LINN, Mo. - Osage County residents will decide four contested local races when they go to the polls Nov. 8.
The four contested races are: sheriff, Second District county commissioner, assessor and coroner. Three races are uncontested: First District county commissioner, public administrator and surveyor.
Sheriff
Two candidates with law enforcement experience will seek the full-time position that pays $46,000 a year. The race pits Chris Albert, a Democrat, against Michael Bonham, a Republican.
Albert, 32, went to the academy in Columbia and law enforcement training throughout the state, including sniper training and domestic violence training. He has worked for the Osage County Sheriff's Department since May 2011.
Albert said he is running for the office "because the sheriff's office in Osage County needs a lot of cleaning up. I started working here with the way things are, so I decided I need to run and fix it or leave."
He believes a lack of trust from the community needs to be addressed. Albert said he wants to get a good group of deputies on board and have staff perform professionally on-duty and off-duty.
Bonham, 54, has been a reserve deputy with Pulaski County for four years, worked for the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office as a detective and deputy for four years, and worked as a hazardous material specialist. He has earned 2,000 hours with the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He is an ordained minister through Bible Way Association in Springfield.
"I've been a resident for 17 years, and I've decided that I can take my experience, my life experience, life skills and help the department be all it can be," Bonham said. "I'm in a place in my life where I have my house paid for, and it'll be a step backwards financially. But it's the right thing to do."
He said his priorities would be to bring a higher professional standard to the department and said his grant writing skills would be "invaluable," especially in a time when departments are squeezed with tight budgets.
Second District commissioner
Both candidates seeking the Second District commissioner seat have transportation experience in their background.
Incumbent Larry Kliethermes, a Republican, and Bob Caldwell, a Democrat, are competing for the commissioner's job, which is a full-time position that pays $27,390 a year.
Kliethermes, 70, has a degree in drafting and design from Linn State Technical College and took a course at Lincoln University for building engineering. He is currently Second District commissioner, was employed 35 years for Missouri Department of Transportation in the bridge division and worked on the family farm.
Kliethermes said: "One of the big things you hear about in Osage County is roads and bridges. But after getting in and hearing about 911 (Osage County Emergency Management Agency) and health department, it was an experience learning it, and I've felt we've been able to do several things. We've replaced 911 equipment and hired a new road and bridge department head and made some improvements. I felt we've accomplished some things, and there are some we need to still work on."
He said the area needs quite a bit of road improvement, and that's a balancing act between making improvements to county roads and staying within the budget.
Caldwell, 36, has certificates in real estate, electrical, HVAC, tower rescuer, universal license and geothermal. He is currently a fermentationist for Lost Creek Valley winery, worked in real estate for Coldwell Banker in Lake of the Ozarks, worked for Hogan Trucking Transportation & Logistics in disaster control and worked for Breckenridge Material Company.
He cited his reason for running as "improving the school system because that's our future, the next generation."
He said he would like to see the area school districts consolidated into one district to expand opportunities for the students and teachers, which should attract more families into the county.
Assessor
Two are seeking the position of assessor, which is a full-time job with a salary of $41,500. The race pits Patrick Brandt, a Democrat, against Jerry Baker, a Republican.
Brandt, 52, studied mechanical engineering at Missouri S&T and accounting at Linn State Technical College. He is currently deputy assessor in Osage County, was a field data collector, worked in the assessor's office, worked for Osage Ambulances in customer service and warranty tech, and was an engineer in St. Louis for six to seven years.
Brandt said: "The current assessor has been in the job for 27 years, and he's retiring. And since I've been in and working in the office for a few years, I know it's a job I can do. As far as future plans, I'm going to do everything I can do to maintain the level of customer service that we've had in the office for all these years. One thing I've done since I've been here is moved from drawing plat maps on drafting boards to doing it on the computer. It's allowed us to build our own plat books and having electronic maps in the fields when out doing field work. I'm hoping to make the plat book available to people online so they don't have to come here to look at it."
Baker, 60, has degrees in business administration and building trade. He owns Panadero Home Maintenance and Energy System, is a retired teacher, worked as an engineer doing expeditions for the Maples Gas Company, did research for Carnegie Mellon University, worked for the Missouri Department of Corrections, and worked in construction off and on for 20 years.
Baker said: "I've been in administration and construction all my life. I've been fortunate to travel all over the world. I'm ex-Navy and Army. I own my own company now, and I understand the concepts of finance and the value of property. I was approached to run for assessor, and at my age, it's good experience. It's good for both me to continue my work in administration and work close to home and help the Osage County area become more progressive."
Coroner
Incumbent Lois Jaegers, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Duane "AJ" Probst for the post of coroner. The part-time position pays $14,000 a year.
Jaegers, 62, earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Central Missouri State in Warrensburg and a master's degree in nursing education from Clarkson College in Omaha, Nebraska. She has been Osage County coroner since 1997 and has worked at Lincoln University in the nursing program since 1979. She worked at St. Mary's Health Center from 1975-79 as a full-time employee and from 1979-2008 as a part-timer.
Jaegers said: "I have enjoyed the people that I have met through this, and I think I do a good job. I'm empathetic to the families, and as a nurse, I have a lot of compassion. I have the experience to do it, and I enjoy meeting the people and enjoy helping them in a time when they're vulnerable and having a lot of questions about what has happened to their loved ones. I think I go the extra step to help anyone, even if it's not in my county. I try to find the correct county coroner and go the extra mile."
She said the main issue facing the next coroner will be transitioning from paper reports to electronic ones, if the budget allows.
Probst, 52, has a master's degree in business administration. He is currently a security officer for the Social Security Administration Office. He served 27 years in the U.S. Army and was active duty with the National Guard.
Probst said: "I want to serve the community. I spent 27 years with military. I'm a volunteer firefighter in Linn and a first responder for the ambulance district and an elder in church. I've always been community-oriented guy. This is just one more role I think I could show compassion to those that lost their loved ones and look into matters and work with law enforcement. I may be on the scene anyways - hopefully it wouldn't be a fatality - but in many cases, I may be at the scene or responding to the scene."
Three unopposed races
First District commissioner: John Glavin, a Republican, is seeking the full-time position, which pays $27,390 a year. Glavin, 59, is the incumbent commissioner. He worked 27 years at ABB Incorporated, making transformers in Jefferson City. He has also farmed.
Glavin said the county has dealt with an inexperienced sheriff for the past several years. He believes law enforcement needs to be addressed, and the commissioners need to help develop the sheriff department's budget to ensure the department is running as efficiently as possible.
Public administrator: Paul Stratman, a Republican, is seeking the full-time seat, which pays $25,000 a year. Stratman, 49, has been public administrator for 16 years. He has worked at the Bank of Freeburg's St. Elizabeth branch, Huebler Industries for 11 years and in sales for billiards industries.
Surveyor: Timothy Hamburg, a Democrat, is seeking the part-time position, which pays $5,000 a year. Hamburg could not be reached for comment.