City, School Elections Will Be Decided Next Tuesday

Voters will go to the polls next Tuesday to determine school board, mayor and city council races in Douglas County. 

For voters unable to make it to the polls on Tuesday, April 2, there is still time to cast an absentee ballot. Anyone interested in filing an absentee ballot should go to the Douglas County Courthouse on Saturday, March 30, and from 8:00 a.m. until 12 noon, voters may cast an absentee ballot in the County Clerk’s office on the first floor.  

Whether voting in the Municipal Election next Tuesday or  by absentee ballot on Saturday, the preferred forms of voter identification are as follows: Missouri Drivers License, Missouri Non-Drivers License, passport, military identification card, or a voter registration card.

In the City of Ava there is only one race for aldermen, that being in the east ward where Billy Stewart, Tom Gunter and Teresa Tost are vying to fill the seat left open by East Ward Burrely Loftin, who threw his hat into the ring as a candidate for Mayor.  West Ward Alderman Noel Dye is seeking re-election but is running unopposed.  

The race for Ava mayor is now a choice between two candidates, with East Ward Alderman Burrely Loftin and Lonnie Atchison vying for the position.  Kenny Thompson who had originally filed as a contender for the office, is a convicted felon, and does not qualify.  

For a position on the Ava R-I School Board, two seats are available and four candidates have filed.  They are Rance (Tanner) Clark, Dan Johnson, Brandi Stanifer and Anna Gamboa.

Plainview R-8 School District has two three-year terms open, with incumbent Tiffany Guiliams vying to retain her position on the board. Additional candidates are Teresa Blakey, Jessica Hall, and Randall Whitaker.  

At Skyline, incumbent Sarah Harden, Brad Loveless and Frederick Dechow are vying to win one of the two open seats, with each one a three-year term. 

The Douglas County Health Department has two board position open with Janice Young and Jeanne Curtis filing as candidates.  

Candidates on the ballot for the Douglas County Ambulance Board are Scotty Upchurch and Del Barton, both are vying for a position on District 2, where only one seat is available. 

Municipal election voting sites are as follows: 

Ava R-I School voters will cast their ballot at the Ava Community Center (except west ward residents who vote at the Library); 

East Ward voters will go to the Ava Community Center; 

West Ward voters will go to the Douglas County Library; 

Plainview R-8 School voters will cast their ballot at the Goodhope Nazarene Church on West Hwy. 76, nine miles from Ava; 

Skyline School voters should go to the Brushyknob Church, East 76 and C Hwy. 

A sample of the April 2 ballot may be viewed on Page A-9 in this issue.