Last night the Dobson Board of Commissioners appointed Todd Dockery to the board, filling the vacancy left when his father, Clinton Dockery, died in September.

There is a nice feeling of symmetry with Toddy Dockery’s appointment. He was elected to serve on the board in 1990 and served from 1991 until 1994 until he moved away from the town, necessitating his resignation from the commissioners. His father was appointed to the seat and held the post until his death last month.

Now, the younger Dockery has returned where voters put him nearly two decades ago, ready to step into the work he began and his father continued for him.

But many challenges await Todd Dockery, and we hope he is ready to tackle them with an open mind and a commitment to open, honest government.

The town still is facing the need to address a brewing water controversy with Mount Airy. Dobson commissioners seemingly have taken the head-in-the-sand approach to solving the dispute over their failure to live up to a promise to purchase 300,000 gallons of water per day from Mount Airy. A town manager must still be hired — probably the most important decision these commissioners will be faced with during their terms — and there is the lingering community distrust of some of the commissioners.

Dockery has the advantage of being a new face as yet untarnished by these issues. First, we congratulate him on his appointment, and we ask that he commit himself to serving the residents of Dobson, regardless of popular sentiment on the board.