Council hears interviews of candidates

McCOOK, Nebraska - The McCook City Council hosted a pair of public interviews for the vacant city manager position, Thursday evening at council chambers. Councilors did not ask the interviewees questions themselves, but preferred to hire the service out to Unique Techniques, a consulting company from Columbus, Nebraska. Bill Podraza, owner and operator of the consulting business, fielded questions to the candidates throughout the evening. Podraza is a former city manager himself and has 20 years experience in city government.

The first interviewee, Wanda Darrow of Potterville, Michigan, has a strong background in finance and accounting, in addition to being certified in zoning and planning. Darrow is presently the city manager of Potterville and referred to herself as a go-getter that was very community orientated and passionate about her job.

The second interviewee, Sam Janson of Grand Haven, Michigan, is working as an assistant to the city manager of Grand Haven. Janson referred to himself as an up and comer and said he was dedicated to the tasks he was given, with a strong commitment to follow through. Janson has extensive grant writing experience and received his Master's of Public Administration from Kent State University in 2009.

The City Council has at least one more public interview scheduled later this month, details will be released as soon as they are available.