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WHEELING -- Ohio County voters Tuesday elected two retired teachers to serve on the Ohio County Board of Education.
Peter Chacalos and Grace Norton were selected from among six candidates seeking the open seats most recently held by Zach Abraham and Sarah Koegler, neither of whom sought re-election. Chacalos and Norton will take office in July.
There are five members on the board of education, and state code requires at least one member represent each of three magistrate districts in the county -- with no more than two representing any one district.
Chacalos had the most votes in the race with 4,717, with Karen Shuler Stakem receiving the second most at 4,383. Both live in the 2nd Magisterial District, and current member David Croft already represents that district. This meant Stakem did not win the second seat.
Norton, who lives in the 1st Magistrate District, was next in line with 2,643 votes. Coming in behind her were John Gearry with 2,563, Scott Mumper with 2,332, and Charlie Hercules with 1,788.
"Thanks for having the faith in me," Chacalos said to voters. "I will do my best to do best for Ohio County Schools.
"I need to get caught up to date on the bond issue. Then make sure we do things the right way and the ethical way."
He praised the county for its efforts at making school district information available to the public, and we will maintain his own website to get out information.
"We are all in uncharted waters with the pandemic and going back to school," Chacalos said. "We will get that taken care of first and hopefully have a great year."
Norton also thanked all those who voted for her.
"I promise to work hard, bring everything I know an my experience to bring the best for students in the county," she said.
Norton said first thing she wants to push is the establishment of policies for online learning in the school district. She said there currently aren't any for students or teachers.
She also wants to change the way the county selects its superintendent so that more candidates from outside the county are considered for the job.
"We have had two in a row who were former principals," she said. "There needs to be a process that brings in more people. We need to have a process that attracts a wider pool of candidates, and gets fresher eyes."