These are a sampling of news articles in the July 1st, 2009, Whitehall Ledger. For the complete articles and other Whitehall news, ads and photos, copies of the Ledger are available for purchase at The Corner Store, Jefferson IGA, Whitehall Drug, Town Pump, Super 8 Motel, the Cardwell Store and the Whitehall Ledger office.

Filing period for those seeking a town office ends Thursday, July 2

The filing period to run for one of the four Whitehall town offices this year began on May 4 and ends this Thursday, July 2.

Four-year terms for Whitehall mayor Terry Ross and three council members will be up for election.

Terms will expire for Ward 2 councilor Todd Breitenfeldt and Ward 3 councilor Steve Antonioli, and the Ward 1 seat currently being held by Joann Janacaro will expire in 2009.

Janacaro was appointed to the unexpired term in August 2008 following the resignation of Edwin Hunt, who left the post last year and moved to an assisted living facility in Butte. Hunt served as a town councilor for several terms.

As of Monday morning at 9 a.m., Breitenfelt was the only candidate to file. Janacaro has a letter to the editor in this week’s issue of the Ledger indicating she will not seek a four-year term after her appointment last year.

The primary election is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 15. If one or two of the four open seats have up to three candidates each and the other two seats have one or two candidates, the candidates can be nominated for the seats by acclimation without the need for a primary election. In that case, the candidates would move on to the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election.

If three or four of the seats have three or more candidates running for each seat, a primary election must be held. If more than two candidates run for a particular office, the top two vote-getters in the primary election would move on to the general election.

Registered electors residing in the wards for which they are seeking a seat are eligible to run for the office. Mayor candidates must live within the town limits. Jefferson County Elections Administrator Bonnie Ramey said those seeking seats are not required to live in their wards for a particular length of time before filing for a seat.

Those interested in running for one of the seats can do so with the County Elections Administrator. Exact locations of Whitehall Wards 1, 2 and 3 are available at town hall.

Mercer acquires Whitehall Cable business

On June 23, less than two years after purchasing Whitehall Cable, Shane Lince of Billings sold the business to Scott Mercer.

Mercer, who owns and operates Shooting Stars Technical Services, is now servicing Whitehall Cable’s 100-plus clients from his local office at 501 North Whitehall Street.

“The main problem he [Lince] had was that he was located in Billings,” Mercer said. With Whitehall Cable being stationed in Billings, no one was available to make service calls immediately, sometimes not even within the week. “I’m hoping to be able to provide quicker responses for service calls and installs because of my nearby local presence.”

Lince had several big plans for Whitehall Cable, one being the installation of fiber optics throughout Whitehall. Mercer said that after looking at the cost (up to $1,800 per household and millions in installation for the entire town), Lince pulled the idea — literally.

“When I came to talk to him during the paperwork process, he was outside pulling fiber optics,” Mercer said with a laugh. Lince approached Mercer about the purchase of Whitehall Cable, and Mercer is excited about the new opportunity.

With the purchase came all the old equipment, all the new equipment awaiting installation, programming and infrastructure. Before Lince’s purchase of Whitehall Cable from Bill Herbolich several years ago, the company had about 200 customers. Numbers have now dwindled to about 100, but Mercer’s is optimistic that, with his local presence and better customer service, he can win old and new customers back to Whitehall Cable.

“Our price packages are very decent. People will see the value,” he said. Mercer is also a Dish Network provider and believes that the two venues will complement, not compete, with one another. Whitehall Cable doesn’t offer HD channels, but Dish Network does. So, if you’re comparing, you’re going to get the best information on both options.

Mercer said that in the next few months Whitehall Cable will be switching to upgraded equipment, and the switch should be smooth.

“Right now our signal degrades with the weather. With the new equipment there should be no outages,” Mercer said.

The business purchase is a simple change of ownership, but Mercer said the changes in service will be noticeable.

“Look for better customer service, same day return calls and possibly same day service and installations if I’m available. I’m excited. It’s going to be hectic for awhile, but it’ll be worth it,” Mercer said.

Shooting Stars Technical Services and Whitehall Cable are located in the yellow house between Super 8 and Town Pump at 501 North Whitehall. Business hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; please call ahead on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mercer may be reached at 287-9326.