The Morven Town Council held a special meeting Thursday night, May 13, during which Ben Atkinson rescinded his resignation from the council and was reinstated.

Atkinson had resigned from both the town council and the zoning board at the council's monthly meeting on May 3 after a dispute over how beautification committee funds should be used. He and members of the beautification committee felt that $380 raised from a recent auction should go into a fund controlled by the committee. Mayor Carolyn Solomon and council members felt the money should go into the town's general fund.

Atkinson called it "a slap in the face" and resigned, immediately leaving the meeting.

At Thursday night's special meeting, Mayor Solomon announced that it was legal for Atkinson to rescind his resignation from both the town council and the zoning board, and read from a letter to the town that Atkinson had written. "I allowed my frustration and emotion to take over," she read.

The mayor then said she'd like for it to be noted that Atkinson is still a board member, and asked Atkinson if he was sure this is what he wanted to do. He replied that it was and then stated that his letter had been dated May 7.

"I called my attorney and they told me what I should do," he explained, adding that he had turned the letter in the following Monday morning, May 10, rather than the afternoon of May 7.

"My other statement is, I'd like to make a public apology to all the citizens of Morven," he said. "Whether you voted for me or didn't vote for me, I'm still a town council member. I was voted in by the citizens. I let that go away from me the other night. I apologize for it."

He said he would make a public apology three times— at the meeting Thursday night, at the next monthly town council meeting June 7, and through the newspaper.

"I got frustrated, emotional," he added. "This is my public apology. I'm very sorry. It won't happen again."

Councilman Theodore Carr said it was "noble" of Atkinson to be willing to apologize. "One way to stay out of trouble is do nothing, say nothing," he added. "In my judgment, that's the worst mistake you can make— sit around, doing nothing. Show up at the meeting, collect your check, disappear. I'd like to encourage other board members, let's be active and get involved."

Carr said that Atkinson's resignation was the result of him trying to do something to better the town. "We don't need to slow down in terms of being innovative," he said, "because we think somebody might criticize."