By Violet Spader, Staff Writer
As Garfield County voters head to the polls with presidential picks on their minds, they need to remember local races also are at stake.
Voters in several school districts will decide board of education seats during Tuesday’s election. Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Waukomis Public Schools
• Shannon Landwehr said her career in educational psychology often has put her in contact with Waukomis schools — and she’s been impressed with the school system.
“I loved being there,” Land-wehr said. “I think it’s a great place to be.”
Her daughter now attends the district, and Landwehr said she wants to contribute to the community.
Landwehr is a school psychologist for Enid Public Schools.
• Craig Jones also is running for a school board seat. He could not be reached for comment.
Mulhall-Orlando Public Schools
• Community schools are one of the most important things a small town has, Gaye Pfeiffer said, and she is running for the Mulhall-Orlando board because she’s willing to invest the time necessary to keep it that way.
Pfeiffer said both her children have received a good education in the school system.
“I want to make sure the same quality of education is there for the next generation,” she said.
Pfeiffer and her family have a farm and ranch in rural Mulhall.
• Randus Harman also is running for a school board seat. He could not be reached for comment.
Hennessey Public Schools
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• Hennessey Chief of Police Rodney Walker said he’s known for level-headed thinking, which he said would be an asset to the Hennessey board.
“I just want to get in there and do the best job I can,” Walker said. He said he has “no problem” with the current school administration, and therefore has no axes to grind.
“I think it could a be an educational experience for myself,” Walker said.
• Patty Thompson said she believes every organization needs a woman’s point of view, and for as long as she’s been in Hennessey there’s been only female school board member.
“Every group, not just the school board, needs that point of view,” Thompson said. She’s also interested in knowing “the rhyme and reason” behind the decision-making process at schools.
Thompson said by the time her youngest child graduates, she will have had children in Hennessey Public Schools for more than 40 years.
Thompson is a dispatcher for Reef Chemical Co.
• Ray Cordry Jr. is a Hennessey native who has children in the school system. He wants to see if there’s some way he can contribute to the community.
“I’d like to give back a little bit,” he said, adding he has no agenda.
Cordry is chairman of Department of Psychiatry at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences.
• Luke Lough said he believes people have to step up to serve their communities, and he’s running for a seat on the Hennessey board to do that.
“I just feel it’s everybody’s duty to step forward when they’re capable to serve in some capacity in the public realm,” Lough said.
He owns and operates NBS Data Services Inc., a data processing services company for commercial banks.
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• David Cofer said his purpose for running in the school board election is simple: “I thought it was time to help the community, no other reason.”
A former educator, Cofer is a district manager for Thurmond-McGlothlin Inc., a natural gas measurement company based in Pampa, Texas.
• A product of Hennessey Public Schools, Rochelle K. Smith said she wants to serve the school system that gave her a “wonderful” education.
“We’ve got a great school, and I just want to see it improve and get better for my children,” Smith said. Her two children are enrolled at Hennessey.
She owns a bail bond company in Enid.
Pond Creek-Hunter Public Schools
• Gary L. Williams, a retired school principal, said it seems to be a tough time right now for education.
“With my background in education, I might be able to lessen the burden and make things better for the kids,” Williams said.
He is a teaching assistant for Pioneer Technology Center in Ponca City.
• A farmer/rancher from Hunter, Raymond Parrish has 300 hours of school board training under his belt. A former board member, he wants to use that experience to help the district.
“I want to do what’s best for the kids,” Parrish said.
He also wants Hunter to be well-represented on the school board.
• Current Pond Creek-Hunter Public Schools Board of Education President Curtis Peterson said he is running for re-election because he wants “to see things through.”
The bond issue voters recently approved and the district’s new block schedule are two items of interest.
“I feel it’s our duty to see that we give back to this district,” Peterson said. “I would like to stay there and make sure it keeps going in the right direction.”
Peterson is a reliability manager for ONEOK.
Pioneer-Pleasant Vale Public Schools
• Keith Reiner, a maintenance supervisor for Roberts Ranch of Oklahoma, said he likes to be involved in his community. He said he believes he brings “a lot” to the table and would put his Navy background to good use as a school board member.
“Education is very important,” Reiner said. “It’s a big issue.”
Reiner’s children attend Pioneer-Pleasant Vale Public Schools.
• Jim Talbott has been a member of the district’s board for several years, and he said he wants to continue to serve the community as a school board member.
“I’m just real interested in keeping the school here and running it for the kids,” Talbott said. “We’ve seen a lot of improvements in the last several years, and I’d like to see that continue.”
Talbott is self-employed and runs a trucking business, as well as his farm and ranch.
• Sally Clickner, a teacher at Garber Public Schools, has three reasons for running for a seat on the Pioneer-Pleasant Vale board of education.
First, she said, she wants to be able to help with an extensive search for a new superintendent. Second, she wants to test students involved in extracurricular activities for drugs and alcohol. Third, and finally, she said she wants to hire more teachers so the seventh grade class can be split, and the class sizes in junior high and high school can be reduced.
• An alumnus of Pioneer-Pleasant Vale, John Stone said he has an interest in the school. His three daughters currently are enrolled in the school system.
“I want to get in there and help make decisions that will be in the best interest of the school and the students,” Stone said.
He is an accountant for St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center.
