CLINTON - The DeWitt County Board has a new look, but a familiar face has been re-elected as the chairman.

Steve Lobb will retain his chairman post after a unanimous vote during a re-organization meeting last week. Levi Sturgeon was elected as the vice chairman.

"I have considered it an honor and a privilege to be the board chairman the last two years and will look forward to that again," Lobb said. "This county has lots of issues in front of it, and they are all very important.

"We are dealing with the closure of Weldon Springs, which is a tragedy for this county. We are in the middle of implementing a public transportation system. And obviously, we have an issue with the chemical landfill, and the people of this county have made their feelings known about their opposition to that, and I intend to represent our citizens in this matter."

David Taylor, Dennis Rich, Dana Evans and Sherrie Brown were all sworn in as new members after winning seats during last month's election.

Outgoing members Larry Martin, Laurie Pearl, Dave Newburg and Chuck Moore were recognized for their years of service to the board.

The following is a roundup of other changes to Central Illinois county boards and their selections for chairman.

- Christian County: John Curtin retained his position as chairman on a board that saw all the incumbents win re-election.

- Coles County: John Bell has been selected as the board's chairman and John Hurst as vice chairman, a position Bell held for two years.

Newly elected members, all Republicans, also were seated. They are Clint Bays, District 12, Charleston; Mark Degler, District 5, Mattoon; and Stan Metzger, District 10, Charleston.

- Douglas County: Two new board members have joined the Douglas County Board following the retirements of Republicans Wayne Schable and Kathy Rhodes. Republican Bibby Applebee won election to Schable's seat and Republican Randy Bergeson to Rhodes' seat. Chuck Knox was re-elected chairman.

- Effingham County: Two incumbents tasted defeat in the election. In District A, Republican Leonard Waldhoff lost to Democrat Jim Reeves, and in District C, Democrat Terry Croft lost to Republican Karen Luchtefeld. Carolyn Willenburg was re-elected chairwoman.

- Fayette County: The retirements of Republicans Leland Shaw and Daniel Barenfanger mean two new faces on the county board. Republican Keith Cole won Shaw's seat in District 5, and Republican Brian Kinney won Barenfanger's seat in District 4. The board will vote on the chairmanship and committee assignments at its Dec. 9 meeting.

- Logan County:Newcomer Terry Carlton is the new county board chairman. Pat O'Neill, an eight-year board member, was elected vice chairman. Mike McIntosh resigned from his board seat to assume the position as the county's state's attorney. McIntosh's District 6 seat must be filled by a Republican. A letter of interest and resum© must be sent to the County Board office by Dec. 8.

- Moultrie County: The board membership stayed the same but the leadership has changed. Republican Dave McCabe is the new chairman and Ron White is the new vice chairman. Republican Michael Miller, who last year was appointed to replace retiring board member Bob Harris, won election to the seat.

- Piatt County: The retirement of Chairman Max Olson left the seat open for Richard Wilkin to win it in November. The all-Republican board has named Sharon Martin as its chairwoman.

- Shelby County: Paul Brooks was elected chairman, replacing six-year chairman George Frazier, who had stepped down due to health reasons.

Dick Clark was elected vice-chairman, replacing Floyd Storm who was defeated in the November elections. New members are Bruce Cannon and Dale Wetherell.

Sharon Barricklow and staff writers Kenneth Lowe and Dave Fopay contributed to this report.