Hearings soon on county, district judge vacancies

    Both a county and a district judge who serve the 11th Judicial District have left the bench, and efforts continue to fill the vacancies.
    Chase County is included in the 11th Judicial District.
    District Judge David Urbom has retired while County Judge Kent Turnbull resigned, both effective Aug. 31.
    Now, the Judicial Nominating Commission for the district is set to hold public hearings on the qualifications of candidates for both positions.
    The candidates for replacing Urbom include Aaron J. Conn, Rushville; Chawnta M. Durham, North Platte; Morgan R. Farquhar, Cambridge; Patrick M. Heng, North Platte; Bryan S. McQuay, Alma; and Cody E. Siegfried, McCook.
    The public hearing to receive testimony on Urbom’s possible replacement will be Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. CT at the Red Willow County Courthouse in McCook.
    Urbom has served the 11th Judicial District since 2006. In addition to his work on the bench, he’s also been active in the Mock Trial program in area high schools.
    Urbom worked as a private practice lawyer in Arapahoe from 1977 until his judicial appointment in 2006. He also worked as a Cambridge city attorney (1986-1994), a Furnas County attorney (1979-1995), and a Holbrook village attorney (1984-2006).
    Turnbull left the bench the end of August, after serving since October 1999.
    Patrick M. Heng, Michael L. Nozicka and Tanya K. Roberts-Connick, all of North Platte, have submitted applications for appointment as County Court Judge to fill Turnbull’s vacancy.
    The public hearing for testimony on Turnbull’s potential replacement will be Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. at the Lincoln County Courthouse in North Platte.
    The 11th Judicial District contains the most counties, and besides Chase includes Arthur, Dawson, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Gosper, Hayes, Hitchcock, Hooker, Keith, Lincoln, Logan, McPherson, Perkins, Red Willow and Thomas counties.