Volume 2, Issue 11 AUGUST 9, 2024
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Hundreds attend National Night Out
The first National Night Out for Oceana County took place at the Shelby Township Park this past Tuesday. Hundreds attended the event to meet with area first responders and more. Both Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast and Undersheriff Ryan Schiller noted that the venue was a perfect fit for the event and were extremely happy with the strong turnout. Schiller added that planning with area agencies began back in January, and he is hopeful that the event will continue to grow in size. • Amanda Dodge/Echo
Oceana County primary election results By Steve Gunn The Oceana Echo Community Contributor
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It appears that most of Oceana County’s top elected officials will be returning to office for another term, based on the results of Tuesday’s pri-
mary election. Overall, 5,546 votes were cast in the county. There are 22,599 registered voters, which means that 24.5 percent of voters participated. The election results are preliminary until certified by the County Board of Canvassers. Two incumbent Democratic county road commissioners, Cathy Forbes (1,215 votes) and David Spitler (995) won their party’s nomination for the two seats up for grabs. There were also two Republicans on the ballot – Jason LaFever and Andrew Heykoop - but no vote totals were available for their race at press time. They had no opponents, so both are likely to appear on the fall ballot to run against Forbes and Spitler. The county probate judge position was also on the ballot in a threeway, non-partisan primary. Eric Fox took received a total of 2,193 votes, followed by Ana Rapa
(1,623) and Ryan Good (747). Fox and Rapa will now meet in a runoff in the November election. Three countywide ballot proposals were approved by voters – a millage renewal for the Oceana County Council on Aging, which passed by a total of 3,334-1,798; a millage renewal for the Oceana County Medical Care Facility (3,3011,809); and a millage renewal for the Oceana County Department of Veterans Affairs (3,9111,235). The only ballot proposal to fail anywhere in the county came in Pentwater Township, where a request for 3.5 additional mills for extra fire protection services was defeated by a close vote of 380-326. “Obviously, this wasn’t the outcome we hoped for. We knew that this was a huge step up, and we look forward to working with the community we protect to better understand im-
provements they would like to see tomorrow and beyond,” Pentwater Fire Chief Jonathan Hughart stated in a press release sent out after the primary. “The people we protect and serve have always been very supportive of PFD and we now look to November to renew the existing millage that has been in place since 1994.” GOLDEN TOWNSHIP In the most interesting township result of the election, incumbent Supervisor Fuehring finished second in a threeway race on the Republican ballot. Draper won with 170 votes, followed by Fuehring with 114 and Floyd Whelpley with 98. No Democrats ran for the office, so barring a writein campaign, Draper will likely run unopposed in the general election. Voters approved a road millage proposal by a 305-164 margin. CLAYBANKS TOWNSHIP In a tight Republican race for two trustee nominations, voters selected
David Rabe (90 votes) and Larry Burmeister (60 votes). Allen Blohm barely missed the cut with 58 votes. HART TOWNSHIP Two Republicans – Lois Alvesteffer-Simmons (114 votes) and Douglas Fuehring (146 votes ) – won their party’s nomination for two open trustee positions. Terry Mead finished a close third with 109 votes. NEWFIELD TOWNSHIP In a contested Republican primary for supervisor, Joan David defeated Wayne McCastle 251-133 and captured the GOP nomination. She will likely run unopposed in the fall because there were no Democrats on the ballot. Two Republicans sought the party nomination for treasurer, and Mary Martin-Hopkins defeated Peggy Rumsey 218-164. No Democrats were on the ballot. In the race for two trustee positions, Wayne Ferris (250 votes) and
Micah Johnson (146) won the Republican nominations over Elijah den Engelse (92 votes). They will face off against Democrat Rick Roberson (86 votes) in the November election. PENTWATER TOWNSHIP Voters approved a millage request for road maintenance and construction by a vote of 516188. A separate millage request for maintenance and improvements to the township cemetery passed 458-249. SHELBY TOWNSHIP In the race for two trustee positions, Scott Meyers (260 votes) and Cynthia Rapes (251) won the Republican nominations, edging out Joel McCormick (162 votes). WEARE TOWNSHIP Lane Stotler (74 votes) and Byron Miller (64) edged out Bryan Broderick (63 votes) for the Republican nominations for two open trustee seats. There were no Democrats on the ballot.