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Municipal elections are held yearly. The Clerk will post voters' lists throughout the Township about October 28th, made up from the Assessment records, arranged alphabetically according to the 29 polling sub-divisions. As ratepayers constantly come and go, it is the duty of each voter to check the list and if his name is not liste, he should, within l4 days, notify the Clerk of the error or omission so that his name can be put on the list for the County Judge before the date of the election. No person may vote whose name is not on the Voter's List or Assessment Roll. All owners or tenants and their wives and farmers' sons and daughters are entitled to vote at Municipal elections. The Nomination meeting for members to the Municipal Council and retiring members on School Area Boards is held at Brougham Hall between 1 and 2 P. M. on the last Friday in November with voting hours 10 A. M. to 8 P. M. on Saturday two weeks and a day later. It is regrettable that - 2496 persons exercised their franchise out of 8963 persons entitled to vote at last year's election. (1956) Last year the Rouge River, Duffin's Creek and the Petticoat Creek all became a part of Metropolitan Toronto Conservation Authority and already they have 325 acres under option for a park site which is located near the centre of the Township. We now have many private parks with swimming tanks and three golf courses. Each year amendments are made to the Municipal Act which limit the power of Council or the Province will subsidize certain programmes if certain requirements are met. Now 11.75% of your tax dollar may be spent with few strings attached, such as general government, garbage collection and fire protection, 35.45% with partial control such as County Rates, Roads, Police and Welfare, but 52.8% being Education costs are administered by the various Boards over which Council have no control. Many ratepayers feel that Municipal taxes are much too high, but for the increased services given and demanded, it would seem that approximately 5% of today's average salary is a small percentage to pay for such a service. Farmers, however, pay as high as 15% of income in South Pickering and we must struggle against the bureaucratic trends of our times. Farms of 150 acres with reasonably convenient houses pay around $1,000.00 per annum in taxes; this on an income much the same as commuting residents paying $150.00 to $200.00 per annum on their bungalows. Also the problem of driving cows and equipment across the traffic of Highway 401 and the Kingston Road, seems to have defeated the farmers in this area. Only Harold Mitchell, Art Milne and W. H. Moore remain. Picture: Apple Orchard owned by David Lennox, lot 20 and the Kingston Road. This is one of the few properties still in production on the Kingston Road west of Pickering Village. The large incfease in taxes to the southern farmers in 1957 occurred because of the creation of School area 2, and the subsequent building of new schools.