Election report Everything you always wanted to know by BRIAN WINTER Staff Writer Election time is drawing near, and as they say in the sporting game, you can't tell the players without a program. Since this year's election includes local council, region- al council and both school boards, the procedure becomes a bit involved. Assuming there are no acclamations, there will be six separate ballots in any particular polling station, says Deputy Clerk Brian Switzer. The first ballot will be for the election of mayor by a general vote of all electors in the Town of Whitby. The second ballot will be also a general vote, for two regional councillors. The third ballot will be for one councillor for each of the four wards, voted for accord- ing to the ward in which the elector resides. The fourth ballot will be for two public school trustees to represent Whitby on the Durham Board of Education. This will be by a general vote of public school supporters only. The fifth ballot will be for one separate school trustee voted upon by the separate school supporters to represent them on the Durham Board of Education. This will be a general vote by the separate school supporters of Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Brock, Scugog and Uxbridge. Whitby's clerk Bill Wallace is acting as returning officer for all municipalities involved in this ballot, as he is for the Whitby election also. The sixth and final ballot is for two separate school trustees to be elected by the separate school supporters of Whitby, Brock and Scugog, to serve on the Durham Roman Catholic Separate School Board. There will be no election for the Public Utilities Commission, as this body was appointed under the Durham Region Act in 1974, and the province must decide when an election orreappointment will take place. Nomination dates for the 1976 elections are Friday, November 12 and Monday, November 15 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nomination papers must be filed by the candidate or his agent at the Whitby Town Clerk's office on these dates onl. To qualify as a candidate for mayor, regional councillor 7' 'INSIDE EDITORIALS................PAGE 4 COLUMNS.................... PAGE TO 8 COMING EVENTS............PAGE 12 SPORTS..................;. PAGE 13 BUSINESS.................. PAGE15. ENTERTAINMENT........,......... PAGE 16 Vol. 6, No. 43 Wednesday, October 27, 1976 20 Pages REALESTATE................PÀGE19 Downtown rejuvenation may begin in early 1977 by BLAKE PURDY Staff Writer The long-awaited rejuvenation of Whitby's downtown area could begin early next year as a result of a decision made by town council on Monday. Council decided, in effect, to take the first in a series of legal steps required to lay the ground work for rejuvenation. Council's decision basically endorses a recommendation made by the Downtown Action Committee after a public meeting last Tuesday, attended by approximately 60 interested persons, most of whom do business out of the downtown area. The D.A.C.'s recommendation asked-that council designate as an improvement are'a commercial property in the downtown business section roughly bound- ed by Chestnut Street on the north, Pine Street on the east, Ontario Street on the south and High Street on the west. The next step, as dictated by Section 361 of the Municipal Act as outlined at the October 19 public meeting by Deputy Clerk Brian Switzer, is for council to send a letter to everyone within the boundaries who pays business taxes. This notice of intention will advise the affected business people of the proposal for reiuvenation. how much it will cost them if the proposal is implemented, and how they can prevent the implementation of the proposal. Unless a petition objecting to the proposal is signed by at least one-third of the affected people and people representing one-third of the total assessment of the affected area is received by Town Clerk Bill Wallace within two months of circulation of the notice of intention, council can pass a by-law implementing the proposal. If the by-law is approved by the Ontario Municipal Board, the Town will levy a special rate on properties subject to business assessment within. the area. The money will be used for the improvement of Town-owned lands within the area and for promotion of the area. Council can dictate the maximum budget for and how that budget can be spent on the rejuvenation program or it can leave that decision up to a board of management, composed of representatives of council and the improvement area. PLANS FOR REJUVENATION OUTLINED Approximately 60 people attended a public meeting In the town hall on October 19 to discuss downtown rejuvenation. Frec Press Photo by Blake Purdy Oum or local councillor, one must Canadian citizen or British subject, and a resident of Whitby prior to September 30, 1976. Nominationr papers must have a minimum of 10 signa- tures of qualified electors. In the case of candidates for councillor in t -a particular ward, one must have signatures from the electors of that ward only. A candidate does not have to live in or own property in the ward where he runs, according to the Municipal Act. For school boards, the candidate mus,t be 18 years old or over, .a Canadian citizen, and a resident of the municipality inivolved prior to September 30, 1976. The candidate must also be a supporter of the particular school board he is running for. A minimum of 10 signa- tures is required on the nomination papers, providing they are from supporters of the board the candidate is running for. The advance poil will be held November 27 at the town hall from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the regular polling date at ail polling stations wll be December 6, also from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The results of the election will not be final until publically declared by the Clerk, Bill Wallace, December 9, providing there are no requests for recounts. There are three conditions according to the Municipal Act under which an elector may vote by Proxy. One can *vote by proxy if he is certified that he is unable to attend a poll by a legally qualified medical practitioner. Also an elector can vote by proxy if he is; absent attending an education. al institution such as a university. Proxy votes are allowec for people·who will be absent on polling dates because they are engaged for hire or reware in the business of transporta. tion by railway, air, water oi motor vehicle. This would apply to an airplane pilot, a train engineer or a truck driver, but not jo a salesman, says; Mr. Switzer. The last date for filing: proxies - with the clerk's office is November 30.