PREBLE COUNTY — Three school levies were passed and the Republican candidate for the open Eaton Municipal Court judge seat was decided this week during the May 4 primary.

4,426 total ballots were cast across the county, resulting in a 17.34 percent turnout. Despite issues in last year’s primary with uncertainty surrounding cancelled in-person voting on March 17, 2020, turnout was still 27.29 percent with over 7,500 ballots cast.

Highlighting this week’s primary was the race for the Republican representative in the November general election for the open Eaton Municipal Court judge seat.

Eaton-based attorney Edmund Kalil defeated Preble County Assistant Prosecutor Gractia Manning by just 163 votes, 1,897 to 1,734 (52.24-47.76 percent).

Kalil will appear on the ballot in November for the six-year judge term commencing Jan. 1, 2022.

Preble Shawnee’s controversial five-year, 0.75 percent income tax levy, which has failed at the polls repeatedly since 2015 and most recently in April and November of 2020, was passed this time around with 1,198 votes for and 954 votes against (55.67-44.33 percent) with 2,152 total votes cast.

The levy will begin collections in January 2022.

Voters in the Tri-County North and College Corner school districts passed levy renewals; North’s renewal is for 10 years, commencing in 2022, in the amount of $0.49 for each one hundred dollars of valuation, and College Corner’s is five years, commencing this year and amounting to $0.65 for each one hundred dollars of valuation.

North’s levy passed 285-194 (59.50-40.50 percent) with 479 total votes cast, while College Corner’s passed 25-8.

The Register-Herald will have more on these results in the Wednesday, May 12 edition.