Serving Lake Erie’s North Shore Friday April 11, 2014
HMCS Prevost is a Naval Reserve unit based in London. It is also the home of The Battle of the Atlantic STORY PAGE 3 Memorial.
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BESSIE STREET MAUDE STREET
McAsphalt
Port Stanley Report During the past two years the PSVA has worked towards the development of a dog beach. STORY PAGE 5
Count Your Turtles, Toads and Tulip-Trees Updated natural heritage information for Elgin County is urgently needed. STORY PAGE 6
Site of a new public boat launch
Spot dredged West Harbour walkway
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First, Council reviewed Transport Canada’s (TC) commitment for the environmental clean up of the harbour lands. TC held a public meeting at the arena 28 January 2014 with all this information currently
Community Events
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Classifieds & Service Directory Page 7 Business Roladex
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Richard & Helen Haddow
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Potential continuation of the west Breakwater shown in red.
The following information was provided, and discussed, at the “Harbour Vision Committee” meeting of 25 March 2014. Members of this committee include the Port Stanley Business Association and the Port Stanley Village Association. Other stakeholders include our local fishermen and Elgin County’s tourism and economic development branch.
COLO
East Harbour walkway
The Berm
Above: Map of Port Stanley harbour showing areas that will be worked on this year. Left: A view of the harbour looking south.
posted on Central Elgin’s web site. The bottom line is that no action is likely to be seen on the property until 2016. While this may be disappointing, it is because the process requires time and due diligence because the clean up will be conducted to meet Ontario standards rather than federal standards. This delay in any development on the “berm” provided some impetus for Council to consider projects that could, and should, be completed in the
short term. First, early this year Riggs Engineering provided the municipality with plans for repairs to the ‘cribs’ under the west breakwater. This work was paid for by the federal government in 2009. The engineering is ready and this work will be necessary to the future rebuilding of the breakwater. One half million dollars has been allocated. Most of this will be underwater work conducted during the good weather of 2014. Next, one million dollars has been allocated for dredging work. The depth sounding surveys conducted last year shows the harbour does not actually need immediate dredging. The plan is to prepare for focused spot dredging and the maintenance dredging which Continued On Page 5
Most Anglers Obey Ice Fishing Rules Kevin Sprague Lake Erie Enforcement Unit
LOOK AHEAD
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DOC Building
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Parking
Areas shown in yellow to be spot dredged
Port Stanley: Recently Central Elgin Council reviewed their plans for Port Stanley’s harbour for 2014. Following consultation with Riggs Engineering of London Ontario specific budget allocations were made with the funds from the harbour divestiture of September 2010.
In Port Burwell, the sky was black and the trees full of blackbirds. STORY PAGE 4
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CARLOW ROAD
Dan McNeil
Port Burwell Report
GEORGE
Repairs to the west Breakwater
TAC recommendations are developed after thorough lakewide biological assessments, analysis, discussions, and consultations with stakeholders.. STORY PAGE 2
HMCS Prevost Meet and Greet
WILLIAM STREET
SMITH STREET
Lake Erie Committee Recommends 2014 Yellow Perch and Walleye Catch Levels
New seawall to contain dredge material. The area shown in red to be filled.
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$1,800,000 for harbour improvements EDITH CAVELL BLV
Our annual April Fools story grabbed the attention of several people. Some were suspicious and called or Emailed but we hope you enjoyed “Teaching squirrels to fly” on page 4 of our March 28th edition.
LOTUS STREET
April Fools
Most anglers checked during the recent ice fishing season by the Ministry of Natural Resources Lake Erie enforcement unit were obeying the rules. Conservation officers conducted numerous patrols on the ice-covered waters of Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, Lake Erie, Rondeau Bay, the Detroit River and the Thames River, from the second week of January until the third week of March. In total, 1,580 resident anglers and 600 non-resident anglers were checked, and overall compliance with Ontario’s sport fishing and public safety-related legislation was found to be 82 per cent. A total of 104 charges and 290
warnings were issued for the following offences: • fishing without a licence • catching and keeping too many yellow perch • fishing with too many lines • failing to register ice fishing huts • being more than 60 metres away from fishing lines • failing to maintain a clear and unobstructed view of a fishing line • fishing without carrying a licence • littering on public land. Officers also issued charges and warnings related to safety infractions under the Liquor Licence Act, Off-Road Vehicles Act and the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act.
With the open water season just around the corner, conservation officers will continue patrolling the local waterways for compliance with Ontario’s sport fishing and public safety-related legislation. Anglers are reminded that it is illegal to bring any live fish, crayfish, leeches or salamanders into Ontario for use as bait or to use invasive species as bait. For further information on fishing regulations and bait restrictions, please consult the Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary, available at ontario.ca/fishing. To report a natural resources violation, call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667) toll-free any time or contact your local ministry’s office during regular business hours. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).