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Winners of birthday card competition are chosen
The two winners of a competition to design an
18th birthday card that will be sent out to all
first-time voters in the area have been chosen.
Scarborough Borough Council has sent the
cards, along with a guide to voting, to all young people who are
included on the electoral register, since 2001.
The competition to design the card was
launched in senior schools and colleges in the Scarborough borough
in 2006 and in 2009, for the first time, the contest was opened up
to include all residents.
The 2010 contest saw 24 entries from Scalby
School, Filey School and Yorkshire Coast College, with the standard
described by the Mayor of the Borough of Scarborough, Cllr Hazel
Lynskey as “exceptionally high”.
The winners were chosen by the mayor and
council leader Cllr Tom Fox, together with the Electoral Services
Team and a member of staff from Print Plus.
They are Paige Dyson from Filey School in
the under 16 category and Kristina Strickland from Yorkshire Coast
College in the over 16 category, who were each presented with £20
vouchers for HMV.
Sue Bedford, the council’s Elections
Officer, said: “Turning 18 is a major milestone and many young
people look forward to voting for the first time and being able to
express a viewpoint at the ballot box. This design contest and
sending out the cards forms part of our role to help young people
understand the processes that are involved in voting and
democracy.”
Anyone interested in finding out more about
voting in general, should contact Electoral Services on 01723
232307 or 232309.
Meanwhile, staff from the Electoral
Services department are visiting schools and colleges to give
students the chance to check whether they are on the new electoral
register.
Staff visited Scarborough Sixth Form on 11 January, Whitby
Community College on 13 January and will be going into Yorkshire
Coast College on 25 January.