Election wraps with just 6-percent turnout

A scant 6.66-percent of voters turned out for the June 2 general election, which was originally scheduled for April  7, but was moved thanks to the pandemic. Although there were no county issues on which to weigh in, there were several school and municipal races that garnered attention.
In Ash Grove, Mayor Les Gardner maintained his seat against challenger Marc Schwenn. While longtime alderman Troy Watts held on to his position in Ward 2 by 15 votes over Sadie Ferwalt.
In Republic, a tight school board race ended with Denny Lawson, John Parker and Tammy Messier narrowly defeating Sam Hayes.
Willard’s school board race was also close, with Ron Crighton, Devon Jarvis and Jason Jay Dixon defeating Douglas Patillo and Michelle Ruckman.