Document text
Prendergast leads in race for School Board Fire district annexations pass easily By JILL BRISKEY A close contest for a seat on the Medford School Board and overwhelming support for fire district annexation highlighted Special Election results announced Tuesday night. With approximately 22,270 votes tallied, turnout was predictably light, according to Jackson County Clerk Kathy Beckett. An estimated 22 percent of eligible voters in the county participated in the election, Beckett said, compared to 78 percent for the November general election. Results of contested races Tuesday night, Jackson County Elections Department officials said that 95 percent of the votes had been tallied. With an estimated 22 percent turnout, final results are expected on Friday. Results as of 11 p.m. Tuesday were as follows: Rogue Community College District, Zone 3: Sharon B. Davidson (1,472); Debra Ponzoha, (1,092); Ray Tharp (555); and Forrest Hatch (547). Rogue Community College District, Zone 6: David S. Trump (1,763), Charles McHenry (1,288). Rogue Community College District Zone 7: Patrick G. Huycke (1,180), John S. Hallett (1,053), Tamara Nordin (808) and Rachel Chartier (728). Jackson County Education Service District Board of Directors, Zone 5: Christine Norton-Cotts (2,721) and Jud Holtey (1,891). Jackson County Education Service District Board of Directors, Zone 8: Arnie Green (1,791) and Paul Rasmussen (1,784). Ashland School District 5, Position 1: Amy W. Amrhein (2,516) and Rodger White (748). Ashland School District 5, Position 3: Chuck Keil (1,880) and Suzi Aufderheide (1,341). Central Point School District 6, Zone 1: June M. Brock (1,866) and Lyn Lippe (532). Eagle Point School District 9, Position 2: Yvonne Fletes (1,562) and Mel Whetstine (850). Eagle Point School District 9. Position 3: Scott Grissom (1,514) and Alan Curriston (972). Eagle Point School District 9, Position 5: Fred Thomas (1,469) and David McFall (1,075). Phoenix-Talent School District 4, Position 4, Zone 1: Richard A. Nagel (1,722) and Cleve Wright (957). Rogue River School District 35, Position 4: Harry Davis (688) and Mike Prinslow (651). Three Rivers School District, Zone 1: Dave Toler (72) and Joseph D. Krauss (58). Rogue Valley Transportation District, Position 4: Susan Hand (7,411) and Eileen Adee (5,295). Rogue Valley Transportation District, Position 5: Kay Harrison (8,989) and Cleve Wright (4,866). Rogue Valley Transportation District, Position 6: Carol Bennett (6,912) and Stan Druben (6,130). Rogue Valley Transportation District, Position 7: Mary Ruth Wooding (8,503) and Tom Crimmins (4,336). Colestin Fire District: Cheri L. Avgeris (23) and Peggy A. Moore (22). Evans Valley Fire District 6, Position 5: Dennis M. Feeley (338) and Greg A. Worthington (302). Bear Creek Valley Sanitary Authority: Michael Parker (3,665) and Jerry M. Wisdom (2,898). Elk City Water Commissioners: Judy K. Glover (26) and Robert C. Glover (24). "People are really kind of burned out after the November election," Beckett said, estimating that the results were 95 percent complete Tuesday night. "Traditionally, March is just a typically low-turnout election." Final results, which will include write-in results and drop-off ballots, will be available Friday, Beckett said. In the only contested race for Medford School Board, Tricia M. Prendergast was winning Tuesday night. Prendergast had 2,158 votes compared to opponents William Klene (2,020 votes), Robin A. Stroh (1,242 votes) and Bill Mansfield (2,080 votes). "I�m on pins and needles," said Prendergast, a program assistant with Asante Child Development Services and a yoga instructor. "I�ve been involved with schools for a long time. I want people to know I�m not coming in with an agenda." Prendergast, a parent who has served on numerous committees, hopes to address key issues such as testing, funding and communication. "I want people who don�t know much about me to feel reassured," she added. "I�ve looked at schools from every angle." Early results showed voters were strongly supportive of annexing land into the protection of various fire districts. Voters in Eagle Point and Fire District 3 both approved annexation Tuesday. Measure 15-21, which included voters in Eagle Point, passed with 91.1 percent of the vote, (3,492 to 340). Fire District 3 voters passed Measure 15-22 with 78.1 percent, with 610 votes in support and 171 votes against. Both groups were required to support each measure or the annexation would have failed. "We�re 100 percent ready. We�re already protecting the city and that�s the direction we�re heading," Fire Chief Randy Iverson said. "We�ve been working with the city of Eagle Point for quite some time and we�re certainly excited to continue." Voters also approved the annexation of lands along Dead Indian Memorial Road from milepost 3 to milepost 12 into Fire District 5�s protection Tuesday. Despite opponents who felt District 5 crews wouldn�t respond fast enough to stop structure fires, voters approved the measure, with 1,229 votes (69.3 percent) in favor and 542 votes against. The Three Rivers School District decided to eliminate Local School Committees and the cost of electing them by passing Measure 17-82 Tuesday. Eighty-four percent of voters chose to replace the current system of a Local School Committee with an advisory committee comprised of parent representatives from the school site council. The measure passed 147 to 28. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.