Yarina elected Lowville justice
LOWVILLE — A longtime municipal court clerk on Tuesday won a three-way race for Lowville village justice.
Patricia H. Yarina received 158 votes, finishing well ahead of attorney Adam R. Matteson with 64 votes and crossing guard/ice rink overseer Janet L. Lee with seven votes in the race for the four-year seat.
Christy L. Cole, who has held the position since 2002, decided not to run for a third term.
"I just want to say thank you to all the voters for their support," Mrs. Yarina said. "I assure them I will do the best job I can possibly do."
The judge-elect since last March has served as acting village justice, conducting arraignments when elected justices are unavailable. Village trustees will likely appoint a replacement.
Mrs. Yarina also serves as part-time court clerk for Martinsburg Town Justice Rose M. Spann, Lowville Town Justice John J. Youngs, Watson Town Justice Gregory Burker and Anthony Cerulli, who is judge for the town of Leyden and village of Port Leyden and acting judge for the town of Lyonsdale.
Noting that she'll have the assistance of a full-time court clerk as village judge, Mrs. Yarina said she hopes to be able to handle her judicial responsibilities while maintaining her clerk positions.
"They're very supportive of it," she said.
Three Lewis County villages had contested trustee races:
In Lyons Falls, 90 people voted. Donna Dolhof and Jeffrey Hoskins earned two-year trustee seats with 75 and 47 votes, respectively, followed by Michael Poste with 36 votes and Fausta Poste with 17.
Catherine Liendecker, president of Lyons Falls Alive, received 79 votes to earn a two-year term as mayor. Mr. Hoskins and Gary Jock received one write-in vote apiece.
In Port Leyden, 74 people voted. Trustees Peter Smith and Peter Kraeger earned two more years with 65 and 60 votes, respectively, followed by past Constableville Mayor James Cough with 13 votes.
Results were not available Tuesday night from Turin. Former Mayor William Kapfer opposed Trustee William Paczkowski in his bid for another four-year term, while current Mayor Douglas Hunt ran unopposed.
Two other Lewis County villages had uncontested trustee races:
In Constableville, 12 people voted, and Robert Greene and Cortney Markham each received 12 votes for two-year trustee seats.
And in Copenhagen, 42 people voted, with Scott Alexander receiving 40 votes and Kim Vogt receiving 35 for two-year trustee seats. John Drewes received two write-in votes.
There were no elections this year in Castorland or Croghan.
