HATHERLEIGH has a new mayor, following the annual meeting of the town council recently. The new man at the helm is Cllr Gary Bush, a comparative newcomer to the council, having served less than two years. Cllr Bush has four boys, aged 10, 13, 15 and 18, and moved to Hatherleigh four years ago with his wife, Olive. He said during his year of office, he intends to concentrate on youth issues in the town. ?I have always done quite a lot of youth work, both through the church and through youth clubs, and I?d like to find some way of getting the youth more involved with the community,? said Cllr Bush. A service manager for a computer company, Cllr Bush moved to Hatherleigh from the South East, although he is no stranger to the area ? his sister has lived in the town for 19 years and he spent many holidays in the area before moving to the South West permanently. Mrs Bush works part-time at the doctors? surgery. Cllr Bush said he was very much looking forward to his year as mayor. He saw the first challenge in his mayoral year as trying to resolve the funding issue regarding policing of Hatherleigh Carnival. The annual Ruby Run between Holsworthy and Hatherleigh was also due to take place soon, this year starting from Hatherleigh. ?I?ll be involved in that ? but I won?t be running it!,? said Cllr Bush. Cllr Bush takes over from retiring mayor Cllr Denise Herrod-Taylor. Deputy mayor will be Cllr Ian Trenaman.
