THE
SERVING THE MAPLETON COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY NEWS Volume 49 Issue 18
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 1.82% 3 Year GIC - 2.00% 5 Year GIC - 2.40% Daily Interest 1.00%
638-3328
Friday, May 6, 2016
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Council supports fight against cap on French immersion enrolment
Guides plant trees - Members of the Drayton Girl Guides were busy planting trees to provide shade on wetlands along Sideroad 15 in Mapleton on April 30. Among those on the job were, from left: GRCA forestry specialist Joseph Heeg, Spark Lily Griffin, Guide leader Heather Griffin, and Brownie Emily Griffin. “The girls and their parents were all enthusiastic; (they) love nature and (were) hardworking,” said Heeg. photo by Caroline Sealey
County delays culvert replacement to avoid adding to travel disruption by Patrick Raftis GUELPH - Wellington County is deferring a culvert replacement project in Mapleton until 2017 in order to avoid adding to the travel problems anticipated due to a busy construction season in 2016. In planning construction projects for the 2016 season county officials realized there will be several projects requiring road closures in Mapleton this year, making travel difficult, noted county treasurer Ken DeHart in an April 19 report to the roads committee. Road closures in the area
will include: - Wellington Road (WR) 10 for the completion of the Wyandot bridge rehabilitation; - WR 8 in Drayton, from July to October, for the Main Street bridge rehabilitation; - WR 11, from WR 7 to the 14th Line, in the summer for work at culvert 111020 and road work; and - WR 86 at the Wallenstein bridge (one lane) for the bridge rehabilitation. “At the request of the local municipality, we are proposing delaying the replacement of culvert 110900 until the
2017 construction season,” explained DeHart in this report. DeHart said the change means $300,000 in Ontario Infrastructure Community Funding designated for culvert 110900 will be reallocated to the Main Street bridge project, as OCIF funding must be spent in the year it’s allocated. To balance the books $300,000 currently budgeted for the Main Street bridge rehabilitation will be reallocated to WR11 culvert 110900. In an email on May 2, Wellington County construction Continued on page 4
by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – Council here is supporting efforts to fight a proposal to restrict enrolment in French immersion programs by the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB). Parent representatives from northern Wellington County have been lobbying against some recommendations from a school board review of its French programs that the group feels would unfairly restrict access to the program, particularly at Palmerston Public School. One recommendation would only allow students to enter French immersion in junior kindergarten (JK) (not senior kindergarten (SK) or Grade one as is currently allowed), while another would cap JK enrollment in Palmerston at 25 students. At the April 26 Mapleton council meeting, parent Korb Whale told council the cap “is not equitable based on historical numbers.” He points out that Palmerston had 37 French immersion enrolments last year
and 34 this year. If a cap is put in place, Whale said acceptance would be determined by “a lottery.” Whale said one reason the review was conducted in the first place is that the board is having trouble attracting and retaining qualified teachers for its French program. However, he noted, “Up until now they have only tried to hire teaches in June for the next fall. Other school boards have been a lot more active.” Bruce Schieck, UGDSB trustee for Mapleton, Minto and Wellington North, said overenrolment hasn’t been a problem in northern Wellington to this point. “It’s basically Guelph and Orangeville where the problem is, so they (the board) haven’t tried hard enough to make it work,” said Schieck. He also pointed out parents of one in five students entering Kindergarten now “want their kids in French immersion.” “Parents understand the importance of being bilingual in a bilingual country,” agreed Whale, who said the group is
asking council to “offer support” to the local school board, “rather than criticize their existing policy.” “I really support your opinions,” Mayor Neil Driscoll told Whale. “There’s other things in life that we have to take our chances on, so I don’t think education should be a lottery.” Council passed a draft resolution provided by the parents group. The resolution requests the school board explore solutions other than capping and reducing the French immersion program and adopt a policy of working with municipalities to coordinate recruiting educational professionals to the area. Council passed an additional resolution directing that Mapleton staff work with Wellington County’s economic development department on implementing measures in the resolution. “Not that our economic development department wouldn’t be very capable of helping, but we’re a one-person department,” Driscoll commented.
New Mapleton maintenance facility remains on target for August completion by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – The township’s new municipal maintenance facility is on target for completion this August. CAO Brad McRoberts reported at the April 26 meeting that the overall project is about 50 per cent done and final completion remains projected for August. While it will “depend on how ongoing work is proceeding,” said McRoberts, the township
“may have some occupancy in advance of that.” With tenders awarded for all facets of the project, McRoberts reported it is currently running about $62,000 under budget. The project budget is $5,155,542 with a committed cost to date of $5,092,855 and a remaining contingency of $119,975. “It’s good to see that we’re coming in under budget or on budget and on schedule,” said Mayor Neil Driscoll.
Township transfers cash from MAX account by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – The township has officially closed an account set up to hold donations for the expansion of the local arena, transferring more than $190,000 to general township coffers. In 2008, when the Mapleton Arena eXpansion (MAX) committee was formed, it was decided to open a new bank account to keep track of donations, explained deputy treasurer Teresa Armstrong in a report at the April 26 council meeting. Armstrong’s report notes all expenses were paid through the
general account with the expectation that the donation money would be transferred from the MAX account to the general account to cover the committee’s pledge of one-third of the cost. “The money was just never transferred over,” explained Armstrong. “As this project is now completed and the account has been inactive for over two years, it would be appropriate to close this account and transfer all money to the general account. Council approved the transfer of the balance of $192,612
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from the MAX account to the township’s general account. The MAX committee included representatives from minor hockey, figure skating, senior hockey and the Moorefield Optimist and Drayton Kinsmen clubs working to help offset the municipal portion of a project to add dressing rooms and storage at the PMD Arena in Drayton. In 2007-08 the decision was made to proceed with the expansion, at a cost of $1.2 million, with government grants covering about $500,000 of that total.
Food bank aid - Donations were collected for the local food bank during the Green Legacy and Trees for Mapleton free tree pickup in Moorefield on April 23. Katelyn Wynja, left, and Eden Kinzel, summer students for the township, were busy unloading donations on April 25. A total of $150 dollars was collected in addition to canned goods, as 90 people picked up trees at the event. photo by Caroline Sealey
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