November 30, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Donny Green, County Executive Director of the DeKalb/Cannon County Farm Service Agency, reminds DeKalb and Cannon County eligible voters in Local Administrative Areas (LAA) # 1 (DeKalb County) and # 5 (Cannon County) that Monday, December 3 is the deadline to return election ballots. If ballots are returned by mail, they must be postmarked by December 3, 2018. If they are delivered to the office in person, they must be delivered by 4:30 p.m. December 3, 2018.
Randall West and Jimmy Womack are candidates nominated for LAA # 1 (DeKalb Co.). Both candidates have been certified as eligible candidates. Randall West is currently completing his first 3-year term on the DeKalb FSA County Committee. Both Mr. West and Mr. Womack operate beef cattle farms in the Jacobs Pillar community.
Robert “Bob” Melton is the only candidate nominated for LAA # 5 (Cannon Co.). Bob has been certified as an eligible candidate. Mr. Melton is a retired Cannon County vocational agriculture teacher and operates a livestock farm in the Hollis Creek area of Cannon County. Bob is completing his first 3-year term on the DeKalb/Cannon FSA County Committee.
Write-in nominations can be accepted on ballots. However, the write-in nominee must meet eligibility criteria and attest to his or her willingness to serve, if elected, by signing a nominating petition. Agricultural producers were encouraged to submit candidate names during the nomination period that ended August 1, 2018.
To be an eligible voter, farmers and ranchers must participate or cooperate in FSA programs. A person who is not of legal voting age but supervises and conducts the farming operations of an entire farm can also vote.
Eligible voters in DeKalb County LAA # 1 or Cannon County LAA # 5 who did not receive a ballot can obtain a ballot at their local USDA Service Center. The DeKalb/Cannon FSA County Committee will meet on December 4, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. to canvass and tabulate the ballots. This meeting is open to the public. The newly elected committee member and alternates take office January 1st, 2019.