Robert Edwards has been named interim director of the Benton Parks and Recreation Department.
Mayor David Mattingly announced Edwards' appointment late Monday at a Benton City Council meeting.
Mattingly said he had selected Edwards to serve in this position and that he expressed appreciation to Edwards for the willingness to serve the city in this manner.
Edwards, in turn, expressed appreciation to the mayor for the confidence placed in him and said it was his pleasure to serve Benton residents.
Edwards is retired from the Federal Aviation Administration.
When Easton Lee Martin was born June 22 at Saline Memorial Hospital, he was following a family tradition.
Easton's mother, Melanie Martin, was born at Saline Memorial in 1984, and both of her parents also had started life inside the Benton hospital.
Martin's mother, Vicki Steele, was born at the hospital in December of 1957, and the birth of her father, Jeff Steele, occurred there in September of 1958.
The family's connection to the hospital goes even deeper.
As strange as it may sound to some Saline County residents, the level of ozone readings this summer poses a real threat to the local community.
