BROOKVILLE — Brookville and Clay Township voters will be sending three new faces to office as a result of the Nov. 7 election.
In the Brookville Local School board race, newcomer Fred Garber will join incumbents Susan Steck and Tim Denlinger next year.
Garber, who finished third in voting with 1,085 votes, replaces incumbent Lauren Hester, who finished with 928 votes.
Incumbent board member Susan Steck led all candidates with 1,650 votes while incumbent Timothy Denlinger was next with 1,539 votes.
Board candidate Roger Bowyer received 978 votes while Darren McNew received 755 votes.
In the Brookville city council race, newcomer Dennis Piper will join incumbents J.D. Fowler and Stephan Crane next year.
Piper, who received 924 votes, replaces current council member Damian Kristoff, who received 584 votes.
Kristoff was appointed to the council seat Aug. 1 after Jeff Requarth resigned.
Fowler led all candidates with 1,151 votes while Crane finished behind Piper with 764 votes.
Clay Township will have a new trustee after voters cast 1,279 votes for Kyle Groh and 1,151 votes for incumbent Steve Woolf.
Clay Township trustee Duane Heuker ran unopposed and received 1,983 votes.
Heuker was appointed to the trustee seat on July 3 when Mark Brownfield resigned to become the township fiscal officer, replacing Holly Buchanan in June.
Brownfield, running unopposed for the fiscal officer position, received 1,887 votes.
Incumbent Brookville Mayor Chuck Letner, running unopposed for the position, received 1,565 votes.
Clay Township voters approved the policy levy with 928 yes votes to 508 no votes.
The levy will replace the 3.25 mill levy originally approved by voters in 2014.
Trustees indicated if approved, the 3.25 mill levy would calculate on current values and not the new 2024 proposed property values.
The approval of the levy will allow the Clay Township police department to:
• provide such essential safety equipment to police officers as ballistic vests, personal protective equipment and body cameras
• maintain patrol vehicles and equipment as necessary to ensure quick and reliable response times to emergencies
• maintain staffing levels that ensure patrol coverage throughout the township
• reinstate funding for a part-time detective/investigator
• to engage in community outreach programs
• maintain compliance with the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board
• provide mandatory continuing education training for all police officers
• maintain a low staff turnover rate through competitive compensation rates for police officers and staff
• secure IT hardware and software upgrades as required
• offset reductions in state and federal funding
• continue providing exceptional services to the residents of the township
• offset the economic challenges the township faces due to the increase cost of day-to-day operations caused by inflation
Reach Terry Baver at [email protected].
