East Pilbara mourns loss of councillor

Tributes have been paid to Shire of east Pilbara Councillor John Jakobson after he lost his battle with cancer on Saturday.

Cr Jakobson was elected onto the council in October 2015 as a representative of the East Ward following the death of long serving Councillor Kevin Danks.

He placed himself up for election after his retirement from BHP and after 30 years as a Newman resident, saying he felt compelled to join the council to continue his service to the community.

Shire of East Pilbara President Lynne Craigie said Cr Jakobson was committed to the Shire of East Pilbara and gave so much during his time on the council.

"He had a real heart for the east ward and was keenly aware of the challenges facing the community and local government,” she said.

“On behalf of everyone at the Shire of East Pilbara we extend our heartfelt condolences to Anita and John’s family,” she added.

Cr Jakobson first moved to Newman in 1979 when he accepted an engineering job with BHP at the Whaleback operation.

With an enthusiasm to be engaged with the East Pilbara community, Cr Jakobson became involved with the Newman Campus of Hedland College for more than 12 years, becoming chairman on the Board of Pilbara TAFE. For his service he was honoured with a Centenial Medal for "services to remote education”.