Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy and Drain Commissioner Brian Jonckheere recently teamed up via video to send their best wishes to outgoing commissioners.

Commissioners Carol Griffith, Carol Sue Reader, Brenda Plank, and Mitchell Zajac attended their final board meeting this week.

Murphy and Jonckheere are both jokesters, so naturally there some humor was sprinkled throughout the video. Jonckheere recently had surgery on both knees and has been getting around with a walker but the running joke is that Murphy “pushed him down the stairs” – which is referenced in the video and has been reinforced during various meetings.

All jokes aside, the two thanked commissioners for their contributions and expressed appreciation for their service.

Murphy shared a few words about each commissioner and commented that the past few years have been anything but easy and he knows everyone did the best they could and he appreciates that.

Griffith is a realtor and very involved in the community. She’s held a seat on the board since January 2009.

Murphy said Griffith is a staple in the community and has a heart “that is four times as big as you are”- further noting her calmness, “sense of righteous”, and doing the right thing even when maybe it’s not the most popular and voting her heart and constituent hearts.

Jonckheere chimed in to say that Griffith is very graceful, before going on to thank everyone for doing their best for the county employees and others. He described the commissioners as being “brave people” who should be proud of decisions made - especially during the pandemic when people in the audience were yelling and screaming and threats were being made online and by phone.

A link to the video is provided.