LOWVILLE — A Carthage-area man has unofficially won a write-in vote for Croghan town assessor.

Ross Christman, who lives on Old State Road in the western end of the town of Croghan, garnered 31 write-in votes for the open seat on the town's three-member Board of Assessors, according to Lewis County election commissioners.

He was followed by Todd Lyndaker with 26 votes, Amos Noftsier with 25 votes and James Shea with 17 votes.

That position and the Pinckney town justice seat both were on the general election ballot with no names listed because nobody filed nominating petitions for either job.

Harrisburg Justice John B. Woods garnered four votes for Pinckney justice, even though he is not a resident of that town. No write-in votes were cast for anybody else.

Mr. Woods has been allowed by Fifth Judicial District Administrative Judge James C. Tormey III to serve as justice for Pinckney and Montague, as well, through June 30 due to an inability to find residents to take the spots.

The three towns are working to develop the state's first truly combined town court.

The three involved town councils last month passed resolutions asking the state Legislature for permission to have one justice who could hold court in any public facility in the three-town region. That would allow them to collectively maintain only one courtroom instead of three.