> After 50 years, Sobye Road naming error to be corrected /Pg 4 > Final Hat Trick Hockey deadline Mon. Oct. 25 Pg 8 > Grimsby Santa parade a full go Pg 11 > Dorothy Turcotte “retires” from Archives Pg 15 Thursday, October 21, 2021 Vol. 10 Issue 25
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No Grimsby vax policy after third skirmish
Staff policy voted down, but approved council vax policy could open door to in-person meetings
Good as new
James Remers, who co-owns Simply Moto on Main Street Grimsby with his wife, Karen, puts a shine on a new glass front door after thieves backed a pickup truck through the door in the early morning hours last Friday. The good news is they are reset and open for business. For details on the incident, please turn to Page 13. Williscraft - Photo
By Mike Williscraft NewsNow Countless Points of Order, cross talk, Mayor Jeff Jordan stepping down from the chair to present a motion and trashing CAO Harry Schlange were all part of the debate related to Grimsby attempting to approve a vaccination policy for Town staff on Monday night. When the dust settled on the third round of considering such a policy the municipality was no further ahead – staff have no municipal policy to adhere to but the community is one step closer to seeing in-person council meetings as a result.
Previously, council had twice deferred proposals to bring in a staff vaccination policy based on a similar document approved at Niagara Region and in other Niagara member municipalities. Monday, Schlange told council he had conducted meetings with the emergency operations committee, department heads and staff liasions to gain a consensus on a direction to base a “made in Grimsby” approach. Among the measures included in Monday’s proposal were: • Disclosure of vaccination status to human resources by no later
than Oct. 29, 2021. • Submitting proof of double vaccination would fulfill that; • Those declaring not vaccinated or not fully vaccinated would have a deadline of Nov. 12 for first shot and Dec. 31 for second shot; staff who choose to not get vaccinated or disclose their status would have to get antigen testing with proof of negative results 72 hours before starting a shift (twice per week) with costs covered by the Town up to Dec. 31, 2021. After that time, staff would pay their own testing costs. Staff who did not See POLICY, Page 3
Surf’s up on Golf Woods Drive - unfortunately By Mike Williscraft NewsNow It appears there is a new fishing hole in Grimsby - all that is missing are the fish. And one would have to be ready to sit out in the rain as flow of water comes only during heavy rains. Residents on Golf Woods Drive in Grimsby have experienced the new and unwelcome stream which flows right down a new, under construction laneway which
has been carved into the Niagara Escarpment and - for at least two residents - into their basements after the last two storms. For Vintner’s Lane resident, Ron Weaymouth, who lives immediately adjacent to the foot of the new laneway – which runs all the way from the toe of the escarpment to the bench at the top – the approval for the clear cutting and construction through pristine forest never made
any sense. The water flow actually exited a construction site to the west of a new construction site, traveled west and ran behind the two houses at the south end of Golf Woods. Then it followed the pathway between Golf Woods and Vintners, and out onto Vintners Lane (photo included) before running down Vintners Lane creating a huge pool at Vintners and Muscat Drive. Now that his basement has
flooded twice, all his worst fears have materialized. “It’s the second time (Friday night) in three weeks,” said Weaymouth on Monday. “After the first one, the insurance may have said it was an act of God. That was a heavy rain. Friday it didn’t rain nearly as hard. This cannot be ignored. It will only get worse.” The Niagara Escarpment Commission, which has earned a reputation over the
years as an intense defender of the world renowned UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve that is the escarpment lands, actually rejected the project, which led to an appeal which eventually made its way to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, where it ultimately got approval. “That really makes no sense,” said Grimsby Coun. Reg Freake, who walked the scene Saturday to see the See FLOOD, Page 5