By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Residents in the Carthage R-9 School District will decide among five candidates, including the three incumbents, when they fill school board posts in the April 8 election.
In Carthage, there is competition for two City Council seats. For the others, a single candidate is running unopposed.
School board
In the running for three school board posts are incumbents Tony Diggs, Danny Lambeth and Jeff Jones, and challengers Kent Hogan and Alan Snow.
Diggs, 47, 2327 Alison St., has served on the board for nine years, including a term as board president. He said he is seeking a fourth term because he wants to help in the completion of projects started by the panel.
“I want to see through the things we’ve put into place,” he said. “We have a new superintendent who’ll need support and some historical perspective, and I want to see the new high school to completion. Also, we adopted an aggressive financial plan to pay for our building projects, and I want to make sure that is followed.”
Diggs has lived in the district for nearly 40 years. He is a managing engineer at Lozier Corp. in Joplin and holds an associate degree in science from Missouri Southern State University.
Jones, 41, 9935 County Lane 185, is seeking his second board term.
He said he sees work on the board “as an opportunity to serve the community.”
“I’ve enjoyed seeing the schools improve, and I want that to continue and I want to see the new high school finished,” he said.
Jones has lived in the district for about 40 years. He is vice president of operations with Cars on the Move in Carthage. He holds a bachelor’s degree in management technology from MSSU and an associate degree, also from MSSU, in computer-aided drafting.
Lambeth, 47, 1308 Ashley Drive, is completing his first three-year term on the board. He currently is board president.
He said he wants to continue to serve “to make sure we give the kids of Carthage a safe learning environment and the best opportunity to compete, whether it is in the economy, for jobs and careers, or in sports and in college.”
Lambeth has lived in the district for about 35 years. He is executive vice president of H.E. Williams Inc.
Hogan, 50, 1673 E. 13th St., has lived in the district for eight years, and this is his third run for a school board post.
“Maybe the third time will be a charm,” he said. “I think I would be able to bring new ideas to the board. I’ve talked to a number of parents who say they would like to have more control in decisions involving their children’s education.”
Hogan is pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Carthage. He holds a theology degree from Baptist Bible College in Springfield.
Snow, 43, 1110 Euclid Blvd., moved to Carthage five years ago and works for Leggett & Platt Inc.
He said he is seeking a board post “because I have three kids in Carthage schools, and I wanted to get involved to make sure the level of education stays good.”
He is a graduate of Girard (Kan.) High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in technology Pittsburg (Kan.) State University.
City Council
Races for Carthage City Council involve Ronnie E. Wells and Timothy Teed for a 2nd Ward position, and John Studebaker and Vince Scott in the 3rd Ward.
Wells, 58, 307 N. Garrison Ave., served on the council for six years but did not seek re-election a year ago.
He said he is running this year “because several people have come and asked me to run. I don’t have a personal agenda. I want to represent the people, and make sure their ideas and requests are listened to and honored.”
A longtime Carthage resident, Wells works at Lowe’s and holds and associate degree in general business from Crowder College.
Teed, the other Ward 2 candidate, did not have a listed telephone and could not be reached for comment.
Studebaker, 63, 1058 S. Garrison Ave., has lived in Carthage for nearly 20 years.
He said this is his first run for public office, and that he decided to run because he is interested in zoning and property-maintenance issues.
Studebaker works for the wire division of Leggett & Platt. He is a graduate of Sarcoxie High School.
Scott lives at 1221 S. Garrison Ave. Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful, but he has appeared before the council several times in an effort to get land-use changes for the former Hazlett’s restaurant property.
Campaigns and Politics
Five candidates vie for school board posts
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