The Drew County Collector’s run-off will be between Tonya Loveless (1186 votes) and Josh Frost (1153 votes), as that race will be narrowed down, as Cherri Norris’ 621 votes are divided.  The June 12 winner will then face Republican candidate Andrea Huskey in November.

In the bid for State Senate District 26, Gregg Reep, of Warren, won four of seven counties (Bradley, Drew, Cleveland, Desha) but fell short by 99 votes to Eddie Cheatham who carried only two counties (Ashley and Chicot). Cheatham, of Crossett, garnered 4156 votes, while Reep had 4057 votes cast for him. Johnnie Bolin, also from Ashley County, came in third with 3243 total votes. Cheatham and Reep will meet again in a runoff election which will be held in three weeks. The winner of this election will face Republic opponent Mike Akin of Monticello in November.

Gene Jeffress and Q. Byrum Hurst will also meet in a run-off election for the Democratic nominee for 4th District Congressman. The winner of this run-off election will face Republic Tom Cotton who won the Republican nomination for candidate for 4th District Congressman.

Regional vote totals provided by SalineRiverChronicle.com

Around 10:30, this morning, a jailer notified Sheriff Mark Gober about the odor of gas in the County Detention Facility.

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Robin Hood won the Democratic Primary. He will now face Republican Jessie Griffin and independent Robert Akin in November.

All precinct votes have come in and the unofficial numbers show two new faces will be added to Monticello’s City Council in 2013.

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All ballot boxes have been counted.

Here are the final, unofficial vote totals:

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On May 4th – 6th , Rebecca Moss and Morgan Nall, attended the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar in Bentonville, Ar. The 10th grade Drew Central Students were selected because of the outstanding leadership potential they demonstrated in school and community activities, as well as their academic achievements. The girls participated in numerous activities while at the seminar reinforcing their social responsibilities and encouraging their leadership and critical thinking skills.

This statement is from a source that wished to remain anonymous, and their sentiment has been shared by many MLive readers over the past several months.

Mayor Maxwell presented these failing water pipes to the City Council, last October.

Add to this the report from last September’s City Council meeting where Mayor Maxwell said, “The water line problems below Maple and Speer Streets, where galvanized water lines run under the street, and constantly have to be repaired. Overlaying these two streets will soon have to be patched, whenever the next leak occurs…” Mayor Maxwell told the council that these lines need to be replaced, instead of making repairs to the lines and the streets, over and over. “The water lines need to be moved to the side of the streets, then do the overlay.”

The city has recently received easements from the property owners, and ordered pipe to begin this project. This means we’ve got “shovel ready” needs, and money being spent elsewhere.

Questions have been raised concerning all aspects of the water fund budget, including where the money is going that’s transferred from it, if it is legal for it to be transferred at all, and if replacing water pipes is just a falsely given reason to raise rates further.

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Monticello Fire & Rescue was paged out to extricate the driver of this westbound Chevy pick-up out of the vehicle, around 5:30, Monday morning.

Marks at the scene show the vehicle left the roadway on the north side of the highway, crossed the ditch, and collided with a concrete embankment, near the I-530 intersection.

Drew County Sheriff;s deputies worked the crash, Affordable Wrecker towed the Chevy, and MASI transported the driver to DMH, where he was then helicoptered to UAMS in Little Rock

Tuesday is Election Day.  Ms the final day for Early Voting.

Over the past several weeks, MLive’s Mandy Moss has interviewed the Democratic candidates for County Judge, Sheriff, and County Collector.

This week’s “election edition” will re-post those interviews for a final “meet the candidates” opportunity for MLive reades.

“I was born and raised here in Monticello by my parents Robert and Peggy Harris. They still live in the house I was raised in.”

Bobby Harris has spent his entire life in Drew County, and this is where he has chosen to raise his large, close-knit, family. He says he learned how to have strong family values by his own experiences growing up.

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Jim Glennon was born and raised in Possum Valley by parents James and Glenda Glennon. “I have three sisters and a brother that are still living. My baby sister died when she was six of spinal meningitis. I was 9 or 10 when she died. It was one of those situations where you ask God, “Why didn’t you take me instead of my baby sister?”

Growing up, there was little time for the Glennon children to find trouble to get into. Working as a family was top priority, and living out in the country meant that if you wanted entertainment, you created it for yourself.

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Mark Gober is well known in Monticello for being Sheriff since 2005, but few may know what brought him to this point in life.

Growing up, Sheriff Gober said that his family often moved every year due to his father’s career in the ARMY. It was a move to Alaska that put him on a path right back to Drew County.

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Monticello native Ronnie Adcock has held several jobs over his lifetime. From gravel trains to pawn shops and a wrecker service, he hopes to add Drew County Sheriff to his resume this year.

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“I really thought I was done that day, and even though this person was very irate and taking it out on me, I still managed to get my job done correctly and it didn’t sway me from getting things done in the office.”

Cheri Norris grew up the oldest of three siblings, and said she had a great time doing family activities like roller skating, having picnics, and playing at the lake. At the age of five she moved from Southeast Arkansas up to Michigan with her mom, Betty Maloney.

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The Cornerstone Coalitoin held their Regional Political Forum, Thursday night, with covered many topics of regional topcs.

Candidates taking part in the program included;  Lampkin and Meggs..
State Senate candidates Akin, Bolin, Cheatham, and Reep.
and Congressional candidates: Crawford (by statement), Latanach, Hurst, and Jeffress

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The Monticello City Council voted unanimously to grant Monticello School’s Superintendent Bobby Harper’s request for $25,000 of additional funding towards the boot camp program, which is a punitive program for students that serves as an alternative for expulsion.

Superintendent Harper told the Council that when the program began it was a joint effort between the County, City, Drew Central School District, and Monticello School District. The County quickly withdrew from helping with funding, and now Drew Central District has had to withdraw as well due to their fiscal distress status. This leaves only Monticello District and the City left to provide money to keep the program going.

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At Thursday’s city council meeting, the council’s next meeting was moved to June 14, due to a Municipal League conference time conflict, with the regular date.

No one (except for this reporter) realized that this is the same date, same time, and same place as the regularly scheduled Parks & Recreation Committee meeting.

They apparently will be having a joint meeting, which is appropriate, since the city council has recently imposed the “no smoking” policy at City Park, the “no tournament” policy at Lake Monticello, and leased out a major portion of Jordan Park for use by the private school, without referring these issues to the Parks Commission / Committee.

The City Council was presented with a lease agreement for P.F. Mays & Associates, LLC for the proposed private school at Jordan Park during their regular meeting Thursday evening. Mayor Allen Maxwell reported that he had investigated what a reasonable lease would be on the Jordan Park property and, “What we got back was $300-$500 per month. I want the council to consider that because we don’t have to charge that much. I think we need to write what the City is going to charge on a monthly or annual basis… We came up with a number of $500 a year.”

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UKayla Jackson continues to add to her legacy as one of the best softball players in University of Arkansas at Monticello history.

Jackson became the first three-time softball All-American in school history Wednesday when she was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American Second Team. The senior pitcher from Hallsville, Tex., was a third team All-American in 2010 and a second team selection last year.

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Around noon, Wednesday, the driver of a Chrysler Sebring was fleeing from Warren Police officers and Bradley County deputies, as he entered Drew County on HWY 278 West.

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A military color guard paid tribute to a fallen soldier, Friday morning, at the Monticello airport.

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The Drew County Museum and Archives have recently been offered an opportunity to gain some much-needed income from the proceeds of a book written by Dr. James William Willis, who was inducted into the Drew Central Hall of Fame, last week.

Willis is a native of Drew County, who grew up in the White Hall Community south of Monticello and graduated from Drew Central. He was the son of Earl and Lela McKinstry Willis, local educators, who were both native Drew County residents. Willis’ father was a long-time superintendent of the Drew Central schools, and his mother was an English teacher at both Drew Central and Arkansas A & M College. Later, they moved to Little Rock to work with the state department of education before they retired in Monticello.

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According to Drew County Sheriff Mark Gober, one of the three capitol murder suspects being held for the life threatening assault to an elderly Lacey man, allegedly was involved in the assault of three corrections officer at the White River Juvenile Center, near Batesville.

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