Rick Monroe

Special to the Village News

After Stephanie Ortiz suddenly resigned Nov. 9 as one of five directors of the Fallbrook Regional Health District, the board met for a special meeting Nov. 30 to select a replacement to serve Zone 2 through 2024.

There was one applicant, Mike Stanicek, who each of the four directors said was an excellent fill-in for the elected position. However, after meeting for an hour, the directors ultimately decided to delay the decision until Dec. 14, their only remaining meeting of the year.

That meeting is when Howard Salmon, board chair and member of the bo...