The Town of Sallis recently appointed Luke Eaton as mayor and Jackie Ables Turner as alderman.
The appointment follows the resignation of Brent Busbea, who served as Sallis mayor since the summer of 2021. Busbea resigned at the start of May 2022. While Eaton will assume Busbea’s previous position as mayor, Turner will replace Eaton’s seat on the Board of Aldermen.
The town recently held a special election, and Turner and Eaton were the only candidates who qualified to run for the open seats. The Sallis Board of Aldermen were allowed to appoint the two candidates, since the pair were the only ones to qualify.
On June 6, Eaton and Turner were appointed by the board and sworn into office.
Turner, who retired last October from her position as Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, said she is proud to begin serving her hometown community.
“After retiring from state government, one of my goals was to be more involved in my community,” said Turner. “I am proud to serve as an alderman for Sallis and work with the new mayor, Luke Eaton, and the dedicated group of fellow Board of Aldermen members.”
Mayor Eaton said serving in such a large political role has never been his top priority, but he is dedicated to serving the town of Sallis.
“Filling a major political office has never been a desire of mine, but when the need arose for the position of Mayor to be filled, I accepted. I wanted to serve my community and make it the best it can be. Sallis is a unique and special place. Whenever someone thinks of the quintessential “hometown,” I bet they are picturing a place like Sallis,” he said. “The love and sense of community in our small town is unmatched. We have some exciting projects in the works that I began as an Alderman, and I will see them completed soon as Mayor. One of the projects includes improving our downtown area to provide a better space to host more community events like our annual Sallis Day and Christmas parade. I feel honored and blessed to serve my community and hope that everything I do is honoring to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
