During the

public comment portion of last Thursday's Tyrone Town Council meeting,

a number of citizens came forward to thank Ronnie Cannon for his six years

of service to the town and for his friendship.

Cannon lost

his council seat in the recent election to Mike Smola by 16 votes. He

is also an employee of Northwest Airlines, which is closing its Atlanta

base, and has been asked to relocate to Minneapolis.

Though he will

leave Friday to report to Minneapolis, Cannon wants to reassure the town

that last Thursday was not his last meeting.

"I was

elected to do my job until the end of the year and I plan on doing it,"

said Cannon. "Unless I am called upon to fix a plane on either Dec.

5 or 19, I'll be there."

Cannon entered

the world of politics in Tyrone six years ago because he felt that not

enough was being done recreation-wise for the kids.

"Tyrone

softball was just starting up and we had 93 girls sign up to play and

no field, while the boys had two," Cannon explained. "I also

felt that the county wasn't doing enough for Shamrock Park. Now, we have

two softball fields, we control Shamrock Park, we have baseball fields

for the older kids who used to have to travel to Fayetteville to play

all their games."

Cannon went

on to cite that Tyrone also now has 17,000 feet of cart path, a mile and

a half of new sidewalks, 15 acres of space to decide what to do with and

a park for seniors being built on an acre and a half in front of Shamrock

Kitchen. Cannon also feels that the council has done a good job developing

the Land Use Map and development standards.

Had Cannon

won the recent election, he planned on continuing his service to the town.

"In six

years on the council I have only missed five meetings. I am very hands-on

and involved and check in twice a day. I felt that it would be possible

to commute back and forth."

Cannon's wife

and daughter, a sophomore at Sandy Creek, will stay in Tyrone for the

rest of the school year and then will join him. His wife, ..., recently

opened Lulabelle's, an antiques and home furnishing store in Brooks.

Cannon admitted

he was shocked at the results of the recent election and feels that some

people were upset that he wouldn't break the law and vote on the matter

concerning the Smith estate. Cannon abstained from voting on the matter

because he has known developer Burt Clark for a number of years and his

wife was opening Lulabelle's with him.

"I encourage

people to explore the details for themselves," Cannon said. "Call

officials or confront them face to face. Don't just listen to what people

tell you is the truth."

Cannon also

wished to encourage the public to stay involved. "The county has

proven that they won't give an inch and that Tyrone will have to fight

and scratch for everything."

Cannon has

fond memories of his tenure and the town he has called home. "I want

to thank the town for letting me serve and I feel I always did my job

with honesty and integrity. I love the town and the people and I hope

to return one day. If I win the lottery, I won't be leaving at all."