Cross County voters renewed the tax supporting CrossRidge Community Hospital for another four years while the Wynne School Board Zone 3 seat was left undecided Tuesday.
The one-cent sales tax for CrossRidge received 1,991 votes in favor or roughly 74% of the vote compared to 678 votes or 25% against.
“It’s just very humbling when your survival depends on people voting for you and willing to give their money to support your enterprise. It is just a very humbling process. Lots of people worked hard,” said Gary Sparks, administrator of CrossRidge Community Hospital. “It’s difficult times in Wynne with the tornado and other issues we’ve had. It was just a little bit different election, but still very gratifying to have the support of our county and to be able to provide value to our county… both in regards to healthcare and also the economic impact we have on our county.”
Sparks said the approval of the tax support was vitally important for CrossRidge, especially in the current fiscal environment.
“Financially, we had to have it,” he said. “We had a fairly large loss last year of $600,000, and we’re not off to a good start this year. That’s not unique to CrossRidge. Rural hospitals 60 percent big and small are losing money. … We’re having difficulty getting paid from the insurance companies. That’s really the big issue. The last three years in essence we’ve lost $3 million of reimbursement predominantly Medicare Advantage, but some commercial. I hope people have an appreciation for the situation we’re in. We absolutely had to have this.”
The three-way race for the Wynne School Board Zone 3 seat ended up in a run-off between incumbent Stacie Caldwell Schlenker and challenger Emily Watts. Schlenker received 310 votes or 48.59% of the vote. Watts received 172 votes or 26.96%, edging out Dub Smith who took 152 votes or 23.82%. The school board run-off is set for Tuesday, April 2.
Kenneth Tyler Pulley won a seat on the Cross County School Board in Zone 7, receiving 60 votes or 50.42% compared to 54 votes or 45.38% for Lakeisha Jones.
Jay Gahr unseated incumbent JP District 8 Jerry Rushing, receiving 210 votes to Rushing’s 144 votes. Amy Imboden won re-election to JP District 1, taking 185 votes compared with 102 votes for challenger Renee Boeckmann. Chris Bouland won the Constable District 1 race over Rome Helton by a margin of 566 to 203.
Two other state races ended in a runoff. Rhonda Wood led a four-candidate race for Chief Justice of the Arkansas State Supreme Court with 101,019 votes over Karen Baker with 98,576. Barbara Webb received 97,543 votes, and Jay Martin took 75,303 votes. Wood and Baker are projected to meet in a runoff on Nov. 5.
Courtney Hudson appeared to be the favorite in the Associate Justice Pos. 2 race over Carlton Jones. Hudson received 221,090 votes to Jones’ 143,864.
The other runoff will be in the Democratic primary for House District 35, which includes the western part of Crittenden County and eastern part of Cross County including Parkin. Demetris Johnson, Jr. and Raymond Whiteside advanced to the run-off in the four-candidate race. Robert Thorne, Jr. won the Republican nomination for the District 35 seat, which was formerly held by Milton Nicks of Marion.
Voter turnout for the primary election was 28.9% in Cross County.
Below are unofficial election results from the Cross County Election Commission:
1% Sales and Use Tax
| Total | Vote % | Absentee | Early Voting | Election Day | |
| For | 1,991 | 73.55% | 13 | 1,190 | 788 |
| Against | 678 | 25.05% | 0 | 333 | 345 |
Wynne School Board Zone 3
| Total | Vote % | Absentee | Early Voting | Election Day | |
| Stacie Caldwell Schlenker | 310 | 48.59% | 0 | 221 | 89 |
| William “Dub” Smith | 152 | 23.82% | 1 | 103 | 48 |
| Emily Watts | 172 | 26.96% | 0 | 121 | 51 |
Cross County School Board Zone 7
| Total | Vote % | Absentee | Early Voting | Election Day | |
| Lakeisha Jones | 54 | 45.38% | 2 | 20 | 32 |
| Kenneth Tyler Pulley | 60 | 50.42% | 0 | 14 | 46 |
Rep. Justice of the Peace District 1
| Total | Vote % | Absentee | Early Voting | Election Day | |
| Amy Imboden | 185 | 60.66% | 1 | 66 | 118 |
| Renee Boeckmann | 102 | 33.44% | 0 | 42 | 60 |
Rep. Justice of the Peace District 8
| Total | Vote % | Absentee | Early Voting | Election Day | |
| Jay Gahr | 210 | 55.56% | 0 | 132 | 78 |
| Jerry Rushing | 144 | 38.10% | 0 | 96 | 48 |
Rep. Constable 1
| Total | Vote % | Absentee | Early Voting | Election Day | |
| Chris Bouland | 566 | 67.78% | 2 | 224 | 340 |
| Rome Helton | 203 | 24.31% | 0 | 88 | 115 |
Rep. State Representative District 35
| Total | Vote % | Absentee | Early Voting | Election Day | |
| Gary Tobar | 3 | 7.32% | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Robert Thorne, Jr. | 34 | 82.93% | 0 | 17 | 17 |
Dem. State Representative District 35
| Total | Vote % | Absentee | Early Voting | Election Day | |
| Sherry Holliman | 9 | 16.07% | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Raymond Whiteside | 16 | 28.57% | 0 | 9 | 7 |
| Demetris Johnson, Jr. | 27 | 48.21% | 0 | 2 | 25 |
| Jessie McGruder | 4 | 7.14% | 0 | 0 | 4 |
State Sup. Ct. Chief Justice Pos. 1
| Total | Vote % | Absentee | Early Voting | Election Day | |
| Rhonda Wood | 796 | 29.41% | 5 | 460 | 331 |
| Karen Baker | 833 | 30.77% | 2 | 462 | 369 |
| Jay Martin | 291 | 10.75% | 0 | 156 | 135 |
| Barbara Womack Webb | 425 | 15.70% | 4 | 264 | 157 |
State Sup. Ct. Assoc. Justice Pos. 2
| Total | Vote % | Absentee | Early Voting | Election Day | |
| Carlton D. Jones | 834 | 30.81% | 4 | 455 | 375 |
| Courtney Hudson | 1,449 | 53.53% | 6 | 847 | 596 |
