Kevin Phillips of Caliente was selected as the new chairman of the Lincoln County Board of County Commissioners for a two-year term at the first meeting of the year Jan. 5.

Phillips, who has been a Commissioner since 2011, served as Mayor of the City of Caliente from 1994-2009.

Dr. Adam Katschke will serve as vice-chairman.

Phillips, a Caliente businessman, is part owner of the Mountain Mercantile True Value Hardware Store in Caliente. He is a 1968 graduate of Lincoln County High School and a 1976 graduate of Brigham Young University.

As chairman, he retains some of his committee responsibilities and picked up a few others.

His assignments will include Public Lands/Water, Regional Transportation Commission, BLM-Range Management, Tri-County, Board representative to the Nevada Association of Counties, Legislative issue, JCCIAC, Contract Negotiations Committee, and District D issues.

Phillips said he enjoys all of the various responsibilities he has and is particularly keen as a member of the 17-member Nevada Public Lands Committee, seeking to help Nevada and 11 other western states that still have up to 85 percent of their land mass within their borders managed by the federal government.??We?ve got to change that equation if at all possible,? he said. ?It?s my personal opinion this could do more to bring to us the freedoms that we should have had as Nevadans all along. I?m going to do my darndest to see if it can be done.?

As chairman of the County Commission, Phillips said his main goal is to ?pay the bills, manage the problems we have and try to finds solutions to things.?