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Upsets appear likely in four small towns By Melissa Martin Fresh faces likely will grace the Jacksonville City Council, and the mayor who brought Shady Cove out of near bankruptcy is expected to keep his seat, according to early election returns in small-town races. With 15 percent of the votes counted Tuesday, upsets were expected in Jacksonville, Shady Cove, Eagle Point and Butte Falls. The new mayor of Eagle Point may be Mel Whetstine, a retired logistics manager for Rockwell International. Early results showed Whetstine edging city council member Jim Goan 158 to 152. "I�m chomping at the bit to sit in the mayor�s seat and break a chain of folks who have been here for years and years," said Whetstine, a "newcomer" who came to Eagle Point 3� years ago. In Jacksonville, Jerry Mathern had earned 222 votes, Donna Schatz had garnered 194 and Wally Hicks had collected 192 as of 10:30 p.m., edging out incumbent Joyce Coleman with 126 votes and Clara Wendt, a former mayor, with 112 votes. "This has been an exciting time for Jacksonville," said Schatz, a licensed tax consultant who has served on the council since 1995. "It�s the first time in quite a long time that any campaigning has been done." Mathern mailed 1,239 fliers to residents, attended four candidate forums and asked friends to make phone calls. He also attended every council and planning commission meeting and public hearing since July, he said. "I�m retired and I have full-time to give to the City Council for the next four years," said Mathern, retired from the grocery business and American Linen Supply. Hicks, a wholesale lumber distributor, said Jacksonville candidates usually run unopposed. "People had opinions and apparently, enough of them agreed with mine," the former South Medford High School boys soccer coach said. Shady Cove Mayor Tom Anderson will keep the post he won in 1996 when he began bringing a nearly-bankrupt city to financial solvency. Early results showed Anderson defeating Ken Edwards, a former head basketball coach at Portland State University, 186 to 89. For the two council seats in Shady Cove, Alison Curtis had 141 votes, Victor Corchero 134, incumbent Lois Holland 133, and Daryl Hawkins 94. Winning Eagle Point City Council seats were Joni Parsons, principal of Glen D. Hale Elementary School, with 238 votes; Russell Groves, an Umpqua National Forest employee, with 197; and Garey Walruff, owner of Bear Creek Properties, with 181 votes. Roger Gamache was losing with 94 votes. In Butte Falls, early results showed Ethel Hoppe, a retired cook, winning as the new mayor over Alvin Thompson, a former logger and now an Eagle Point Irrigation District employee, 16 to 11. Mary Wright, a council member since 1995 and an employee of The Nickel, was defeating Gerrad Munsell, a logger, 19 to 8. Stan Moore, a forester, was defeating incumbent Ray Macy, a truck driver, 18 to 10. Gas station manager Neale Ellis ran unopposed. For Rogue River City Council, Dick Handbury, formerly the mayor, had 159 votes, Charles Skevington had 136 votes, and Leigh Lucas had 122 votes. Early results showed them edging out Fred Stockwell with 118 votes and Bill Webster with 109 votes. Councilman Phillip Peters is Rogue River�s new mayor. No results were available Tuesday for write-in races in Phoenix, where seven candidates seek four vacancies, or Gold Hill, where Calvin Eary seeks another term as municipal judge and Scott Eilefson seeks another council term. Mayor Tim Roddam was not actively seeking re-election, but said he would accept the job if he collects the most write-in votes. In Talent, Katrina Hill, Doug Turner, Jodi Riker-Yap and Bryan Roberts won their unopposed bids for City Council. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.