Mohorc begins work as Chaffee's first female mayor

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Chaffee's first elected mayor to serve since last fall and its first female mayor since the mid-1970s was in the company of friends and family as she was sworn in Monday night.

Several supporters of the new mayor, Loretta Mohorc, attended the meeting, at which Mohorc presided over routine matters in her first meeting as mayor.

Mohorc had a few procedural stumbles in conducting the business of paying bills and directing council action on ordinances, consulting city attorney David Summers and Ward 4 Councilman and former acting mayor Tom Cunningham at times on how to lead the meeting.

Par for the course for a first-time mayor, Mohorc said, who had served as a council member until Monday's meeting.

"I'll get the hang of it pretty quick," she said afterward. "It's a lot different sitting here in the mayor's seat than sitting out there."

Mohorc's first act as mayor was to appoint Alice McFerron to serve in her former Ward 2 seat and to appoint Bill Dysinger to serve in a vacant Ward 3 seat. Dysinger was defeated in this month's election by Ronald Moyers, who was also sworn in Monday.

Other election winners sworn in were Jaeson Fraser in Ward 1 and Debbie Eichhorn in Ward 2.