Elections

Running for his fourth term on the Shelby County Board of Education, Sam Hinkle has a focus on one thing: achievement.

Hinkle, who for 12 years has served District 2, said “Academic achievement for all students” is the biggest issue facing the board.

He points to three programs as the board’s biggest achievements in his time — all-day kindergarten, the accelerated academies at both high schools and summer school for those needing extra help in reading — and all three are focused on achievement.

Voters in Shelbyville will have more choices this year than maybe ever when they fill out the ballot on Nov. 6 for the Shelbyville City Council race.

In May, for the first time since 1998, there was a Democratic primary, with seven candidates vying for six spots, and now for the November election five Republicans are added to the list, more than any election in at least 20 years.

And that includes all six sitting council members.

Last week, Shelby County joined the ranks of communities across the nation in which residents have been discovering that political signs have been disappearing from their yards.

Also, the thief – or thieves – appears to be bipartisan: Both Republican and Democratic signs have gone missing.

Shelby County Republican Party Chair Jennifer Decker said she first heard talk during the weekend about signs being missing, presidential signs in particular.

Sharon Cummins, who has spent most of her life as a resident of Simpsonville, is seeking a third term on the Simpsonville City Commission.

Cummins is one of five candidates for the four spots on the commission, to which she was elected in 2008. Elections are non-partisan and are held every two years, with the mayor elected to a 4-year term.