By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

McDonald County voters on Tuesday threw their support behind a proposal to make the prosecutor’s office a full-time position, while bond measures passed in the communities of Lanagan and Diamond, according to complete but unofficial results.

The prosecutor’s office will become full time as of June 2011 under a plan endorsed by a margin of 696 votes in favor and 580 against. Voter turnout was 9.5 percent.

The salary for the prosecutor’s position will rise from $53,000 to $106,000 in June 2011.

Efforts to reach Ronnie Walker, McDonald County Western District commissioner, for comment Tuesday night were unsuccessful. Walker had spearheaded the push to get the proposal on the ballot.

The term of the current prosecutor, Janice Durbin, expires in January 2011.

Walker had told the Globe that the office needed to become full time to keep pace with caseloads and with the county’s growing population.

The prosecutor’s caseload increased from 802 cases in 1991 to 1,874 last year, the commissioner said.

As for the county population, that increased from 21,681 in 2000 to an estimated 22,731 in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The population was 16,938 in 1990.

Walker said the county needed to be able to attract and retain experienced prosecutors.

Lanagan

In Lanagan, a proposal to issue $100,000 in revenue bonds to finance construction of a new waterline from Anderson to supply Lanagan eked out a victory. The measure received 35 “yes” votes and 31 “no” votes.

The water from Anderson will supplement the water from the city’s own well, Jimmie Gideon, Lanagan’s public works director, previously told the Globe. Tuesday’s ballot measure needed a simple majority for passage.

The total project is to be about $1.8 million, with the bulk of the cost to be paid with grants that the city is seeking.