SERVING MAPLETON AND MINTO
THE
COMMUNITY NEWS VOLUME 52 ISSUE 29
1 Year GIC - 2.30% 3 Year GIC - 2.40% 5 Year GIC - 2.60% Daily Interest 1.50%
638-3328
THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2019
www.jackfinancial.ca
Minto Pride event draws crowd to Palmerston park By Patrick Raftis PALMERSTON – The Town of Minto’s first Pride in the Park picnic drew a crowd to Lions Heritage Park here on July 13. The event featured a barbecue, games, face painting and a march through the park, culminating in the unfurling of a pride flag from the landmark pedestrian railway bridge. Mayor George Bridge thanked the Minto Pride committee for organizing the event through the Town of Minto Cultural Roundtable. “I sit on that committee and when they came with the idea, everybody was very supportive,” said Bridge. “It just makes me feel really good to see a crowd turn out like this for all the hard work they put in. “We’re very inclusive here, we feel, in Minto, but we haven’t always been that way,” Bridge told the crowd. “It’s great to see such
Minto Pride - Students from the Owl’s Nest Early Development Centre helped design a banner for Minto’s Pride in the Park picnic and carried it in a march through Lions Heritage Park in Palmerston on July 13. Organizers estimate about 200 people attended the event. Photo by Patrick Raftis See related photo on page 4. an amazing crowd out here today,” agreed PerthWellington MP John Nater. “It does show how inclu-
sive Minto is, how welcoming Minto is to a diversity of people. “To the LGBTQ commu-
nity and everyone involved today, I want to thank you for hosting this … and I think it’s a great day for inclusiveness,
for diversity, for a welcoming community.” Guest speaker Chad Tailor, a Toronto filmmaker who grew up in Minto, said, “It fills my heart with joy to see that our community is finally giving us some acceptance, some transparency, where we can come out, we can be who we are.” He added, “Pride’s been evolving for years. I mean, 1969 is when being gay was decriminalized … 50 years later, we are here in rural Ontario, we’re still wanting to be heard, we’re still wanting transparency in our community and to feel safe, to just be accepted for who we are.” Tailor said he hopes the event is a first step toward more openness and acceptance in the local community. “There’s a difference between tolerance and acceptance, and all it takes is just a little compassion,” he stated. “For me pride is not just about a flag, it’s not just
about a party and it’s not something to celebrate once a year. “It’s something that I celebrate every day. I celebrate it by walking down the street without any fear that I’ll get slurs yelled at me.” He added, “I celebrate it by holding my partner’s hand. I celebrate it by being here today; up here giving a voice for people who are too afraid to speak, too afraid to come out in their communities - and it shouldn’t be that way. “We all deserve equal rights. We all deserve to be free and to feel safe - and all it takes is a little compassion.” Organizers estimate about 200 people attended the picnic over the course of the afternoon, with around 150 on hand for the march. A related event, That’s My Drag show, hosted by the Crown Theatre in Harriston that evening, drew a nearcapacity audience of around 200.
Township endorses Pace Car Canadian Infrastructure Bank provides $20-million speed limit awareness initiative financing option for water, wastewater project By Aryn Strickland
By Aryn Strickland
MAPLETON - Council here officially endorsed the Pace Car program on July 9 to raise awareness around speed reduction in school zones and pedestrian-dense areas. The initiative is a locallydelivered, nation-wide program initially established by charitable organization Parachute and sponsored by FedEx. Mapleton Safe Communities Committee representatives Jen Goertzen and Lori Woodham told council the committee was bringing it to Mapleton. “Our program will be obviously focused here locally in our region, so really the point is to try to find community members to sign up as pace car drivers,” said Goertzen. Supporters of the initiative sign a pledge to drive no faster than the posted speed limit. “Basically by signing a pledge form, you are saying that you agree that you would be courteous and in essence you will be a driving speed bump,” added Woodham. Pledge members are also
MAPLETON The Canadian Infrastructure Bank (CIB) has committed to a $20-million debt financing package to help pay for Mapleton Township’s water and wastewater infrastructure project. Announced by the municipality on July 15, the loan would help companies currently bidding on the project, as the township will be extending the CIB financing option to all RFP applicants. If the successful RFP applicant made use of the debt financing package, it would pay two per cent interest for the first five years and 3% afterwards over a 20-year period, explained Mayor Gregg Davidson. “The approach we are using will ensure Mapleton’s water and wastewater needs will be met safely, efficiently and affordably,” said Davidson in a press release. The project, which includes a new water tower, upgrading an existing water pumping station, a wastewater treatment project, and a gravity sanitary collection system, is expected to cost between $15 million and $30
Pace car program - Mapleton Safe Communities Committee is launching the Pace Car program, a nation-wide initiative, in Mapleton. Council voted to endorse the program on July 9. ABOVE: Mayor Gregg Davidson and Mapleton Safe Communities Committee member Lori Woodham posed for a photo as Davidson signed the Pace Car program pledge. Photo by Aryn Strickland
SHOWING JULY 19, 20 AND 21
SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME
RATED PG
128 MINS
Friday & Saturday 8pm and Sunday 7pm
MAIN ST. W. PALMERSTON 519.343.3640 www.norgantheatre.com
on their car identifying that they are part of the program. However, Goertzen and Woodham added the committee will limit the number of SEE MAPLETON » 3
WEEKLY WAG
‘‘
expected to be courteous and to give way if cars try to overtake them in the interest of safety. Those that take the pledge receive a sticker to display
“To err is human, but to really foul things
up you need a computer.” - Paul R. Ehrlich
million. “This is an exciting partnership between the Township of Mapleton and Canada Infrastructure Bank,” said CIB president and CEO Pierre Lavallée. “CIB is a new model of federal support for projects including green infrastructure. Our innovative financing approach will help Mapleton invest in new, expanded and sustainable public water and wastewater facilities.” The CIB is a federal crown corporation with a mandate to invest $35 billion in new infrastructure projects. Competitive procurement process “We are proceeding with a competitive procurement process and are very pleased to have the Canada Infrastructure Bank involved to provide an innovative financing option,” said Davidson. “We hope that our approach to improve our infrastructure will create best practices for other municipalities to modernize their water and wastewater systems.” In May the township released a list of companies
BILL’S
to which the municipality has sent RFPs, including: – Helios Group, made up of Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., Pomerleau, Helios Group, J.L. Richards and Associates Limited, GSS Engineering Consultants Ltd.; – Maple Reinders W/WW Utility, made up of Wood Canada Limited, Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd., ASI Water (a division of ASI Group Ltd.) and Stonebridge Financial Corporation; – Maple Water Resource Partners, comprised of EPCOR Water, AECON Group Inc., Ontario Clean Water Agency and Stantec; Ontario Utility Consortium, comprised of Veolia Water Canada, Graham, CIMA, Alectra Inc. and Enbridge; – Peterborough Group, comprised of PUG (Peterborough) Services Corp., Peterborough Utilities Inc. and Peterborough Utilities Group; and – PUC Sault St. Marie Group, made up of Axium Infrastructure Canada, PUC Services Inc. (Sault Ste. Marie) and Ontario Energy Holdings LLC.
PAINT and COLLISION Specializing in... Collision and Complete Re-Finishing, One Mile East of Moorefield.
519 638-2048