Whitley County commissioners elect Stacy Petrovis as vice chair amid dispute over board assignments

Commissioners opened their first meeting of the year and moved to select officers; Rob Schuman was nominated for president and Stacy Petrovis was elected vice chair after nominations and a voice vote.

The meeting turned contentious during a separate agenda item on 2026 board appointments. An unnamed commissioner accused colleagues of conducting "a lot of conversations behind closed doors without me," saying she learned of appointment changes only about 15 minutes before the meeting and that she "did not appreciate it." She also said she had hoped to serve on the county drainage board and that others had told her she should not be on it because she "wasn't a farmer." The commissioner added she planned to attend the next drainage board meeting to ask members whether she had performed well.

Other commissioners disputed the accusation. One said assignments were discussed as the new commissioner (Stacy Petrovis) preferred certain boards and that leadership had tried to distribute time-consuming assignments fairly. After additional back-and-forth — including repeated denials that anything improper had occurred — the board proceeded to vote on reappointments and other items.

The vice-chair nomination closed with commissioners raising hands for the vote; Speaker 3 declared, "Motion carries." The commission then moved on to later agenda items.