John Eck was appointed Wednesday to fill the Old Lycoming Township supervisor seat vacated by Dave Shirn earlier this month.

“I want to thank the taxpayers of Old Lycoming Township,” said a letter penned by Shirn and read aloud by Supervisor Justin Kastner.

“For six-plus years I have served as township supervisor and 47 years in the township fire department,” the letter said.

“It is with much disrespect from others that has led me to this decision along with now two threats from previous employees,” wrote Shirn, who was not in attendance.

Eck, who previously served as a supervisor from 2002 to 2017, was sworn in by District Judge William Solomon.

The decision to return Eck to the board was a supervisor decision, as they are not required to take public applications for the position, said Kastner, who was appointed board chairman.

“The reason we chose John to work with is John’s experience in the past management of the township. He’d been a supervisor here for almost 16 years, so we’re pulling from his experience to help us navigate the waters for 2025 until the election happens where four supervisors will be elected,” he said.

Supervisor Richard Metz will assume the role of vice-chair after a vote from the supervisors.