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Wilkes' interim county manager gets the post
Commissioners were pleased with job done by John Yates, 40
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Published: September 18, 2008
WILKESBORO
John Yates, who has been the interim Wilkes County manager since May, will be hired as county manager.
Wilkes County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to offer the job to Yates.
A contract, including salary details, will be prepared for approval at the commissioners' next meeting on Oct. 6.
Yates, 40, was town manager of Badin from 1993 to 1998, until returning to Wilkes County to help run his family's cattle farm. When the former county manager, Gary Page, left last spring to become the manager of Rowan County, Yates came on board as interim manager and worked with Page during the transition.
As interim manager, Yates was a contract employee being paid $70,000 a year with no benefits.
Charlie Sink, the chairman of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners, said that commissioners have been pleased with the job Yates has done and that the county was fortunate he was available.
"I wouldn't have thought we'd be that lucky," Sink said. "He's done a great job."
Commissioners talked to county department heads and other employees to get their input.
"Everybody seemed to be very pleased with whatever John's doing," Sink said. "He's stepped up and done whatever he's been asked to do."
Yates said he has had good support from commissioners and department heads while he was interim manager.
Major projects on the horizon include the new county jail and a joint water intake with other local governments. Yates says he sees the county playing a big role in economic development.
"We need to work hard on getting as many jobs into Wilkes as we can," he said.
Yates, a native of Wilkes County, comes from a family with a long history of public service in the area. His great-grandfather was a longtime clerk of court in Wilkes County, as was his grandfather.
His father, Clayton Yates, retired after 30 years of working for the state, and his mother, Gail, taught school in Wilkes County for 30 years.
A graduate of Appalachian State University, Yates received a political-science degree with a concentration in city and county management. He ran for clerk of court in 2006 but lost in the Republican primary. He and wife, Jennifer, have two sons, William, 9, and Grayson, 6.
■ Monte Mitchell can be reached in Wilkesboro at 336-667-5691 or at mmitchell@wsjournal.com.
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