Voters in Jasper County decide range of city and school board races, issues
CARTHAGE, Mo. — A quarter-cent Jasper County sales tax that would have funded services to children who need mental and behavioral health treatments failed Tuesday by a margin of 419 votes, according to complete but unofficial returns Tuesday night.
The measure, listed on the ballot as Proposition A, received 4,100 "yes" votes, but there were 4,572 "no" votes.
Joplin
Incumbent David Weaver was reelected to the Joplin Board of Education, and former school board member Lori Musser will return to a board seat. Musser carried the highest vote total of 1,660; Weaver received 1,630. Other candidates were former board member Derek Gander, who received 818 votes, and Thomas Ross, who had not run for public office before and received 616 votes.
There were no Joplin City Council races this year.
Carthage
Carthage voters said "yes" to two tax proposals to benefit the school district.
The first measure to increase the district's operating levy from $3.05 per $100 of assessed valuation to $3.60 to help cover rising costs and give teachers a pay increase passed by a margin of 612 votes. The measure received 1,960 "yes" votes or 59.25%; "no" votes were 1,348, or 40.75%.
Voters also passed a measure to extend the district's 83-cent debt service levy for an additional five years to raise $25 million to build an auditorium with more classrooms and a tornado shelter at Carthage High School. It passed by a margin of 911 votes. It received 2,111 "yes" votes and 1,200 "no" votes, or 63.76% to 36.24%. The measure required a four-sevenths majority, or 57.1% of the vote, to pass. Passage extends the debt service levy to 2045.
Superintendent Luke Boyer said the district was looking at a bleak financial future before the voters gave their nod of approval to the levy increase.
"We were going to have to cut programs, increase staff and teacher ratios," Boyer said. "So there's a sense of relief that we're not in that situation, but at the same time I want to reiterate we're going to continue to look at our programs and evaluate costs and cut where possible. This is not a fix for all things financial, that's for sure. I think the biggest difference between yesterday and today is the overwhelming support we feel from our community."
The approval of the auditorium bond issue comes on the fourth attempt in the last five years.
Boyer said the district has completed about 30% of the planning for the auditorium, which will be located in the middle of the campus just south of the high school building.
Boyer said right now the plan is for the tornado shelter for the high school to be in the classroom section of the auditorium, but that could change. The district has applied for a Federal Emergency Management Agency storm shelter grant that would pay 75% of the cost of a storm shelter, and if it gets that, the shelter could be larger.
In the city of Carthage, David Bren Flanigan beat Ed Hardesty for mayor, 1,302 votes to 608.
A council incumbent in the 1st Ward, Chris Taylor, with 78 votes, lost to Kate Gilpin, with 86 votes. There were two races for seats to represent the 3rd Ward. David Thorn, with 218 votes, beat George Butler III, who had 172 votes for a two-year term, while Jack Perkins received 207 votes for a one-year term in the ward, beating Katrina Short, who received 199 votes. There also was a race in the 4th Ward where Alan Snow received 541 votes to the two-year term to T.J. Teed's 195 votes. Two candidates were seeking the two-year term in the 5th Ward — Ron Wells got 234 votes to Keith Hurlbut's 203 votes.
A candidate for the 2nd Ward, Ray West, was unopposed.
Two candidates for the Carthage School Board were within one vote of each other. Ryan Collier, with 2,489 votes, and Niki Cloud, with 2,488 votes, to take the two seats. They were not opposed.
Carl Junction
Residents of Carl Junction returned a familiar face to the mayor's post. Michael "Mike" Moss will be the mayor again. He received 216 votes to defeat opponent Rick Flinn, with 177. Tom Paul got 171 votes, LaDonna Allen had 97 votes, and Karma Wright had 91 votes.
Candidates for alderman in the town's four wards were unopposed. Winners are Hollie LaVigne, 1st Ward; James Shanks, 2nd Ward; David Pyle, 3rd Ward; and Anita Francis, 4th Ward.
For the Carl Junction Board of Education, Larry Cowger and Robert Hays won the two seats to be filled. Cowger received 672 votes, Hays 618 and Julianna Crow 599.
Webb City
Scott Smith is the winner of a one-year term on the Webb City School Board with 599 votes. His opponent, Austin Simpson, obtained 464 votes.
Stephen Crane won a three-year term on the Webb City board with 852 votes, as did Dan McGrew with 791 votes.
Brad Baker was the winner of a race for the Ward 3 council member. He garnered 146 votes, and his opponent, Fred Fletcher-Fierro, received 28. Andy Queen was unopposed in the 1st Ward; Gina Monson was unopposed in Ward 2.
Carterville
Two candidates for Ward 3 alderman in Carterville tied. Mike Dudley and Cody Franks each received 10 votes for the seat. In Ward 4, Brenda Cupp with 10 votes edged out David Patterson with 7 votes. Warren Myers was unopposed in Ward 1; Judy Martin was unopposed in Ward 2.
Oronogo
The city of Oronogo's Proposition A for a 2% use tax equal to that city's sales tax rate failed by a vote of 89-66.
Purcell
Winners of two at-large seats on the Purcell Board of Aldermen are Staci Long, with 20 votes, and Regan Weston with 15. Other candidates were Carl Bud Crease, 14; Sam Russell, 9; and Clem Stephens, 8.
Fire districts
Voters in the Duenweg and Jasper fire protection districts both approved a tax proposal to provide operating funding for the fire service. Duenweg's proposal for a 35-cent levy on each $100 assessed value for district support passed with 214 votes in favor and 175 against. The Jasper proposal was a tax of 30 cents on each $100 assessed value for operating funding, which was approved with 229 "yes" votes and 138 "no" votes.
Sarcoxie
The Sarcoxie School District Proposition C.A.R.E. proposal to borrow $2.5 million for district improvements failed by a vote of 258 against and 104 in favor. Had it passed, the district would have issued general obligation bonds to pay for the work and would have repaid the debt with a levy on property taxes of 45 cents per $100 assessed value.
The city of Sarcoxie asked voters approved a measure to impose a city sales tax of 3% on adult-use marijuana with 125 votes in favor and 38 against.
In addition, voters chose Susan Daniels, with 28 votes, who beat Catherine Gabler, who had 27 votes, for a two-year term as Ward 2 alderman.
Josh Dodson, with 301 votes, and James Ogle, with 257 votes, won seats on the Sarcoxie Board of Education.
Unopposed
The following candidates also were unopposed and virtually assured of election.
Duenweg Fire Protection board of directors — Colton Gurera for a six-year term.
Duenweg Board of Aldermen — Ward 2, William Haldeman. There is no candidate Ward 1, and that position could be filled by write-in.
Alba Board of Aldermen — Dan Pinola and Patricia Bearden for two-year seats.
Asbury Board of Aldermen — Zach Parish and Marti Sowder for two-year terms.
Waco Board of Aldermen — Sandra Wintjen for a two-year term. There is no candidate for a second seat, which could be filled by write-in vote.
City of Jasper — Becky Elliott for a two-year term as mayor; Kathy Fal for a two-year term as East Ward council member; and William Bill Herron for a two-year term as West Ward council member.
Jasper School Board — Jamie Kaderly and Kate Sears for three-year terms.
Sarcoxie — Grant Freeman, candidate for city of Sarcoxie Ward 1 alderman.
Village of Carytown — The two candidates for two-year terms as village trustee were Tony Leiker and Danny Cawyer.
Brooklyn Heights — Two seeking two-year terms for town trustees were Ray Trowbridge and Rick Pendleton.
Oronogo — Rick Seeley was unopposed for the two-year term for Oronogo Ward 1 alderman, Michael Renburg for Ward 2 and Darrell Orender for Ward 3.
Duquesne — Bill Sherman filed for the two-year term as mayor, Chris Ellsworth as Ward 1 alderman and Mireya (Myra) Gonzalez for Ward 2 alderman.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Joplin City Council moves forward with allowing bow hunting for deer in city limits
An urban hunting ordinance intended to help control the deer population in the city won first-round approval of the Joplin City Council on Monday night. The ordinance provides for bow hunting within city limits on private land of 1 acre or larger with a recurve bow and permission of the property owner. The ordinance as proposed required hunters to be 21 years or older. However, councilman Josh Bard proposed an amendment to allow those as young as age 16 to hunt when accompanied by an adult. One council member opposed allowing deer hunting in the city limits. 'I think this is a crazy idea,' Gary Shaw said. 'I know there are areas where we have deer challenges. But I sit out on my patio and I don't want ... arrows flying by me, my wife and my son.' Others on the council favored the ordinance for reasons that include culling deer that can become a nuisance by congregating in herds on the city's edges, and because of the need to kill sick deer, such as those that may be suffering from chronic wasting disease, they said. Bard said that, as deer populations increase, overpopulation or other environmental factors can cause food shortages for the animals. Also, the deer cause collisions with vehicles. Councilman Mark Farnham said that residents in the city's Zone 4, which he represents, have told him that the deer carry a lot of ticks onto residential properties, where the ticks attach to people. 'It's not only a human risk,' he said of the ticks that can carry such ailments as Lyme disease, but the risk of having deer infected with chronic wasting disease. The Missouri Department of Conservation said three CWD cases have been detected in the Jasper County deer population — two in the 2024-25 seasons and the first one in the 2023-24 hunting season. That first one, northwest of Joplin along Center Creek near the Kansas line, was the closest to Joplin. No CWD cases have been detected in Newton County. Regarding those who support a city effort for urban hunting, Farnham said, 'The pressure on the city is not from hunters, but from residents seeing the number of deer and disease' in their neighborhoods. Councilman Doug Lawson said he once had a call from a resident of Silver Creek asking the city for help because there was a herd of 24 deer in that resident's yard. Deer congregating within the city damage yards by eating both natural and planted vegetation on the properties, he said. Council member Chuck Copple proposed two amendments to the ordinance. One would require that all those wishing to hunt in city limits go through a hunter safety course offered by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Also, he proposed requiring that arrows be etched with the hunter safety number issued by the department. He also proposed lowering the age for urban hunting to 16 with adult supervision. Mayor Keenan Cortez said urban hunting has been going on for years. Joplin is not trying to reinvent the wheel, he said, by adopting an urban hunting ordinance he believes it is ethical. Anyone who violates the ordinance also would have repercussions to face, he said. The mayor said that last deer season he saw a resident's post on social media asking for someone to come and shoot deer 'that were eating up everything around her house.' He also said chronic wasting disease is a serious concern among deer hunters. The Missouri Department of Conservation this spring confirmed 243 new cases of chronic wasting disease statewide from the 2024-2045 seasons. The total includes deer killed by hunters as well as those identified with CWD during targeted removal efforts. Those new cases bring the total number of CWD positives found in the state to 815 across 46 counties since the first positive CWD was identified in wild deer in 2012. Shaw said he talked to members of law enforcement about the proposal and that he believes most hunters are ethical and abide by the laws, 'but my concern is we're opening the city up to it and how are we going to control it?' Lawson favors it but prefers to make it available to those age 21 or older. Copple asked Assistant Police Chief Brian Lewis if the department has seen near misses of vehicle crashes as deer numbers increase. Lewis said that within city limits, there are eight to 10 city crashes a year and that is not an increase. Assistant City Attorney Andrea Knoblach said Jasper County reports 60 to 70 vehicle crashes a year with deer as well as incidents of damage to vegetation, gardens and transmission of diseases. Copple asked about the penalty section. Knoblach said that is going to be standard of any violation ranging from a fine to incarceration. Lewis said it would be a misdemeanor and trespassing if they don't have property owner permission. Cortez does not expect a lot of hunters, but rather people on edge of town might ask people to harvest deer. Cortez added: 'If this gets off the rails, guess what we can do? We can shut her down.' At the conclusion of the discussion, Copple made a motion to amend the council bill on the age requirement to stipulate minimum hunting age as 16 years old with a deer tag. Anyone under 16 must be accompanied by a licensed adult. That motion carried with six in favor. Shaw voted against it, and two council members, Doris Carlin and Josh DeTar, were absent. Copple also made a motion to amend the ordinance to require that all who wish to participate in an urban hunt attend a hunter safety course. That motion passed with seven in favor and two absent. Copple also made a motion to amend the ordinance that young hunters without hunter safety numbers because of their age be assigned a permit to attach to the arrows they shoot. That amendment also passed with seven votes. Bard made a motion to allow the right of retrieval if a deer goes onto someone else's property after being shot. The council voted 5-2 in favor, with two absent. The amended ordinance will require second and third readings.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Yahoo
New president of Freeman to be introduced at council meeting
The new president and chief executive officer of Freeman Health Systems will be introduced to the community during a meeting Monday of the Joplin City Council. Matthew Fry has taken up the leadership position of Joplin's largest employer, succeeding Paula Baker, who retired. She led the health system for 14 years. Fry previously served as the CEO of St. John's Hospital and St. John's Children's Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, before taking the helm at Freeman in March. The council also will hold public hearings on several zoning requests. Those will be for a change from industrial to multifamily residential property at 1128 Pennsylvania Ave., a special-use permit to build duplexes at 3105 Wisconsin Ave., and a site plan review for the future Vita Nova Village small-home development at 1201 S. Byers Ave. The site plan, which involves reduced-sized easements between houses, was recommended for approval by the city's Planning and Zoning Commission. The council also will take up business that had been planned for a meeting May 19 but was canceled because of a weather forecast for severe weather that night. One ordinance from that meeting reset for the upcoming meeting would allow bow hunting of deer on private property inside the Joplin city limits. According to the ordinance summary, the city does not currently have effective measures to control the urban deer population. A number of deer have been struck by vehicles on city streets, the city document states. That has brought about the ordinance that would allow archery hunting by permit and with specific conditions. While residents must abide by local and state requirements for weapons, in order to participate in urban deer hunting they must have state and city permits, abide by state hunting regulations and seasons, and carry written permission of the property owner where they will hunt. If a law enforcement officer asks to see the permit, the hunter must cooperate. Hunters must be at least 21 years old. The ordinance states that bow and arrows are not to be used within 60 feet of a house, building or structure or place where people assemble, a street, highway, park or property line. Bow hunters must shoot from an elevation of at least 10 feet from the ground. Arrows are not to be shot in the direction of a person, road, structure or domestic animal within reasonable range. Only a recurve archery bow or compound bow that requires completely manual operation without any means to cock the weapon and leave it in a stable state until it is released or fired using a trigger mechanism are authorized for use in the city limits. Hunters using a recurve archery bow or compound bow are required to take a Missouri Department of Conservation-approved hunter education course and are required to mark their arrows with their nine-digit Missouri Conservation Identification Number. The ordinance prohibits crossbow hunting. The council meeting starts at 6 p.m. on the fifth floor of City Hall, 602 S. Main St. It also is broadcast live on KGCS-TV, Channel 21, and regional cable television systems, including Sparklight in Joplin. The city also livestreams the meeting at Video-Multimedia.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
DIA pushes council on land swap over outright purchase for property sought for UF grad campus
Jacksonville City Council members are digging into the details of a proposed land swap aimed at developing Riverfront Plaza and getting classes at the new University of Florida grad school campus started this year. The City Council has a choice to make. Either spend $6.95 million to purchase a LaVilla office space outright from Gateway Jax, or exchange it with a one-acre lot in Riverfront Plaza along with a parking lot. The goal is to use the office space to kick start the UF grad school campus, and if an incentive deal can be worked out, Gateway Jax would develop the Riverfront Plaza property with condominiums, restaurants, and a public terrace. 'The riverwalk is great and important, but it is so incredibly important that we provide those amenities alongside of those spaces to make it truly dynamic and vibrant,' Gateway Jax CEO Brian Moll said during a meeting of the full council Wednesday. RELATED: Land swap deal for UF campus and Riverfront Park development moves forward, full purchase proposed The land swap is favored by the Downtown Investment Authority. DIA CEO Lori Boyer argued that the land the city would get is more valuable than the land it would give up. Appraisals put the LaVilla property between $5.3 million and $9.5 million, and the Riverfront Plaza land and parking lot at a combined $5 million. RELATED: 'Win for Downtown': DIA pitches land swap deal for UF Grad School and Riverfront Plaza 'You are getting a property worth more for a property worth less and you can stop there,' Boyer told councilmembers. But Councilmember Chris Miller (R-Group 5 At-Large) raised concerns about the inclusion of language in the land swap proposal that pushes council to approve up to $20 million in incentives to the Riverfront Plaza development. He noted the project isn't fully fleshed out yet. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] 'To me it's almost leaning on the side of, you know, you have to vote for the bill to find out what's in the bill,' Miller said. But Boyer argued the land swap is a win-win-win. She explained if the city doesn't move forward with incentives within 15 months, Gateway Jax has agreed to sell the Riverfront Plaza property back to the city for $6.35 million, which is still less than the outright purchase price for the LaVilla property. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] 'It's less expensive, yields revenue to maintain the park, and gets a development project we want,' Boyer said. Miller requested a follow-up hearing with the two DIA board members who voted to oppose the land swap proposal in favor of a straight purchase. He argued that council members have only heard one side of the debate so far. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
