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July 31 SALE
07 | 27 | 2017 VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 30
CANADA 150 AWARD FOR VOLUNTEERS LIVING HERE PAGE 21
COMMENT PAGE 6
ANOTHER REPORT REVEALS WYNNE MISMANAGEMENT
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TWO-VEHICLE COLLISION NORTH OF ROUNDABOUT SLOWS MORNING COMMUTE
The southbound approach to the St. Jacobs roundabout was slowed for the morning commute Wednesday after a car rear-ended a pickup truck that had stopped for traffic at the intersection of Arthur Street and Sawmill Road. Though the car’s airbags deployed, the driver was able to walk away from the wreck. Damage to the pickup was minor. [JOE MERLIHAN / THE OBSERVER]
Residents call for improved communication at meeting to review June 23 flood GRCA, township officials offer up explanations, take questions from public at packed gathering in West Montrose
FAISAL ALI THE FAILURE OF OFFICIALS to provide warnings early on in the process led the list of complaints Monday night as West Montrose residents packed a public meeting dissecting the chain of events leading to a significant flood last month. Representatives of the Grand River Conservation Authority acknowledged communications could have been better, pledging to work on improvements. The agency learned in the early hours of June 23 about
heavy rainfall in the northern part of the Grand River watershed, but both the risk and extent of the flooding only became known over the course of the day, with warnings to the public trickling out. Hardest hit of the Woolwich locales, West Montrose residents argued the information arrived too late to prepare for the floodwaters that spilled over the banks and into their basements. A month having passed since the flood, officials from the GRCA and Woolwich Township provided an update of their review of
the event as residents gathered at the West Montrose United Church, eager to ask questions. Along with explanations, they wanted to know what would be done to improve the system for next time. The flooding caught everyone by surprise, said Dwight Boyd, GRCA director of engineering, including the agency itself. But one of the major deficiencies revealed was communication with the public, by both the GRCA and the local emergency relief officials. Many people in the crowd expressed disappointment
that the warning had come late, if at all, when the water started to rise. “We literally have sandbags from (the flood in) 2000, that if we had known we probably could have stopped the damage – in the garage at least and done something,” said West Montrose resident Barbara Dowling, whose garage was flooded. “But we had to use the sandbags to hold the deck down so it wouldn’t rip apart from the house. That was how severe this was.” Dowling spoke about the MEETING | 4
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