BOTETOURT – “Fincastle District’s vote on the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors must be kept in hands that are locally oriented and not bound by rigid ideological commitments and obsessions,” Steve Vaughn told Botetourt County Democrats Monday night after accepting their nomination to run for supervisor.
He will be on the November ballot to serve the one year remaining in the term of the late Don Meredith, the Fincastle District supervisor who died earlier this year.
Donna Vaughn, Steve’s wife, currently is serving in that capacity. She was appointed by the circuit court to serve for the period between Meredith’s death and the election.
Steve Vaughn was unopposed and acclaimed unanimously in a nominating caucus that was held in the meeting room of the Fincastle Library.
“Botetourt County offers citizens a wonderful quality of life, but we must look at ways to sustain the things we love, such as the excellent schools, law enforcement, emergency services, parks and recreation, farms, small and large businesses, and our new tourism opportunities. We have to find a means to fund the county without overburdening the homeowners,” Vaughn told the Democrat caucus.
“Economic development needs to become more proactive in finding new businesses for our county and to continue to support the businesses we already have here,” Vaughn said.
P. Stephen Vaughn is a life-long resident of Botetourt County and was educated in local schools. He graduated from James River High School in 1967 and attended Dabney S. Lancaster Community College. All four of the Vaughns’ grown children are products of the Botetourt County school system.
He was a part-time Botetourt County deputy treasurer from November of 1981 until May of 1985, was a rural mail carrier for 15 years and was Eagle Rock Postmaster for eight years until his retirement at the end of last September.
For 34 years (and continuing) he has served the Eagle Rock community as the operator of its water works. He is experienced as a pump installer, electrician and plumber, and was a store manager and salesman for his family’s business, the Eagle Rock Milling and Manufacturing Inc., from 1965 until 1985. He currently is the Fincastle District member of the Botetourt County Board of Zoning Appeals.
For 18 years, Vaughn has been actively involved in James River High School’s marine biology and ecology activities, and was a longtime volunteer with the JRHS football “chain gang.” He is a member of the Eagle Rock Ruritan Club and serves as its treasurer, is a member of the Bank of Botetourt’s Eagle Rock Branch Advisory Board, and is a past chief and life member of the Eagle Rock Volunteer Fire Department. He is a charter member of the Eagle Rock Elementary School PTA and was its first president. He and his wife attend Galatia Presbyterian Church.