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Get up and run

It seems that candidates are few and far between for the Cariboo Regional District and School District 27 board of trustees.

As the nomination deadline for municipal elections draws to a close, it seems that candidates are few and far between for the Cariboo Regional District and School District 27 board of trustees.

As of press time Thursday, there were only five candidates vying for seven trustee seats on the school board –– only two of those are incumbents and all may get in by acclamation.

It’s nice to see that Tanya Guenther and Joyce Cooper hope to carry on with their duties, but where are trustees Austin, Boehm and Neufeld?

These are three critical seats for Williams Lake schools; representing the city, the city’s fringe area and outlying areas like 150 Mile House.

Trustees in this past term made sweeping changes to schools across the district, changes that we are all still getting used to.

Five schools were closed, the high schools were amalgamated and portables were brought in to deal with the overflow in elementary schools. Residents didn’t like it but it seemed as though the board had confidence and a vision for our district that people couldn’t deny. So what happened?

Does the position take up too much time? Is it for personal reasons? Or has the government made the task of managing our school districts with ever-dwindling resources so impossible and distasteful that no one is willing to take it on? Hmmm, we wonder.

The Cariboo Regional District is another area that could use more interest, but at least there is one candidate for each area.

As it stands now, incumbents Joan Sorley and Byron Kemp will be elected by acclamation while newcomers Steve Forseth and Pennie Daffurn will battle it out for Electoral Area D (Commodore Heights - McLeese Lake).

There doesn’t seem any shortage of candidates for Williams Lake city councillors and the top job of mayor of our fair city.

Outgoing councillor Geoff Bourdon deserves a shout out for his years of service. Hopefully he will take a break and serve again in later years.

Councillor Danica Hughes should also be commended for her service.

All nominations for Nov. 15th’s local government elections are due today, Oct. 10 at 4 p.m.