Scott County election: Graham elected to Sikeston city council; Miner has new mayor

Staff report

news@standard-democrat.com

BENTON -- Tuesday's municipal election proved every vote counts as many contested races were decided by a narrow margin.

In Sikeston, John Graham defeated Gerald Settles by 10 votes in the bid for Ward 2 city councilman with a vote of 397 to 387. This one-year unexpired term on the Sikeston City Council was created following the death of Tom Hedrick.

Also on the ballot for Sikeston, Bob Depro was unopposed in his bid for a second term as one of the city's two at-large Council representatives. He received 2,515 votes.

In Miner, residents voted in a new mayor. Darren Chapman defeated incumbent Frank Tatum, 190 to 168 votes.

There were also contested races in each of Miner's two wards. In Ward 1, Catherine Walters, 107 votes, was chosen over Derek J. Ward, 80 votes, while Ward 2 voters picked Janet Williams, 88 votes, over Renee Clark, 76 votes.

Nearly 25 percent, or 6,136, of Scott County's 24,962 registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday's election. Scott County Clerk Rita Milam said that was a very high turnout, considering most April elections have about a 10 percent turnout.

"I'm glad people turned out to voice their opinions," Milam said. "... Everyone did such a good job campaigning."

Elsewhere in Scott County, voters in the Chaffee R-2 School District approved a $2.9 million renovation and improvement project to be paid off through property taxes with 302 "yes" votes to 53 "no" votes.

Candidates for Ward seats on the Chaffee City Council were unopposed. Receiving votes were Ronald E. Davis in Ward I, 44 votes; Bob Sullivan in Ward II, 53 votes; and Ronald Eichhorn in Ward IV, 65 votes. No candidates filed to represent Ward III.

In Oran, Gary "Petey" Senciboy defeated Leroy Eftink in his bid for mayor. The term is two years. Senciboy garnered 244 votes while Eftink received 160 votes. Marcia Roslen, 344 votes, was unopposed on the ballot for two years as city collector.

Candidates for two-year terms on the Oran Board of Aldermen were also unopposed in all four wards. They were Ronald L. Diebold Sr., Ward I, 55 votes; Gil Roslen, Ward II, 139 votes; Richard Randolph, Ward III, 73 votes; and Alfred Bonifield, Ward IV, 64 votes.

Voters in the Oran R-3 school district chose Chad Schott, 459 votes; Danny Hahn, 378 votes; and Vance Todt, 286 votes, over Garrett Cook, 236 votes; Judi Henson, 206 votes; and Wesley L. Jones Jr., 227 votes, to fill the three positions.

Marlin O'Neal, 67 votes, was the only choice for mayor on the Morley ballot, but voters picked two of the three candidates to serve as at-large aldermen: Andrew L. Childers, 60 votes; Tim Fodge, 58 votes; and Tammy Tanner, 35 votes.

In a vote of 51 to 43, residents of Morley approved imposing a half-cent sales tax in the city. The tax will begin Jan. 1, 2015, and expire Dec. 31, 2019.

Kelso had two candidates, Michael Landewee, 53 votes; and Larry McClain, 59 votes; and two openings on the Board of Trustees with terms set for two years,

With a vote of 61 to 3, residents in Kelso approved a 13-cent increase in a levy on $100 assessed valuation for general municipal purposes for four years beginning in 2014 for fire protection.

The Scott County R-4 "Kelly" School District also had three positions up for election on its board. Voters selected Neal LeDure, 235 votes; Greg Birk, 234 votes; and Tammy Wadlington, 216 votes, over Paul Ruff, 138 votes; Bobby Sides, 108 votes; and Amy Tackett, 103 votes.

Birk, Wadlington and LeDure each received 3 votes from Mississippi County residents living in the school district while Ruff, Sides and Tackett did not receive any.

Running unopposed for two-year terms on Benton's Board of Aldermen were Geri Lynn Hennemann in Ward I, 26 votes; and Jim Simmons in Ward II, 50 votes.

In the village of Blodgett, voters picked two candidates to serve two-year terms on the Board of Trustees. Richard Riley, 41 votes; and Kenneth Plunk, 36 votes, defeated Angela K. Graham, 15 votes.

The Commerce Board of Trustees had three two-year terms to fill and three candidates listed on the ballot: Bobby Ledure, 12 votes; Brant Gunther, 12 votes; and Reggie Pearson, 3 votes.

In Scott City, Bill Schwartz, Ward I, 123 votes; and Rodney Uhrhan, Ward II, 74 votes, were unopposed while Ward III had a three-way race between Kirk Lewis, Richard Freed and Pete Wadlington and Ward 4 had a two-way race with Ronald Worl facing Norman Brant. Wadlington, 82 votes, was chosen over Freed, 33 votes; and Lewis, 22 votes. Brant, 70 votes, won the Ward 4 seat over Worl, who had 45 votes.

In the Scott City R-1 School District, Heraleen Bowers, 426 votes; Brad Uelsmann, 323 votes; and Scott C. Amick, 312 votes were chosen to fill the three terms over Sally Porch, 262 votes; and Jeremy Pruden, 239 votes.

In Haywood City, there were three positions open on the City Council and three candidates: Johnny L. Avance, 22 votes; Sally Porter, 23 votes; and Henry Earl Stevens, 23 votes.

Vanduser had two seats open on its Board of Trustees but only one candidate, Kevin Burchard, who received 22 votes.

Diehlstadt had three two-year terms open for its Board of Trustees but no candidates appearing on the ballot.

Also in Scott County, there was one three-year term on the Southern Scott County Ambulance District board. Receiving the most votes was Bob Childers with 283 votes over Kathy Medley, 267 votes; and Sarina Watkins, 142 votes.

The Illmo Special Road District also had one three-year term up for election. Duston Y. Stone, 392 votes, was chosen over Rennie Phillips, 243 votes.

All results, which were provided by the Scott County Clerk's office, are unofficial.