Vol. 11
No. 12
THURSDAY, March 19, 2015
YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER COVERING NORTH DURHAM
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Testing regimen passed for Greenbank Airport BENAMIN PRIEBE The Standard
The congregation of Prince Albert United Church was just one of the many local faith groups who took part in the annual World Day of Prayer, on Friday, March 6. This year, the service was put together by a group of Christian women from the Bahamas - and focused on empowering women. BENJAMIN PRIEBE The Standard
Improvements planned for Main St. South DARRYL KNIGHT The Standard UXBRIDGE: Trafc patterns in Uxbridge will be altered in the coming weeks, with Main St. South scheduled to be closed for reconstruction, starting early next month. Starting on Monday, April 27 two days after the popular Huck Finn Fishing Day - a portion of Main St. South is slated to be closed to trafc south of the intersection at Mill/Reach St. to Crosby St. The Main St. entrance to Elgin Park will also be closed to
the public during construction. The project, which is estimated to cost almost $2 million, will feature a full-depth reconstruction of the roadway along with a rehab of the existing bridge over Elgin Pond with new guardrails added on both sides. Improvements are also planned for Veterans Memorial Park, with the addition of 14 parking spaces, as well as upgraded stormwater drainage, with the replacement of the sanitary sewer and house connections in the area. As well, there are plans to add a
pedestrian bridge and walkway on the west side of the bridge, separate from the existing bridge, although that work is not anticipated to begin until 2016. To accommodate the construction of a new walkway along the shoreline of Elgin Pond, as well as a pedestrian bridge to Elgin Park, the pond will have to be lowered. However, according to Public Works Director Ben Kester, “that will not happen until at least July 2, due to sheries’ concerns.” TURN TO PAGE 7
SCUGOG: Council is taking steps to ensure the safety of those near the Greenbank Airways ll site, by requesting numerous borehole soil tests be carried out under Township supervision. During a special meeting on Thursday, March 12, Mayor Tom Rowett and councillors-present passed a motion to prepare tenders for a minimum of 10 borehole tests to be carried out at the site, with a maximum spending cap of $50,000 – funded from the environmental and legal protection contingency of the Township’s past ll revenue fund. In addition, the sample sites would be determined by Scugog’s Public Works Department, and carried out under the supervision of a qualied Township staff member. Mayor Rowett told The Standard that the matter “is pressing and needs to be carried out as soon as possible, due to an outcry from the public, and the fact that the spring thaw is nearing.” The Greenbank Airways site is located near the corner of Hwy. 12 and Hwy. 47, and is close to the headwaters of the environmentally sensitive Nonquon River, and Township staff have noticed a large run-off of melt water from the south end – making for a small window of opportunity, before the soil is too unstable for large machinery to traverse into the site. The borehole tests - which are carried out with machines similar to those used in well-digging - will drill as far as 80 feet into the soil and extract a tubular sample, which can then be analyzed for possible contaminants, like heavy metals. Scugog’s Director of Public Works and Parks, Glen Smith, told Council that he plans on performing 10 to 20 tests of the site – ranging in depth and location – to ensure that environmental concerns are either foundout, or put to bed for the time being. “I’ll put out at least two tenders, and get the most tests I can with the money I’ve been allowed,” said Mr. Smith. “Usually the process would take more than six weeks, but I’ve been in talks with Ontario One Call and the owners of the site – and we will expedite the work as much as possible.” Mr. Smith estimated that testing results could be returned is as little as four weeks. “I hope there are no bad results, for the sake of the residents who live in this Township, but I’m also not too naïve to think there couldn’t be a problem – despite the level of testing done in the past and at the current time,” said Mayor Rowett. TURN TO PAGE 3