HOT SPRINGS -- Candidates for seats on the National Park College board of trustees have less than two weeks to file for candidacy with the Garland County clerk's office.
The deadline is noon Aug. 19.
Board member and former Chairman Larry Bailey filed earlier this year for re-election to Position 3. Bailey was first elected to the college board in 2008 to serve the final two years of an existing term. He was re-elected in 2010.
Bailey was originally appointed in 2001 to serve on the board of Quapaw Technical Institute, which merged with Garland County Community College in 2003 to form National Park Community College. He then joined the National Park Community College board.
Candidates must be residents of Garland County, obtain the signatures of 25 registered voters in the district, submit a statement of candidacy and pay a $3 ballot fee.
The college's trustees serve six-year terms. At least three seats are up for election every two years.
January 2017 will mark the first time in 40 years that Gene Parker and Ray Donathan will not be on the board. The two longest-tenured members of the board said they do not plan to run for re-election this year.
The two have combined to serve on the board or its predecessors for almost 83 years. Both have been up for election in the same cycle every six years since 1980.
Parker, the current chairman, was a founding member of the board. He was appointed in August 1973 to the original Position 3 seat. He ran for election to Position 2 in 1974 and has served in the same seat ever since.
Donathan is the current vice chairman and was first elected to Position 1 in 1976. He served the last four years of the original six-year term and has always served in the same seat.
Elections for board seats will be part of the November ballot. Election Day is Nov. 8.
Raymond Wright filed to run in November for Position 2. Forrest Spicher filed to run for Position 1.
Spicher was appointed to Position 4 in November 2014 after the resignation of Mahlon Grigsby, who served on the board for almost 14 years. Grigsby died the same month.
Beverly Joe filed to run for Position 4. The current term for Position 4 will expire Dec. 31, 2018.
The terms for Positions 5 and 6 will also expire at the end of 2018. Grigsby, Gail Ezelle and Joyce Craft were unopposed in 2012.
Board members Mike Bush, Jim Hale and Don Harris were unopposed in 2014. Their terms will expire at the end of 2020.
Metro on 08/07/2016