By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

Tuesday, Nov. 4 is Election Day. The sample ballots for each of the six precincts in Guthrie County can be viewed at the Guthrie County website. To view a sample ballot, go to the website of Guthrie County (guthriecounty.gov) then click on Elections, then click on Upcoming Elections, then on Sample Ballots, then click on one of the six precincts listed below.

Below are the registered candidates in each race on the ballots. Unless noted differently in parentheses, voters are to vote for up to one candidate in each race. Write-in votes are also an option.

Bayard Precinct

Guthrie Center School 1

• Guthrie Center School Board (2): Kris Langgaard, Adam Franzeen
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Coon Rapids-Bayard School 1

• CRB School Board: (3) Randi Cretsinger, Patrick McAlister
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Audubon School

• Audubon School Board: (2) Laurence H Frakes Jr., Hallie Bruch
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Bayard City

• Mayor: Thomas Wardyn
• City Council At-Large: (3) Shelby Richards, Jessica Pruter, Arnold Kesselring, Andrew Stringer, Nathan McAlister
• CRB School Board: (3) Randi Cretsinger, Patrick McAlister
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Casey Precinct

Adair City

• Mayor: Joanne Byars
• City Council At-Large: (2) Paul Gettler
• Adair-Casey School Board: (3) Blair Carney, Amanda Bireline, Lindsay Dinkla
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Casey City

• Mayor: Bruce Vorm
• City Council At-Large: (2) Cody Sheeder, Jennifer Geren-Penton, Tyler Stolk, LeRoy Hall
• Adair-Casey School Board: (3) Blair Carney, Amanda Bireline, Lindsay Dinkla
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Adair Casey School

• Adair-Casey School Board: (3) Blair Carney, Amanda Bireline, Lindsay Dinkla
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Guthrie Center School 2

• Guthrie Center School Board At-Large: (2) Kris Langgaard, Adam Franzeen
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

West Central Valley School 2

• West Central Valley School Board District 3: Mike Dickson
• West Central Valley School Board District 4: Ashley E. Miller
• West Central Valley School Board District 6: Dustin Foster
• West Central Valley School Board District 7: Jeff Dudley
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Guthrie Center Precinct

Guthrie Center City

• Mayor: Michael A Herbert
• City Council At-Large: (2) Erica Finster, Carolyn Masters
• Guthrie Center School Board: (2) Kris Langgaard, Adam Franzeen
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Guthrie Center School 3

• Guthrie Center School Board: (2) Kris Langgaard, Adam Franzeen
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Panorama School 3

• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts
• Panorama School District Public Measure IV (Yes/No)

West Central Valley School 3

• West Central Valley School Board District 3: Mike Dickson
• West Central Valley School Board District 4: Ashley E. Miller
• West Central Valley School Board District 6: Dustin Foster
• West Central Valley School Board District 7: Jeff Dudley
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Panora Precinct

Panorama DD 2

• Panorama Director District 2: Clinton Deardorff
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts
• Panorama School District Public Measure IV (Yes/No)

Panorama School 4

• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts
• Panorama School District Public Measure IV (Yes/No)

Panora City 5

• City Council: (3) Brian Dorsett, Roger L Dorr, Blake Michelsen
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts
• Panorama School District Public Measure IV (Yes/No)

Panora City 4

• City Council: (3) Brian Dorsett, Roger L Dorr, Blake Michelsen
• Panorama School Board District 4: Mark Cates
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts
• Panorama School District Public Measure IV (Yes/No)

Stuart Precinct

Menlo City

• Mayor: Steve Renslow
• City Council At-Large: (2) James Paul Jones, Gary C Foresman
• West Central Valley School Board District 3: Mike Dickson
• West Central Valley School Board District 4: Ashley E. Miller
• West Central Valley School Board District 6: Dustin Foster
• West Central Valley School Board District 7: Jeff Dudley
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts
• City of Menlo Public Measure IU: (Yes/No)

Stuart City

• Mayor: John Gulbranson, Cory Kirkpatrick
• City Council At-Large: (3) Trevor Nelson, Angela Capps, Alan L Bovee, Kristina Renslow, Zach Ingwers
• West Central Valley School Board District 3: Mike Dickson
• West Central Valley School Board District 4: Ashley E. Miller
• West Central Valley School Board District 6: Dustin Foster
• West Central Valley School Board District 7: Jeff Dudley
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

West Central Valley School 5

• West Central Valley School Board District 3: Mike Dickson
• West Central Valley School Board District 4: Ashley E. Miller
• West Central Valley School Board District 6: Dustin Foster
• West Central Valley School Board District 7: Jeff Dudley
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Yale Precinct

Bagley City

• Mayor: Amanda Waltz
• City Council At-Large: (2) Steven B Joy, Janey Bennett, Deanna Gibson
• City Council At-Large to fill vacancy: none
• Panorama School Board District 1: Heidi Clark
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts
• Panorama School District Public Measure IV (Yes/No)

Jamaica City

• Mayor: none
• City Council At-Large: (3) none
• Panorama School Board District 1: Heidi Clark
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts
• Panorama School District Public Measure IV (Yes/No)

Yale City

• Mayor: Beverly Louk
• City Council At-Large: (3) Clinton Deardorff
• City Council At-Large to fill vacancy: (2) Diane Chase
• Panorama School Board District 2: Clinton Deardorff
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts
• Panorama School District Public Measure IV (Yes/No)

Coon Rapids-Bayard School 6

• Coon Rapids-Bayard School Board At-Large: (3) Randi Cretsinger, Patrick McAlister
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Guthrie Center School 6

• Guthrie Center School Board: (2) Kris Langgaard, Adam Franzeen
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts

Panorama Director District 1

• Panorama School Board District 1: Heidi Clark
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts
• Panorama School District Public Measure IV (Yes/No)

Panorama Director District 2

• Panorama School Board District 2: Clinton Deardorff
• DMACC Director: Trish Roberts
• Panorama School District Public Measure IV (Yes/No)

Cara Caltrider devotes approximately 30 hours per week to her candles and other creations.

By Rich Wicks | Guthrie Center Times, October 2025

In her spare time, a young local hobbyist/entrepreneur is enjoying the sweet smell of success as customers enjoy the pleasant aromas of the products she creates. Cara Caltrider’s venture is known as Casey Candle Company. She explained how she started.

“I started it in 2023. When I was in high school, I had the dream of starting my own company. I created my first candle in my parents’ kitchen, and I had to do a lot of research about how to make candles. Then, during college, I kind of took a break, but I got back into it later,” Caltrider said. “When I first started, I slowly kept branching out. It’s been a lot of trial and error. Now, I make candles, countertop sprays, room sprays, wax melts, dough bowls and car diffusers.”

Although she has a fulltime job, Caltrider still devotes approximately 30 hours per week to her candles and other creations.

Caltrider enjoys offering her items at vendor markets in the area but has also found shelf space in two local stores.

“I do a lot of vendor events in area towns on the weekends,” she said. “I also sell my products at Hometown Basics in Casey and The Egg Crate in Elkhorn.”

Caltrider recalled how she has needed to learn on the fly as she created her products, and her family and friends have been happy to help. 

“My favorite story is from when I was first starting out. I got an order from a local business, and it was in the winter, so my dad, who is a farmer, offered to help me, since he had some free time. You typically wouldn’t find a farmer learning how to pour candles, but he did fine,” Caltrider said. “It’s great because my family has been so willing to step in whenever I need help.”

Caltrider recalled learning that attention to detail matters.

“The hardest part of it is getting the measurements correct, for fragrance and stuff. When I first started out, I struggled with that,” Caltrider said. “I try to keep up the inventory, but I sell out of things a lot, so it’s tough to keep up with it. So, I’m usually making candles every day.”

Caltrider also learned that candles and summer heat do not mix.

“In the summer, I do a lot of outdoor events, and then, in the winter, it’s indoor events,” she said.  “One time in the summer, I was going to a vendor event and hadn’t thought about it, and they melted, so I had to fix them. Now I haul them in coolers when it’s hot.”

One unusual but popular item Caltrider makes is dough bowls, which are decorative wooden bowls designed to hold melted wax and/or serve as a candle holder.  

“The dough bowls have been the most popular, just because nobody else around here sells them,” she said.

Caltrider continually strives to add new scents or change the scents out seasonally. 

“I have a flannel scent and a cinnamon bun scent that are very popular,” Caltrider said. She noted that the flannel and leather canyon woods are the most popular scents with men. Other options include vanilla caramel spice, lavender, pumpkin pie and Columbian coffee.

Caltrider recently began making some candles with a base of beef tallow. She explained that this type of candle-making is more time-consuming.

“It gets rendered from beef fat. It’s a lot harder. I have to put the tallow in a pot and simmer it on low for a couple hours, then drain it and put it in the fridge overnight. Then scrape it off and remelt it,” she said. 

Caltrider recently began getting beef tallow for her candle making from local farm BC Angus.

As her hobby and production have grown, Caltrider has sought more outlets for selling her items. She has a website and also uses Facebook and Instagram to market her Casey Candle company creations.

Caltrider has a long-term goal for her venture but understands it can’t be hurried.

“I’d eventually like to have a store, just so I could do events and fun things like that. So, that would be the ideal goal, but who knows when that will happen,” she said. n

Photos by Betty Cooper | Special to the Times Vedette

The Panorama seniors were recognized during halftime of the football game against Pleasantville on Friday night. 

Click images to enlarge.