PINE GROVE – Only one incumbent out of three will return to office in the Rock Hill School District, with only eight votes deciding the critical third seat.

Wednesday, November 03, 1999

PINE GROVE – Only one incumbent out of three will return to office in the Rock Hill School District, with only eight votes deciding the critical third seat.

Incumbent Fred Wells kept his seat, while his fellow board members Jimmy Dale Massie and Terry Barker lost their spots to challengers.

Capturing the largest number of votes in the district was Carl Large, who garnered 1,406 of the total votes cast.

First-time candidate Jackie Harris edged out the hotly contested third seat, with 16.75 percent of the total, giving her just the majority she needed to bring home third-place honors – and a position on the board of education.

Prior to the election, Mrs. Harris said her experience in the educational system through being a parent and an active member of the Parent Teacher Organization would assist her in making decisions based on the district’s needs.

Voters decided to fulfill Mrs. Harris’s requests and granted her 1,212 total votes, allowing her to squeak by Barker.

Large and Mrs. Harris unseated incumbents Massie, who received only 15 percent of the total vote, and Barker, who finished a close fourth with 16.64 percent.

With only 18.38 percent of the total vote, Fred Wells reclaimed his seat on the Rock Hill Board of Education for a third term. Wells’s 1,330 votes placed him in second place overall.

"I really appreciate the support I received and I’ll continue to do what is best for the students and the people of the Rock Hill School District," Wells said. "It was a close race, but a good race. It stayed clean all the way through."

Another first-time candidate, Large captured the majority vote of 19.43 percent, which earned him his first term as a board member.

"I appreciate the support of the voters," Large said after receiving 1,406 votes of the total 7,235 votes cast in the district. "I’m looking forward to working with the other board members and to making decisions that will be beneficial to the students, the staff and to the educational system."

Mrs. Harris was not available for comment.

Other totals included Tim Crank with 632 votes or 9 percent; and Jesse Boles with 359 votes or 5 percent.