BOLLINGER COUNTY RACES FOCUS ON SCHOOLS

MARBLE HILL -- Four city positions are up for grabs Tuesday in Marble Hill, and all the candidates are likely to be elected since they are without opposition.

Mayor Ben Ellis, City Collector Lovetta Long, and aldermen Russell Masterson and Mike Morris are running unopposed.

However, the races for school board at Woodland, Leopold and Zalma aren't quite so easy to call. Almost twice as many candidates filed for office as there are seats in the three districts.

In Woodland, eight people are competing for four open seats. Three three-year term and a two-year term are open. The candidates include incumbents Bill Rhodes, Gary Lutes, Don James and JoAnn Shrum. Other candidates are Tom Houchins, Pam Bacon, Myra Underwood and Gary Roberts.

Rhodes has served three years on the board and wants another term in office to finish some projects the district has started. He is a salesman for J.W. Chevrolet in Marble Hill and is pastor of the County Line Baptist Church.

Lutes is another board candidate with six years experience. He is seeking a two-year term. Lutes wants to continue some of the projects in the district, like a building addition and improved safety.

James has nine years experience with the Woodland board. He wants to complete the building project during another three-year term.

Shrum is an incumbent with 15 years of board experience. She also is seeking a three-year term. Houchins served on the Woodland board from 1987 to 1993. He is seeking a three-year term. He would like the board to offer more advanced college preparation courses and academic challenges.

Two of the women seeking election in the Woodland district have not held office before. Bacon is seeking a two-year term. She wants to make sure things run smoothly in the district and that the board and administration are community-friendly.

Myra Underwood said she wants the best for students in the district. She is a manager at Mo-Kita Distributing and has been involved with Boy Scouts for 12 years.

Robert is a parent of three children who wants to play an active decision-making role in the district. He is a Bollinger County native.

Five people are seeking election to three seats on the Leopold school board in eastern Bollinger County.

Incumbents Russell Broshuis and Janet DeBrock are seeking re-election. Challengers Barbara Engelen, Gerald Jansen and DeWayne Stroder are seeking seats for the first time.

Broshuis is completing a three-year term on the board. He wants to see more parent involvement in the classrooms and in district activities.

DeBrock ran for re-election last year but didn't win a majority. She was then appointed to an unexpired term when another board member resigned. She has four years experience on the board.

Engelen is seeking her first post in elected office. She is running for a three-year term. She wants to ensure that all children are treated fairly and receive a good education, she said.

Jansen is another newcomer to elected office but not to the district. He taught industrial technology at the school for nine years.

Stroder is a graduate of Leopold High School and wants to make sure the children get the best education possible. He wants to improve the school curriculum to include more class offerings and increase finances, he said.

In Zalma, five candidates will be listed on the ballot for school board.

Incumbents seeking re-election to three-year terms are Steve Dickinson, Rick Garner and Tim Wiseman. Other candidates are Georgia Cookemboo and Connie White.

Dickinson is finishing his first three-year term on the Zalma board. He is a self-employed farmer.

Rick Garner, also an incumbent, tries to keep up with information about how legislation affects the district, he said.

He is a plant manager at Advance Fabrication in Ste. Genevieve.

Wiseman wants to make sure the board manages district finances well, he said. He is seeking another three-year term; he is a full-time farmer.

Cookemboo is a part-time postal clerk at the Zalma Post Office and serves on the town board. She is a retired teacher who began her career in the Zalma district.

White ran for election last year and has attended board meetings to keep up with issues, he said. He is a shop foreman at W.W. Transport in Advance. He also is a member of the 1221 Transportation Company in Dexter and served in Operation Desert Storm.