ESCANABA — The Delta County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to appoint Mary Harrington and Glenn Vande Water to fill the seats on the county’s recently-formed parks and recreation commission that were opened by the controversial dismissal of Alan “Snuffy” Ettenhofer and Former Delta Conservation District CEO Rory Mattson. A third open seat is expected to be filled next month.

Both Ettenhofer and Mattson were appointed to the recreation board on April 2 by county commissioners who were removed on May 7 as the result of a recall election. Mattson was appointed by Then-Commissioner Dave Moyle to represent the residents of county District 4, while Ettenhofer was appointed by Then-Commissioner Bob Barron to represent District 3.

Moyle and Barron were replaced on the board by commissioners Kelli Van Ginhoven and Myra Croasdell, respectively. The new commissioners voted at their second meeting on the board on June 4 to rescind the appointments, dismissing Mattson and Ettenhofer before the new parks board could hold its first meeting.

Van Ginhoven pointed to ongoing investigations by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office into Mattson’s activities as the head of Delta Conservation District, a lawsuit Mattson has filed against the conservation district, and statements made at the May 21 meeting that suggested Mattson had not provided the county with copies of the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) plans for county-owned properties as the reasons for her seeking Mattson’s dismissal.

Croasdell has not publicly given any reasons that would disqualify Ettenhofer from the position.

“There is, there was another person who was very qualified for this spot and was looked over, and the appointment went to Mr. Ettenhofer,” Croasdell said without further elaboration when asked by fellow commissioners on June 4 why she motioned for Ettenhofer’s removal.

Ettenhofer is the co-founder of U.P. Whitetails and was the recipient of the Upper Peninsula Sportsmen’s Alliance first “Outstanding Conservationist” award in 2017. He has been active in securing grant funding for deer habitat creation and combatting chronic wasting disease. Those efforts included testifying before the Wildlife Committee of the Michigan House of Representatives on the problem of potential importation of CWD-infected, improperly processed, deer to Michigan.

Croasdell did not name the individual who she said was passed over or provide any of their qualifications. However, her motion came after public comment by Harrington stating she had previously sought the seat.

“I would like to be involved and be considered for this. I expressed my interest earlier but I was not chosen and I’m still interest, very interested,” said Harrington on June 4 prior to the discussion that led to Mattson and Ettenhofer’s dismissal.

Both removals were opposed by Commissioner Steve Viau, with Commissioner Matt Jensen joining him to vote against the removal of Ettenhofer. Jensen said he would need more information than was provided to support Ettenhofer’s removal.

“What’s the procedure? We just don’t like somebody so we make a motion to get rid of them?” Viau asked at the June 4 meeting.

There was very little discussion Tuesday, as Van Ginhoven and Croasdell selected their picks from the field of applicants for the now-open seats. In addition to Vande Water, the District 4 seat was sought by Cheryl Corbiere, Kasja Nelson, and Roberta Stacy. Also applying for the District 3 seat was Conservation District Board Chair Joe Kaplan, but concerns were raised that he may no longer have wanted the position, as his application was on file from March when it was submitted for the first round of appointments.

Neither Harrington nor Vande Water spoke Tuesday. However, Harrington’s comments on June 4 indicated she was on the park and recreation committee that preceded the new parks commission while a county commissioner; had a bachelors degree in conservation from Northern Michigan University, where she minored in biology; and is a life-long camper.

Vande Water is the owner of Vande Water Natural Resource Services, which specializes in biological and ecological field assessments. He has a bachelors degree in environmental studies from Grand Valley State University.

The appointments of Harrington and Vande Water leave one open seat on the parks board, which was previously held by Raymond Grew. Grew was appointed by Former- County Commissioner for District 5 Bob Petersen, who, like Moyle and Barron, was removed by the May 7 recall. Grew resigned from the parks board shortly after the dismissal of Mattson and Ettenhofer.

According to the board of commissioners, one application has been received for the District 5 seat so far. An appointment is expected at the Aug. 5 meeting.