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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 45 Issue 22
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.15% 3 Year GIC - 2.43% 5 Year GIC - 2.76% Daily Interest 1.75%
Friday, June 1, 2012
North Perth man stabbed at local party Minto man arrested, charged MAPLETON TWP. - A North Perth man is in stable condition in hospital after being stabbed at a party here on May 26 at about 2:35am. OPP Constable Mark Cloes reported that officers received a report of a man at Palmerston and District Hospital with stab wound injuries. He said investigators learned a large group of youths attended a party at a rural property in Mapleton. At about 1:45am there was an argument between a couple of men that escalated to a physical confrontation and one of the men stabbed the other in the chest. Cloes said the suspect in the assault fled the party prior to police arrival. Kevin John Dick, 19, of North Perth, was taken to the Palmerston hospital with mul-
tiple stab wounds to the chest. He was later transferred to Hamilton General Hospital and listed in stable condition. That same day at about 10:35am, members of the County of Wellington OPP Crime Unit located a suspect in Palmerston. Mitchell Robert Canning, 18, of Minto, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada. Canning was scheduled to appear before a judge on May 27 for an audio bail hearing. Police are asking anyone who witnessed the altercation and has not spoken to an officer to contact detective constable Don Watson at the Centre Wellington OPP office at 519846-5930.
Jump start - Community Christian School student Rachel Visscher soars through the air in the girls (age 13 and above) triple jump competition recently. Three records were broken at the school’s track and field day. More coverage on page 2. submitted photo
Township approves zoning for vegetable processing plant in 3-1 vote by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. - When representatives of Christian Aid Ministries of Waterloo came to council on March 13 for a zone change for lands to process vegetables to help feed the poor, council’s main concern was water usage. That concern was front and centre again at a May 22 council meeting when a zone change recommendation came from staff. Christian Aid Ministries of Waterloo wants to put a food processing plant into an old hardware and building supply
store in Moorefield. The two adjoining parcels are located at 16 Maudsley Street and Parkview Drive. They require an exception to the township’s old and proposed zoning bylaw. County planner Mark Van Patter told council such procession plants need a zone change and he recommended the group receive it. In his original report, Van Patter stated the group would need about 250 gallons of water per day to process about 4,000 to 7,000 pounds of vegetables.
In the latest report, which included a draft bylaw, he was recommending a maximum of 400 gallons of water per day, and that was a sticking point for at least one councillor. Councillor Jim Curry asked why the recommendation was so high. “I do have a concern extending it beyond 250,� he said. Public works director Larry Lynch said he and Van Patter had done some investigating and they took the 400-gallon figure from a similar processing plant being run in Cambridge. Lynch said they had met
with R.J. Burnside, the township’s engineering firm, and, “We did not feel it was a big issue.� He said the water use would not be “more than a couple of households� on average, and it is “treated water to wash vegetables. Burnside didn’t see it as a massive amount of water.� He added the amount would not be much different than what was used by the former hardware store on the lands. Chief building official David Kopp said the 400-gallon limit is tied to site control, and there are a number of
businesses in the community that might use that much for their truck washing operations. He concluded the amount is “pretty small.� Mayor Bruce Whale asked if the plant will require a water meter. Kopp said it will. Lynch said the 400 gallons is “our recommendation,� yet Curry persisted. “They said they need 250,� said Curry. Lynch called the 400 “an upside limit� and said 200 gallons might be adequate for an eight hour shift, but not likely if a second shift is added.
The entire plant is to be run by volunteers. But Curry said water disposal is precious in Mapleton and “We have developers who want two extra houses. Here, we give them more. It’s a very sensitive [sewage] lagoon to allow more in.� But councillor Mike Downey said with the number of employees at the old Harron’s Hardware store, it might have used as much as 500 gallons a day and there were no meters at that time. Renovations include the Continued on page 2
Council sees draft turbine agreement, but told changes are coming by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. Councillors here got a look at a draft agreement between the township and NextEra Canada for its Conestogo Wind Energy Centre, but it is simply that - a draft. Chief administrative officer Patty Sinnamon told council on May 22, “It’s just information at this point.� She said she spoke with NextEra officials in the past week and they would be requesting changes. She said she is not comfortable having council accept an agreement when she knows there will be changes made to it - so it is better to wait. Sinnamon said she was expecting NextEra officials to attend council that day. Councillors delayed consid-
ering the agreement but the NextEra officials never did arrive, so council went through the clauses later in the meeting. Sinnamon said the company has 90 days after the traffic study is submitted to make its “best efforts� to have the agreement in place - and that deadline is June 5. She said public works director Larry Lynch has some concerns about the company’s proposed route for the equipment it plans to move to the turbine sites near Arthur. Sinnamon added the township needs an assessment of the roads the company plans to use so it can bill the company for rehabilitation costs. And, she said, “Their lawyer needs a look.� She concluded, “It may require a special council meeting to get the agreement in place.�
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Councillors did have some questions about the draft agreement. Councillor Neil Driscoll cited the clause governing “shadow flicker� and wondered what the standard protocol is for complaints. The agreement states, “Should shadow flicker in excess of 30 hours per year affect any adjoining property owner with a view of a wind turbine who is not a participant in the project, [NextEra] shall use good faith efforts to mitigate the problem on a case-by case basis in accordance with its standard protocol in such instances.� Driscoll wondered if it should be “12 hours, 24 hours. The same with the TV and cell phone use.� He was referring to a clause
that stated the company would have to use good faith efforts to mitigate problems with interruptions to broadcast frequencies of TV and radio as well as phone interference. Sinnamon said the protocol is outlined in the submission to the Ministry of the Environment. Road use issues Mayor Bruce Whale noted a $5,000 proposed fine if the company accidently uses the wrong road en route to the turbine site with the equipment. He said NextEra wants a fine of $25. Public works director Larry Lynch said the company argued the larger fine would be passed to the truck driver. Sinnamon said the township could include a clause stating in the event of an emergency the company could use a differ-
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ent route than the one it submitted on its plan. But that caused Lynch to point out what the company has submitted for a route is “not the simplest route at all.� Driscoll wondered how the trucks planned to cross a bridge on Township Road 45. Whale suggested, “These are routes pulled off Google,� an internet mapping service that has proved unreliable from time to time. Sinnamon concluded, “So it makes sense to have a fine.� Lynch agreed, and said he thinks the company simply used Google for its route and did not actually drive the roads to see how feasible they are for a transportation route. Lynch said he does not want to waste the time of the township engineers evaluating roads
that are not going to be used. Sinnamon reminded him NextEra will have to pay for that roads study. Driscoll asked if the company has insurance in place. Lynch said it has “$2- to $5 million. It depends on what you run into.� Driscoll responded, “Say, a bridge.� Lynch said it would take $5 million. Whale then reminded council he might “have to call a quick meeting,� and council accepted the report for information. UPDATE: On May 28 Mapleton Township alerted the media about a special meeting of council on May 31 at 9am to consider the agreement. Results of that meeting were not known at press time. Related article on page 2.
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