Serving Lake Erie’s North Shore Friday July 22, 2016
Extended Heat Warning for Elgin St. Thomas Effective July 21-24, 2016
Port Glasgow Awarded Blue Flag
INSIDE Letters The vandalism occurring at the newly completed break wall walking path in Port Stanley has been ongoing since last Fall. STORY PAGE 2
Port Stanley Report The last spring meeting has traditionally been held at Mackie’s restaurant in Port Stanley. STORY PAGE 2
Port Bruce Report The blue plastic mats link together to form a runway across the soft sand areas to the firmer beach sand. STORY PAGE 3
Jim Hudson OSW Executive Director Port Glasgow Beach has taken its place among the list of best beaches in Canada after the official raising of its Blue Flag on July 6th. Blue Flag is a world-renowned eco-certification for beaches and marinas. When you see a Blue Flag flying, you know a beach or marina is clean and accessible; has great water quality; meets high safety standards; and is working hard to protect local shorelines and ecosystems.
Can You Spot Your Family Cottage? There was also considerable discussion with both staff as well as Heritage Central Elgin with respect to the orientation of the building on the site. S TORY PAGE 4
Port Burwell Report With the great summer weather, the East Beach has been covered with visitors on week days, STORY PAGE 5
Off The Wall Art Show Fifty-one Artists from all across Southern Ontario came out to display their latest and greatest creations. STORY PAGE 6
OPP Inundated With Calls Any calls regarding the Canada Revenue Agency Scam should be directed to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre . STORY PAGE 8
LOOK AHEAD Community Events
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Classifieds & Service Directory Page 7 Business Roladex
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Wendie Dupuis, owner of nearby Lakewood Trailer Estates, originally approached West Elgin council two years ago to have the beach designated with the Blue Flag and has been one of the driving forces leading to Port Glasgow
successfully receiving the prestigious certification. “It’s all about bringing visitors to the area,” Dupuis remarked at the flag-raising ceremony. “What’s the #1 question visitors ask: Where’s the beach?” There are 26 certified Blue Flag beaches in all of Canada; Port Glasgow joins three other Blue Flag beaches located in Southwestern Ontario, Port Stanley, Grand Bend, and Canatara Park. Katherine Thompson of Elgin County Tourism, said Elgin was proud to be a county with two beaches flying the Blue Flag, Port Glasgow and Port Stanley's Main Beach. Congratulations to all those involved in West Elgin for bringing an-
Raising the Blue Flag is Grace McGartland. She is the owner of the Arts & Cookery Bank and is also a board of director member for Ontario Southwest. On the right of the flag are West Elgin Recreation Superintendent Jeff Slater, Wendie Dupuis, owner of Lakewood Trailer Estates, Alan Smith general manager, Elgin County Tourism, Isabel Balarezo of Environmental Defence, West Elgin Deputy Mayor Mary Bodnar and Joanne Wolnik of Ontario Southwest tourism. PHOTO: Courtesy Ontario’s Southwest Industry News. other Blue Flag to the region! See you at the beach!
Paid Beach Parking Began May 20th in Port Stanley Central Elgin If you’re planning on heading to the beach, there are a variety of options available to you to pay for parking this year in Port Stanley. Beachgoers can pay by plate at the parking meters, pay by phone, or purchase a season parking pass. Parking rates are $1.00/ half hour or up to $10.00 a day for a single vehicle, or a $20.00 flat rate for vehicles pulling trailers using the boat launch.
MacKay Pay, or visit mackaypay.com and create an account. Zone numbers for the lots in the vicinity of Main Beach are as follows: Zone 3080 - Main Beach Lot Zone 3081 - Old Ball Park Zone 3082 - Pierside Beach Zone 3083 - Boat Launch Zone 3084 -Former Lakes Terminal Property. There are signs posted in each of these lots that indicate what zone you are parking in. If you are parking with a boat and trailer, no matter what zone you are in, you must use Boat Launch Zone 3083 for the proper rates. Rates are the same as purchasing time at the parking meters, however there is a .35 cent administration fee for using the pay-by-phone app.
Enter your license plate number, length of stay, and credit card informaAll you have to do to skip the line up tion, and you are ready to hit the beach! at the meter is download the free app, The MacKay Pay app also allows you
Pay-by-Phone
to extend your length of stay, as well as sends out reminders before your time expires.
Pay by Plate If paying by phone isn’t your thing, our parking meters are up and running. Paying for parking with Pay by Plate takes only 3 simple steps. Customers park, walk up to ANY Pay-by-Plate machine, punch in their licence plate, and make payment by credit card or cash (quarters, loonies and toonies, some machines accept $5 and $10 bills).
Season Passes Season passes are available for $155.00 for a single vehicle, or $200.00 for a vehicle pulling a boat trailer. These prices are inclusive of HST. Passes can be purchased at the Central Elgin Municipal Office at 450 Sunset Drive, St. Thomas.