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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 46 Issue 25
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.05% 3 Year GIC - 2.20% 5 Year GIC - 2.50% Daily Interest 1.55%
Friday, June 21, 2013
Mapleton not ready to sign on to plan for risk management official by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – Council here remains reluctant to sign on to a plan to share a source water risk management official (RMO) with other Wellington municipalities, despite assurances the county will be funding the position on an ongoing basis. Council defeated a motion at its June 11 meeting to support a proposal that would see Centre Wellington recruit an RMO to service all seven lower tier municipalities, with the cost of the position funded by Wellington County. The risk management position is mandatory for all municipalities beginning in 2013 under the provincial government’s Clean Water Act. At the March 5 council meeting, CAO Patty Sinnamon reported on a proposal that would see
the county temporarily fund a risk management official, who would be officially employed by Centre Wellington, but would provide service to all seven municipalities. Council declined to approve the proposal at that meeting, after councillor Mike Downey expressed concerns the county was only committed to funding the program through 2013 and part of 2014. At the June 11 meeting, CAO Patty Sinnamon recommended acceptance of the proposal in light of correspondence from county planning director Gary Cousins indicating the county now intends to fund the RMO position on an ongoing basis. “All other lower tier municipalities have now endorsed the proposal put forward by Centre Wellington. Given the
assurance of the county to continue funding the position, it would now be appropriate for Mapleton to also support the proposal,� Sinnamon stated. However councillor Neil Driscoll expressed concern there was no information provided on potential costs of a risk management official. “So we have no idea what this person could cost us?� he asked. “There is no cost to us,� said Mayor Bruce Whale, stressing the county was funding the position 100 per cent. However Driscoll noted local taxpayers would still be paying for the position through their county taxes. Pressed for more specific information on the cost of the RMO position, Whale responded, “I really don’t know and I Continued on page 3
Knetsch wants council to issue call for referendum on future of Senate
by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – A local councillor wants the municipality to initiate a referendum on the future of the Canadian Senate. However The township’s mayor believes such a move may be outside the local council’s mandate. Councillor Andy Knetsch gave notice at the June 11 council meeting that he intends to introduce a resolution that would see Mapleton seek the support of other Canadian municipalities to make the possible dissolution of the Senate a referendum question in the next election. “I’ve been giving this a lot of thought,� said Knetsch. “How can we as a municipality give our view of what’s going on in terms of what’s happening in Ottawa, particularly with the Senate.� Knetsch pointed out, “There are 105 senators making
$135,000 to $200,000, working three days a week.� By comparison, he pointed out, the loss of $86,000 due to a reduction in Mapleton’s allotment from the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund had a significant impact on this year’s township budget. Knetsch questioned the continued need for the Senate, which he said was originally created in the era of Canada’s founding Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, to “curb our democratic excesses. “We spend between $14 million and $15 million on the Senate – and for what?� he asked. However, Mayor Bruce Whale pointed out, “I’m not sure that’s something our level of government can comment on.� “We represent the people,� said Knetsch. “Why don’t we as a council take some interest
and send it across the country to other municipalities for consideration and then take it to the federal government?� “I don’t think we can do that,� said Whale, explaining that while councils can pass resolutions on local issues that are common across the county and circulate them for support, he doesn’t believe its part of their mandate to comment on the operations of upper levels of government. “It may be something to take up as an individual in talking to our MP,� he suggested. “Maybe it’s time we asked for a delegation of our MP,� suggested councillor Jim Curry. “He doesn’t come here and criticize us,� Whale pointed out. Whale offered to look into legal and protocol issues related to the proposed resolution and report back to council.
Safety session - Wellington County OPP and Mapleton firefighters hosted car seat information and awareness sessions in Drayton on June 13. Making sure three-year-old Emma Rozema is strapped securely into her seat at the Drayton event are auxiliary constable Alida Hesselink, left and constable Angie Stiles. photo by Patrick Raftis
Loose harness straps top car seat concern by Patrick Raftis DRAYTON – Loose-fitting harnesses are the most common error drivers are making with child car seat usage, local police have found. “Parents don’t seem to want to make them too tight,�
explained Constable Angie Stiles at a car seat education and information session hosted by the Wellington OPP and Mapleton firefighters at the Drayton fire station on June 13. Stiles says parents may be leaving the straps which hold
their children into the seats loose to accommodate bulky winter coats, or to avoid chafing on hot summer days. However the results can be disastrous, as a child can easily come out of a seat with a loose Continued on page 6
World class fastpitch softball event to support improvements to Moorefield Park MOOREFIELD - A fun family evening of fastpitch softball will be held at the Moorefield Ball Park on June 26. A world class game starting at 8 pm will feature an exhibition mens game between the Hill United Chiefs and the South Perth All Stars. A preliminary youth game with a 6:30pm start time will feature a battle of the genders between two U12 teams, the Palmerston Marlins Squirt Select girls and the Belmore Sting OASA boys.
“These two games will bring back that old time ball feeling to the Moorefield park as it showcases the newly installed playground equipment and many upgrades to the ball diamonds themselves and the overall appearance of the park,� organizers state. Admission to the games will be by donation with proceeds to support Moorefield Park improvements. The Drayton Moorefield Giants Softball players will don their jerseys to man the gates.
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An event similar to this was held last June to fundraise for the mural project in downtown Moorefield. Hundreds of ball enthusiast came to see New Zealand and Argentina battle it out. Many locals commented how it was like “old times� at the Moorefield Park. This year it was decided to add a competitive, grassroots youth game to the mix, as that is where it all starts for these world class players. “Games like these just don’t come to towns like Moore-
field. It is through the softball connections of our township’s director of public works Larry Lynch that we get these world class teams to come to showcase our great park facilities,� organizers note. The Hill United Chiefs are two-time defending American Athletic Union National Champion and the number two ranked team in the International Softball Congress North American rankings. They feature two stars of the Australian Steelers men’s national team in Adam
Weekly Wag
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Folkard and Nick Shailes. Folkard is considered the best men’s pitcher in the game today. They are also very deep in Canadian talent, with eight members of Team Canada currently starting on their roster. The Canadian boys hail from Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Ontario. The Chiefs were finalists in both the ASA Nationals and the ISC World Championship in 2012. The South Perth All-Stars will also feature the best in lo-
cal men’s talent from the South Perth Fastball League and is expected to include Brandon Horn from Waterloo and Don Scott from Sebringville, both just back from representing Team Canada at the International Softball Federation World Championships, in New Zealand. The South Perth League is familiar to Moorefield fans, as the community fielded a team in the loop for many years. Expect lots of local fan favorites from a league that Continued on page 2
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