Turnbow elected Sikeston mayor; Baker wins Ward 2 council seat

BENTON, Mo. -- The mayor's race in Sikeston, Missouri, was decided along with other school and tax issues during Tuesday's general municipal election in Scott County.

The following results, which were provided by Scott County Clerk Rita Milam's office, are unofficial. Just over 11%, or 2,562 ballots, were cast ballot during Tuesday's election.

Sikeston

In the City of Sikeston, Greg Turnbow will serve as the new mayor. In a vote of 866 to 214, Turnbow defeated John Graham for the three-year term. In the race for Ward 2 councilman, voters chose Vest Baker, 262 votes, over Pershard D. Owens, 74 votes, to fill the three-year term. Running unopposed in his bid for Ward 3 councilman was David Teachout, who received 116 votes.

Scott City

Vest Baker

Gary Spinks, 19 votes, defeated Steven Hitt II, 5 votes, for the Scott City Ward 3 council position. Running unopposed for the other three council positions were: Kenny Page, Ward 1, 16 votes; Victor Phillips, Ward 2, 9 votes; and Randy Morse, Ward 4, 11 votes.

Kelly School District

In the Scott County "Kelly" School District, voters chose Gail Riley, 352 votes, and Paul Ruff, 297 votes, to serve the two, three-year terms on the school board. Also receiving votes were Kindel Ward, 136 votes; Robby Lemonds, 133 votes; and Darrin Blunt, 73 votes. Riley also received 1 vote in Mississippi County.

Voters chose Robert Gill, 282 votes, over C.B. Forck, 248 votes, to serve the one-year term on the board. Forck also received 1 vote in Mississippi County.

Fire

Voters in the Scott County Rural Fire Protection District, which has stations in Blodgett, Morley and Vanduser, turned down "Proposition Safety" with a vote of 214 no votes to 153 yes votes.

Also, Michael O'Brien was unopposed in his bid to fill the six-year term on the fire district's board of directors. He received 278 votes.

Ambulance

In a vote of 1,011 to 552, voters approved South Scott County Ambulance District's "Proposition: Ambulance District Property Tax Relief."

Mark Crocker, 369 votes, was also unopposed in his bid for the three-year term to serve as the director sub for District 1. John D. Harris,149 votes, was unopposed to serve as director sub for District 4.

Other municipal elections

Miner

In a vote of 60 to 52, incumbent James Buckley was chosen over Robyn Merideth to serve as the City of Miner's marshal chief of police for a four-year term.

In the race for Ward 1 alderperson, Jimmy D. Thomas Jr., 41 votes, was chosen over Curtis Arnold, 17 votes, to serve the two-year term.

Running unopposed were James Alsup for Ward 1, one-year term, 55 votes; and Peggy Holman, Ward 2, two-year term, 47 votes.

With a vote of 71 "yes" votes and 41 "no" votes, Miner voters approved "Proposition A," which asked them to impose a city sales tax of one-half percent for the funding of the police department, city administration and general operating costs of the city.

Morley

Voters in Morley chose Gennell Casey, 46 votes, and Margaret "Peggy" Belcher, 25 votes, over Brooke Grable (Juden), 23 votes, to fill the two, two-year terms for alderman at-large positions.

In a vote of 37-19 in favor of the measure, voters decided the City of Morley shall be authorized to forgo annual elections if the number of candidates who filed for a particular office is equal to the number of positions in the office to be filled by the election.

Oran

The only contested race in the City of Oran was for Ward 3 alderman, which is a two-year term. Voters chose Brenda Cook, 16 votes, over Richard Randolph, 7 votes, to fill the position. Running unopposed were Glen Bivens, Ward 1 alderman, 2 votes; Michael Bramlett, Ward 2 alderman, 9 votes; and Karen L. LeGrand, Ward 4 alderman, 14 votes.

Chaffee

Chaffee voters approved a city sales tax of one-half of 1% for the purpose of providing funding for stormwater control and local parks for the City of Chaffee with a vote of 89 "yes" votes and 42 "no" votes.

Running unopposed for the City Council were Jack Simpson, Ward 1, 25 votes; Steve G. Felty, Ward 2, 32 votes; Danny "Bud" Finley, Ward 3, 33 votes; and Eric Seyer, Ward 4, 25 votes.

• Michael Hargrove, 21 votes, and Myra Hargrove Lancaster, 16 votes, were the only two candidates who filed for the three available two-year positions on the Vanduser Board of Trustees.
• Running unopposed for the two, two-year terms for alderman in Blodgett were Markel Fitchpatrick, Ward 1, 17 votes; and Deane Hurst, Ward 2, 17 votes.
• There were three candidates and three positions to serve as trustees for Haywood City: Johnny Avance, 25 votes; Henry Earl Stevens, 22 votes; and Sally Porter, 13 votes.
• Running unopposed in the City of Benton for two-year terms were Beverly Riley, city collector, 112 votes; Howard Bollinger, Ward 1 alderman, 39 votes; and David Mack, Ward 2 alderman, 66 votes.
• The number of candidates and the number of positions available for the Kelso Board of Trustees were the same: Andy Beussink, 78 votes; Jerry Bledsoe, 78 votes; and John Carman, 78 votes. The terms are for two years.

Kelso School District

Nearly 75% of Kelso voters approved the no-tax increase "Prop KIDS" bond proposal to fund the construction of a gymnasium and special education classroom. There were 253 yes votes and 85 no votes.

The Kelso School District in New Hamburg had two candidates and two three-year terms available on its school board. Running unopposed were Dustin Benson, 283 votes, and Kristina Vetter, 275 votes.