CHANNEL ISLANDS BEACH : Member of District Board Resigns Post

A longtime member of the Channel Islands Beach Community Service District has resigned.

Wanda M. Pirkle told fellow board members last week that her resignation will take effect Friday, six months before her four-year term expires.

The Silver Strand resident said she no longer wants the responsibility of being a board member and would like to spend more time traveling.

“I just decided I’m burned out,” said Pirkle, 69.

Pirkle was one of the founding board members of the district, which was formed in 1982 to oversee water, sewer and trash operations for the unincorporated communities of Hollywood-by-the-Sea, Hollywood Beach and Silver Strand.

She also worked as an administrator for 13 years in a utilities district that preceded the Community Service District.

Board President Pat Forrest credits Pirkle with starting the district’s curbside recycling program in the early ‘80s.

“She’d get in her car and go pick the trash up herself. Now the program makes $2,000 a month for the district and is very successful,” Forrest said.

Pirkle also started the Sand Dabbers, a beautification society responsible for improving public landscaping within the district’s jurisdiction.

The board can appoint someone to replace her or may decide to leave the position open until the November election, Pirkle said.