RIDGECREST, La. – Even running a town of 776 people takes at least two hours a day of signing papers, addressing citizens’ problems and overseeing operations in general. And in David Cobb’s case, that’s two hours he doesn’t have.

&uot;I work 12 hours a day (at Titan Tire of Natchez) and then try to spend at least two hours a day at Town Hall,&uot;&160;he said. &uot;I&160;can’t keeping doing it – and if I can’t, I’m better off getting out.&uot;

So Cobb has resigned as mayor after five years in that post. (Cobb himself was appointed the post after the previous mayor resigned, but he was then elected to a full term.) Trouble is, Mayor Pro Tem Ronald Barnhill doesn’t have the time to accept the mayor’s job, either.

&uot;I’m too tied up right now to be tied down like that,&uot; Barnhill said from his job at International Paper’s Natchez mill.

So at Thursday’s Ridgecrest Board of Aldermen meeting, Alderman Guy Lain is expected to be appointed to serve as the town’s mayor until an election can be held.

&uot;His office is right there close to town hall, so he seemed like a good choice,&uot; Barnhill said, referring to Lain, an attorney whose office is just a stone’s throw from Town Hall.

For his part, Lain is taking the whole situation in stride, emphasizing that his appointment won’t be official until Thursday.

&uot;I’m looking forward to it,&uot;&160;he said. He admits that maintaining a law practice and serving as mayor will be &uot;a pretty involved part-time job.&uot;

&uot;We’re a very small municipality, but we have most of the needs that a larger one would have, just on a smaller scale,&uot; Lain said. &uot;We’ve got over 300 households whose needs must be met.&uot;

And then there’s the mayor’s pay, a staggering total of $100 per month. &uot;You definitely don’t do it for the money,&uot;&160;Lain said. &uot;It’s got to be a public service.&uot;