Elected Officials - your county officials Sue Dodson Associate Circuit Judge The voters of Johnson County, Missouri elected Sue Dodson to the position of Associate Circuit Judge in 2006. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Dodson provided legal services to thousands of Johnson County residents, advocated for abused and neglected children and provided pro bono legal services for disadvantaged citizens. Judge Dodson presides over all state misdemeanor cases, felony cases prior to preliminary hearing civil cases in which the amount in controversy does not exceed $25,000.00, small claims court, and twenty-five percent of the family law cases filed in Johnson County, Missouri. Additionally, Judge Dodson presides over the municipal dockets for the cities of Holden, Kingsville, Centerview, Chilhowee and Leeton. Judge Dodson served, by special appointment, as an appellate judge for the Western District Court of Appeals when the court convened and heard arguments at Girls’ State in 2007. Further, Judge Dodson participates in community activities which benefit local charitable organizations and activities which enhance cooperation among the business community, educational community, airbase community and legal community. R. Michael Wagner Circuit Court Judge – 17th Circuit, Div. 2 Mike Wagner was elected to the 17th Circuit Court in 2007 to replace Judge Joe Dandurand, who was appointed to the Missouri Appellate Court. Prior to his election, he served as the city judge for Raymore and Garden City, MO and had been appointed to preside as an arbitrator in civil litigation cases in Missouri. Wagner has practiced law since 1990 and is a partner in the Harrisonville law firm of Anderson, Milholland & Wagner where he practices in a wide variety of both civil and criminal law. Wagner worked as both prosecutor and defense attorney in both the municipal and state courts during his legal career. He graduated from the University of Missouri Kansas City Law School in 1990, and is licensed to practice law in Missouri and Kansas. He serves on the Board of Directors for CASSCO and is actively involved in the community. He resides in Raymore, MO with his wife Melody. Jacqueline A. Cook Circuit Judge – 17th Circuit, Div. 1 Jacqueline Cook was first elected Circuit Judge, Division I in 2000 and was re-elected, unopposed, in 2006. Her duties as Circuit Judge include hearing felony criminal, civil and domestic cases. Judge Cook also serves as the Juvenile Judge for the 17th Judicial Circuit and the Cass County Drug Court Judge. Her law career began when she was appointed judicial law clerk for the Hon. Fernando Gaitan, Jr., Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District. She was in private practice until she was elected to the Circuit Court, specializing in complex litigation and appellate practice. She was educated at CMSU (B.S.) and UMKC (M.A., J.D). She served as Managing Editor of the UMKC Law Review. She has been married since 1983 to Eldon Cook. They have two children, Daniel and Lauren. Ruthane Small Collector of Revenue The position of County Collector is a countywide elected position with a four year term.  Johnson County Collector Ruthane Small was sworn into office on January 26, 1993, and has been elected to office for four subsequent terms.  Small was elected President of the Missouri County Collectors’ Association in 2000-2001.  During her tenure as President of the Collectors’ Association, Small worked with the Secretary of State’s office to revise the County Collectors’ Records Retention Manual and formed a team with Missouri Department of Revenue for two-year license plate renewals and the on-line renewal process.  Small has expanded the use of technology in the Collector’s office to improve the quality, access and speed of services.  She continues to work with her programmer being a pioneer of new and challenging improvements in the office, such as the summary sheet and merging personal property and real estate tax bills together for printing.  Most recently, she designed and produced the Johnson County Collector’s website which is very informative as well as provides for on-line payments and search.    Ruthane and her husband, Greg, reside in Warrensburg.  Greg is a teacher and coach in the Warrensburg R-VI School District.  They have three sons:  Ryan Small, Casey Small, and Brad Small and his wife, Sarah, have two children, Taylor and Tucker.  Mrs. Small was born in Warrensburg, Missouri, the daughter of Vivian Parsons and the late William P. Parsons. For more information about Johnson County collections: jcmtax.com. Stephanie Elkins 17th Circuit Court Clerk Stephanie Elkins, Johnson County Circuit Court Clerk, has worked in the Court system as a Court Clerk since 1987. She was appointed to the office of Circuit Court Clerk by Governor Holden in 2004, and was elected by the voters in 2004 and again in 2006. Since 2004 the Court joined the consolidated Court System. The Court now also participates in the State Wide Judicial Information System which has allowed access for the public to check public Court records on line by using the website www.courts.mo.gov. These were both voluntary programs offered by the State that Stephanie felt would benefit the public as well as the office in moving forward with technology. She supervises 14 employees. There were about 7,000 cases filed last year. Stephanie attended Holden High School and UCM. She has been a resident of Johnson County for 34 years, and is a member of the United Methodist Church, the Johnson County Democrat Club, Tau Pi Sorority in Holden. She has been involved in helping coordinate Community Blood drives and Community food drives, as well as volunteering as a Youth basketball coach and past Youth director for the Church. Destry Hough Western District Commissioner Elected as Western District Commissioner in 2004, Destry is proud of the County's progress and the Commission's work since then. A sixth-generation resident of Holden, Hough has lived and worked all his life in the Holden area. He raises cattle and horses, and has worked as an auto mechanic, tow-truck driver, and auctioneer. He and his wife Cricket have been married for 20 years and have two children. Kay Dolan-Reynolds Johnson County Auditor 2010 Recipient of the James Kirkpatrick Heritage Award Kay Dolan Reynolds has served the citizens of Johnson County for twenty-nine years.  Before her election as Auditor in 1991, she served eight years as chief deputy auditor and then two years as the sheriff’s administrative deputy.  She has been in office longer than any other current County elected official. As auditor, Kay maintains the general ledger consisting of more than 100 funds and 2,000 accounts payable, and monitors the county budget.  She audits and examines monthly reports and accounts from the various fee collecting officeholders.  Kay is known as a fiscal conservative and fearless protector of the county ‘s tax dollars.  She has also played a leadership role in the Missouri Association of County Auditors. She was elected Secretary-Treasurer, and later President of that organization. Kay is a member of the Sunrise Optimist Club, Warrensburg Elks, Johnson County Cattleman’s Association, Holden Chamber of Commerce, National Wild Turkey Federation. She disproves a stereotype by being a member of both the Johnson County Democrat Club and the National Rifle Association. She has also served on the Johnson County R-VII School Board and the Missouri Consolidated Health Care Board.  Kay is the daughter of J. Gilbert and Opal Colster and a lifelong resident of Johnson County.  She graduated from College High School and attended the University of Central Missouri majoring in accounting and business.  Kay is married to Jack Reynolds, also a lifelong Johnson Countian.  They have three sons, two daughters, nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren.