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As a former town council member deals with serious allegations against him, Kenbridge officials now have to fill his seat. Alan J. Hershberger was elected to the town council in November 2022. Back in August, he was arrested as part of a task force operation, charged with knowingly possessing child porn. 

The 32-year-old Hershberger has since stepped down and so the Town of Kenbridge needs residents to apply to fill his spot on council.
“We have petitioned for interested applicants to supply a letter of intent to the Council for review, Kenbridge Town Manager Tony Matthews said. “Then a vote will be taken at our next council meeting and a replacement will be appointed to fulfill the existing term.” 

Currently, with Hershberger’s seat vacant, the council consists of four people. That includes Paul Perusse, David Haywood, Doug Aubel and Mary Dayton. Wanda Morrison still serves as town mayor, with Mike Bender as vice mayor.
As for the requirements? As Matthews explains, first and foremost, you must be a citizen living in the town’s corporate limits. Second, you must be a legal voter, able to qualify for the election with the Registrar of Lunenburg County. Third, you must be able to meet on the third Tuesday of every month, which is when the town council holds its meetings. Fourth, part of the job of being a council member involves getting appointed to committees. If you apply, you must be willing to be appointed to town committees and serve on them.

Short term or long

Now if you want, this can either be a short appointment or have the potential for something more. Hershberger’s term expires at the end of December, as he was up for re-election. The appointed person can either run for a full term this fall or choose to simply serve the rest of the existing term and then step down.
Interested in applying? You can just drop off your letter of interest at the Kenbridge Town Hall. That’s located at 511 E. 5th Avenue in Kenbridge. You need to hurry, however. That letter has to be turned in before 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16. That’s because Kenbridge is on the clock, you might say. The town council has 45 days from the time a seat is vacated to choose a replacement.

Alan Hershberger case

As for the former town council member, at the time of his arrest, Hershberger was employed at Central High as a history teacher and volleyball coach. He had been working at Central since graduating from Longwood University in 2017.
The charge against him, a Class 6 felony, is the result of a joint investigation from the Lunenburg County Sheriff’s Office and the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Hershberger is still waiting for his day in court. Originally scheduled for an August 14 hearing, the case has been continued twice and is now scheduled to take place on Oct. 16. That’ll be at 10:30 a.m. in Lunenburg General District Court.
At the time of Hershberger’s arrest, Lunenburg officials said the investigation into the child porn case was still ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the case is urged to contact the Lunenburg County Sheriff’s Office Crime Solvers at 434-696-3100.