Ness fills PIA Board vacancy

At the Oct. 23 meeting of the Petersburg Indian Association Board, Jeanette Ness was appointed to the vacant seat on the board.

Ronelle Beardsly, who stepped down from the board seven months ago due to health reasons, formerly held the position.

According to PIA board mandate, the open slot should have been filled at the meeting following Beardsly’s departure.

“I received the next highest number of votes at the last election,” Ness said. “I should have been appointed seven months ago.”

Ness will only hold the position until the next election, but has thoughts about what she would like to see the board do in her remaining time.

“I would really like to see communication between the board and the tribe improve,” Ness said. “Their (the Tribe) voice is the one the board should be listening to.”

According to Ness, the Tribe should keep the board on track.

“We represent them,” Ness stated. “I would like to see more of the tribe members attend board meetings.”

The next election for the PIA Board will be around January and Ness has not decided at this time if she will seek a seat for the next term.