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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 45 Issue 13
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.20% 3 Year GIC - 2.45% 5 Year GIC - 2.76% Daily Interest 1.75%
Friday, March 30, 2012
Council likes idea of processing plant but leery of water usage by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. Council here appears sympathetic to a proposal for a food processing plant that would feed people in the Third World - but it wants its rules and regulations followed, too. Representatives of Christian Aid Ministries of Waterloo were at council on March 13 to apply for a zone change for lands in Moorefield. The group wants to put a food processing plant into an old hardware and building supply store. The two adjoining parcels are located at 16 Maudsley Street and Parkview Drive. County planner Mark Van Patter, working on behalf of the township, told council such plants require a zone change. The group plans to dehydrate vegetables, package and then send them overseas to feed the poor. He added the rezoning application includes permitting a Christian bookstore. Van Patter said in a written report to council he and chief building official David Kopp met with the applicants in late January. He offered the following information about the proposal: - about 200 gallons of water used per day; - about 4,000 to 7,000 pounds of vegetables processed per day; - hours of operation with volunteers cutting vegetables would be 8am to 1pm;
- dehydration would take place 8:30am to 4:30pm; - 30 to 60 volunteers at the plant between Monday and Friday; - waste water from washing vegetables goes into a separating basin and then to the storm sewer system; - chopped vegetables would be shredded and dehydrated; - they would then be packed into two kilogram bags and shipped; and - the dehydration unit is fairly small and would be located in the main building at the northwest corner, away from neighbouring homes. Van Patter added the book store would be in the former Harron’s Rona store, as would the head office. Van Patter said proposed renovations to the main building include demolishing 8,000 square feet and adding another 12,000 square feet. The small leans and the built-in highway trailer along the south lot line would be removed. The narrow shed west of the main building would be removed, and the applicants planned to do some grading. Van Patter said meat and food processing ventures are specifically prohibited in township bylaws in order to give councils a say in any of those types of businesses. He said his main concern is the water usage. Councillor Mike Downey said he would like a better Continued on page 3
Gator gang - This American alligator from Exotic Critter Tales in Guelph was a big hit at Alma Public School’s annual Eco Fair on March 24. From left are: Riley Rickert, 7, of Alma, Rachel Forbes, 8, of Parker, Jasmin Adams of the Halton Peel Biodiversity Network, and Abby Litzen, 8, of Alma. See page 12 for an additional photo. photo by David Meyer
Lone Mapleton employee on ‘Sunshine List’ by Chris Daponte WELLINGTON CTY. - Mapleton, Minto and Wellington North have become the last municipalities in Wellington County to have an employee included on the province’s annual “Sunshine List.”
On March 23, the Ministry of Finance released its annual list of public sector employees who received a 2011 salary over $100,000 before taxes, as well as their total taxable benefits. Province wide, the list has grown 10% over the past year
Peter Wiebe, 23, of St. Clements, was taken to Groves Memorial Hospital in Fergus and soon air lifted to St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto. The passenger, Cody B. Foster, 23, also of St. Clements, was transferred to Hamilton General Hospital. The Cadillac driver, 78-year-old Charles Dillon of Port Elgin, was taken to Groves and then transferred to Hamilton General Hospital. All injuries were considered serious. Cadillac passenger Marie Dillon was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Dr. John Vanderkooy. A West Region OPP Technical Collision Investigator responded to assist with the investigation. The roadway was closed while investigators tried to determine the events that led to the crash.
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Patty Sinnamon, $101,256; and - Wellington North clerk/ CAO Lorri Heinbuch, $106,949. For a larger story on the Sunshine List see this week’s Wellington Advertiser. For the complete list visit www.fin. gov.on.ca.
Farmers: Biogas at farms offers winning formula
Woman killed in crash
MAPLETON TWP. - A woman is dead following a crash here on March 25 at about 10:40pm. Dead is Marie Dillon, 79, of Port Elgin. OPP Constable Mark Cloes reported that county OPP officers were called to a collision on County Road 8, southeast of Drayton. County OPP officers and members of the Mapleton Fire Department attended to the collision at the intersection of County Roads 8 and 12. Investigation revealed a 1995 Chevy cavalier with two occupants was travelling south on County Road 12. A 2005 Cadillac carrying two occupants was travelling west on County Road 8. The Chevy cavalier entered into the intersection and struck the Cadillac broadside. The Chevy driver, Travis
and has quadrupled in size since 2003. Municipal employees in northern Wellington County on the list for the first time include: - Minto director of public services Norm Fisk, $101,094; - Mapleton clerk/CAO
High tech on the farm - Minister of Agriculture Ted McMeekin, right, toured Clovermead Farms near Drayton on March 23 with co-owner Korb Whale, left, and Biogas Association president Dan Jones.
Weekly Wag
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by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. Bruce, Deb and Korb Whale hosted the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs at their Clovermead Farms on March 23 and Ted McMeekin was impressed with the way their biogas project could solve some of Ontario’s power supply woes. Nearly two dozen people, including a group from Austria toured the project that cost over $1 million but will supply 500kw of electric power by using methane from cow manure and other organic materials. The project can also provide a source of good fertilizer, and could even eventually reduce the use of landfills as organic waste from cities comes to the countryside. The provincial government has apparently been so impressed with the results that payments for biogas power generation was not reduced,
BILL’S
even as the government cut payments for wind and solar power in the past week. “I believe,” said McMeekin, as executive coordinator Jennifer Green of the Agrienergy Producers Association of Ontario cited all the benefits of the project. Korb Whale noted, “There’s a lot of people complaining about green energy [wind turbines and solar projects].” McMeekin replied, “I’m with you.” The project has been underway at the Whale Farm since the spring of 2010, Korb Whale said in an interview. He said the technology is based on something very rural: the cow. Or, rather, the cow’s stomach. Those stomachs produce methane gas. The idea behind the project is to harness that gas for power The technology is tank systems that act just like cows’ stomachs. They produce gas Continued on page 3
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