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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 45 Issue 06
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.50% 3 Year GIC - 2.35% 5 Year GIC - 2.76% Daily Interest 1.75%
Friday, February 10, 2012
Tribunal delayed as group files judicial appeal of NextEra project by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP- A group of residents here has stepped up its battle to stop ten wind turbines from being erected near Arthur - and it is using the courts to do it. Preserve Mapleton Incorporated filed on Jan. 27 a judicial appeal of the Ministry of Environment’s approval of the project. That means its appeal to the Environmental Appeals Tribunal will be delayed until after the court hearing the group hopes will halt the turbine proposal by NextEra Energy on land southwest of Arthur. Mapleton council is still considering its own judicial appeal. “Our group has been working with Mapleton council throughout the entire process from when the project was first proposed,� said John Krul, spokesman for Preserve Mapleton Incorporated. “They have always been receptive and supportive from the start with the motion they passed and presented to the Ontario government in 2009 asking them to put a moratorium on the erecting of turbines until a proper third party health study was done to determine the proper and safe distance to people’s homes and in the case of this township - their farm businesses and livelihoods.� He added, “We had already decided when and if the project was approved that we would go ahead with legal action.� Krul said an Environmental Tribunal Appeal filed by a First Nations group is important, too. “That the HDI (Haudenosaunee Development Institute) has filed its own appeal shows just how important it is for the government and the wind industry corporations to consult effectively with all parties involved and to properly address their particular concerns,� Krul said. “The very fact that two separate appeals were filed for this project should be a good indicator that the Green Energy Act violates everyone’s rights for meaningful input and that the approval by the MOE was premature.� Krul said it is difficult for him to understand the turbine approval in Mapleton. “Wellington County is one of the leading milk producing counties in Ontario and about 50% of the milk producers in Wellington are located in
Mapleton Township. Why do we want to shoehorn turbines into that?� Preserve Mapleton Incorporated’s lawyer Eric Gillespie said in an interview last week that the date for the judicial review is April 2. The Mapleton group sought the judicial appeal for three main reasons: - it does not believe the consultation required in the Green Energy Act has been met; - it was misinformed by the company during those consultations; and - there is more archeological work required before the application can be approved. The Mapleton project is only the third to undergo the appeal process, Gillespie said. The NextEra project must now also deal with First Nations and the Haudenosaunee Development Institute is involved. Both groups are appealing the renewable energy approval. It allows for the construction, installation, operation, use and retiring of a Class 4 wind facility with nine 2.3 megawatt wind turbine generators and one 2.22MW wind turbine generator, with a total name plate capacity of 22.9MW. Gillespie said he is encouraged by recent campaigns against the wind industry. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture pulled its support of turbines and, near Staynor, a family selling its farm has sued not only a wind turbine company but also the host farmer for devaluing its property. Offers dried up on that farm after the turbine project was announced. He also said Health Canada, which was on the verge of adopting Ontario’s rules for setbacks of turbines had late last week announced it will not adopt Ontario’s regulations. At the tribunal, Preserve Mapleton Incorporated is appealing several parts of the renewable energy approval. It states engaging in the renewable energy project will cause serious harm to human health, including: - previous projects in Ontario using the same or similar sound levels and distance setbacks have caused serious health effects in certain individuals, and the NextEra facility could cause the same effects; - previous projects have demonstrated ice throw is a significant issue that, if not addressed, will cause serious harm to human health. The Continued on page 6
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Moving on - The Drayton Defenders Midget ‘D’ team recently captured the WOAA Championship after defeating Teeswater 3-0 in the bestof-five series and outscoring them 19-0. The Drayton team now moves on to the OMHA quarter-finals. Front row, from left, are: Adam Kalbfleisch, Jason Mohle, Calvin Cressman and Greg Martin. Middle: Cam Mohle, Aaron Kuenen, Justin Schmidt, Zack Franklin, Jamie Hoelscher, Andrew Martin and Dustin Bults. Back: trainer Brad Kalbfleisch, assistant coach Larry Ferguson, Cody Ferguson and coach Gary Mohle. Absent are Curtis Lutz, Cory Harwood and Clayton Siefred. submitted photo
Korean students enjoyed stay in Mapleton by Cassandra Franklin DRAYTON - The Franklin house has been a busy one this past month, with a group of nine elementary and middle school students from Korea showing up just in time for New Year’s. The students arrived and
were quickly in awe of all things that make Canada and Korea very different. Spellbound by the size of Canadian homes, the accumulation of snow for a few short days at the end of December and the food, they were wideeyed and open for all that was
planned for the coming month. The parents of the nine students saved and saved so they could afford their child a chance to learn English in Canada. From day one, it was clear that some of the students came for a holiday. Some were sur-
prised to see that this experience wasn’t exactly going to be a relaxing holiday, although there was time for that, too. After a few days of adapting to the foreign land, routines were established and a plan for the month was discussed. Continued on page 6
Report: Fire department calls up 30% in 2011 by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. Mayor Bruce Whale told Fire Chief Rick Richardson to extend council’s thanks to the volunteer fire department after council heard the year end report here on Jan. 24. Richardson said the department responded to 164 calls between Dec. 1 2010 and Nov. 30 last year. The department runs using those dates for the annual report. That is up 30% from 126 calls in the previous year. The department spent 2,139 hours on calls during the year. Richardson said one change from the previous year was accidents and rescues taking up 31% of the work, with medical calls coming second at 28%. Fires were in third place at 14%. Richardson said insurance companies are billed at $410 per hour for equipment provided by fire departments. Council had budgeted revenue of $30,000 for last year, but for some reason that climbed
well above the previous year’s rate. In the previous year it was $21,825, but last year it was over $58,000. In the past year, the department: - held 68 in-house training sessions; - attended 10 county mutual aid information nights; - hosted an Ontario Fire College trainer course; - had five recruits attend a Module A firefighter course; - had four recruits attend a Module B firefighter course; - had six officers complete the Company Officer 401 course; - had all ten officers obtain Ontario Fire College level 1 certification; - had 22 firefighters complete level 101 certification; - hosted a chain saw safety course; - had 12 members receive confined space rescuer certification; - had 15 firefighters begin water rescue training (to be completed in May);
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- had six complete incident management system education; - had both deputy chiefs complete a basic emergency management course; and - had five members attend a solar panel safety course. Richardson was pleased to report the department had an 89% attendance record for its training exercises. The department added the following equipment over the past year: - a new boat to continue water rescue; - a pick-up truck for first response, equipment transfer and training transporter; - five sets of bunker gear; - a new portable pump and port-a-tank; - up-to-date confined space rescue equipment; and - rapid intervention team kits. The department added five new recruits to its force. Richardson said up to 80 sessions will be needed for training to continue over the coming year.
As for equipment, he said the department will need - dry suits to complete water rescue training; - six sets of bunker gear; - four pagers; - 10 SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) bottles; - 20 “heads up� displays; and - confined space harnesses. Richardson reported training costs have dropped since Wellington County hired its own training officer for all departments. But he also told council that keeping good people is becoming a challenge. In 2012, the department should look at ways to continue to recruit quality members, and he is looking for ways to retain current firefighters. He said that is because: - 26 current members have less than 10 years experience on the department; - in 2003, the average years of experience was 13; and - in 2012, the experience average is eight years. Continued on page 5
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