Pulaski Voters Approve Marijuana Sales Tax and Other Election Results

(Waynesville)–It was a low turnout in Tuesday’s election in Pulaski County. Only 11 percent of the more than 25-thousand registered voters went out to the polls to elect city and school officials and to decide the fate of two proposals and ballot questions.
The County Marijuana Sales Tax Question easily was passed, 1,989 votes to 775–a whopping 72 to 28 percent margin. This will impose a 3-percent sales tax on marijuana sales in the county. Revenues generated will go to law enforcement, drug counseling and rehab, and county road improvements.
Crocker Proposition A, which sets up a one-half of one-percent sales tax for law enforcement, narrowly passed, 60-to-55.
The Dixon question that authorizesthe issuance of water and sewage revenue bonds in the amount of 5-million dollars also was approved by city voters there, 112-to-38.
Waynesville Rural Fire Protection District voters approved Proposition Fire
that will raise the tax levy by 30-cents per one hundred of assessed property valuation. Revenue will be used to prevent firefighter layoffs, hire additional firefighters, raise firefighters’ salaries to be competitive within the area, and fund the rising costs of fuel, maintenance, and equipment. The vote was 567 affirmative ballots to 401 votes against.

Several school board races around the county were tight. Waynesville School District voters elected Layne Lercher and Rick Harne (HARN) to the board with 809 and 689 votes respectively. Former school board member, Andy Anderson, came in third with 610 votes, only 2 votes ahead of David Griffin, which may prompt a recount. At the moment, the apparent winners were Lercher, Harne (Harn), and Anderson.
The Crocker School Board race was won by Tyler Pierce with 262 votes, Brian Foster with 213, and B. J. Medlen with 206 votes. Chrystal Heenan came in with 109 votes, Jennifer Burney with 102, and Joseph Neighbors with 48 votes.
In Laquey, Zach Shelton, Clinton Jarrett, and Rachel Blankenship won election to the school board. Shelton received 280 votes, Jarrett 252, and Blankenship 235 votes. Michael Rogers got 123 votes, James Helmuth 123 votes, and Billy Barnett 121 votes.
The Dixon School Board election may not be settled at this hour, with a small amount of votes cast in Maries and Phelps Counties. The Pulaski County totals have Travin Shelton attracting 269 votes, Matthew Mc Cray 257, and Shannon Perry 233 votes, with current school board member, Brandon Overshon, only 5 votes behind Perry with 228 votes. Matthew Ford was electe to a one-year term on the Dixon School Board.
There were only 3 candidates running for the Richland Board of Education who were running unopposed–Bruce Goodrich, Jordan Walters, and Barbara Warren–and they were elected by the voters there. There was only one candidate–Terry Barlor–for Richland School Board’s two-year unexpired term. And there was one candidate for the one-year unexpired term–Warren Powell. They also were elected to the board.

There were some very close results in city elections in Pulaski County, and it is uncertain at this hour if Richland voters rejected Harold Needs’ bid for mayor in Tuesday’s election. Needs received 45 votes for mayor, but there were 100 write-in votes that were cast against him. The person who received a majority of the write-in ballots may beat Needs’ vote count.  In which case, he or she will have to agree to serve as mayor.
Dana Tanner was unopposed for Richland’s Ward One alderman, Ronda Workman Massey narrowly beat Jason Goldsmith 15-to 12 for the one year term for alderman in Ward One.
Since there was no candidate to file for the Ward two post, there were 16 write-in votes to be counted, and the person who received the most votes will have to agree to serve in this position.
Robert (Bob) Lilly was unopposed for Ward three alderman.
The race for Waynesville’s Ward One post was won by Bill Farnham over Rena Brown, 29 votes to 16.
The other council seats were taken by unopposed candidates–Clarence Liberty in Ward Two, Sean Wilson in Ward Three, and Amanda Koren in Ward Four.
In addition, Robert Hyatt Junior was unopposed on the ballot and secured a one-year-unexpired term in Ward Four.
Dixon voters approved the re-election of Mike Null as mayor and Leslie Hansmann as municipal judge. They were unopposed, as were Anthony Campbell in Ward One and Stacey Yoakum in Ward Two. Michael Gunther turned back a challenge from Wesley Wilfong, 21-to-14, for Dixon Ward Three alderman.
In St. Robert, George Lauritson was re-elected as mayor, beating Charles Slider, 171-to-122. Susan Davidson beat Letitia Slider 79-to-52 for St. Robert Ward One alderman. Reggie Hall, Walter Reese, and John Moore were re-elected unopposed for Wards Two, Three, and Four aldermen.