge’s robe.
“I feel that I’ve given a lot of my time to the citizens and was glad to do it. Some things worked out the way I wanted and some didn’t, but that’s to be expected in city government,” Apple said.
His first time with the prosecutor’s office started in 1987 through 1989, then he became magistrate in Salem handling mayor’s court, followed by nine years as Southwest Area County Court judge from 1992 to 2001. He was appointed to finish an unexpired term on Salem City Council, then was elected to his own four-year term as an At Large councilman, followed by his election to one four-year term as council president, followed by his election to a four-year term as city treasurer. He decided to resign a month early from the treasurer’s post, with Treasurer-elect Tod Mumpire appointed by Mayor John Berlin last week to fill the one-month-long unexpired term before starting his elected term Jan. 1. He’s also resigning from the prosecutor’s office. He had returned to the prosecutor’s office in 2014, spending most of the time at juvenile court before ending at municipal court.
Apple will finish with more than 25 years of public service, but was able to buy some additional time to get to the 30-year mark for the Public Employees Retirement System. He also spent some time in private practice, but said he’s retiring from everything.
So what’s he planning to do with his time?
Golf, ride a bicycle, work out and spend time with his wife Jackie, who retired from teaching in June. He said she’s happy he’s going to be retiring.
His advice to others thinking about serving the public in some way is simple: listen to the people.
“Try to carry out their wishes if at all possible. Never try to tell the citizens that you know what’s best for them,” he said.
“I just tried to serve the citizens of the county and Salem the best I could. It was a pleasure to serve them,” Apple said.
source: https://www.morningjournalnews.com/news/local-news/2021/11/salem-treasurer-retiring-from-public-service-law-lawyer/
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