- Ballots for elections arriving Tuesday, April 4

For voters in the city of Seymour, selected will be two of the city’s four members of the Seymour Board of Aldermen, who are tasked with the management of the city’s annual budget of more than $6 million.

In the North Ward, incumbent alderman Darrel “Bub” Wallace is unopposed for a second two-year term.

But in the South Ward, the incumbent, Nadine Crisp, faces a challenge from Richard Bell, who narrowly was defeated last April for the mayor’s seat.

Crisp is seeking a fourth consecutive two-year term.

Other members of the city council include North Ward Alderman Jim Ashley, South Ward Alderman Dan Wehmer and Mayor Alicia Hagen. All three are finishing the first year of their two-year terms.

Seymour-area residents won’t see races on the ballot for the Seymour R-II Board of Education or the Seymour Special Road District.

That’s because races didn’t develop for the aforementioned three-year seats.

For the local school, filing were incumbents Brad Leonard and Kim Wilkins, along with Grady Bennett, who previously served on the Seymour Board of Aldermen.

There are three seats available on Seymour’s school board, which will be filled by the three who filed.

The same is true for the local road district, where only incumbent Doug Johnson fi led for the available three-year seat on the three-person board.

Other members of the board are Matt Lamb and Mark Nichols. Tony Boring is the Seymour Special Road District’s longtime foreman.

SWCFPD race has two

In the Southern Webster County Fire Protection District (SWCFPD), with boundaries that include Diggins, Fordland and all of rural Seymour, there is one seat on this year’s ballot for the SWCFPD’s fi ve-member board of directors.

Running for the six-year seat are incumbent Kevin Lucas of Fordland and challenger Dustin Owens of Seymour.

Other members of the board are Marty Cantrell, Randy Lawson, Teri Myers and David Smith.

In the city of Fordland, there also is a contested race that features two candidates.

That race is for mayor.

Incumbent Donald Burks faces a challenge next Tuesday from Cindy Daugherty.

The mayor’s term is for two years.

There won’t be a school-board race in Fordland — at least not a contested one.

Similar to Seymour, the Fordland R-3 Board of Education had three, three-year seats to be fi lled in this year’s election.

Only three candidates filed.

Those candidates include Scott Bailey, Jeff Criger and Nathan Vines. However, school patrons still will be asked to cast ballots in the race.

While doing so, voters who live in Fordland’s school district also will be asked to vote on a levy issue that would raise the operating tax-levy ceiling to $3.25 (the actual amount is $3.2465) per $100 of assessed valuation for operating, maintaining and staffing school facilities.

If the issue passes, Fordland’s operating tax levy would increase by 28 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

Countywide tax issue

All county voters will decide the fate of a new “marijuana sales tax” on next Tuesday’s ballot.

Posed as a yes-or-no question, if approved, Webster County would impose a countywide sales tax of 3 percent on “all tangible personal-property retail sales of adult-use marijuana” sold in the county.

In other words, it’s a 3-percent tax on legal marijuana.

Currently, Webster County doesn’t have any dispensaries that sell legal marijuana.

But should one locate in the county, its sales would be taxed at 3 percent if next Tuesday’s issue passes.

In the village of Diggins, there are three seats available on the board of trustees, all for two-year terms of office.

Three candidates are on the ballot for the three seats.

Candidates include Tresa Coday, Beth Joyce and Kevin Knifong.

Other members of the board of David Bowers and John Curtis, who are completing the fi rst year of their respective two-year terms.

Polls in Webster County open at 6 a.m. next Tuesday and close at 7 p.m.

There are 16 county precincts.

In the Seymour area, there are two townships — Finley and Hazelwood. Voters at both townships cast their ballots at the same place, which is at the Seymour Nazarene Church at 354 North Main Street in Seymour.

In the Diggins Township, ballots are cast at the Diggins Community Building, located just south of U.S. 60 on Highway NN (South Diggins Main Street).

Fordland Township voters cast their ballots at the Fordland Middle School at 1230 School Street in Fordland.

A complete list of the county’s polling places appears with the sample ballots inside this week’s newspaper and on our website: www.webstercountycitizen.com

A central polling location also is set up at the Webster County Courthouse in Marshfield.