Larry Morey will remain a candidate for chairman of the Henry County Board of Commissioners.

A hearing was convened April 6 to hear a citizen challenge to his candidacy, alleging that Morey defaulted on taxes related to two separate federal tax liens totalling more than $248,000. After hearing testimony from that citizen as well as Morey, the Board of Elections voted to keep him on the ballot. Morey has a court appearance in May on a separate matter, a charge of child cruelty stemming from an incident more than a year ago at a private school operated by Morey and his wife. In that case, a parent alleged that her special-needs chid was beaten with a leather belt in a way that left marks on his body.