SOUTH POINT – Although one candidate for South Point Village Council will not return for a second term in January, no new faces will appear at the council table, either.

Wednesday, November 03, 1999

SOUTH POINT – Although one candidate for South Point Village Council will not return for a second term in January, no new faces will appear at the council table, either.

After earning a majority vote victory in Tuesday’s election, former councilwoman Marlene Arthur will return to the seat she vacated in 1998 after two consecutive terms.

Mrs. Arthur finished Tuesday evening with 829 votes, giving her more than 40 percent of the total votes cast – enough to push into the lead and defeat incumbent council member David Hamm, who was running for his second term. Hamm captured only 587 votes and finished third.

"I’m tickled to death," Mrs. Arthur said after hearing the news she will return to council in January. "I really enjoyed my time on council, and I’m certainly glad to be back. I’m ready to work hard for the residents of the village."

Re-elected after his first term, incumbent candidate Buel Collins also will return to council chambers in January.

"I’m happy that the people selected me to serve another four years," Collins said. "I’ll do my best to continue the good work we’ve been doing."

In a landslide victory, South Point Mayor Bill Gaskin also reclaimed his position with 983 votes over challenger Roger Watkins’s 268 votes.

"Now that we’ve got the election behind us, we need to just keep doing what we’ve been doing," Gaskin said.

Villagers can expect few major changes in the coming years, he added.

"We want to keep the services the same and concentrate on the high quality, but there is only one major change we’re looking at right now," he said. "The Empowerment Zone funding can mean great things for the village, and we have to do what we can in bringing that about."