Who will fill the seats?: Village of Bakersfield

These candidates are running  in contested races in county

The residents whose “profiles” appear on this page are running in Ozark County’s five contested races in the April 3 general municipal election. They are seeking seats on school boards in Bakersfield and Gainesville, village boards in Bakersfield and Theodosia, and the mayor’s race in Gainesville.
Seats are also expiring in other school and municipal boards (see related story, page 1), but candidates in those races are running unopposed, and state law allows government boards to bypass elections when the number of candidates and the number of vacancies is the same.
The Ozark County Times sent brief questionnaires to the candidates in the contested races, asking them to limit their responses to a total of 400 words. The questionnaires asked the candidates about their present employment, their skills and life experiences that qualify them for the positions they seek, the greatest challenges facing the organization they hope to represent, the goals they hope to accomplish if elected and any personal information they wanted to share.
The profiles have been edited to fit the newspaper’s format and, where possible, the edited drafts have been approved by the candidates.

Village of Bakersfield

Jonathan Belt
Current employment: I am currently employed by Baxter Regional Medical Center as a paramedic with the ambulance service.
Skills and life experience: I am a Bakersfield High School graduate, and I also graduated with an associate’s degree in paramedic technology from Arkansas State University-Mountain Home. I attended Missouri State University-West Plains for two years before enlisting in the Army. I spent 7 1/2 years as a medic on active duty. While enlisted, I lived in three different states, attended college at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, and attended multiple leadership schools.
Challenges facing the village of Bakersfield: Bakersfield is a very supportive community. I feel that one of our greatest challenges is informing the people of opportunities that are available for making progress. Without these opportunities, the community doesn’t have an avenue to express its support.
Goals I hope to accomplish: I want to be a member who can help answer people’s questions and present their ideas or concepts to the elected officials. I want the beneficial improvements from the community to be heard and acted on when possible. My hope is to also inform the community when and what business is conducted by the officials. I want Bakersfield to continue to grow and prosper.
Personal: I have been married to my wife, Brittney Belt, for more than five years. I have three children: Kyden, 11; Saydie, 9; and Amerlyn, 3.

Jodi Burns
Present employment: I have taught science at Bakersfield R-IV Middle School for 13 years now. Prior to that, I was a parent educator for 10 years at Bakersfield.
Skills and life experience: I hold a bachelor’s degree in education from Arkansas State University-Mountain Home and a master’s degree in curriculum development from William Woods University in Fulton. I lived in many cities and towns before settling in Bakersfield 24 years ago. I have lived here long enough now to develop a profound appreciation for the people of this community. They are generous and quick to lend a hand, and I am happy to serve them in whatever capacity to which I am called.
Challenges and goals: Our village needs a comprehensive plan on how to respond in the event of an emergency. When everyone knows what their role is, it’s much easier to step in and do your part instead of falling apart when a crisis occurs.  
Personal: I married Donald Burns in 2013 after being a widow for nine years. I have two grown daughters, Rikki and Betsy Minkler.  ​

Stephanie Guffey
Current employment: I work at Bakersfield R-IV School as the high school business education teacher. I have taught school for 14 years, primarily in mathematics.  
Skills and life experience: As a teacher, I have spent a great deal of time and effort organizing and leading groups to accomplish various tasks or projects. I have been a class sponsor every year, and I’ve also been Honor Society adviser, FBLA adviser, 4-H leader and Junior Angus adviser, along with a host of many other leadership roles in and outside of school. I know how to work with others to get a job done, and I am willing to put my own hands and feet to helping serve our community.
Biggest challenge facing the village of Bakersfield: One of the biggest challenges I see facing our community is substantial growth. From our 2000 to 2010 census, our population decreased by about 50 people. In a large town this number is insignificant, but not for a small community like Bakersfield. More and more often we see people move closer to jobs away from home, which hurts our local economy. We need to find a way to clean up, repair and bring back life to our town.  
What goals do you hope to accomplish? I would like to see some of our community and school groups work together to begin some cleaning projects in Bakersfield. I have visited with several community members who have similar concerns and believe that together we can begin accomplishing this goal. Additionally, I would like to see what can be done to bring small businesses back home. In the past few years, we have been making small strides, and I would like see this trend successfully continue. I have a deep love for Bakersfield and want to help see our community prosper.  
Personal: My husband, Stacy, and I have been married 19 years, and we have one daughter, Zoey.  We have a farm in Bakersfield, and my husband logs. We also have a family-operated sawmill and oftentimes, during our days off from school, we work there or on the farm.

Tony Johnson
Current employment: Retired after being employed by Baxter HealthCare for 37 years.
Skills and life experience: I am a Bakersfield High School graduate, and I’ve lived in Bakersfield for 62 years. I have served on the Bakersfield Village Board for 30-plus years, and I am a committed citizen of our town.
Biggest challenge facing the village of Bakersfield: The decline in population affects the income supporting the water and sewer systems. With fewer active accounts/population, it is challenging to maintain lower service rates. I am a conservative, so over the years that I have served on the board, I have put my best attempt/effort forward to make sure funds are reserved for emergencies and repairs. I do hope that if I don’t receive enough votes and I am replaced, the newly elected officials have an open mind and will look ahead to the possibility of future problems and issues. The sewer and water system is the biggest infrastructure our town currently has. We need to focus on the maintenance and upkeep of those important systems. Over the years, the other board members and I have made every effort feasible to do this.
What goals do you hope to accomplish? I worked to get FEMA/SEMA funding after the flooding last April, and the city was awarded about $24,000 for street repairs. I called for an estimate, and we are waiting to see what we can get accomplished with that awarded amount. That is my first goal for April. We recently contacted SCOCOG to see what grant funds are available to benefit the village. I would also like to continue to maintain our system’s income at an affordable rate – and also maintain our system to standards set forth by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Personal: I’ve been married to my wife, Barbara, for 44 years. We have two children, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and four grandchildren.

Tony Schaab
Current employment: I have worked at Baxter HealthCare for seven years, and I’m currently an assistant supervisor in the warehouse.
Skills and life experiences: I have worked on many teams and projects through my 15 total years of employment at Baxter HealthCare. I also owned and operated Tecumseh Convenience for five years.
Biggest challenge facing the village of Bakersfield: I’m sure the water and sewer systems are always at the top of the agenda, but I would also like to see some improvements to the roads and the general appearance of our town.
What goals do you hope to accomplish? The current city council has done an excellent job with projects such as the city park. I would like to help continue with these projects as well as make new improvements throughout the town.
Personal information: I have lived in or around Bakersfield since 1992. My wife, Jessica, and I have two young boys. Trigger will turn 5 at the end of April, and Wade will turn 2 at the end of May.