Beaucoup d'enthousiasme at A. K. Wigg page 3 Where did all the nog go page 8 Council speaks page 15 EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
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Larry “BILKO” Bilkszto
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bilko@rgcmail.com Vol.23 No.1
Wednesday, January 2 2019
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New council makes priorities clear Votes to stop or delay some $700K in expenditures BY JENNIFER CHORNLEY
The VOICE
The first full meeting of Pelham's newly elected council was also its last for 2018. About 30 onlookers were in the gallery as the meeting was called to order on December 17. Two delegations were on the agenda with Trevor Ferguson representing Deloitte on their 2018 Audit Service Plan to council, while Chair of the Pelham Community Preservation Coalition Jim Jeffs, presented to council to opt out of allowing retail cannabis stores to operate within the town.
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Column Six Georgian Bay kayaking adventure to remember BY JOHN SWART
VOICE Correspondent
T
Just say no
Chair of the Pelham Community Preservation Coalition, Jim Jeffs, made a presentation to council for the Town to opt-out of permitting cannabis retail stores within its boundaries. Jeffs posed the question, “What will Pelham look like in the future?” He said that over the past 50 years, “Pelham has grown from a small village with not even a single traffic light to a large bedroom and retirement community.” “I remember when Fonthill Nurseries owned well over 100 acres of along the west side of South Pelham Street and the downtown consisted of just a few stores, and immediately
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Posing for their official portrait are, from left, Councillors Bob Hildebrand, Lisa Haun, John Wink, Mayor Marvin Junkin, Councillors Ron Kore, Marianne Stewart, and Mike Ciolfi. SUPPLIED PHOTO behind those stores was an open field.” With that, he acknowledged that, “time does not stand still and the population continues to grow.” “The choices you make will determine [the future of Pelham],” Jeffs said. Opting out of having cannabis retail stores in Pelham or to allow them with no restrictions as to number or location is the “choice” Town Council has to face. He asserted that while the previous Council chose to
classify cannabis production as agricultural use of land, other municipalities deemed it as industrial. “The result [in Pelham] was cannabis production facilities taking over greenhouses that used to grow vegetables and orchards that used to grow.” Jeffs also asserted that since Colorado legalized marijuana in 2014, crime rates have been “rising, outstripping the national trend. Violent crime went up 12.5 percent from 2013
to 2016, while the national average was less than five percent.” In addition, car accident claims increased and the number of teens sent to emergency rooms “more than quadrupled.” “Is this what we want for the future of Pelham?” he asked. With the licensing of cannabis retail stores the responsibility of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, as of November 29 all relevant licensing and
application requirements were unknown. With these requirements, Jeffs added only some were published, including outlets must be at least 150 meters away from a school’s property line and there must be a notice posted on the proposed retail store’s location for 15 days. Jeffs expressed concern that the minimal distance is not very much, as it’s equivalent to the same dis-
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EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
See COUNCIL Page 14
HE BEST THING about the torrential rain that drenched us mercilessly before we set up the tent was that it drowned the mosquitoes. Guessing that peaty soil and moss can hold 14 times their weight in water, we parked the four-wheeldrive truck where the tent was supposed to go, then pitched our tent on the gravel driveway of the marina. Tomorrow we’d begin our five- day, self-supported kayak trip down the French River and across Georgian Bay to the glacier-scoured granite of the Bustard Islands. Self-supported means that every single thing needed for five days goes into or on top of a little yellow fiberglass or plastic sliver of a boat that floats 30 centimeters above the water before you start loading it. Add tent, sleeping bag, chair, food, stove, dishes, clothing for every possible weather, toiletries, water purifier, air mattress, sandals, tetra-packed wine, See COLUMN SIX back page