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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 45 Issue 19
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.20% 3 Year GIC - 2.42% 5 Year GIC - 2.76% Daily Interest 1.75%
Friday, May 11, 2012
Poodle, owner claim prestigious title by Chris Daponte MOOREFIELD - Allison Cowie wasn’t sure what to expect heading into the Poodle Club of America’s (PCA) 80th National Specialty Dog Show April 23 to 27. “Not that,” Cowie said with a laugh of the Best of Breed title she and “Tina” claimed at the event in Salisbury, Maryland. Tina, a three-year-old standard poodle, beat out 750 other poodles to become the only Canadian dog to ever win the overall title at the PCA show. “Whenever you go, you hope to do well, but people wait
their whole lives to win [the PCA title],” said Cowie, who lives just outside Moorefield. “It’s pretty much the biggest poodle show on earth.” Cowie, 31, grooms, handles and trains Tina herself and she currently grooms dogs for a living in the Kitchener and Arthur areas. She has been handling dogs at shows for much of her life, but in the beginning she never imagined winning the highest honour at one of the world’s most famous dog shows. “It was just a hobby,” she said of her start at age 7 in junior dog shows.
Tina is the first poodle Cowie has owned and the dog has had a lot of success at a young age. Cowie said she searched for a poodle for some time and carefully selected and purchased Tina as a puppy from an American breeder based on her strong pedigree. But that doesn’t mean reaching the pinnacle of canine conformation was easy. Extensive training and exercise - judges closely evaluate a dog’s muscle tone - are essential for a successful showing, not to mention bathing and trimming leading up to shows Continued on page 3
Councillor wants more regular reports by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. Councillor Andy Knetsch says some parts of the township have been out of whack and he wants to know what is being done about it. Knetsch told council on April 24 there are a number of issues he has learned of that should be addressed by township bylaw enforcement officer Maurita Boyle. Knetsch said on Edward Street in Drayton there was an issue with an abandoned truck, and in Alma there was a problem with an abandoned house that has sat empty for “a number of years now” and also
a number of abandoned tanks in that yard. “What’s being done?” he asked, adding, “We need more reports from our bylaw enforcement officer.” Mayor Bruce Whale said those reports should be sent to council by Boyle. Knetsch said he realizes Boyle is busy, but said he thinks she should report to council in person. Clerk Patty Sinnamon told council the abandoned truck recently had licence plates put on it, so it is now legally parked on the street. As for the house, she said that is an issue of planning, but at one time it
had been addressed. Knetsch said his concern is if the house and tanks becomes an environmental issue. Councillor Mike Downey said the Ministry of Environment was contacted and “turned a blind eye.” He wondered what the township can do. Knetsch said the idea is to keep phoning, just as the township did with the bridge abutment issue to the CPR. Whale reminded council the intent when it hired Boyle was that she would provide quarterly or semi-annual reports. Sinnamon added Boyle was scheduled to be at council in May.
Groups get council approval for 50:50 funding for parks equipment by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. - It will be a busy and productive summer here for a number of local service clubs after council agreed they can be part of the township’s funding program for parks equipment. The Drayton Kinsmen Club asked council recently if it can have some financial help to replace the playground equipment in the Drayton Kinsmen Park and the Moorefield Park. Council suggested they run the idea through the township’s parks, culture and recreation committee. That group met on April 12 and recommended council accept the clubs’ offer. The committee minutes noted the Drayton Kinsmen, Moorefield Optimists and Opti-Mrs clubs have $15,000 for each park. They requested that they have some input as to what type of equipment is to be installed and how it is maintained. The township has had a sudden influx of issues with deteriorating playground equipment.
The clubs will prepare the base and install the equipment and are asking that they receive annual township reports on the upgrades and maintenance needed to keep the playground equipment in good repair. Council agreed to the first recommendation on the issue to initiate a partnership between the Kinsmen, Optimists and Opti-Mrs. to fund the parks, and also that the groups can access the 50:50 funding policy. That township policy means if a group does a community project, council helps pay for half of it. Council agreed to that. The committee also recommended council set up a working committee that includes the members of the three clubs, township staff and the recreation committee, with no more than six members. Mayor Bruce Whale was concerned about that recommendation. He said it implies that council could be asked to form any
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number of committees for various projects and he said he could “foresee 15 committees being formed.” Councillor Neil Driscoll said the recommendation is more to get the project up and operating, and not for regular meetings. Public works director Larry Lynch, who sits on the parks, culture and recreation committee, agreed the suggestion for a committee is simply to get things started. Councillor Jim Curry said he could understand the clubs wanting an annual report because the township suddenly had to pull unsafe equipment from parks - and they want to make sure that does not happen again. Driscoll said the goal of the committee was simply to save time, and Lynch said it could meet once a year to review the township’s report. Whale did not object to such a special purpose committee and council approved the recommendations.
Top volunteer - Walter Grose of Alma was named Mapleton’s top volunteer by Wellington County and the Volunteer Centre of Guelph Wellington at county council on April 26. From left are: Mapleton county councillor John Green, Grose and Mapleton Mayor Bruce Whale. submitted photo
Grose named Mapleton’s top volunteer by David Meyer GUELPH - Wellington County and the Volunteer Centre of Guelph Wellington presented the annual county awards for volunteering at the April 26 council meeting, and Walter Grose of Alma was the Mapleton Township winner. County councillor Lou Maieron is the coordinator of the project and noted he was “volunteered” when the awards began several years ago. He said early nominations were sparse, but that has changed - now there are large numbers of people being nominated from all municipalities. “Without you, the county would not be the same place,” Maieron told the recipients. Mapleton Mayor Bruce Whale read the citation for
Grose. “Walter has served as vice president of the Wellington County Farm and Home Safety Association and is currently the secretary. He also sits on the Work Place Safety Prevention Services advisory group,” Whale said. “Walter dresses as a clown to educate youth on the dangers related to tractor use. Walter has supported the young adults at the University of Guelph Chapter of the Canadian AgriMarketing Association. “He also sits on the advisory committee for the Toronto Farm Show and the waste utilization sub committee.” Whale concluded, “Walter has held numerous roles at the Alma United Church and is the chairman of Silver Lake
United Church Camp. He also volunteers at the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival and the Alma Strawberry Social.” Grose thanked everyone for the award and his family for standing by him when it came to his volunteering. He noted that when he has to, he recruits his family to help him with various volunteer activities. Grose said he is particularly concerned with safety issues. He said it is “a major goal” to save “just one life. If I can complete that I’ll feel I’ve been successful.” Grose has also volunteered with the Youth Outdoors Day event at Luther Marsh for nine years and he is past president of the local chamber of commerce.
Groups offered tips to prevent bullying by Wilma Mol PALMERSTON - Parents, students and concerned citizens gathered at Palmerston Public School on May 2 to discuss issues surrounding bullying. Child and youth counsellors Joanne Worth and Jill Hope of the Upper Grand District School Board offered a presentation that identified the three types of bullying: social, physical and verbal. They also addressed prevention keys and a plan for parents in the event that they find their child is
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being bullied or is showing signs of being a bully. The counsellors detailed resources available through the school board and social sites such as Kids Help Phone. They also stressed the importance of maintaining and encouraging an open dialogue at all levels: parents, teachers, victims and aggressors. Worth and Hope noted that once an aggressor learns the impact bullying has, they are often dumbfounded and remorseful. Teaching empathy
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and getting students to recognize the impact of their words and actions is a main focus for reducing bullying. The seminar, jointly hosted by Minto and Mapleton safe community committees, was followed by a question and answer period. Those committees work with law enforcement to maintain a safe community environment through programs such as Neighbourhood Watch, road safety and more. See photo on page 2.
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