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Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive |
Nevada County Elects New Sheriff, Judge During November 1996Published Wednesday, January 1, 1997 in the Nevada County PicayunePolitics made for strange times in 1996 in Nevada County. First term Sheriff Harold Vines was forced into a runoff after being in a hard-fought three-man race, while the area's representative tried for a senate seat, thereby vacating his. In addition, a county judge who had been appointed had a scare as it was a while before anyone announced their candidacy for the spot as Nevada County Judge. The political season started with the sheriff's race as Vines was initially challenged by Steve Otwell and Themious Lindsey. Each candidate made their positions known, with Lindsey promising to rid the county of drugs, while Otwell asked the voters to give a young man the chance to prove what he could do. Vines urged the electorate to stay with proven leadership in his speeches. The race for House of Representatives District 28 opened with four contenders, as Hope businessman Steve Buelow, former Hempstead County Sheriff Don Worthey, former Hope mayor Robert Arnold and Sandra Rodgers all tossed their hats into the arena. Judge John W. Barham watched intently as the filing deadline neared to see who would be running for his seat. Because he had been appointed, Barham could not seek the office again. However, if no one else had run, he could have been appointed again by the Nevada County Quorum Court. But, two men decided to take their chances as James Roy Brown and Coach Jack House entered the foray. With the primaries approaching, the races got hot and heavy. The candidates appeared at every function they could make to meet as many voters as possible and make sure their faces and names were remembered. After what seemed to be an eternity to all involved, it was finally time for the first round of election. Vines found himself forced into a runoff with Otwell after the vote was split by Lindsey's candidacy. Rodgers and Buelow found themselves going toe-to-toe as the top two finishers in the House race. Barham learned his replacement would be Brown, who defeated House. These results surprised many people, including some of the candidates. Vines said he had hoped to be reelected without a runoff, but added he had not been able to get out and campaign as he had wanted to. Otwell's plans for the runoff were to be the same as the primary -- get out, knock doors and see people. Rodgers was stunned at making the next step in the race. She knew a runoff would occur because there were four candidates, but wasn't sure she'd be one of them. Buelow expressed his gratitude to the voters and urged them to return to the polls for the runoff election as well. Two weeks later, on June 11, everyone knew where they stood for the most part. Otwell was the upset winner in the sheriff's race, while Rodgers went home with the nomination for the House seat. Both had November opposition though, as Otwell's foe was Johnny Campbell, who ran as an Independent, and Rodgers faced Republican contender Tim Cornelius. Things were quiet for a while, as the candidates kept a low profile through the remainder of the summer and into early fall. As September rolled around, the races again showed signs of life, as the hopefuls returned to the campaign trail. For the most part, the campaigns were waged on a door-to-door basis, with the candidates wearing out shoe leather in search of votes. Rodgers and Cornelius expressed their hopes, desires and plans in print, while Campbell and Otwell kept a low profile. Finally, after nearly a year of politics and campaigning, the voters had the opportunity to express their desires as the General Election arrived. Otwell handily won the sheriff's race, beating Campbell 2,450 to 1,418. Rodgers had no problem winning Nevada County as she whipped Cornelius 1,309 to 500. The race for the House seat was also voted on in Hempstead County where Rodgers' margin of victory was even greater. Otwell spent some time at the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in Camden in the time between the election and being sworn in on Jan. 1, 1997. Rodgers has been busy in committee meetings in Little Rock as well as working with her husband, Danny, at his law office. Barham has worked with Brown, helping him learn what the judge does, along with working with the judge-elect on the proposed budget for 1997. On Dec. 19, courthouse employees honored Barham's effort with a farewell party. He was presented parting gifts (no gold watch, though) and told of how he would be missed. When he took center stage, Barham said any good done in his two years was the result of others' work, while he accepted the blame for all that went wrong. The county officials were sworn in at midnight, Dec. 31. Search | Nevada County Picayune by date | Gurdon Times by date |
Newspaper articles have been contributed to the Prescott Community Freenet Association as a "current history" of our area. Articles dated December 1981 through May 2001 were contributed by Ragsdale Printing Company, Inc. Articles June 2001 to ? were contributed by Better Built Group, Inc. Articles ? to October 2008 were contributed by GateHouse Media. Ownership of all Nevada County Picayune content from the beginning of the newspaper, including predecessors, until May 2001 was contributed by the John and Betty Ragsdale family to the Prescott Community Freenet Association. Content on this site may not be archived, retransmitted, saved in a database, or used for any commercial purpose without express written permission. Web hosting by and presentation style copyright ©1999-2009 Danny Stewart |