BAILEYTON — Baileyton’s brief search to fill two vacant town council seats ended almost as soon as it began, after the council filled both recently emptied positions Monday, Dec. 2.

At its regular Monday, Dec. 2 meeting, two new councilmembers were sworn in at Baileyton Town Hall, even as Mayor Windell Calloway and the rest of the council thanked their outgoing predecessors for their years of service to the town.

With presiding Cullman County Circuit Judge Greg Nicholas administering the oath, new council members, Donna Kent and Jack McGee, were sworn in together at the start of Monday’s meeting. Afterward, both Kent and McGee took their place alongside their new council colleagues to conduct the rest of the meeting’s business.

Kent and McGee replace outgoing councilmembers Roy Shedd and Wendell Peterson, whose cordial departure from the council was evident as Calloway presented each of them with commemorative plaques during Monday’s meeting. Shedd stepped down from his council position in October, followed a month later by Peterson.

Though no voting measures came before the council during Kent and MdGee’s first official meeting as its newest members, each did take part in discussions of ongoing and upcoming town projects, including a preview of the Baileyton Senior Community Christmas event set to welcome families to the nearby senior center — where Kent serves as the organization’s current president — Saturday, Dec. 7.

Saturday’s no-cost Christmas event will kick off at 5:30 p.m., offering family friendly holiday cheer to all guests — whether they’re residents of Baileyton or elsewhere. “The seniors held a soup and sandwich supper in September, and we raised around $2,000 in all of that year margin just for the community,” Kent said. “We bought enough gifts so that every child will get a present. There will be plenty of food and fun — and, of course, they’ll get to see Santa!”

Benjamin Bullard can be reached at bbullard@cullmantimes.com 256-734-2131 ext. 234.