Gentle on leave of absence

NEWORT — Pend Oreille County commission chair John Gentle has been on a leave of absence since April 14.

“I’ve had an emergency surgery and am trying to understand the recovery timeline,” he texted April 24 in response to a question from The Miner. He texted Tuesday, April 29, that he would be attending all the meetings for his boards and committees while he’s recovering. He said he would attend county commissioner meetings via Zoom until he is cleared to drive. He anticipates that could be as soon as next week.