THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, March 22, 1996                 TAG: 9603220582
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: SUFFOLK                            LENGTH: Short :   42 lines

HENRY MURDEN TO RESIGN AS CITY CLERK IN SUFFOLK AFTER 29 YEARS HE SAYS HE WANTS TO FOCUS ON THE JOB TO WHICH HE WAS ELECTED: COURT CLERK.

Longtime city clerk Henry C. Murden has announced his resignation, effective July 1.

Murden, 77, said he wanted to concentrate on his work as clerk of Suffolk's Circuit Court.

Murden has held the part-time city clerk position for 29 years.

His tenure has lasted through 10 city managers, 30 City Council members and nine city attorneys.

Murden said the demands of both jobs had gotten to be too much.

``There's been a lot of increased activity in the court's office,'' Murden said.

``I want to be able to do the job better that I was elected to do,'' Murden added.

Murden was re-elected to the Circuit Court position last November.

As the court clerk, he is responsible for keeping the records concerning deeds, marriage licenses and divorces.

As city clerk, Murden handles City Council minutes, attends all council meetings and certifies council documents.

``The job involves maintaining records on appointments, notifying people and following the requirements of the state code about public notice,'' said City Manager Myles E. Standish. ``He's done a great job, and I'm going to miss him a great deal.''

Mayor S. Chris Jones said it will be difficult to fill Murden's shoes. The job will be posted, Jones said.

``I`ve known for a while that the job was getting busier,'' Jones said. ``Henry's been doing both jobs a long time, and he says it's just gotten to be too much to do. He's always been very professional and a constant gentleman.

``He'll be hard to replace.'' by CNB