The community of Burns Lake headed to the polls on Nov. 15 to elected its new leaders.
Luke Strimbold was re-elected for another term as mayor of Burns Lake with 483 votes. Also seeking the mayor's chair was Deanna Brown, who received 145 votes. The total number of votes for mayor was 631.
"It’s an honour to be re-elected for a second term," said Strimbold. "We have accomplished a lot over the last three years and we still have a lot of work to do over the next four years."
Strimbold said that over the last three years, Burns Lake has seen "some major investments in the economy, health care, and recreation."
"We need to continue to attract and support investments in our services sector and economic sector," he said. "One of the key challenges going forward will be to make sure we continue to keep taxes low, but at the same time make sure we allocate appropriate resources to water, sewer, and road infrastructure."
The newly elected Burns Lake council includes Chris Beach, who received 421 votes, John Illes with 303 votes, Susan Schienbein with 283 votes, and Kelly Holliday with 281 votes.
Also running for council were Frank Varga, who received 244 votes, Shelley Wall with 227 votes, John Phair with 213 votes, and Charlie Rensby with 168 votes. The total number of votes for council was 625.
For the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, Bill Miller was re-elected by acclamation for Area B. The new director for Area E is Eileen Benedict, who received 158 votes. Also running for area E were Quinten Beach with 67 votes, and Steve Freeman with 70. The total number of votes for area E was 295.
Jerry Petersen is the new director for Electoral Area F. Peterson received 213 votes, which was enough to beat his competitor Randy Holubosh, who received 188. Rob Newell, who received 97 votes, is the new director for Electoral Area G.
The School District no. 91 Nechako Lakes also chose its new trustees. The new trustee for Electoral Area 1 (Engen, Mapes, Vanderhoof and Cluculz Lake) is Nadine Frenkel, who received 712 votes out of 1782 total votes. The new trustee for Area 2 (Topley, Decker Lake and Granisle) is Steve Davis, who received 58. Also running for Area 2 was Marnie Phair, who came close with 40 votes.
The new trustee for Electoral Area 3 (Burns Lake and Rural Area) is Lynda Maertz, who beat Crystal Fisher by five votes. Maertz received 269 votes, and Fisher got 264. In electoral Area 4 (Grassy Plains and Francois Lake), Adele Gooding was elected by acclamation. In Electoral Area 5 (Endako, Fraser Lake and Fort Fraser), Timothy Maertz was also elected by acclamation. For Electoral Area 6 (Fort St. James, Manson Creek, Germanson and Takla Landings), Lucille Duncan won with 167 votes, and Alexandra Luggi came second with 149.
The numbers on this story reflect the unofficial election results. Official results were not available by press time. Check www.ldnews.net for any new updates.