JOHN DAY – Grant County Road Master Mark Hensley isn’t resigning, after all.

Hensley had planned to resign, effective Nov. 1, but changed his mind after community members beseeched him to stay.

About 40 local residents showed up at the Grant County Road Department, on Lower Yard Road, for a surprise meeting with Hensley about 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29. The group included contractors, local business owners, federal and city workers and retirees.

In a session that lasted about an hour, they pressed their case for Hensley to stay in the county job.

“This community does not want to see you leave, and that’s why these people are here,” said County Judge Mark Webb. “You’ve got a lot of support behind you. People value what you have brought to the county and the Road Department.”

Hensley had notified the Grant County Court that he would resign after what observers described was a heated meeting with members of the road crew about a month ago. Two weeks ago, he ordered a one-week layoff for the road crew, but that decision was rescinded before the layoff took effect.

Hensley has declined to comment on the staff meeting or the layoff, but told the people attending last week’s meeting that lowered expectations and poor attitudes on the part of a few workers were affecting the department.

Hensley said he would reconsider his resignation by Friday. On Thursday afternoon, he said he had decided to stay. He stressed that the problem is one of attitudes in the workplace, and it may take time to fix, but he said he will give it a try.

Despite some rough patches, Hensley said he is still proud of what the road crew has been able to accomplish.

“When our heads are screwed on right, we can tear into things and really move mountains,” he said.

Hensley has been road master for the county since December 2001. He previously worked as a mechanic in the department from 1994 to 1997. He heads a department that has 16 employees.

“I’m going to stick around, and attempt the fix,” he said.