ZEBULON - There were no surprises Tuesday night in the Pike County political forum, especially in the Pike County Board of Education District 4 race where longtime incumbent John L. Wynn Sr. is facing challengers Charles Robert Garrard, Connie Green and Joseph Alexander Morrison.

“There were no zingers. They all kept praising Mr. Wynn for his 24 years of service,” an audience member said.

In the Pike County Board of Commissioners District 3 race, Republican incumbent Tommy Powers was a no-show, so Democrat Chris Curry, who ran unopposed in the July primary election, had the floor to herself.

“I want to improve the efficiency of the county government and help bring it into the 21st century,” Curry said. “And I want to work on our capital improvement projects. It’s time to get down to business and work as a cooperative team and make some decisions about how we’re going to move Pike forward.”

According to Curry, it’s important for the county to invest in economic development because residential taxpayers cannot support needed county services.

“We’ve got to creatively attract business and industry,” Curry added. “We’re ideally suited for agribusiness, agritourism and heritage tourism. I want to explore new directions.”

Sheriff candidate Ulyssess “Tony” Clark read his comments during the forum, but his opponent, incumbent Jimmy Thomas, operated without notes and took the opportunity to speak on the economy and how it relates to Pike County.

“In a bad economy, you see an increase in drugs and crime,” Thomas said. “We want to stay ahead of that, deter crime and be able to offer a safe place for our students.”