By Roxie Murphy, Staff Writer
The Maries County R-2 School District with facilities in Bland and Belle, has two seats open, each with a three-year term, for the board of education.
Dawn Hicks will be completing her second term on the board; she filed at 11:59 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Board President Joey Butler II is also up for re-election and filed at 2:35 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.
Filing may be completed in person at the Maries R-2 Administration Building from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during normal business hours. The building will be closed Dec. 21 - 27 for winter break, but open from noon to 5 p.m. on Dec. 28 for the last day of filing.
The Belle Board of Aldermen has several seats to fill.
A two-year term mayoral seat is currently held by Josh Seaver who was selected to take over for former mayor Steve Vogt. Seaver has said he plans to file for the seat.
Both Aldermen Ward two seats are open. Fred Bethmann currently holds the Ward two seat that Seaver won in April 2021, which has one year remaining on the two-year term. Alderman Jeanette Struemph holds the second Ward two seat. Struemph has said she will not run again. An Alderman Ward one seat is also open and currently held by Sundi Jo Graham.
The Bland Board of Aldermen has two aldermen at-large seats available, each with two-year terms. The first seat is held by Jane Vandergriffe who is completing a two-year term. Vandergriffe has said she will run again but has not filed for candidacy.
The second seat is held by Mark Ferran, who was first appointed to the position in 2020, ran in 2021 to officially fill the seat for the remaining year of the term that is up in 2022. Ferran has said he will not run again. Anyone interested in filing should contact the Bland John L. Baxter Administration Building for further information.
The Bland Fire Protection District Board has one opening — that of Vice President Leo Roberson. Roberson has plans to file for his seat.
Filing for the Bland Fire Protection District Board may be dropped off in person at Bland John L. Baxter Administration Building during business hours
Ozark Central Ambulance District has two board of director positions up for election, each with a three-year term.
Open positions are in District No. 4 (Byron) and District No. 6 (Red Bird). Candidates must file in person between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Ozark Central Ambulance headquarters, 1001 East Fifth Street, Belle. The business office will be closed on Dec. 24. Contact Darian Holtmeyer at 573-859-3168 for further information.
Filing changes for all April elections
There are multiple municipal entities affected by changes in the registration period which previously had continued into January, including all cities, E-911, health departments, and school, fire protection, ambulance, nursing home, special road, hospital and public water supply districts.
Many of these entities also qualify for non-election law (RSMo 115.124) — if there is the same number of candidates per open seats, they are not required to have an election. Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, will remain the final day for all election paperwork to be turned in to the County Clerk.
