Virus killing local crows: Colby

By Bruce Corcoran bruce@chathamvoice.com

Something is continuing to kill off crows in our area. Reports surfaced last week of quantities of crows being found dead along Riverview Drive between Keil Drive and Bloomfield Road.

Local health and wildlife officials said they’re aware of the issue and are keeping an eye on what is transpiring.

“We have heard quite a few people complain about it,” said Myriam Armstrong, operations manager at Pet and Wildlife Rescue. “We did send several birds for testing. Some of the birds came back positive. “The avian flu is in Chatham-Kent. We don’t know for certain if all the birds are dead because of the flu, however.” practical guide for women working towards and well-being.

The dead birds go to the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) for testing.

Dr. David Colby said the ailment that is predominantly responsible for the dead crows is orthoreovirus. He said the virus is of minimal concern to humans.

“There is no evidence that this virus is zoonotic (capable of jumping to humans),” he said in an e-mail response to The Voice. “H5N1 avian influenza (which has zoonotic potential) has been circulating in wild birds in North America for well over a year. It is occasionally detected in our crows but seems to be more of an incidental finding.”

Brian Stevens, a wildlife pathologist with CWHC, confirmed the orthoreovirus is the big killer.

“We received a number of crows from the Chatham-Kent region since December. The majority of them have been dying from an orthoreovirus infection, which is a common cause of death of crows during the winter months (especially when they flock together in large groups),” he said.

However, it has been some time since any dead crows from C-K were tested by CWHC.

“We haven’t brought in crows in the past month or so from that area as it is likely that any additional deaths are the result of this orthoreovirus infection, but we continue to receive calls and reports from the area,” Stevens said.

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What is a companion urn?

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CHATHAM

St Andrew's United Church 85 William St South Chatham, ON

March 23rd

St Andrew's United Church

85 William St South

Chatham, ON

Thursdays 6:30-8:30pm

CHATHAM Thursdays 6:30-8:30pm

March 23rd

March 30th

March 30th

April 6th

April 6th

April 13th

April 13th

To register visit westovertreatmentcentre.ca/courage-to-change

To register visit westovertreatmentcentre.ca/courage-to-change

In recent years we have had more and more families asking about companion urns. A companion urn is an urn which is large enough to contain two separate sets of cremated remains or consists of two separate urns that rest together side by side. Often, one will select a companion urn if one spouse wishes to keep the other’s cremated remains at home until they themselves pass or if they are both planning on going into a columbarium niche. If they select the niche, often the entire urn will go into the niche until the second spouse passes away. Once the second spouse passes, we would retrieve the urn from the columbarium niche, so the other spouse could be placed inside. If used for a niche, the size of the urn is extremely important as the width, height and depth of the urn can be no larger than 11.5” to fit in most niches. Companion urns will also be buried at cemeteries after the second spouse passes away.

WESTOVERTREATMENTCENTRE.CA

WESTOVERTREATMENTCENTRE.CA

Public Utilities Commission for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent Environmental Assessment Study

Wallaceburg Water Treatment Servicing Study

Notice of Completion

Public Utilities Commission for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent Environmental Assessment Study Wallaceburg Water Treatment Servicing Study

Public Utilities Commission for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent Environmental Assessment Study Wallaceburg Water Treatment Servicing Study

The Public Utilities Commission for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent (CK PUC) initiated the Wallaceburg Water Treatment Servicing study to identify and evaluate alternatives for the existing Wallaceburg Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to meet the current and future needs of the Community of Wallaceburg and neighbouring communities while also satisfying industrial demands. The following aspects of the water supply infrastructure were evaluated in this study:

Notice of Completion

Notice of Completion

The Public Utilities Commission for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent (CK PUC) initiated the Wallaceburg Water Treatment Servicing study to identify and evaluate alternatives for the existing Wallaceburg Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to meet the current and future needs of the Community of Wallaceburg and neighbouring communities while also satisfying industrial demands. The following aspects of the water supply infrastructure were evaluated in this study:

 Wallaceburg WTP

The Public Utilities Commission for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent (CK PUC) initiated the Wallaceburg Water Treatment Servicing study to identify and evaluate alternatives for the existing Wallaceburg Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to meet the current and future needs of the Community of Wallaceburg and neighbouring communities while also satisfying industrial demands. The following aspects of the water supply infrastructure were evaluated in this study:

 Wallaceburg WTP

 Raw water intake and low-lift pumping station for the Wallaceburg WTP

• Wallaceburg WTP

Raw water intake and low-lift pumping station for the Wallaceburg WTP

 Water availability at Chenal Écarte to meet the projected future water demand

 Water availability at Chenal Écarte to meet the projected future water demand

• Raw water intake and low-lift pumping station for the Wallaceburg WTP

 Water supply to the Dresden Water Distribution System (WDS), a potentially new service area to the Wallaceburg Water Supply System

• Water availability at Chenal Écarte to meet the projected future water demand

 Water supply to the Dresden Water Distribution System (WDS), a potentially new service area to the Wallaceburg Water Supply System

 Water supply to support potential greenhouse development in the expanded service area

• Water supply to the Dresden Water Distribution System (WDS), a potentially new service area to the Wallaceburg Water Supply System

 Water supply to support potential greenhouse development in the expanded service area

• Water supply to support potential greenhouse development in the expanded service area

Figure

This study was carried out as a Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) in accordance with the planning and design process for “Schedule C” projects under the Environmental Assessment Act as outlined in the Municipal Engineers Association’s Municipal Class Environmental Assessment document (2000, as amended in 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019). Subject to comments received as a result of this notice and the receipt of the necessary approvals, the CK PUC intends to proceed with the design and construction of the preferred solution identified in this Class EA. At this time, an Environmental Study Report (ESR) has been completed to document the Class EA process, which identifies preferred solutions and design concepts for the Wallaceburg water supply strategy, raw water supply, and treated water transmission to meet future water demands through 2070. The ESR is available for review at the link below: