Published: March 28, 2008 11:58 pm         

Polls open on Tuesday

This year, April Fool’s Day will bring practical jokes, laughs ... and votes. On Tuesday, polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Garfield County, as well as surrounding counties, to decide school bond issues, school board members and new mayors.

Issues to be voted on in Tuesday’s elections include school board runoffs for Pioneer-Pleasant Vale Public Schools, Pond Creek-Hunter Public Schools and Hennessey Public Schools; school bond issues for Ringwood Public Schools and Woodward Public Schools; and electing a new mayor for the city of Kingfisher.



Pioneer-Pleasant Vale Public Schools



John Stone, a product of Pioneer-Pleasant Vale Public Schools, will be on the ballot for a seat on the school board along with the late Jim Talbott, a longtime board member who died earlier this month after the ballot was set.

Stone is an accountant for St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center and has three daughters enrolled in Pioneer-Pleasant Vale schools. He was appointed to the seat after Talbott’s death.

Talbott was school board president at the time of his death and had been a member of the board for 25 years.

State law requires the election be held. Superintendent Bill Noak said he was told by an attorney for Oklahoma State School Boards Association if Talbott receives the most votes, the Pioneer board would have to make another appointment at its next meeting in May.



Hennessey Public Schools



Ray Cordry Jr., a Hennessey native, will face off against Luke Lough, who said he believes people have to step up to serve their communities, for a spot on the Hennessey Public Schools Board of Education.

Cordry is chairman of Department of Psychiatry at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences. Lough owns and operates NBS Data Services Inc., a data processing services company for commercial banks.



Pond Creek-Hunter Public Schools



Gary L. Williams, a retired school principal, and Curtis Peterson, current Pond Creek-Hunter Public Schools Board of Education president, are contenders for a seat on the school board.

Williams is a teaching assistant for Pioneer Technology Center in Ponca City. Peterson is a reliability manager for ONEOK.



Ringwood Public Schools



A $1.595 million bond issue would build a new elementary building for Ringwood Public Schools — and relieve overcrowding in the current facility.

Superintendent Ray Johnson said the present elementary building was designed for up to 160 students. Currently, 268 students in grades pre-kindergarten-sixth are housed there.

The bond issue would take six years to pay off, and people who paid $400 in property taxes last year would pay $409.12 next year.

The proposed elementary building would house pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, with the current building becoming a middle school for fifth, sixth and seventh grades.

Johnson said the last bond issue Ringwood patrons passed — $1.3 million for a new gymnasium — was five years ago.



Woodward Public Schools



Woodward Public Schools patrons will decide whether the district will receive nearly $18 million in funding for a two-proposition bond issue.

Proposition one is for $17.635 million, which would fund construction of a new early childhood development center, renovations and additions to the district’s elementary schools, purchase of new band equipment, a covered walkway at the middle school, new agriculture barns and new technology.

Proposition two is for $350,000 for transportation vehicles.

If passed, the bond would pay out in seven years and would raise the school portion of ad valorem tax 11.7 percent, according to WPS Superintendent Jeff Mills.



City of Kingfisher



After the death of then-mayor Richard D. Flood in February 2007, the Kingfisher mayoral office has been vacant. Steve Richards, vice mayor, has been chairing city commission meetings for the last year.

Mark Mueggenborg, a former city commissioner and retired auto repair shop owner, will run against Jack Stuteville, Kingfisher banker, to become the next mayor of Kingfisher.

The winner will take office April 7.

Also to be seated April 7 will be a new city commissioner, Jeff Minnis, who filed unopposed for the position being vacated by Jeff Johnson, who declined to seek re-election.



Tips for Tuesday



Garfield County Election Board officials said voters can utilize the following tips for voting Tuesday:

• If voters make a mistake on their ballots, they should return the spoiled ballot to precinct officials instead of trying to correct the error on the original ballot. Precinct officials will issue them a new ballot.

• Take voter identification cards to the polls.

• To get in and out of polling places quickly, vote during the mid-morning or mid-afternoon. These are least busy times for voting, election board officials said.

For information about Tuesday’s elections, contact the election board at 237-6016.