Derry Borough appoints Eikenburg to fill vacant council seat

Derry Borough resident Rich Eikenburg enlisted in the Army National Guard last year and now has added a civilian service stint to his plate.

Borough council this week voted 4-1 to appoint Eikenburg to join the seven-member panel, filling a vacancy resulting from the recent death of council President Al Checca.

Sworn in by Mayor Grant Nicely, Eikenburg will serve through December 2025.

“I’m excited about this opportunity,” said Eikenburg. “I want to bring people to our community. I look forward to, hopefully, bringing businesses and families to Derry and making a difference.”

Eikenburg, 35, said he was befriended by Checca after moving to Derry from Ohio 12 years ago and was inspired by the late councilman to apply for the vacant seat.

“He encouraged me to be on the board, but I always found an excuse: I’m too busy, I’ve got three kids and my wife is a nurse,” Eikenburg told council. “After his passing, I thought, ‘It’s time to, hopefully, take up what Al was doing with you guys and help this community move forward.’”

Eikenburg said joining the National Guard was the fulfillment of one of his dreams. He added that his military training reinforced the importance of working cooperatively with others, a process he wants to apply on council.

“I know you guys make hard decisions,” he told council members. “I know it’s not easy getting along with everybody.

“We might have different views, we might have different beliefs, but I hope that we can come together as a community to make those decisions to better our community.”

Eikenburg works for East Coast of Latrobe, installing natural gas lines as a contractor for Peoples. He is a music leader at Bible Baptist Church in Derry Township.

“I love Derry,” he said. “I want to be able to raise my family here and have my kids raise their families here.”

Barbara Phillips, who had served as council’s vice president, was selected to take on the role of president. Council named Nathan Bundy vice president, Jasen Lentz president pro tem.

Checca, 57, who survived three kidney transplants, died May 12 in Pittsburgh’s UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. He’d been recovering there for nearly a month from a brain aneurysm that triggered his involvement in a vehicle accident in the borough, his daughter Jessica Bulebosh told TribLive.

In his memory, Checca’s nameplate will be maintained at council meetings for the remainder of the year.

Council also approved memorial banners that will be displayed for Checca and for Alanna Gaudiello. A former Derry mayor, Gaudiello, 49, of Connellsville, died May 24 after battling pancreatic cancer.

Other applicants for the council vacancy were Adam Cowan, Joelle Parkinson and Carlo Parkinson.

Additional appointed positions the borough needs to fill include the vacancy board chairman, one member each on the planning commission and the Derry Municipal Authority board and an alternate member of the zoning hearing board.