JOHNSON, RITTER TO ADVANCE SCHOOL BOARD

BLOOMFIELD -- Incumbent John Johnson Jr. and Carl Ritter Jr. won seats Tuesday on the Advance School District Board of Education.

Mike Scott, the third candidate vying for a three-year term, ran a close third.

Johnson received 236 votes, Ritter had 235 votes and Scott received 197 votes in balloting recorded in Stoddard, Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties. Johnson is a farmer, and Ritter is an insurance agent.

The three candidates were restored to the ballot earlier this year after the Missouri Ethics Commission recommended they be disqualified. All three had failed to file Personal Finance Disclosure Statements before the Feb. 3 deadline.

But Stoddard County Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield allowed them to remain on the ballot, ruling that the reports were difficult to understand.

A total of 4,385 people cast votes in Stoddard County Tuesday, approximately 25 percent of the county's registered voters.

Larry Walpole was elected to a four-year term on the Board of Trustees for the Stoddard County Health Center. He was the only announced candidate for two open seats. He collected 92 votes.

Stoddard County Clerk Don White said his staff will begin manually counting votes for write-in candidates today.