PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Luray Mayor Jerry Dofflemyer submitted the comments below in response to a request by Page Valley News while reporting on the upcoming departure of Town Manager Steve Burke. However, the comments were received after the article had published. So, we include them here (as a letter to the editor) to share with the public. The Luray Council was scheduled to meet in closed session at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4 to discuss the “path forward to fill this vacancy.”
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I feel the Town of Luray has been very fortunate to have Mr. Steve Burke serve as our Town Manager for the past five years. On a personal basis, I have been blessed to have been able to work closely with someone who combines a sense of professionalism with a devotion to duty, rarely seen today.
Mr. Burke’s steady leadership has guided our town through an unprecedented COVID epidemic and other difficult issues. We have built a new and improved Imagination Station and transformed a mundane Memorial Drive into a pleasing entrance to our hospital.
Mr. Burke has attended countless ribbon cuttings, special events, plaza concerts, parades and celebrations and used his photographic skills to save many of them for posterity. His almost daily Facebook posts featuring many examples of our town’s beauty and scenery help perk up our mornings.
Although I have been a resident of Luray for almost 70 years, his series on some of our town’s older buildings taught me many unusual facts about our town’s history. His social media work did not go unnoticed, last year the Virginia Municipal League asked Mr. Burke to be a guest lecturer at their 2022 annual conference.
In addition to his duties, he has served as Planning and Zoning Commissioner, overseeing over the last two years what I believe has been the largest building boom in Luray history.
While we regret Mr. Burke’s departure and will miss him, the Town wishes he and his family much happiness and success in the future.
Jerry Dofflemyer ~ Mayor, Town of Luray, Va.
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