Virginia City tourism director to leave post

Virginia City's tourism director will likely leave her post by next week, said Bill Sjovangen, the chairman of the Virginia City Convention and Tourism Authority's board of directors.

Sjovangen said Thursday that Susan Sutton went on "administrative leave" on April 28 and hasn't returned to work except to collect her personal belongings. Sutton's apparent departure was first reported by the Virginia City News last week.

Attempts to contact Sutton for comment were not successful on Thursday.

"We took it as a resignation and when I talked to her attorney a couple days ago he asked if we would consider it an administrative leave with pay," Sjovangen said.

Sjovangen declined to comment on the details of the matter, adding the five-member board of directors will discuss Sutton's severance package at 10 a.m. on May 12 in the Silverland Inn and Suites, 100 North E St., in Virginia City. The meeting is open to the public.

"There are absolutely no allegations of wrong doing," said Sjovangen, who became chairman of the board in January. "She's done some remarkable things out there. She's accomplished a lot over the last seven years."

He later added that sometimes, "you get a divorce."

The tourism authority is supported by a portion of Storey County's business license fees, room tax and sales tax. Sutton was appointed to the executive director position in 2004.

Calls to the other tourism authority board members were either not returned on Thursday or resulted in no comment.

*This story has been updated since its original publication to include Susan Sutton's first name.