> Check summer home improvement features, Pages 5-7 > Tree trimmed for sign visibility Pg. 4 > Recipe: Cool salad for hot day Pg. 11 > Pavilion now part of downtown scene Pg. 15 Thursday, July 30, 2015 Vol. 4 Issue 10
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Attendance poor at WL open houses
Hamming it up
FORT made visitors trending on the fake internet with Instagram souvenir shots. Kayla Trivieri gets the shot while Sam Berg frames it up. (L to R) Triplets Lauren, Josh and Madison Farraway of Grimsby were the willing subjects. For more coverage, please turn to Pages 8-9. Williscraft - Photo
No province, no feds Allison says biodigester grant only if province comes through While it has been known for some time that the provincial government let Grimsby Energy officials know their biodigester grant application had been rejected, it has been unclear which way the federal government may go. That, now, has been clarified, and it is not good news for Grimsby Energy. “I was able to confirm with the ministry today (July 23) that they will only provide a grant for the biodigester if the provincial government comes through,” said Niagara
West Glanbrook MP Dean Allison. “It is completely contingent on what the province does.” The ground was broken on the biodigester - an electricity generating facility which will use biodegradable material such as grape pomace, manure and crop waste to create methane gas which will power electric generators – in early June. At a cost to Grimsby Energy of $4.5 million, the plan has been to split funding for
SEE GRANTS, Page 3
By Mike Williscraft NewsNow With millions of tax dollars up for consideration, West Lincoln officials are scratching their respective heads at the poor turnout for last week’s open houses regarding a proposed new community centre. “In my opinion they were poorly attended,” said Coun. Dave Bylsma, who attended the Thursday evening session at township hall. “Even the one last night (at Caistor) I expected to be vigorous but maybe 20-25 participants came out?” Consultant Todd Brown, hired to facilitate the open houses and provide a report back to township officials said about 15 attended. West Lincoln council had considered a new multi-use facility in the $14 million-plus range but the proposal went far off the tracks when council disintegrated into a lengthy series of arguments on the topic. The dissension
eventually lead to the entire matter being rebooted going right back to grassroots public meetings on the proposal. Brown noted the open houses included three nights – Wellandport on Tuesday, Caistor on Wednesday and town hall on Thursday. Just over a halfdozen turned out in Wellandport. In addition to the open houses, residents can also go online to complete a survey, a copy of which is also being mailed out. “We have about 300 surveys in so far,” said Brown, noting more are coming in. “The key things people want to know is what are the costs associated with the proposals and how will it be paid for?” Bylsma agreed. “In comments made to me, the most common theme was, ‘we can’t afford new. So let’s repair the old,” said Bylsma. “There was nothing
SEE ARENA, Page 2