Seats still vacant in Alberton

Alberton voters may not have a say Nov. 10 as to who will sit on council there as the township scrambles to find enough candidates to fill the available seats.
It had until 5 p.m. today to come up with names.
Coun. Judy Koski was acclaimed reeve while incumbent Coun. Lucy Lahti and newcomer John Milling were the only two people to file for council by the 5 p.m. deadline last Friday.
Coun. Koski, who will take over the reeve’s chair in the first meeting in December, said she decided to run after hearing that incumbent Yves DeGagné would not be seeking another term.
“I’m a little disappointed I was acclaimed,” she admitted yesterday. “You never know if you are the people’s choice if you’re in by acclamation.”
As for the lack of interest, Coun. Koski didn’t know why no one had stepped forward to vie for the other two seats on council.
“I’m sure that part of it is because of all the downloading,” she noted.
“I think it’s the unknown and the scariness of the ‘Who Does What,’” agreed Pat Giles, clerk and returning officer for McCrosson-Tovell, Morson, and Dawson.
But Rainy River Mayor Gord Armstrong stressed people had to look past that and realize the public was aware there were a lot of changes coming down.
Elsewhere in the district, no one had come forward yet to run for Chapple council in Ward 4. But Ward 2 residents will go to the polls as Arnellda Brusven and Jackie Champagne are both vying for the lone seat there.
Incumbents Bill Clink and Peter VanHeyst were acclaimed in Wards 1 and 3 respectively, while Chapple Reeve Cecil Wilson was acclaimed for another term.
Atwood ward voters will have a choice in Dawson as incumbents Couns. Larry Budreau and Archie Wiersema vie for the one seat.
Incumbents Couns. John Amundsen (Blue), Alphonse Langlais (Dilke), and Linda Armstrong (Worthington) were all acclaimed in their respective wards.
Dawson voters also will be able to cast their vote on who they want for reeve as incumbent Lloyd Hodges and Coun. Eltjo Wiersema (who was reeve of Worthington before the four townships amalgamated last Jan. 1) seek the job.
Meanwhile, in La Vallee, voters won’t have to go to the polls as the same council–made up o Reeve Ken McKinnon and Couns. Freeda Carmody, Tom Morrish, Dale Stamarski, and Emily Watson–was acclaimed for another three-year term.