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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 45 Issue 41
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.15% 3 Year GIC - 2.45% 5 Year GIC - 2.60% Daily Interest 1.65%
Friday, October 12, 2012
Five injured in three-vehicle crash MAPLETON - Five people were injured in a three-vehicle accident here on Oct. 4. Wellington OPP responded to a report of a serious crash at the intersection of Wellington Road 8 and Wellington Road 10 in Mapleton Township at around 2pm. Firefighters from Mapleton Fire Department and paramedics from GuelphWellington EMS also responded to the scene. Investigators from West Region OPP were called to the scene and the roadway was closed for several hours while officers conducted their investigation. Police say a black
Toyota SUV was travelling northbound on County Road 10 when it entered the intersection and collided with a silver Honda van that was travelling westbound on County Road 8. The Toyota SUV then collided with a red Buick LeSabre which was stopped facing south on County Road 10 at the intersection of County Road 8. This intersection is controlled by stop signs for north and southbound traffic on County Road 10. The driver of the Buick, Catherine Austin, 56, of Woodstock, was airlifted from the crash scene to London
Victoria Hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the Toyota SUV, Hyunkee Woo, 75, and the passenger Myung Hee Woo, 72, both of Guelph, were transported by ambulance to the Palmerston and District Hospital, at which time Hee Woo was airlifted to Hamilton General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The two occupants of the Honda van, driver Kimberly Paget, 42, of Palmerston and Angela MacDonald, 47, of Palmerston, were treated by paramedics at the scene for minor injuries.
Council supports plan to make ministry responsible for crossing guards Ready to roll - Tucker Schnarr, left, welcomes his big brother Austin, of Alma, back from the track in the lawn mower tractor pull competition of the Erin Fall Fair on Oct. 8. The boys built up the lawnmower with a little help from their dad, Todd Schnarr. photo by Kelly Waterhouse
Wind Concerns Ontario concurs with ECO on wildlife impact risks TORONTO Wind Concerns Ontario (WCO) is applauding the recent report from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO) for his concerns expressed about wind power project impacts on wildlife. Ontario has 70 important bird areas (IBA) where “it would make sense to avoid constructing wind power projects,” the report says. Today there are several projects proposed for IBAs, such as the north shore
of Lake Erie, Prince Edward County and Amherst Island. The commissioner is also “troubled” by the omission of any requirements to assess the effects of multiple wind power projects in a given area. “We know that the bird kills at Wolfe Island’s IBA far exceed what the developer estimated,” says president Jane Wilson. “The responsible course of action would be for Ontario to declare a ‘no-go’ for wind projects in important
bird areas. “There is no healthy ‘natural’ co-existence when wind turbines are too near people or birds,” Wilson says. “People are ill and birds are killed. The Ontario government should see rural communities as ‘important human areas’ and protect them as well.” Wind Concerns Ontario is a citizen coalition concerned about the environmental, health and economic effects of wind power generation in Ontario.
by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – Council here is supporting a call for the provincial government to take over responsibility for school crossing guards. At the Sept 25 meeting, council agreed to support a resolution from the Municipality of Central Huron seeking changes to Ontario’s Education Act to make the Ministry of
Education the responsible authority and have the ministry cover the cost of school crossing guard programs rather than local governments. “I think it would be something the school boards could probably do better than us having anything to do with it,” said councilor Neil Driscoll. Mayor Bruce Whale agreed the education ministry should
fund the cost of the program, “rather than taking it out of the municipal tax base.” The Central Huron resolution, while noting that “school crossing guards play a vital role in road safety for children,” states the expenses “are a burden on the taxpayers” of municipalities that provide the service.
Council wants guarantee on new sign MAPLETON – Council here approved the purchase of an illuminated sign for the Mapleton Industrial Park, provided the installer can provide a 10-year guarantee. The double-sided aluminum sign will be approximately 22 feet high and eight feet wide, with six inch square tube columns and will cost $18,535 plus an additional $375 for graphics identifying industrial park tenants. Some of the
cost will be recovered through charges to tenants. Councillor Mike Downey asked if the sign came with a guarantee, noting that some of the other signage in the village faded fairly soon after installation. Public works director Larry Lynch said sign manufacturers generally don’t provide a guarantee. “Basically, they are not guaranteeing anything,” said
Lynch, noting that external factors affect fading. “The orientation against sun really impacts how this is going to play out over a longterm basis,” he stated. Lynch also noted the illuminated sign would be made of different material than other types of signs, which have faded faster. Council approved the purchase of the sign from Raynbow Signs, provided a 10-year-guarantee is included.
Arnott provides update on Groves hospital project QUEEN’S PARK Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott rose in the Ontario Legislature on Oct. 4 to highlight the progress being made in the planning for a new Groves Memorial Community Hospital. “The planning for our new Groves Memorial Community Hospital in the Township of Centre Wellington continues to gain momentum,” Arnott informed the legislature. “Recently the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network endorsed the program and service elements which Groves had submitted, and the LHIN urged the ministry to prioritize the deter-
mination of projected volumes and bed numbers. “Next steps include working with Infrastructure Ontario on cost estimates for design and construction, and meetings with hospital staff and stakeholders to help shape the project design,” he continued. “An architectural firm has been selected and hired, and we believe we are on track to begin the tendering process by 2014/15, which was the date announced by the province last August.” Afterwards, Arnott also emphasized the need to support ongoing fundraising efforts. “The Groves Hospital Foundation continues its good
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work, with creative and innovative fundraising ideas have attracted international attention. Their work goes on, as long as the need does,” he added. A press release from Arnott’s office states the MPP has been a strong advocate for the Groves hospital redevelopment project for years. He has both written and spoken to successive Ministers of Health on multiple occasions, given numerous speeches in the legislature, and even initiated a debate and vote in the House. Plans for a new Groves Memorial Community Hospital building on a new site were announced in August, 2011.
Improved patient care and safety through a modernized layout and better coordination between key clinical areas is a focus of the project. Groves hospital is an acute care facility providing a wide range of services to about 34,500 people. The hospital, currently has 44 beds and 277 staff, and treats more than 68,000 people each year. The new hospital will be located in the Aboyne area of Centre Wellington between Fergus and Elora, serving a catchment area of Centre Wellington, Alma, Arthur, Belwood, parts of Mapleton, parts of Wellington North and the surrounding rural areas.
Weekly Wag
plest monly the sim m o c is ro e h The t of men. and obscures Thoreau - Henry David
Powerful message - Michael Bull Roberts, a former drug dealer, gangster and enforcer visited the Drayton Reformed Church on Sept. 30. Over 450 people were in attendance and many waited patiently to meet and speak with this best-selling author, artist, motivational speaker and founder of Tender Heart Ministries, located in downtown Toronto. photo by Wilma Mol
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