Editor’s Note: Today The DAILY LEADER continuesa special question-and-answer series with candidates in someimportant upcoming county elections. Featured today is the race forDistrict Five Supervisor. Candidates Bob K. Smith and Gary Walkerparticipated. Candidates Darrell Britt, Harry Solon Case, DouglasFalvey and Michael Assink chose not to take part.

Do you think Lincoln County needs to upgrade the opticalscanner equipment used for voting in county elections? Pleaseexplain your answer.

Bob K. Smith: The optical scanner equipmentbeing utilized to read the voters’ ballots has been in use for onlytwo years. My research of the equipment indicates that themanufacturer’s expected utilization or life of their product iswell over two years. While there have been some incidents ofballots sticking, there has been an investigation, discussions withthe manufacturer and corrective actions have been implemented bylocal officials to eliminate the problem. At this time, I do notsee the need for upgrading the optical equipment.

There are a number of other methods that are available forfuture consideration. The “touch screen” method of voting isperhaps the state-of-the-art method and it is being evaluated bythe local officials as a future consideration. The federalgovernment is presently considering providing funds for enhancingvoting methods and is being monitored by local officials for futureaction.

Gary Walker: No, our voting machine is only twoand a half years old and does a good job. The state told us anywayto wait before replacing it, to see how much federal money came tothe state.

What needs does your district have that are differentfrom the other four supervisor districts? Explain how you can makethe best use of the available funds to meet the needs of yourdistrict.

Bob K. Smith: District 5 has a large anddiversified geographic area ranging from very rural communities tothe city. Each and every resident pays taxes and deservesrepresentation and support by their supervisor. My experience inbusiness and management has shown that communication is anessential tool for maintaining common goals for progress. Assupervisor of District 5, I plan to meet regularly with keycommunity representatives from each of the six precincts to discusscommunity concerns and priorities. A quarterly newsletter will bepublished in the newspaper and on my websitehttp://users.telepak.net/~bobksmith informing District 5 ofactivities that are serving the needs and priorities of ourcommunities.

This is the 21st century, and I believe that District 5’s goalshould be to have every road surfaced. This is not a short-rangegoal and will require significant planning and funding. I will puttogether a “Road and Bridge Recovery Plan” (RBRP) for District 5.This should be a collective effort with local, state and federalagencies and elected officials for all of Lincoln County. Thesafety of children and families and our normal daily commerce is atrisk until this is addressed and corrected. It must be a toppriority for all of us. While this will not be easy, without a”RBRP” goal with detail planning, you can be assured that it willnever happen. Without a vision, planning and execution there willbe no progress.

If you research the ranking of our city and county schools, youwill find that they are ranked high in educational attributes andextracurricular activities. It is essential that we make everyeffort to continue this trend. The future of our children and ourcommunities depend on it. A number of schools are physicallylocated in District 5 and I intend to extend District 5 serviceswherever possible to enhance this priority. As a businessman,instructor and public speaker, I plan to offer my time to theschool system to speak to and encourage students to prepare for aproductive future. Positive leadership is critical for our youthand the investment for the future. As your District 5 supervisor,our youth will be a priority for me.

Funding is always going to be an issue in any undertaking wepursue. While it may be an obstacle, it should not be a reason fornot planning and aggressively pursuing goals to improve the “RBRP,”community and faith based youth programs, educational enhancementsand economic development for better paying jobs. Management’sformula for project success is: establish goals, detail planning,execution, and follow-up. I will utilize my skills and 31 years ofmanagement experience to be “a voice for District 5,” LincolnCounty and the city of Brookhaven for a progressive future for youand our families.

Gary Walker: The needs of the districts arevery similiar. The one difference is gravel roads. District 5 hasmore gravel than anyone else. In 2001, I went to Washington, D.C.,and applied for a grant for a road through the national forest atCaseyville. With the help of our county engineer we received thegrant, which could only be put in a national forest. At this time,the road is being surveyed for the roadwork to start. This roadwill take away 6-8 miles of gravel road at Caseyville. It will runfrom one half mile above Caseyville to the Franklin County linebelow the old artesian water well.

Monday: Senate District 39.