Best of luck to two of Corbin’s finest: Roger Shelton and Bill Rose

At Monday’s Corbin City Commission meeting, a pair of announcements were made concerning longtime city employees who will soon be retiring.

First, City Manager Marlon Sams informed the commission during his report that Roger Shelton has decided to step down from his position as manager of the Corbin Recycling Center.

Although Roger’s official last day won’t come until later this year, he is planning on taking some accrued time off beginning later this month. So, for all intents and purposes, his final day working at the plant will be July 28.

I had the chance to chat with Roger briefly on Tuesday, as I wanted to find out more about his history with the city, and what he plans to do upon retirement. I learned that he has served in a variety of different roles over the past 27 years, including garbage collector, salt truck driver, mechanic and assistant public works director, among other positions.

For the past four years, Roger has managed the city’s recycling center. He said that he averages about 10,000 steps a day while there, and oversees the processing of tens of thousands of pounds of recycling material in the course of a week.

As for what he plans on doing in his retirement, it sounds like Roger has used his extensive recycling expertise to repurpose an old short bus, transforming it into a camper. He said that he plans on taking that out more often, and he wants to spend more time on the water, whether that be in a kayak, a canoe, a bass boat or on a pontoon boat. He also said that he recently bought a motorcycle, and plans on riding it frequently.

Basically, Roger’s plan is to be outdoors as much as possible, doing the things that he loves. I wish him well in this, as he has certainly earned it after his many years of hard work.

Also announcing his retirement at Monday’s city commission meeting was Bill Rose of the Corbin Police Department. Rose prepared a letter to be read aloud by Mayor Suzie Razmus at the meeting. It said:

“I, William Rose, have come to the extremely difficult decision that I will retire from the police department effective July 31, 2022. I would like to thank the people of Corbin for allowing me to serve them in this capacity for approximately 21 years. I would also like to thank my family – wife, Michelle and sons, Zachary and Steven – for being by my side during this journey.”

“To the members of the police department, you will always be in my thoughts and prayers for the difficult task that you are asked to do for society. To Chief Rusty Hedrick, thank you for your friendship, and there is no doubt in my mind that the police department is in the right direction under your leadership. Thank you all, and God bless.”

I have been around Mr. Rose a lot over the years, seeing him at various city and school-related functions, but I have never really spoken to him much personally. I hope to do so in the coming days, however, as I would love to have the opportunity to share more about his career here in the pages of the News Journal. For now, I will simply congratulate him on a job well done, and wish him all the best in his upcoming retirement.

Thank you to both of these gentlemen for helping to make Corbin a better place to live and work over the years. You will both be missed!