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10 | 18 | 2018 VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 41
WRAPPING UP AN ERA OF ELMIRA MOVIE RENTALS VENTURE PAGE 14
GETTING OUT TO VOTE IS THE LEAST WE CAN DO
COMMENT PAGE 8
www.OBSERVERXTRA.com
POLICY / FIRE DEPARTMENT
Province rescinds onerous firefighter training plan Set to come in next year, legislation would have forced quick, costly action on small volunteer departments STEVE KANNON THE PROVINCE REVERSING COURSE on stringent firefighter certification requirements comes as a welcome reprieve to Woolwich fire chief Dale Martin. Along with breathing room, the township stands to gain some budget relief. The Ford government last week nixed legislative changes instituted by the Liberals that would have been a hardship on small, volunteer-based departments such as Woolwich’s. Scheduled to come into effect next summer, the new rules would have meant accelerated timelines for getting firefighters certified to industry standards. That would have cost a considerable amount of money and, perhaps more problematically, could have been a deterrent to new recruits unable to commit to some 200 hours of training before the one-year deadline. Having all of the depart-
ment’s pump operators certified by 2020, for instance, wasn’t workable, said Martin. “It just wasn’t possible to do that.” Woolwich does train its paid-duty firefighters to industry standards set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), but does so at a manageable pace, he said, noting he and his counterparts in other municipalities are still waiting for details of any new regulations the government might bring in to replace the Liberal plan. “The decision is to rescind the legislation as it is. We don’t know what’s next,” he said. “We still have to do training. “We still have to train to a standard, which in Ontario is the NFPA.” In the meantime, volunteer fire departments have some wiggle room. That was the intent of TRAINING | 3
Ronald Martin is getting support from the township for a Mennonite-themed museum on his Bridge Street property near St. Jacobs.
[VERONICA REINER / THE OBSERVER]
Woolwich backs plan for new museum of Mennonite culture Martin’s Historical Place on Bridge Street West will feature displays of artifacts and memorabilia dating back to the Pennsylvania migration VERONICA REINER
Martin’s Historical Place will feature various agricultural artifacts from the 1800s and 1900s and provide history on the Mennonite culture. It’s to be located on Ronald Martin’s farm property at 1057 Bridge St. W. near St. Jacobs and the
Waterloo border. “My friend suggested that we have a place to store old documents, letters and things like that, and then it grew from there,” said Martin of the project. When completed, the
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PLANS FOR A NEW museum to document the area’s Mennonite history are moving ahead with the support of the township, with Woolwich council backing the project.
museum will also house tractors, backhoes and various farming artifacts from the 19th century. “He also has original artifacts that the Pennsylvanian Mennonites moved MUSEUM | 4
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