Belle voters on April 8 selected two new aldermen and extended a countywide law enforcement sales tax for the Maries County Sheriff’s Office. Voters in Public Water Supply District No. 1 of Maries County approved a $10 million bond.

In Ward 1, Rebecca Withouse received 43 votes for the win against three-year incumbent Alderman Barbara Howarth. Withouse obtained 23 out of 40 ballots cast in Osage County-Belle, or 57.5 percent of the vote. She received 20 out of 27, or 74.07 percent of the vote, in Maries County-Belle.

“I am honored and humbled to have been given the privilege of representing Ward 1 on the board of aldermen,” Withouse said. “Thank you to everyone who believed in this campaign, who supported me, and who showed up for our community.”

Howarth received 24 votes total in both precincts — 17 votes, or 42.5 percent in Osage County-Belle and seven votes in Maries County-Belle.

In Ward 2, contender Seth Klein triumphed against incumbent Alderman Kevin Guffey and fellow contender Terrance Connors. Klein received 32 votes, or 48.48 percent, to Guffey’s 30 votes, or 45.45 percent, and Connors four votes, or 6.06 percent, taking the seat.

“Thank you for this opportunity to step up and take on a new role within our community,” Klein said. “I have been thankful to live within and work in our community my entire life and I can’t wait to be able to give back to this community that has given me so much.”

Voters countywide passed Proposition A, an extension of the county’s one-third of one-half cent sales tax to support the sheriff’s office. Last year, the tax brought the sheriff’s office more than $126,000 in revenue.

Proposition A passed with 397 votes for it and 121 votes against it, or about 76.6 percent of voters supporting it. The approval increased from about 72.3 percent the last time the tax was on the ballot in April 2015, though this year’s election had 430 fewer voters.

The tax has a 10-year sunset, so it will expire in September 2035 without another extension.

Voters in the Public Water Supply No. 1 of Maries County approved a $10 million bond for the purposes of acquiring, constructing, extending and improving its waterworks system. A total of 125 voters supported the bond and 38 people voted against it for an approval rate of about 76.6 percent.

City Clerk Rhonda Brewer estimated an eight percent turnout on April 9, up from the six percent prediction.

With reporting by Colin Willard.