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Primary Election Round-Up - February 4, 2008

Monroe County voters will have decisions of local, regional, state and national importance when they go to the polls Tuesday, Feb. 5 for the General Primary Election.

Of particular interest on the local level is the race between County Board Chairman Dale Haudrich and former County Board Chairman Frank Kohler. They are both seeking the Republican nomination for that six-year term and both are from the Hecker area. The winner will face Democrat Mike Kovarik of Columbia, who is running unopposed for his party’s nomination. Kohler served 12 years on the board before being defeated by Democrat Delbert Wittenauer in the last election. The winner of this year’s general election will join Wittenauer of the Hecker area and Republican Terry Liefer of rural Red Bud.

The local Republicans have no candidates on the ballot for the offices of state’s attorney and circuit clerk. Incumbent State’s Attorney Kris Reitz and his father, incumbent Circuit Clerk Aaron Reitz, are running unopposed on the Democratic ballot. Incumbent Coroner Julie Gummersheimer is running for re-election unopposed on the Republican ticket. The Democrats have no one on the ballot for that position.

Voters in the Waterloo Park District will decide the fate of a proposed $4.5 million bond issue to build a new swimming pool. A similar proposition failed in a previous election.

State Representative Dan Reitz is running for re-election unopposed on the Democratic ballot. No Republican candidate is on the ballot.

The race to fill the vacancy left by the death of Appellate Court Judge Terrence J. Hopkins in the 5th Judicial Circuit has a spirited contest for the nomination on the Democratic ballot. Judy Cates is challenging James M. Wexstten for the nomination. Wexstten was appointed to fill the unexpired term of the late Judge Hopkins.

Rep. Jerry Costello, Democratic Congressman is running for re-election unopposed on the Democratic ballot. He will face Republican challenger Timmy Jay Richardson, Jr. in the general election for the 12th Congressional District.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is running unopposed for re-election on the Democratic ballot. He will be faced by the winner of a three-man race on the Republican ballot that includes Steve Sauerberg, Andy Martin and Mike Psak.

In the presidential race, local voters will have relatively full slates on both the Democratic and Republican ballots. On the Republican side, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, John McCain, Fred Thompson, Alan Keys, James Creighton Mitchell, Jr., Tom Tancredo, Rudy Guiliani and Mike Huckabee are on the ballot. Democrats on the ballot for president include Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, William “Bill” B. Richardson, Jr., Dennis J. Kucinich, Christopher John Dodd and Joe Biden. The Green Party has four candidates for president and one for congressman on their ballot.

Delegates and alternates to both the Republican and Democrat national conventions are also on the ballot. Both parties will elect county precinct committeemen although there is no competition. The Republicans have committeemen on the ballot for all but two of the county’s 37 precincts. Local Democrats have 21 precincts filled but 16 with no candidates.

The county’s 37 polling places will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Election results will be sent out via E-newsletter late Tuesday evening after the votes have been finalized.

The Columbia High School football team was honored Monday night during a Columbia City Council meeting by Mayor Kevin Hutchinson, left, and the aldermen. The team finished in second place in last year’s state tournament and finished with the best record in school history.

– photo by Gage Wienhoff

Maeystown Celebrates Fat Tuesday: St. John UCC of Maeystown is getting ready for their 30th annual Fastnacht. The traditional German Fat Tuesday gathering features an all-you-can-eat sausage and pancake supper. This year’s event is on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at the church’s community hall. Food will be served from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Also on the family style menu are applesauce and doughnuts. Musical entertainment will be provided by the New Hanover Deutschmeisters.

The cost for the evening is $7 for adults and $3 for children ages 6 to 12. Children under 6 eat free. Fastnacht, among German people, is the festive celebration on the eve of Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Holy Season of Lent. In Maeystown and surrounding areas, Fastnacht was observed by the German immigrants and their descendants for many years. In the rural areas there were house parties with dancing and feasting. In town the children went "grebbeling." Masked and in costume, each child carried a bag and went from house to house asking for doughnuts.

The dances in homes began to dwindle in the late 1930s and ended entirely during World War II, but grebbeling continued into the 1960s. In 1979 St. John UCC revived the Fastnacht celebration with a sausage and pancake supper. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the event.

Other upcoming Maeystown events include the Spring Art Show, March 8 and 9; Fruehlingsfest (antique and garden show), May 4; and the Maeystown Homecoming, May 23 and 24.