Levy issues were approved by voters in the Grundy R-5 and Laredo R-7 school districts while two new members will join the Trenton R-9 Board of Education as the result of ballots cast in Tuesday’s municipal and school elections.
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Levy issues were approved by voters in the Grundy R-5 and Laredo R-7 school districts while two new members will join the Trenton R-9 Board of Education as the result of ballots cast in Tuesday’s municipal and school elections.
In addition, incumbents were re-elected to the North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees, the Grundy County Nursing Home District Board of Directors and the Trenton City Council.
Grundy R-5 and Laredo R-7 voters both gave solid support to levy issues.
Grundy R-5 was seeking a 40-cent levy increase for a five-year period, which received 261 votes in favor while 147 were opposed. The vote total included a 169-111 vote in favor in Grundy County and a 92-53 favorable margin in Sullivan County.
“I really want to thank those voters who got out and voted for this important issue,” Superintendent Paul Huey said. “They’ve made an investment in our kids.”
Huey said that while all the cuts that had previously been discussed by the district will not have to be made, the board will still need to look at reducing expenditures by around $150,000, which he feels can be done without affecting the quality of education.
“One of the good things with passage of the levy is the fact we won’t have to combine grades at the elementary level,” Huey said. “But we still have to look at continuing to reduce costs while also looking at ways to increase revenue.”
Huey said that increasing revenues will be one of the things the board will talk about during its special meeting tonight, which will also include the issuance of contracts for certified staff. Election results will be certified and the board will be organized, with offices to be selected.
Mike Callen and Melody Shipley won election to three-year terms on the R-5 Board of Education. Callen had 301 votes while Mrs. Shipley received 243 votes. A third candidate, Terry Wynne, had 200 votes. There was also one write-in vote.
Laredo R-7 voters were asked to approve a $1.40 levy increase and did so by a vote of 158-32. The issue, which has a five-year sunset clause, is projected to generate just over $59,000 in additional revenues for the district, beginning in January.
“This community is just fantastic,” Principal Jean Dustman said this morning. “We are a small school, but it’s a wonderful place for kids and the patrons of the district saw fit to make sure it remains in the community. The patrons are just unbelievable and we are just so pleased to know that we have that type of support.”
Mrs. Dustman noted that the even with the additional revenues, the district will have to remain fiscally conservative.
“We have to continue watching what we spend, even with the new money,” she said. “No one knows what the state might do and we need to make sure we watch our spending in order to keep the district financially sound.”
Elected to the board of education at Laredo for a three-year term were Stephen Lowrey, with 132 votes, and Shane Larson with 125 votes. Mark Urich received 68 votes. There was also one write-in.
Steve Holt and Cass Fuller won a three-way race for two positions on the Trenton R-9 Board of Education. Holt received 1,340 votes in Grundy County while Fuller, a former board member, had 896. The third candidate, Johnathan Smith, had 802 votes. There were also eight write-ins.
Chris Hoffman and Diane Raynes were re-elected to the NCMC Board of Trustees for a six-year term. Hoffman received the most votes, 1,331, while Mrs. Raynes received 998 votes. A third candidate, Don Dalrymple, received 752 votes. There were no write-ins.
Re-elected to the Grundy County Nursing Home District Board were Melvin Tuttle and Larry Griffin. Tuttle received 1,494 votes while Griffin received 1,425 votes. There were 1,112 votes cast for a third candidate, Carolyn Garcia. There were also 12 write-ins.
There were two races for two-year terms on the Trenton City Council, with incumbents winning both. Kenneth Ewing defeated Lannie Harkins in the second ward, 131-117, while Troy Smith defeated Carolyn Garcia in the fourth ward, 366-167. Each ward also had one write-in.
Uncontested races for city council seats saw incumbents also win. Dr. Nick McHargue received 296 votes in the first ward and Gary Hurst received 228 in the third ward. Write-ins totaled eight in the first ward and three in the third ward.
In other area contested school elections, Danny Westcott and Don Meservey were elected to three-year terms on the Pleasant View R-6 Board of Education. They received 85 and 81 votes respectively. A third candidate, Alan VanHoutan, received 25 votes.
Kent Donelson and Gene Anderson won terms on the Princeton R-5 Board of Education. Donelson received 221 votes and Anderson received 213 votes. Other candidates were Jerry Brundage, 111, and Cheryl Moore, 94.
Kirby Payne and Bruce Williams were re-elected to the Harrison County R-4 Board of Education at Gilman City. Payne received 61 votes and Williams had 57 votes. A third candidate, Pam Burrow, received 50 votes.
At Newtown-Harris, Tim Tucker and Becky Altiser won three-year terms. Tucker received 65 votes while Ms. Altiser received 58. A third candidate, Macky Reed, had 34 votes.
No one filed for terms on the Spickard R-2 Board of Education with Dixon Munday having the most write-in votes with six. Bob Munday and Colleen Quintana both received three votes. Three write-in votes were cast in Mercer County for three individuals. The district will make the decision as to how the tie will be broken for the second position.
In the only area school board race featuring uncontested candidates, Tim Wahlers and Russell Hopkins were elected to terms at Tri-County R-7 in Jamesport.
Rick Tunnell was re-elected to the Galt Board of Aldermen, defeating declared write-in Clarence Edmundson for the two-year south ward term, 17-10. Sylvia Berry was elected to the two-year north ward term. For the one-year unexpired term in the north ward, Russell Lea received two votes and Jason Grindstaff had one. The south ward unexpired term had four persons receiving one vote each, Matt Sawyer, Bryan Courtney, Mike McKaren and Lewis Berry.
At Laredo, Justin Reeter won the three-way race for the two-year south ward position. He received 21 votes while David Davis received 20 and Georgie Griffin received 11. John Molloy was re-elected mayor and Josh Carpenter won the two-year term as north ward alderman. The 30-cent property tax for the special street fund was approved, 44-36.
At Jamesport, Jerry Pierce won re-election as the west ward councilman, receiving 52 votes. Debbie Price and Chris Ford both received 11 votes. In the east ward, John Beechner defeated Bill Coy for the two-year term, 42-21. Virginia Hopkins was unopposed for the one-year east ward position. Gail Ledesma and Bill Eckert were unopposed for the park board. A sales tax issue was approved, 91-41.
Harry Brown was the only declared candidate for the Spickard City Council and was elected to the two-year term in the north ward. Gary Lee and J.R. Roberts had three votes each for the two-year term in the second ward while Todd Wilson, J.B. Sandefer, Kenny Olson and Donald Stevens each had a vote for the one-year term in the south ward. Seven write-ins received votes for the Spickard Special Road District, with Terry Gibson, Harry Brown, Don Stevens, J.R. Roberts and Kenny Olson each getting two votes. One vote was cast for Chuck Williams and Keith Sharp.
At Princeton, Mike Greenlee was re-elected mayor. Elected to the council was George Scurlock, south ward; and Russell Trainer, north ward.