THE
SERVING THE MAPLETON COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY NEWS Volume 48 Issue 43
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 1.85% 3 Year GIC - 2.19% 5 Year GIC - 2.35% Daily Interest 1.00%
638-3328
Friday, October 23, 2015
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Council not interested in regulating cats
Equipment donation - A dry sprinkler powder aerosol extinguisher was donated to the Mapleton Fire Department by township resident Cal Deen, who used his $1,000 winnings from the Mapleton firefighters’ calendar draw to make the donation to the organization. A relatively new product, the one-time-use extinguisher uses dry chemicals to extinguish fires in areas like basements, saving firefighters considerable time, reducing necessary manpower and saving lives. “I appreciate all the work the firefighters do in the township and am happy to give back,� Deen said. From left: Sparky the fire dog, Deen, deputy fire chief Daryl Broadhaecker and fire chief Rick Richardson at the firefighters’ breakfast on Oct. 17 at the Drayton fire station. photo by Caroline Sealey
Mapleton to price recording equipment by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - During 2016 budget deliberations council here will consider the cost of equipment to make video recordings of council meetings and post them online. Council approved a motion from councillor Michael Martin requesting a report providing options for the costs associated with the acquisition and installation of an audio/video system that would allow the recording of all public meetings of council and allow them to be posted online via the Mapleton Township website. Acting CAO Brad
McRoberts asked if, in addition to posting recorded meetings after the fact, council wanted to consider equipment capable of live-streaming the meetings. McRoberts said he needs to know if council is “looking for a Cadillac or a Pinto.� “My preference would obviously be that we do it well or we don’t do it at all,� said Martin. Treasurer Yufang Du pointed out when the current council chamber audio system was installed the township was advised it could be upgraded. She suggested the company, London-based Dynamix be
Hospital governance integration committee agrees on key issues WELLINGTON COUNTY - A joint steering committee on local hospital integration has reached preliminary agreement on a number of topics. Following a third meeting on Oct. 14, the board chairs of Groves Memorial Community Hospital and North Wellington Health Care (NWHC) announced they “continued to make significant progress� in discussions and have come to preliminary agreement on: - the composition and size of a joint executive committee and sub-committees; - the authority that would be delegated by hospital boards to the joint executive committee as well as the authority for certain duties that would be retained by hospital boards;
- decision making processes at the joint executive committee level; and - a dispute resolution process. “We have reached a point in our discussions where we have instructed our legal counsel to develop a draft memorandum of understanding that will outline our agreements reached to date and define how our two organizations wish to work together to best serve the residents of our communities,� states a joint press release from Groves chair Howard Dobson and NWHC chair Tom Sullivan. The draft memorandum will be reviewed by the joint steering committee on Oct. 28, the Continued on page 5 Main St. W. Palmerston
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approached about enhancements. Council approved the purchase of a $14,717 sound system from Dynamix in October of 2014. “Suffice it to say staff will bring back a report,� said McRoberts. The motion passed without opposition. Council meetings are broadcast on community channels by local cable companies in many communities around Ontario. In Wellington County, only the Town of Minto currently records meetings, which are posted on the township’s website and through YouTube.
by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - Mapleton council has decided the township won’t be pursing the idea of controlling cats though a bylaw at this time. “I think trying to regulate cats is like herding them - good luck,� said councillor Marlene Ottens as council discussed a letter from local resident Alan Beeney at the Oct. 13 meeting. In his letter, Beeney stated, “I feel that Mapleton council should implement a cat bylaw similar to the existing dog bylaw. Cats are roaming around in every residential area doing what cats do, digging and excreting in flower beds, gardens and on lawns, preying on birds at bird feeder stations, etc.� Beeney also stated that toxoplasma gondii, a parasite contained in cat feces, is a public health concern. “The dog bylaw works well so why not apply these regulations to the cat problem. After all, why are you discriminating against dog owners? Incidentally, I am not a dog owner. Some municipalities do have cat bylaws, Barrie and London, for example,� Beeney added. Noting, “We currently do not have any kind of cat bylaw,� councillor Lori Woodham said
the idea “is definitely something I would like to see us take a look at.� Woodham said some townships are simply implementing “animal� control bylaws without specifying dogs or cats. “Perhaps if you just change the name to animal control and we could come up with a number (to limit cats in a household)?� “I just caution you about reacting to one letter from one person regarding a specific issue,� said acting CAO Brad McRoberts. “We can’t have a knee-jerk reaction to one person, one citizen complaint .... you might want to get a bit of a sense of what the general public feels. You could start moving down this path and then you end up with a roomful of people in here totally opposed to this (regulating cats).� “I’m hearing two sides,� said Mayor Neil Driscoll, noting while some council members want to consider the idea, “others are saying ‘Let’s forget about it.’� “I would be on the let’s-forget-about-it side,� said councillor Michael Martin, who asked if Mapleton’s bylaw officer deals strictly with dogs or if other animal control issues are part of the mandate.
“In a municipality like this, I think if we sent (bylaw officer Maurita Boyle) out to get some cats, where do we go with them?� said chief building official Patty Wright. “We don’t have any facilities for cats,� RV parking concerns Beeney’s letter also asked council to debate the parking of recreational vehicles such as trailers, mobile homes and fifth wheels, in residential areas. “Most of these units are quite large and parked in driveways at the front of the house. They deter from the aesthetics of the neighbourhood. I suggest these large units should be stored off-property, or at least behind or beside the house so when one drives down the street it doesn’t look like a trailer park and the beauty of the landscaped front yards are visible to all (and besides we are not paying trailer park taxes),� Beeney wrote. McRoberts said Beeney’s concerns were the first he has heard on this topic. Wright pointed out Mapleton’s zoning bylaw regulates the parking of recreational and commercial vehicles in the township. A motion to receive the letter for information passed unopposed.
Municipal office renovation tenders approved MAPLETON - The township will spend just under $22,000 for renovations and furnishings for the municipal administration centre basement. At the recommendation of CBO Patty Wright at the Oct.
13 meeting, council awarded the project to Mackey Design and Build of Moorefield for $19,702, the lowest of three bids submitted. Staff was also authorized to purchase $1,579 worth of office furniture from
K.A. Hammond and Co. of Moorefield. Wright explained the project includes the creation of two washrooms and office space that will be used by building and bylaw enforcement staff.
Nater holds Perth-Wellington as Liberals win majority PERTH-WELLINGTON - This riding remained true Tory blue even as a wave of Liberal red flowed across the country. Conservative John Nater received 22,255 votes, 43 per cent of the total, to win the riding seat in the Oct. 19 federal election. Liberal Stephen McCotter finished second with 19,420 votes (37%). In third place was NDP candidate Ethan Rabidoux, who picked up 15% of the vote, with a total of 7,756. The Green Party’s Nicole Ramsdale garnered 3% of the vote, with 1,347 ballots cast in her favour. Irma DeVries of the Christian Heritage Party received 794 votes (2%), while independent candidate Roger Fuhr garnered less than 1%, with 217 votes. Locally, voter turnout was reported at just over 68%, with a total of 51,789 casting
Nater wins - The campaign team of Conservative John Nater, who was elected as MP for Perth-Wellington on Oct. 19, knocked on its 30,000th door at Arthur resident Ethel McEwen’s home during the final days of campaigning on Oct. 14. From left: WellingtonHalton Hills MPP Ted Arnott, McEwen, Nater and Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece. submitted photo ballots, out of 76,097 PerthWellington voters registered prior to election day. Nater becomes the sec-
Weekly Wag
st; promises lea o h w n a m e Vote for th ting. ast disappoin he’ll be the le ruch - Bernard Ba
ond federal MP to represent the riding, which has been held by Conservative Gary Schellenberger since it was
created in 2004 from parts of Perth-Middlesex, WaterlooWellington and DufferinPeel-Wellington-Grey. The riding now consists of all of Perth County, plus the Wellington County municipalities of Mapleton, Minto and Wellington North. Nationally, the Justin Trudeau-led Liberals won a majority government with 184 seats, while incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives dropped to official opposition status with 99 seats. The NDP lost official opposition status, winning only 44 seats. The separatist Bloc Quebecois increased its seat count from four to 10, all in Quebec. Green Party leader Elizabeth May won her party’s only seat once again. For a more detailed story, see this week’s Wellington Advertiser.
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