It didn’t take long last night to find out the winners in yesterday’s election. Just about an hour after the polls closed, Republican Lanny Thomas was declared the winner in State Senate District 53 race. Thomas won over Democrat Jack Zibluk with 69% of the vote. The race for Congress to represent the 14th District went a little longer. By 8:30pm last night, Republican Clay Fuller was declared the winner. Fuller defeated Democrat Shawn Harris. Both Thomas and Fuller will be back on the ballot again next month. Party primaries are scheduled for May 19, with a possible runoff on June 16, followed by the general election in November. Early voting is set to begin April 27.
Voter turnout yesterday in Walker County. 11,022 votes were cast. Thats 25% of the registered voters in the county.
The Walker County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help investigating a burglary at Saddle Ridge Elementary-Middle School. Sheriff Steve Wilson says the break-in happened sometime between March 27th and April 6th during spring break at the school’s Forest Kindergarten building. Investigators say suspects forced entry and damaged or stole several outdoor items, including a ninja obstacle course, zip line, hammocks, cargo nets, and camping chairs, with losses estimated at about 23-hundred dollars. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Walker County Sheriff’s Office.
More than 400-thousand vehicles are being recalled by Ford Motor Company due to a windshield wiper arm defect that could cause the wipers to fail. The recall includes 2021 through 2023 Navigator SUVs, Expedition models, and Super Duty pickups built between October 2021 and December 2022. Ford says customers will begin receiving notification letters starting April 13th, and dealers will inspect and replace the wiper arms at no cost. Drivers are advised to wait for official communication and reference recall number 26-S-24 when contacting Ford or their local dealer.