FERRELL TOPS WALTER IN SHERIFF RACE

BENTON, Mo. -- Sheriff Bill Ferrell won re-election Tuesday night by a narrow margin over Rick Walter of Scott City, Mo.

He was re-elected by a 2 percent margin in the Democratic primary. Ferrell earned 4,271 votes to Walter's 4,052.

About 35 percent of the registered voters in Scott County cast ballots in the primary election. Returns posted by the Scott County Clerk's office did include absentee ballots cast.

Ferrell has been sheriff 24 years and earns a salary of $47,150. Before taking office in 1976, he had served as county assessor and worked as an investigator for the Scott County prosecuting attorney.

Ferrell, 60, faces no Republican opposition in the November general election.

Ferrell admits his tenure in office has been lucky. He has had no unsolved murder, prisoner deaths or jail escapes and attributes that to the efficiency and ability of his deputies.

"We have a good department and that makes a difference," he said in an earlier interview. Changes in the department have been tremendous during the past 24 years, but some of that is due to an increase in population and criminal activity in the county.

Walter, 39, is a former sheriff's deputy and serves as a reserve officer in his native Oran, Mo. He also was a commander of a county reserve unit for six years.

He works as a project coordinator for Penzel Construction Co.