GEARY — Tuesday was another Election Day across Oklahoma, with big races in Geary and Hinton sending local voters to the polls.
In Geary, candidates vied to finish an unexpired term on the school board and city council, while Hinton Public Schools tried to pass a nearly $37 million bond primarily for athletics and event facilities.
Unofficial results Tuesday night showed Taylar Burns bested Lee Posey, 103 votes to 43, for the Geary School Board office. Cory R. Hicks also prevailed over Kim Lewis by a 17-vote margin, 54 to 37, for the Ward Four seat on the Geary City Council.
"Thank you all so much for taking the time today to go vote!" Burns wrote online Tuesday night. "I’m so happy to be able to serve the community on the Geary school board. I am looking forward to improving our school and helping our students get the education and atmosphere they need and deserve."
She said Posey also would have been a "great" school board member and wished him luck in the future.
Hicks expressed his appreciation to the community when reached Wednesday morning. "I'd just like to thank the citizens for voting me in," he said.
Hinton bond
Hinton's bond proposal included a new football field with larger bleachers, an event center divided into three sections, concessions and locker rooms at the baseball/softball fields, safe rooms at the middle school and more. But in the end, the district couldn't sell the community on the projects.
Unofficial tallies show the bond was soundly defeated by local voters, 483 to 211. Nearly 70% of voters were opposed.
The vote comes two months after Town of Hinton voters also narrowly rejected a three-quarters percent salestax increase to fund various infrastructure projects. Tuesday's bond election would have required 60% approval to pass, by Oklahoma law.
Elsewhere in the area, Mike Williams topped Erica Meiseman 139-84 for a seat on the Okeene school board.
In the Thomas-Fay-Custer Unified District, Jared Baldwin came out on top in his race against Matt Miller for a school board seat, 177- 121, preliminary results show.