Mevert, Ruebke win election in Steeleville
<span style="font-weight: 400;">There will be some fresh faces on the Steeleville Village Board and the Steeleville District 138 Board of Education for the next few years as newcomers Larry Ruebke and Jim Mevert were elected to the respective entities.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">On the village board, Ruebke will join two incumbents, Tim Eichenseer and Cindy Sickmeyer, who both won another four-year term in Tuesday's consolidated election.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">"Honestly, I really want to thank everybody for their vote," said Eichenseer, who received the most votes (315) of the 1,538 cast. "I think we've done a lot over the last four years and we've done a significant amount of development in the community.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'm very proud to be a part of that."</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Both races featured four people running for three spots, with the lowest vote-getter getting knocked out. On the village board that was Shane Hill, who received 226 votes to Ruebke's 269.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Sickmeyer received 306 votes.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">"I would like to see some major repairs to our infrastructure and with that, it would help to improve the quality of services the village provides," Eichenseer said on his vision for the next four years. "I'm looking forward to working with the board and Mayor (Bob) Sutton and the county commissioners to not only improve our county, but also the village that we have."</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">On the board of education, Mevert received the most votes with 490, followed by incumbents Fred Frederking (473) and Rick Smith (392).</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Incumbent Margo Thein-Block was defeated with 259 votes.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">"I just really appreciate everyone coming out and voting for me and giving me another four years on the school board," Frederking said. "I truly enjoy being involved with the school board and the community. We work hard to keep our budget in the black."</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Frederking noted the recent renovation to the Steeleville High School science lab and other projects as signs of improvement in the district. He also identified a possibility he would like to see examined in his next term.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">"We've lost our band at Steeleville and a lot of people have made the comment to me that they'd like to see that come back," he said. "If there's a way to do that and keep within budget, I'd like to do that."</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Frederking stated that he knows Mevert on a personal level and is looking forward to having him on the board.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">"He'll be an asset to the board for sure," he said.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">All the candidates will be sworn in next month.</span>