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.”