A fairly routine meeting of the Pinehurst City Council ended dramatically Tuesday night.  Mayor T. W. Permenter announced he would be stepping down from his position as mayor at the end of the year.

Permenter asked City Secretary Debbie Cormier and City Attorney Tommy Gunn how long they had been working for the City of Pinehurst.  After Gunn said he had worked for over 30 years with the city, Permenter thanked him and then paused before commenting that he would be ending his long tenure of serving the city on December 31.

In his more than 30 years with the Pinehurst city government Permenter said he has seen a lot of things come and go.  Permenter expressed, “This is the best way that we have advanced in my tenure.  After these number of years I’ve enjoyed it, I’m going to turn my resignation in at the next meeting, but I will step down December 31, and I hope everything continues to go forward.”

Permenter commented he was still in good health and everything is fine, but concluded his statement with saying he just felt it was time to step down.  Permenter replaced Dan Mohon as the mayor of Pinehurst after Mohon stepped down because of his battle with cancer that did take his life.  Mohon became the Pinehurst mayor after Pete Runnels resigned because of health reasons.

City Administrator Jerry Hood reported Pinehurst will hold a Pinehurst Holiday Market on Saturday, December 11 at the Family Worship Center on Bancroft.  The market will feature local businesses and vendors.

Written by Dan Perrine