A FORMER SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA ASSISTANT COMMONWEALTH’S ATTORNEY SAYS LEAVING HIS JOB WAS PLANNED, AND NOT A MATTER OF BEING FORCED FROM HIS POSITION AS THE RESULT OF HIS PUBLIC CRITICISM ABOUT THE LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT. HERB CLAY, A FORMER MEMBER OF MARION’S TOWN COUNCIL, WAS OPPOSED TO THE REAPPOINTMENT OF CHIEF MIKE ROBERTS. THIS LED TO A CONFRONTATION BETWEEN HIM AND MARION MAYOR DAVID HELMS DURING A TOWN COUNCIL MEETING LAST MONTH. CLAY SAID THE REASON BEHIND HIS DEPARTURE IS HE’S A LITTLE BURNED OUT, AND IT WAS TIME FOR A CHANGE. AS FOR HIS FUTURE, CLAY SAID HE PLANS TO OPEN A PRIVATE LAW PRACTICE AND BE A MEMBER OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.