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1867—CANADA 150 EDITION—2017
bilko@rgcmail.com Vol.21 No.13
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
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Centre build ahead of schedule
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Column Six Being Canadian
Report from Oversight team is all-positive
1949 essay is truer than ever BY SHIRLEY LAZARETH
BY NATE SMELLE
Special to the VOICE
The VOICE
The Pelham Community Center Oversight Committee was established by the Town to provide transparent oversight of the construction of the Pelham Community Centre (PCC) construction project in terms of the project’s cost and schedule, schedule objectives and the anticipation and management of risks. On Monday, June 19, Bill Gibson, Chair of the Committee, presented Pelham Town Council See UPDATE back page
THE "HURRICANE HAZEL" WAY From left, Nathan Ward, Joanne Goulet and Debby Leigh. Story, page 7. NATE SMELLE PHOTO
Senior Pelham Planner leaves BY VOICE STAFF The Town of Pelham’s Senior Planner, Julie Hannah, has left to take the same position for the city of Thorold, effective July 4. In a June 19 email apparently sent by Hannah to staff and those she has worked with in the real estate development industries, she announced the move, stating that her last day on the job in Pelham had been the previous Friday, June 16. The Voice was unable to independently confirm the email’s authenticity, nor has any announcement been made by Town Hall.
Hannah did not respond to a request for comment. Hannah’s departure comes as Pelham is under increasing pressure from the Region concerning its East Fonthill financing practices, and from developers, including at least one East Fonthill developer currently suing the Town at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). At four years, Hannah tenure was the longest of those currently in the planning department, which has recently seen a high rate of turnover. Its current head, Barb Wiens, is just shy of her second year in the job.
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Hannah was hired following the departure of Craig Larmour, Pelham’s Director of Planning and Development for eight years before he was abruptly terminated in early 2013. In October 2014, Larmour filed a Council Code of Conduct complaint, alleging violations in the manner in which the Town sought to sell Town-owned land in East Fonthill to the Allen Group, a GTA commercial developer. Larmour requested that an independent Integrity Commissioner, to be named by the Ontario Ombudsman, hear the allegations, rather than relying on Town Hall’s internal process. Three
days after receiving notice of Larmour’s filing, Pelham Town Council voted to deny his request or to conduct its own investigation, asserting that Larmour’s complaint was a “misuse of the process.” Reached Monday for comment, Larmour asserts that he requested to meet with the Mayor and CAO. “Instead, they presented it to Council without providing me notice to opportunity to speak to the matter,” he said. “My option was to pursue them in court. I did not pursue this option.” See PLANNER Page 13
In 1949, as graduating students in Grade 13, we were asked to write an essay on Canadian Citizenship. At 17, my age then, I was just becoming aware of the benefits of being a Canadian citizen and the war years 1939-45 had left an indelible mark on my concept of patriotism. Now, at age 84, soon to be 85, I am fully aware that my life here in Canada, here in Ontario, here in Fonthill, has been enhanced because of who I am—one of Canada’s proud citizens. We must never lose sight of our bounty and our blessings. Happy Birthday, Dear Canada. CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP Senior Essay—First Prize Recently I read the tragic story of Philip Nolan, "The Man Without a Country.” Several lines of this poem, familiar to all Canadians, remain firmly in my mind. "Breathes there a man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said This is my own, my native land!” To be without a country you can call your own! Can we who are Canadians by birth or design realize the true meaning of that tragic statement? Every child born in Canada is from birth a Canadian citizen and may grow See COLUMN SIX back page
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