WHITEWATER REGION — A total of 17 people are vying for the seven council positions in Whitewater Region Township which is comprised of the communities of Cobden, Beachburg, Westmeath, Foresters Falls, LaPasse and Haley’s and is also home to the whitewater rafting industry and some of the best agricultural land in Renfrew County.
Mayor Hal Johnson of Beachburg, a foreman with BEI Constructions and who is completing his first term in office, is being challenged by former Deputy Fire Chief Mike Moore, also of Beachburg. He is a custodian with the Renfrew County District School Board at Beachburg Public School.
Reeve Terry Millar decided not to seek re-election, opening the position up to a two-way contest between Wilderness Tours/Whitewater News owner Joe Kowalski and Cathy Regier, who is a member of the current council, and employed at Simple Things in Beachburg.
There are 13 people vying for the five councillor positions.
There are four incumbent councillors — Charlene Jackson, treasurer for Laurentian Valley Township; Daryl McLaughlin, a school bus driver; Beachburg sheep farmer Dave Mackay; and Chris Olmstead, a Cobden businessman.
They are being challenged by John Cull, a local garage owner outside of Cobden; Haley resident Donna Burns, president of the Ontario Landowners Association; Jim Butterworth, who lives in Beachburg and works at Canadian Wilderness Medical Training in Renfrew; John (Kyle) Dupuis of Cobden, who works at Milano’s Pizzeria in Cobden and is going to barber school in Ottawa; Allan Lance, who operates a farm equipment repair business in Beachburg; Cobden businessman Ron Laronde; Neil Nicholson, a retired soldier and a strong community volunteer residing near Westmeath; Nell Rooney, owner of Rooney’s Convenience Store and a nearby Cobden resident and former Whitewater Region reeve Don Rathwell, also from just outside of Cobden.
Some of the issues in Whitewater Region include economic development, Muskrat Lake, roads and recreation.
The Riverview Seniors Social Club is hosting an all-candidates meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 10 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Westmeath community hall.
