Concordia Parish polls close at 8 p.m.

Published 12:04 am Saturday, October 22, 2011

ERIC SHELTON | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT Jim Sanders, right, and Michael Burley deliver voting machines to the Clayton City Hall on Shady Lane in Clayton Friday.

Vidalia — Concordia Parish polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. toady for local and state elections.

Candidates for the offices of Concordia Parish sheriff, tax assessor and District 21 representative will be on the ballot.

Robert “Rock” Davis, Kenneth Hedrick and Charles “Junior” Tarver are vying for the position of parish sheriff.

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Tax assessor candidates are Jerry Clark and Ryan Paul.

Candidates to represent the district in the statehouse are incumbent Andy Anders and Ferriday resident Justin “Preacher” Conner.

Ridgecrest Aldermen up for election are Cindy Halford and Jamie Harrison.

Statewide, the ballot will also include spots for the races for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, commissioner of agriculture and commissioner of insurance. Keith Guice and “Jay” Guillot are running for Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, District 5.

Several constitutional amendments and propositions will be on the ballot.

A vote for Amendment 1 supports taking the money Louisiana receives from its settlement of a lawsuit against tobacco manufacturers and applying that money to the TOPS scholarship program — making 4 cents of the current 36-cent tax on cigarettes in the state permanent.

A vote for Amendment 2 supports a public retirement systems bill meant to partially solve the issue of unfunded liabilities to retired public employees, by applying 5 percent of all “non-recurring revenue” to paying these liabilities up until 2015 and then the number would increase to 10 percent.

A vote for Amendment 3 supports the Patient’s Compensation Fund, a state-run agency, assists in paying malpractice claims by health care providers. Its passage would remove state government’s access to the fund, ensuring that none of the money can be used for any purpose other than compensation.

A vote for Amendment 4 supports the mandate that mineral (including oil) revenues be partially used to replenish the state’s rainy-day fund.

A vote for Amendment 5 supports an attempt to strengthen the housing market in New Orleans and finally handle many abandoned properties left over from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

The Concordia Parish ballot also includes a parishwide proposition called the Disabled Veterans Homestead Exemption. It authorizes an additional homestead exemption in the Parish of Concordia, State of Louisiana, for certain disabled veterans and surviving spouses. Voters will vote yes or no.