the
Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 47 Issue 09
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.09% 3 Year GIC - 2.26% 5 Year GIC - 2.80% Daily Interest 1.55%
638-3328
Friday, February 28, 2014
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Public health presents plan for outdoor smoking ban Hockey fundraiser - Students from Norwell District Secondary School took on members of the Wellington County OPP in the second annual Kate McNally Memorial hockey game for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) at the Palmerston arena on Feb. 18. photo by Helen Michel
Hockey game raises $1,200 for MADD PALMERSTON Members of the Wellington County OPP participated in the 2nd Annual Kate McNally Memorial MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) hockey game on Feb. 18. The event took place at the Palmerston and District Community Centre with a puck drop at 7pm followed by a chuck the puck competition, door prizes and static displays. Members from the three detachments in Wellington County made up the OPP team, which took on male and female students from Norwell District Secondary School. The players were cheered on by excited fans including fellow classmates, parents and officers, as well as local residents, fire fighters and dignitaries. The game was officiated by Scott Driscoll, a National Hockey League linesman, and
Faceoff - Constable Guy Morin, Minto Mayor Ray Tout, Wellington OPP inspector Scott Lawson and Norwell student Becky Bults took part in the ceremonial opening faceoff at the Kate McNally Memorial MADD hockey game on Feb. 18. photo by Helen Michel P/C Steve Smith, a school resource officer at the Centre Wellington District High School in Fergus. The event, which was held in honour of Kate McNally, a former Norwell student who was killed four years ago by a driver that was drinking, raised $1,269 in support of
MADD Wellington County. The Wellington OPP along with MADD Wellington County, McNally’s family and friends and Norwell students expressed thanks to everyone who contributed to making the event a huge success for a second year in a row.
by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - Council members here were the first in Wellington County to get a look at a smoke-free outdoor environment envisioned by local public health officials. On Feb. 11, Mapleton council heard a presentation from Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) on the recently-completed Smoke Free Outdoor Spaces Survey. The survey includes a recommendation to ban smoking in outdoor public spaces across the region, with bylaws implemented in Wellington on a county-wide basis. Public health recommends the bylaw consist of a complete smoking ban in designated outdoor locations rather than a partial ban. “A blanket ban that does not make exceptions more closely aligns with what more than 90 other municipalities have done across the province and is considered best practice,” public health officials state in a report on the survey. “A complete ban is more effective, easier to communicate and easier to enforce.” Rita Sethi, WDGPH director of community health and wellness, told council residents shouldn’t be exposed to second-hand smoke even in an outdoor environment.
“We know that there’s no amount of tobacco smoke that’s considered safe,” Sethi stated. She explained 93 Ontario municipalities now have smoke-free outdoor spaces bylaws, compared to less than 50 just two years ago. “So were moving along here,” she said, adding Orangeville passed such as bylaw in 2012 and “have been very successful in their implementation.” Between May 31 and Aug. 20, 2013 public health administered a survey to Wellington, Dufferin and Guelph residents. Just over 2,000 surveys were collected. A total of 45 per cent (902) came from Guelph residents, with 24% (481) from Wellington County and 22% (435) from Dufferin County. The survey revealed 95% of residents believe exposure to second-hand smoke can cause serious health problems and 76% believe banning smoking in outdoor spaces can help to protect people from secondhand smoke. In addition, support for some form of outdoor smoking restriction in Wellington County was very high, with 97% of respondents supporting at least one of the smoke-free policy options suggested in the survey. Overall, the health unit feels
results show a high level of support for smoke-free outdoor spaces in Wellington County compared to Ontario. For example, 76% of Wellington County residents support a ban on smoking on restaurant patios and 63% support a smoking ban on bar patios, compared to 57% of Ontarians. In the general population of Ontario support for smoke-free parks is 55% whereas in Wellington County it is 68%. The WDGPH report notes support for smoke-free outdoor spaces was higher among non-smokers and parents than smokers and non-parents. Among respondents from Wellington County, support for smoke-free outdoor pools and splash pads had the highest level of support (92%), followed by support for smoke-free playgrounds (90%), smoke-free areas nine metres from doorways (83%), hospital grounds (83%), municipal property (78%), restaurant patios (76%), sports fields (75%), bus stops (73%), outdoor ice rinks (69%), parks (68%), outdoor special events (66%), other outdoor recreational areas (65%) and bar patios (63%). The survey notes outdoor smoking bylaws tend to be self-enforcing, when combined with proper education, signage Continued on page 6
River cleanout through Drayton included in GRCA draft budget
by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - Councillors here were encouraged to learn the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has included a cleanout of the Conestogo River channel through the village of Drayton in its preliminary 2014 budget. “I’m pleased to see the GRCA has included funds for dredging,” noted Mapleton councillor Andy Knetsch at the Feb. 11 council meeting. The township has been working with the GRCA for over a year to come up with a plan for a river cleanout in order to reduce the risk to flood-prone areas in the village. Discussion on the issue goes back several years. The draft GRCA capital budget includes $1.85 million for flood control expenses which, in addition to the river channel cleanout through Drayton, includes gate maintenance on the Conestogo Dam and Guelph Dam, embankment maintenance and stop log replacement at the Luther Dam,
Flood potential - A heavy winter has left plenty of snow build-up along the Conestogo River and created the potential for spring flooding. The GRCA has included funds for river dredging through Drayton in an effort to reduce the flood risk in the village. photo by Wilma Mol replacement of the Drimmie Dam in the village of Elora and other projects around the watershed. The authority will draw just over $1 million from
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reserves for flood control projects, leaving $800,000 to be raised through the general levy to municipalities. In total, the GRCA anticipates spending just under $3 million for
capital projects throughout the watershed. Total projected expenditures in the budget are $29.5 million, down slightly from $30.7 million in the 2013 bud-
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get. Operating expenditures account for 79 per cent of projected 2014 expenses, with special projects consuming 11% and capital programs 10%. The budget will be balanced by $29.5 million in revenues, of which 35% are generated through a levy on municipalities in the watershed. In 2014, 46% of the GRCA’s budget revenue will be self-generated, while 9% comes from government grants, 7% from reserves and 3% from other municipal sources. The budgeted municipal levy portion of $10.3 million is up about $248,000, or 2.5% from 2013. Mapleton’s GRCA levy for 2014 is set at $87,610, up just over $5,000 or about 6.65% from 2013. The draft budget also sets 2014 levies for the five other Wellington County municipalities within the GRCA watershed: - Centre Wellington, $287,256, up 1.67%; - Town of Erin, $76,805,
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up 2.14%; Guelph-Eramosa, $165,640, up 1.6%; - Puslinch, $114,318, up 2.14%; and Wellington North, $50,443, up 2.4%. The Grand River stretches 300 kilometres from Dundalk in Dufferin County to Port Maitland on Lake Erie. The watershed takes in one of the fastest-growing areas of the province, with a population of more than 950,000. The watershed is also home to some of the most intensively farmed land in Canada. “The prospect of high growth and the impact on natural resources and the quality of life present an enormous challenge to the GRCA, municipalities and all watershed residents,” the GRCA states in a budget summary. “It creates an urgent need to work co-operatively to care wisely for the Grand River and it’s resources.” Mapleton council passed a resolution supporting the proposed GRCA budget and levy.
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