Shenango Township voters were asked to pull extra duty Tuesday, as the only municipal election in Mercer County asked township residents to expand the current three-person board of supervisors to five members.

Democrat Richard Flack, running for both the five- and three-year seats against Republicans Mark G. Preston and Louis V. Colella, however, threw a bit of a monkey wrench into the process by sweeping both seats.

Flack held off Preston for the five-year term by a 616-521 margin and also edged Colella by a nearly identical 612-536 count for the three-year term.

"When I found out I won, I was jumping 10 feet high," Flack said Tuesday night. "I wouldn't even care if the Steelers had lost Sunday's game to the Browns, that's how happy I am. I appreciate all the voters who turned out today. To the best of my knowledge, the women who work the polls said this is the greatest turnout in a long time. If I could go around and give everybody a hug and a kiss who voted for me, I'd do it."

By sweeping both seats, the fifth seat will remain vacant until the board holds its organizational meeting at the beginning of next year, according to Mercer County Director of Elections Jim Bennington.

"The fifth position will be vacant until then. And the board will then have to appoint someone," Bennington said. "The township secretary will have to advertise that there's a vacancy and anyone interested could apply for that. The board would then make the choice."

Bennington said if the four-person board can't come to a consensus on the fifth supervisor, the Mercer County courts would be asked to make the selection.

The township is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Mercer County, according to the last census, which makes the job of the newly expanded board all that more important.

Flack, who lost a bid for a similar position a year ago by only 15 votes, said he recognizes that fact and the importance of proceeding cautiously in the effort to help the community continue to grow, especially economically.

"There can be more growth, but you have to get with the people and make sure you're not uprooting someone's home," Flack said. "Growth is great, but you have to watch where you grow. We have lots of farmland with hundreds of acres, but at the same time you have to be careful you don't interfere with those homes that border that land."