NELL HOLCOMB VOTERS RE-ELECT TWO INCUMBENTS

Both incumbents won re-election to the Nell Holcomb R-4 Board of Education Tuesday.

The incumbents, Daniel Taylor and Karen Fornkahl, fought off challenges by a former long-time school board member and a first-time candidate.

Voters in the elementary school district north of Cape Girardeau gave Fornkahl 110 votes and Taylor 99. Bob Rubel, a nine-year board member until being defeated last year, garnered 64 votes.

Newcomer Bob Woodard trailed all with 59 votes.

Taylor said he was happy with the election outcome.

"I had just found out about two minutes ago," he said Tuesday night of his victory. "I was at work. I really thought it would be a lot closer than that."

Taylor works as a mechanical planner at the Procter & Gamble plant north of Cape Girardeau.

He said there are some things the school board had started and he would like to be able to follow through on them. They include things like building onto the district's curriculum and upgrading its one school building.

He said he had figured on a closer race because Rubel had served on the board before and he felt he had done a good job. Taylor, the school board's president, said he had learned a lot from Rubel when he served as board president.

Fornkahl could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.