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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 46 Issue 40
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.10% 3 Year GIC - 2.41% 5 Year GIC - 2.95% Daily Interest 1.55%
Friday, October 4, 2013
Skate park committee proposes $100,000 facility
Terry Fox walkers - Drayton Heights Public School students took a hike along the the Drayton walking trail for the school’s Terry Fox Run on Sept. 26. Sarah McIntyre, left, and Jorja Lee led the way across the bridge. submitted photo
by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - The Drayton Skatepark Committee presented a proposal for a $100,000 facility in the village and is recommending a Riverside Park location. Committee members Joanne Brown and Dahl Atin attended the Sept. 24 council meeting to update council on plans for the facility. The committee explained they have researched skate park sizes, materials, structures and contractors and selected a preferred location. The committee has also considered safety issues, maintenance, insurance and the cost to build and fund the facility. “Although we may have a lot of fundraising to accomplish to make this a viable project, we are confident that the community is behind us and that the time is right for this skate park to become a reality in 2014,” said Brown. The bulk of the cost would be an estimated $45,000 to $55,000 for excavation and pouring of a 82- by 98-foot concrete slab, with a further
$35,000 estimated for ramp structures, $2,000 to create a “Wall of Recognition” for donors, and $1,000 for signs. Additional costs could include benches and lighting, the committee members noted in their proposal. The committee has raised nearly $10,000 in cash and pledges and is hoping to eventually raise enough to qualify for funding through the municipality’s 50/50 funding program. The group has also applied to the Aviva Community Fund and could receive anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 if successful. The committee pointed out the facility is “urgently” needed to replace an existing “do-it-yourself” facility utilizing home-made ramps set up in a turnaround near ABC Park in the southeast corner of the village. Brown pointed out the existing facility has been there for about four years, despite being dismantled twice, “proving the interest and determination of our youth to have a
skate park.” The committee points out the existing facility, located on township property, “is in need of repair and is unsafe - a liability to the township.” “The popularity of skateboarding is growing,” said Brown. “Many small communities are providing skate parks for their youth. If one is not provided, the youth will find less appropriate places to practice their skills.” Potential locations Atin reported the committee had researched three potential locations: ABC Park, the PMD arena parking lot and Riverside Park. Although all locations presented advantages and disadvantages, the committee found Riverside Park to be preferable. “We looked at all kinds of locations and to be perfectly frank about it, there are no perfect locations,” noted Mapleton public works director Larry Lynch. The prime disadvantage of the arena location is that it is far from core residential areas.
“None of the youths would like it there,” the committee noted in their report. The ABC Park location was not popular with homeowners, who would essentially have the park in their backyards. While Riverside Park was considered too far to walk to by parents of young children, the committee noted skaters from all locations would easily reach the park. Lynch pointed out it would have to be determined if a skate park would be compatible with tentative plans to create a second soccer field at Riverside Park. Council instructed Lynch to conduct further investigation and report back on potential locations. To view the complete proposal for the Drayton Skate park go to prezi. com/b_g4kvmx_gra/?utm_ campaign=share&utm_ medium=copy. To support the committees application to the Aviva Community Fund go to avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/ afc168.
Township to administer $100,000 donation from Conestogo Wind to Trees for Mapleton by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - Operators of the Conestogo Wind Energy Centre in Mapleton have formalized an agreement with the township to donate $9,000 toward a community sign and $100,000 to Trees for Mapleton.
At the Sept. 24 meeting, council approved an agreement with Conestogo Wind LP - a subsidiary of NextEra Energy that involves administering the funds for Trees for Mapleton, as the organization is not set up as a charity and does not have a bank account.
The agreement notes Trees for Mapleton has been identified by Conestogo Wind “as a community initiative it would like to support.” The agreement specifies the funds will be distributed in five annual installments of $20,000. Councillor Mike Downey
questioned how detailed an “accounting statement” of Trees for Mapleton expenditures (specified as a condition of the agreement) would need to be. “We want this money to be for trees on the ground, not a lot of red tape,” said Downey,
who is member of the Trees for Mapleton committee. Mayor Bruce Whale suggested staff clarify the accounting requirements and report back to council. The agreement also outlines terms for a $9,000 donation from Conestoga Wind toward
an electronic sign, which was installed earlier this year outside the PMD Community Centre in Drayton at a cost of about $18,000. The sign provides information on municipal and community events. Council voted unanimously in favor of the agreement.
Tractor rollover claims life of local man MAPLETON - A tragic farm accident here on Monday morning has claimed the life of a local man. Dead is Orvie Brubacher. He was 47 years old. On Sept. 30, at approximately 5:15am, Wellington County OPP officers received a call regarding a single-vehicle accident on Sideroad 19, approximately one kilometre north of Wellington Road 8, in
Mapleton Township involving a farm tractor. OPP officers responded to the scene along with paramedics from Guelph-Wellington Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and firefighters from Mapleton Township Fire and Rescue. Police say Brubacher, a Mapleton Township resident, was travelling northbound on Sideroad 19 in a Case
International tractor that was being driven by his 22-year-old son, also of Mapleton, when the tractor left the roadway and rolled over. Brubacher was pronounced deceased at the scene and the driver was uninjured. Roads in the area were closed for several hours while the county OPP, assisted by Highway Safety Division officers, investigated the collision.
Council approves first cultural bursary by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - Carolyn Borges is the first recipient of Mapleton Towship’s new cultural exchange bursary. Borges, 20, of Drayton, is entering her third year of studies at St. Jeromes University in Waterloo and is now attending the University of Nantes, in Nantes, France, enrolled in the International Relations, French Program. “I am very pleased to rec-
ommend to council the approval of the township’s first application under the new cultural bursary program,” stated CAO Patty Sinnamon at the Sept. 24 council meeting. Sinnamon noted the township’s management team reviewed the application and concurred it meets the criteria for the $500 bursary. In an essay presented as part of the application process, Borges stated she would be
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“honoured to be acknowledged by the Township of Mapleton through a cultural bursary.” Borges plans to specialize in teaching French in a rural elementary or secondary school. “I have interest in continuing to live and work in a rural community such as the Township of Mapleton and the towns and townships in Wellington County,” stated Continued on page 6
Structurally sound - The Palmerston library is slated for renovations in 2015 with a budget of $2 million under the County of Wellington’s five-year plan. A report commissioned by the county’s information, heritage and seniors committee recently declared the building structurally sound. The building is one of five Carnegie libraries located in the county. photo by Patrick Raftis
Report paves way for library renovations by Kris Svela PALMERSTON - Preliminary findings of a report on the library and upper floor theatre here have found the building to be in good shape structurally. The report was authorized by the information, heritage
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and seniors committee, which oversees the 14 libraries in Wellington County, and was contained in the committee’s report to county council on Sept. 26. The Palmerston library is a Carnegie library structure
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and is slated for renovations in 2015 with a budget of $2 million. “The purpose of the report was simply to inform the library board as to the structural condition of the ... building,” Continued on page 2
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