Who will be the new Dist. 5 school board member?

As the deadline for letters of interest ended Tuesday there were a total of eight candidates to be considered by the Grady County Board of Education to fill the District 5 vacancy created by the departure of Scott Higginbotham.
Higginbotham vacated his post by qualifying to run for Cairo mayor.
School board members will meet behind closed doors next Tuesday to discuss and deliberate upon the appointment of Higginbotham’s replacement.
Board Chairman Drew Pyrz said that the board would make a decision Tuesday night and would vote on a replacement.
“All of the candidates who have applied would make an excellent board member. It will be a tough decision for us as a board to narrow the field down to one,” Chairman Pyrz said this week.
The eight candidates have a variety of backgrounds and occupations.
Carter Ausley, 198 Oakdale Road S.E, owns and operates Carter’s Cleaners here in Cairo. Ausley, 51, and his wife, Michelle, are the parents of Jacob, a 2013 Cairo High School graduate, and Alyson, who is a seventh grader at Washington Middle School.
Jim Ellis, 65, is the Grady County Emergency Management Director. He and his wife, Sandy, a retired public educator, reside at 1723 Lakewood Drive S.E. All three of their children, Trent, Stan and Tracy graduated from Cairo High School.
Joyce L. Herndon, 69, is a retired public school teacher. She and her husband, Wayne, reside at 1523 Lullwater Circle.
Hope Hurst, 44, is a hairstylist and salon owner. She and her husband, Tim, reside at 1585 South Broad Street. Their daughter, Hannah, is a student at Georgia Southern University and their son, Seth, is a freshman at Cairo High School.
The Rev. Dr. Ron McCaskill, 64, is a local minister. He and his wife, Fran, reside at 1900 Lakewood Drive. Their three sons, Shawn, heath, and Matt, all graduated from Cairo High School. Mrs. McCaskill is retired and her career included 11 years as media specialist at Southside Elementary School. He is the pastor of Summit Baptist Church here and the former pastor of Cairo First Baptist Church.
Terry Prince, 59, is a local accountant and operating his own accounting firm. He and his wife, Teresa, reside at 1854 Lakewood Drive S.E. Mrs. Prince is employed as a school teacher at Southside Elementary School. Their grown children, Carrie and Georgia, are both graduates of Cairo High School.
John White, 47, is an eligibility supervisor with the Department of Family & Children Services. He and his wife, Tia, reside at 223 Sleepy Hollow in Cairo. Mrs. White is the daughter of former school superintendent Larry Rawlins and Judy Rawlins. The Whites have a daughter, Emily, who is a freshman at Cairo High School.
Dave Dumas, 327 Horseshoe Bend S.E., announced his candidacy to school officials last Wednesday. He is married to the former Ashley Flowers, who teaches in Thomas County.
Dumas could not be reached for additional information prior to Messenger presstime.