Burnside mayor recovering from knee surgery

Mar. 21—Robert Lawson is officially on the mend.

The mayor of the City of Burnside successfully underwent knee surgery this this week and is currently recovering in Lexington.

While he's away from the city, Police Chief Mike Hill is serving as mayor for any necessary functions.

"I had a total knee replacement" on the left knee, Lawson told the Commonwealth Journal on Tuesday. "I did the right one last April.

"I was in the military for 22 years," he added. "I was a drill sergeant. Back in those days, we ran the troops in combat boots on blacktop. I destroyed my knees (doing that). Blacktop's not good for the knees."

While the surgery at the beginning of this week went as planned, this experience is different from Lawson's last knee repair. Lawson said he has a blood clotting issue, and procedures he's undergone in the past have caused him to develop a clot.

So Lawson's doctors recommended he remain hospitalized following the surgery on a heparin drip, a blood thinner, "and it's really helped," he noted.

Lawson hopes that he can home by mid-week, barring any complications.

He'll remain there and away from City Hall for a while longer, with plans to video conference in to the April 3 Burnside City Council meeting.

The council will need to select a new city councilor to replace the late Terry Vanover — Lula Jean Burton was nominated at a special called meeting last week, but the council ultimately decided to delay the vote on her out of respect to Vanover's recent passing — and plans are for Burton or whomever is chosen for the council to go to Lawson's home to be sworn in by him there, as Hill is unable to fulfill that function.

Lawson said that he's "thinking about" the people of Burnside and staying in contact with City Hall.

"(That's) so I know what's going on," he said with a laugh. "I've talked to (Hill on Tuesday) morning, and I talked to Jerrica (Flynn), the city clerk, this morning, so I'm staying in touch."