JETTON WINS 156TH DISTRICT SEAT

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Bollinger County Commissioner Rod Jetton landed a new job Tuesday night, defeating retired teacher Katherine Golden 8,281-6,119 in the race for the 156th District House seat .

Jetton, a Republican, was elected to the Bollinger County Commission in 1996. He campaigned in part on the accomplishment of helping the county become debt-free for the first time in 25 years.

He said his strong gun rights and pro-life stands helped get him elected, as well as his insistence that the state make good on its abandoned 15-year highway plan.

Jetton's district is the fourth-biggest in the state, stretching to the Arkansas line and including residents in Bollinger, Butler, Wayne and Ripley counties. "I want to speak up as loud as I can for the rural areas when it comes to education and roads and the meth problem -- rural counties are behind the eight-ball there," he said.

He lives in Marble Hill and owns Jetton James Real Estate Co.

Golden, a Democrat, taught in area schools for 40 years, nine of them in Greenville, before retiring. She is a Wayne County committeewoman.

The 156th District seat opened up when Republican Bill Foster decided to run against Democratic incumbent Jerry Howard for the state Senate seat.

In Bollinger County elections, Republican challenger Terry Wiseman unseated Democratic incumbent Dennis Willis in the sheriff's race, 3,035-2,230. Willis ran on a record of his accomplishments during his four years in office, including increasing pay for deputies and making more than 140 drug arrests.

Coroner Gene Ward also was unseated, losing to challenger Charles Hutchings 2,903-2,256. Hutchings operates Hutchings Funeral Chapel in Marble Hill and has a degree in criminal justice. Ward is a Democrat, and Hutchings is a Republican.

Two seats on the Bollinger County Commission were contested. Republican Larry P. Vangennip defeated Democrat Junior W. Long 1,242-928 in the 1st District. In the 2nd District, Republican Wayne Whitener narrowly defeated Democrat Junior E. Cook 1,587-1,459.

In assessor race, Republican incumbent James M. Bollinger defeated Democrat Harold "Rover" Vannoy 3,402-1,794.