by 
San Manuel Library is governed by a Board of five community members who are elected every two years. This year, two of the five seats are up for election. Three people will be on the ballot, two of which are incumbents. Those on the ballot are: Verne Fisher, incumbent and volunteer; Pat Collins, incumbent and volunteer, and Sharon Matthews, volunteer.
The election will be held Jan. 17-25. Cardholders 18 years and older may drop in to the library on any of those dates and vote for two of the candidates.
The following are statements made by each of the candidates:
PATRICIA COLLINS
As a child growing up in San Manuel in the 1950s and 60s, I fell in love with reading in the San Manuel Library. That love lead to an almost 30-year career as a secondary English teacher and reading specialist after I worked my way through Grand Canyon University as a clerk in their library. Upon my retirement in 2013, I returned to my hometown with my husband Tony, a Texan who had fallen in love with the Arizona desert and San Manuel on our many trips here. I began to volunteer at the library and now my husband also volunteers there. For the past two years, I have had the great privilege to serve as the treasurer for the San Manuel Library board. I would like to continue serving our community through this position because I believe in the vital link that the library plays in fulfilling the needs of San Manuel residents by providing services of not only books and DVDs for check-out but also Internet access for business and pleasure. I look forward to serving with the other board members as we continue to explore more ways that our library can serve our community.
VERNE FISCHER
My intent as a board and staff member of the San Manuel Library is to aid the citizenry of our area with issues that take place in their lives to the extent the library can give help. I look forward to working with our patrons in this community effort. I have seen many in our community benefit greatly as a result of the help our library board and staff have given in the past. I hope to be a part of the future as a member of our library board.
SHARON MATTHEWS
I have lived in San Manuel for the last 17 years and the first thing I did when I moved here was get a library card. I enjoy libraries very much and became a volunteer several years ago. I like meeting new people, talking with people who like the same books I do, working with the other volunteers and being a part of the community. I would love to be a part of the library board and help keep our library a strong, vital part of our community.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
by by