Thin turnout at Essa meet the candidates
by Richard Blanchard

Less than 30 Essa residents turned out at the two "Meet the Candidates" meetings.

About 20 people showed up at the meeting at the township fire hall and eight people at Thursday night's meeting at the township Administration Centre at Baxter.

The meetings were designed to allow township residents to meet and discuss issues in an "open house" setting with candidates.

Mayor Dave Guergis, deputy mayor Terry Dowdall and Angus area councillor Sandie Macdonald were also on hand for questions.

Rick Newlove, the current incumbent councillor for the Thornton area, said that he was mostly asked about local issues during the session.

"I heard about recreation and traffic concerns," he said at the end of Wednesday night's meeting. Most of the people who showed up lived in Thornton.