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Hartselle Enquirer

Morgan County candidates win local, statewide seats

Two Hartselle natives won their respective races following the midterm election held tonight. Hartselle Chief of Police Ron Puckett ran unopposed and was named Morgan County Sheriff. Puckett will take office Jan. 15. The cornerstones of Puckett’s campaign have been integrity, honesty and character. “I want to continue serving the people of Hartselle, as well as those in the county, in a new position and I’m really honored that the county has put their trust in me to take on that different mantle and I want to be a sheriff that the citizens, at the end of my tenure, will be proud of.”

Puckett said that he is humbled that the citizens of Morgan County trusted him with their votes. “It’s a lot of weight,” he said. “They are putting their faith in me to do a good job, to be a man of (my) word, to be a sheriff that’s accessible … it is a very heavy load and I take that on not as a burden – I take it on as an honor and a privilege.”

Scott Stadthagen was named District 9 State Representative following his Democratic opponent, Terrie Jones Savage,  dropping out of the race in August. Stadthagen sought the position after Rep. Ed Henry-R, announced his decision to not seek reelection.

Bill Hopkins-R won the race for Morgan County Schools superintendent. Hopkins ran against Glenn Bryant-D for the race. Hopkins has served as superintendent for eight years prior to his reelection.

Jeff Clark-R won the race for the District One Morgan County Commission. Clark ran against Samuel King-D for the race.

The remaining Morgan County Republican candidates ran unopposed.

  • Jennifer Millwee Howell, Circuit Court Judge, Place No. 1
  • Charles Elliott, Circuit Court Judge, Place No. 2
  • Stephen Fate Brown, Circuit Court Judge, Place No. 3
  • Shelly Slate Waters, District Court Judge, Morgan County, Place No. 2
  • Chris Priest, Circuit Clerk, Morgan County
  • Greg Cain, Morgan County Judge of Probate
  • Randy Vest, Morgan County Commission District No. 2
  • Jeff Chunn, Morgan County Coroner
  • Billy J. Rhodes, Morgan County Board of Education, District No. 1
  • Jimmy Dobbs, Morgan County Board of Education, District No. 5

State Election Results 

Kay Ivey-R defeated Walt Maddox-D for governor of Alabama; Will Ainsworth-R defeated Will Boyd-D for lieutenant governor; Mo Brooks-R defeated Peter Joffrion-D for Representative, 5th Congressional District; Steve Marshall-R defeated Joseph Siegelman-D for attorney general; Tom Parker-R defeated Bob Vance-D for chief justice of the supreme court; Jay Mitchell-R defeated Donna Wesson Smalley-D for associate justice of the supreme court, place no. 4; John H. Merrill-R defeated Heather Milam-D for secretary of state; Jim Zeigler-R defeated Miranda Karrine Joseph-D for state auditor; Jeremy H. Oden-R defeated Cara McClure-D for public service commission, place no. 1; Chris “Chip” Beeker, Jr.-R defeated Kari Powell-D for public service commission, place no 2; Parker Duncan Moore-R defeated Jo Ann Cummings-D and Polan “Pete” Willis, Jr.-I for state representative, district no. 4; Proncey Robertson-R defeated Kenneth A. Brackins-D for state representative, district no. 7 and Terri Collins-R defeated Billy Jackson-D for state representative, district no. 8.

The remaining Republican candidates ran opposed.

  • Arthur Orr, State Senator, District No. 3
  • Sarah Hicks Stewart, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Place No. 1
  • Tommy Bryan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Place No. 2
  • Will Sellers, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Place No. 3
  • Christy Olinger Edwards, Court of Civil Appeals Judge, Place No. 1
  • Chad Hanson, Court of Civil Appeals Judge, Place No. 2
  • Terry A. Moore, Court of Civil Appeals Judge, Place No. 3
  • Richard Minor, Court of Criminal Appeals Judge, Place No. 1
  • Chris McCool, Court of Criminal Appeals Judge, Place No. 2
  • Bill Cole, Court of Criminal Appeals Judge, Place No. 3
  • John McMillan, State Treasurer
  • Rick Pate, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries
  • Cynthia McCarty, State Board of Education, District No. 6
  • Randall Shedd, State Representative, District No. 11

State and County Amendments

Amendment No. 1- Passed 

“Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, providing for certain religious rights and liberties; authorizing the display of the Ten Commandments on state property and property owned or administrated by a public school or public body; and prohibiting the expenditure of public funds in defense of the constitutionality of this amendment (Proposed by Act 2018-389)”

Amendment No. 2- Passed 

“Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended; to declare that otherwise affirm that it is the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, most importantly the right to life in all manners and measures appropriate and lawful; and to provide that the constitution of this state does not protect the right to abortion or require the funding of abortion. (Proposed by Act 2017-188)”

Amendment No. 3- Passed

“Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, relating to the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama, to specify that the congressional districts from which members are appointed continue to reflect those as constituted on January 1, 2018, to remove the State Superintendent of Education from membership, and to delete the requirement that members vacate office at the annual meeting to the board following their seventieth birthday. (Proposed by Act 2018-132)

Amendment No. 4- Passed 

“Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to provide that, if a vacancy in either the House of Representatives or the Senate occurs on or after October 1 of the third year of a quadrennium, the seat would remain vacant until a successor is elected at the next succeeding general election. (Proposed by Act 2018-276)”

Local Amendment No. 1- Passed 

“Relating to Morgan County, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to propose a local constitutional amendment to provide that effective beginning the next term of office the annual salary of the Sheriff of Morgan County would be $5,000 less than the annual salary of the char of the Morgan County Commission and to provide that all allowances or amounts received by the sheriff for feeding prisoners would be deposited in a special account and used only for that purpose. (Proposed by Act 2018-92)

Morgan County

20 under 40: Trey Chowning

Falkville

20 under 40: TJ Holmes

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20 under 40: Spencer Bell

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20 under 40: Shelby Keenum

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20 under 40: Rachel Howard

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20 under 40: Mary Virgina Halbrooks

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20 under 40: Maggie McKelvey

Decatur

20 under 40: Maegan Jones

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20 under 40: Lindsey Tapscott

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‘He lets us have sex’: More details emerge on Hartselle man accused of child exploitation 

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Hartselle church creates Easter-themed escape rooms 

Danville

Family tradition: State livestock show legacy spans generations

Editor's picks

Baseball for Beau: More than $8k raised for scholarship named after Hartselle child  

Falkville

20 under 40: Lela Weeks

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20 under 40: Kalleigh Thomas

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20 under 40: Jaime Hatcher

Hartselle

Veteran Hartselle firefighter charged with possessing child porn

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Cerrowire expansion named finalist in Business Alabama Awards  

At a Glance

Work begins on repairing two bridges over I-65 in Morgan County in coming weeks

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Tickets for Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame banquet available

Falkville

Morgan County volunteers celebrated at annual fire department banquet 

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Man jailed for stealing car from jail after earlier release 

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Police: Hartselle man encouraged children to have sex inside his apartment

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20 under 40: Chris Rigoni

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