PERRYVILLE OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVES COUNTY 911 SERVICE

PERRYVILLE -- Voters in Perry County Tuesday overwhelmingly approved installation of a 911 emergency telephone system in the county.

They also elected two incumbent members of the Board of Aldermen and two people to the Perry County School board.

About 78 percent, or 3,199 voters, approved the 911 measure, while 889 voters rejected it.

In Perryville city races, incumbent Frank W. "Bill" Bergman defeated David Ramsey for a seat in Ward Two on the board of aldermen by a vote of 311-240; and incumbent Paul R. "Butch" Flentge defeated Stephen Wibbenmeyer by a vote of 416-199 for a seat in Ward Three.

In the race for Perryville City Collector, incumbent Ruth Heck received 1,043 votes, defeating Wilma Weinkin, who received 892 votes.

Roger Prost ran unopposed for a Ward One seat on the board and received 559 votes. Mayor Robert Miget ran unopposed and received 1,574 votes.

In the Perry County School Board race, long-time board member Ann White was re-elected with 2,056 votes. Steve Moore came in second with 1,403 votes. Moore and White will fill the two open seats on the board.

Other school board candidates and their vote totals were Wayne Schindler, 1,155; former district Superintendent Larry Ackley, 1,081; Don Barry, 812; Roger Broeker, 464; and Henry Griner, 411.

Robert Hershey received 1,497 votes for the position of municipal judge.

Approval of county-wide 911 means the service will be available as soon as this summer for all county residents.

A 911 service was installed in the city of Perryville last April. Now, the service will be extended to county residents and will be operational by June or July, county commissioner Karl Klaus said.

The average monthly charge per residential line will be 17 to 37 cents, and business lines will be charged from 37 cents to $1.21. Initial cost for set up of the system is estimated to be between $15,000 and $16,000.

Emergency calls will go through the Perryville Police department, where 911 equipment is already set up. County emergencies will be handled through the sheriff's department. Klaus said the county and city will share evenly the operating cost for the system.

About 17,000 people live in Perry County, 7,800 of them in the city.