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COMMUNITY NEWS VOLUME 52 ISSUE 27
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Council directs further study on Harriston flood mitigation By Patrick Raftis MINTO – Town council has authorized staff, consulting engineers and the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) to continue with a Harriston flood mitigation study for presentation to the public and council in the fall. In a resolution at the June 18 meeting, council also directed that individual projects to improve flood conditions proceed as soon as the budget and approval process allow. Acting CAO Chris Harrow told council the town, along with Triton Engineering and the MVCA, are “all working together on this to help with the Harriston flooding issues.” “We all remember it June 23, 2017, the seven inches in seven hours that fell and the flooding that we had … that was our one-in-100-years event,” said Harrow.
Mapleton parties on Canada Day Patriotic party - Mapleton hosted a Canada Day party at the fairgrounds in Drayton on July 1. The event featured a car show, a barbecue and bouncy castles for the youngsters. The day’s activities wrapped up with a spectacular fireworks display. RIGHT: Levi Dorscht of Drayton and Mapleton resident Cooper Donaldson try out the inflatable jousting equipment. Photos by Patrick Raftis
Since the flood, which caused major damages to homes, businesses and municipal facilities in Harriston, Harrow said, “We have done a lot of work and we have been continuing to push forward.” Harrow pointed out aerial photography and digital mapping have been completed. “Maitland Valley has done some phenomenal modelling to be able to tell us exactly where the floods came from and how it affected different communities,” Harrow explained. “But even better, with the modeling, is any work that we do, they can run the model before we do the work to show us how much that work is going to improve on the flooding.” For example, Harrow noted downstream work done to remove trees and shrubs along the river bank and clearing the North Ward Drain outlet has been run
through the modelling process. “We’ve already seen what that’s going to do and how much that’s going to help with the flooding,” he said. Harrow added that keeping the North Ward Drain outlet on the southwestern side of town is key to flood mitigation efforts for the northern portion. “To keep it simple ... there’s a great big pipe under there that goes from the north end of George street all the way under the town and comes out near Speare Seeds and that helps drain that whole area, and by clearing that outlet we can let the water get away quicker,” he pointed out. At a Nov. 27, 2018 public meeting the MVCA presented 14 potential scenarios to reduce flooding. The most drastic, with a potential cost upwards of $25 million, was to fully divert the Maitland SEE FLOOD » 3
Inaugural Minto Pride event features picnic, walk in park By Patrick Raftis
Pride party planned - Members of the committee working on the Town of Minto’s inaugural Pride event, set for July 13 in Palmeston, include, from left; Jessica Rowden, Caitlin Hall, Raïssa Rogers, Rosie Krul and Samantha Greer. The event is designed as a celebration of inclusion and diversity. RIGHT: The Minto Pride in the Park logo contest winner designed by Sarah Krul. Submitted photo gender, sex and sexual identity. “I think that there are a lot more LGBTQ people in small towns than anyone realizes because, with a lot of them, it’s not a visible thing,” said Krul. “So I think there’s way more diversity than anyone realizes, and probably more
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centre to feel included and feel like they belong.” Although members of LGBTQ+ community “don’t face as many challenges legally,” as they did even 10 or 15 years ago, said Krul, issues remain. “I think mainly in small towns it’s education on just
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even in their immediate friends and family that they might not know about. So by having this event we really want to encourage inclusion and increase that visibility, just to let people know that they can be who they are in a small town and they don’t have to leave to a more urban
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PALMERSTON – Minto’s first ever pride event will be held on July 13 at Lions Heritage Park here. The event, a picnic featuring speakers, information booths and a march through the park, will run from 2 to 5pm. Rosie Krul, a member of the Minto Pride organizing committee, said the event was developed through a Minto Cultural Roundtable meeting where members were “brainstorming” for projects to stage over the next year. Krul said a pride event had been suggested in the past, but didn’t get off the ground due to lack of volunteers. However, this year, roundtable members Krul, Caitlyn Hall and Rassia Rogers agreed to take on the project and formed a committee, that also includes Jessica Rowden and Samantha Greer, to work with the cultural roundtable to organize the event. Minto Pride is billed as a celebratory event to encourage inclusion and increase visibility of the LGBTQ+ community in the Town of Minto, while promoting education on the diversity of
not being judgmental about something you don’t understand,” she explained. “We’ve had a few comments saying, ‘I just don’t believe in that and that’s why I’m not going.’ Well that’s okay, you don’t have to believe in something for it to be a thing. That’s like saying you don’t believe that someone could be a person of color - it’s just kind of a product of who they are.” Minto Pride activities actually get underway on July 12, when the Minto Youth Action Council will host an outdoor movie, Love Simon, a recent release based on the best-selling young adult novel Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda. The movie will be shown
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outside the Palmerston Heritage Museum, beginning at 8pm. Admission is by donation, with all proceeds going towards Minto Mental Health’s youth programming. Movie attendees should bring lawn chairs and/or blankets. Popcorn, snacks and drinks will be available for purchase. July 13 events begin at 2pm, including a free barbecue between 3 and 5pm. At 5pm a pride march through the park is planned. Prior to the march, two guest speakers will address the gathering. Minto native Chad Tailor, who now works in the film industry in Toronto, will be one of the speakers. “He’s coming back to speak about growing up gay in a small town and where his life took him,” said Krul. “Although I’m sure he’ll talk about the challenges he faced, it’s going to be a family-friendly kind of uplifting message.” Another speaker will be a transgender teen and their mother. A related event will be held in the evening of July 13 at 8pm; The Crown Theatre in Harriston is hosting That’s SEE PRIDE » 3
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