Document text
Ballots for March 9 election will start showing up today By Vicki Guarino Ballots will begin to arrive in mailboxes today for school board races in all nine Jackson County school districts. Interest in board positions is expected to vary widely from community to community. In Medford, for instance, incumbents are running unopposed. In Rogue River, where a teachers' strike is possible in two weeks, and Central Point, which faces budget and facilities problems, races have drawn three and four candidates. Because of the nature of the races and the issues, Jackson County elections officials say predicting a turnout would be as difficult as it would be unfair. With no contest at stake, turnout probably will be low in Medford. And because of its size, a low turnout for Medford would skew percentages around the county -- perhaps falsely indicating little concern for school races. Voters must return ballots to the county elections office by 8 p.m. March 9. In addition to school board races, voters also will have the chance for the first time to pick Jackson County residents for two seats on the Rogue Community College board. Former state legislator George Gilman is in a three-way race with physician Robert Kaufman and geographer and retired educator Gene Martin for one position. In the second position, former county commissioner Stewart McCollom's name appears on the ballot, but he has handed over the race to real estate broker Denise Miller. A number of fire and water district board positions also will be on the ballot. In Central Point, where the district has struggled but failed to pass bond measures to repair ailing buildings, bond measure opponent and former Mayor Rusty McGrath has weighed into a four-way race. McGrath has said the amount the district was seeking to expand and replace buildings -- $36.7 million -- was too large. Land surveyor Kerry Bradshaw; Gery Gentry, who works at Bear Creek Corp.; and Kay Harrison, a customer service representative at United States Cellular, also are vying for the same board seat. A second Central Point board seat is a three-way race with incumbent board member Cindy Tilley Faubion, a communications major at Southern Oregon University, seeking re-election. Rogue Valley Medical Center activity director Rachael Burton and rancher Walter Fitzgerald are challenging Faubion. In Rogue River, the point man on district negotiations with teachers, board chairman Dave Cunningham -- a Josephine County middle school teacher -- faces two challengers: certified public accountant Randy Jentzsch and Fred Meyer store assistant manager John Regnaud. Two more Rogue River positions are on the ballot, each with three candidates. A co-worker of Cunningham's at Lincoln Savage Middle School, Larry Hamblin, is running against retired school district business manager Joyce McQuillan, and Rogue River pharmacist John Myers. Aerobics instructor Erin Artoff, reforestation worker Gary Clarida, and Douglas Randall Williams, who is retired, all are running for the third position. Challengers also are vying for board seats in Eagle Point, which has adopted many innovations in its classes and schools in the past few years. Last summer, disagreements over the course the district has taken grew to attacks on Superintendent Ted Adams. Eagle Point board chairwoman Cheryl Stout, manager of Jackson County Urban Renewal Agency, is seeking re-election. John Blanchard, owner of a pump service company, is challenging her. Another Eagle Point incumbent, Dick Kendrick, production manager at Sterling Stock Forms, is being challenged by retired welding shop owner Douglas McKinley. A third board member, Shady Cove Market owner Fred Thomas, is running unopposed. The candidate who filed to challenge him hasn't lived in the district long enough to serve. Ashland voters have just one contested school board race. Incumbent John Maurer, an orthopedic surgeon, is being challenged by Christine Norton Cotts, assistant costume shop manager for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In Gold Hill, voters will choose between Tim Roddam and Patrick Pillon for the mayor's seat. Roddam, 43, is a distributor for Mother's Cookies. He has lived in Gold Hill for 10 years. Pillon, 55, is a retired respiratory care practitioner. He's been on the Gold Hill City Council for three years and was on the planning commission for 14 months. He moved to Gold Hill in 1994. Hy Klaus has been serving as interim mayor since the resignation of Laura Liddell, who moved to Central Point. Klaus will return to his council post after the election. Other contested school board races: Butte Falls -- incumbent Steve Nelson, a county appraiser, is being challenged by Forest Service technician Michael Smeltz. Pinehurst -- incumbent Alison Kling, is challenged by Sherman Peters. Melissa Martin of the Mail Tribune staff contributed to this story. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA