HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-05-12, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016.
Council questions farmland exemption from code
A debate about whether or not
farm lands are exempt from the
Ontario Fire Code has delayed the
passing of a new open air burning
bylaw by Morris-Turnberry Council.
Council was divided on whether
an updated bylaw needed to be
implemented to replace its current
open air burning bylaw, which was
adopted last year, that would allow
more opportunities for open air
burns such as leaving a fire burning
unattended over night on farm
properties.
Fire Protection Officer James
Marshall was in attendance for the
discussion and was able to shed
some light on the document,
however the debate about whether or
not farm lands should be treated
differently from the rest of the
municipality led to the bylaw being
delayed again.
At the centre of most of the debate
was the fact that farm premises are
exempt from the Ontario Fire Code,
which Marshall said he would have
to employ if Morris-Turnberry
Council did not include rules against
unsupervised fire.
"If it's not in the bylaw, I will be
forced to fine people with overnight
burns under the Ontario Fire Code,"
he said. "Instead of the [proposed]
$200 ticket, people will receive a
$20,000 Part 3 summons for court
for individuals or $100,000 Part 3
summons for corporations."
Marshall said he felt like he was
"being handcuffed" into charging
people under the fire code when he
was trying to provide another option.
Marshall also stated that he has
received no negative feedback from
farmers on the current burn bylaw
which is similar to the proposed one
but with changes regarding
overnight burns.
"I've gone out and talked to
[farmers]," he said. "The fact is they
are calling me and telling me about
the burns and there isn't a problem. I
have 30 calls so far so it's coming in
line."
Several council members felt that
Marshall wouldn't be imposing any
fines on farms, however as the way
they read the fire code indicated that
farmers were completely exempt
from the document's fine structure.
The crux of that belief came from
the undefined term `premises' in the
bylaw. While Marshall felt premises
refered to structures and their
surrounding areas on farms, some
members of council felt premises
meant entire farm properties.
"I guess that's where our question
is coming from," Councillor John
Reunion planning going well
PEOPLE AROUND
WALTON
By Jo -Ann
McDonald
Call
887-6570
Happy Mother's Day to all. We
hope mothers were treated royally
by their family and had a wonderful
day with them. Our family gathered
at the home of Scott and Alicia
McDonald for the birthday party for
their one -year-old son, Wes. It was a
dual celebration being Mother's day
as well.
What a difference a week makes
in the life of a farmer. Field upon
field has now been worked and
planted with the 2016 corn crop and
the hopes of farmers for a successful
harvest are high.
The unveiling of the 2017
International Plowing Match (IPM)
sign to be held near Walton was held
on Saturday afternoon. There was a
great crowd with many speaking
with great anticipation of the event.
Chair of the committee Jacquie
Bishop and Joe Ryan on behalf of
the Ryan family, were all in
attendance, as well as political
guests and IPM representatives. The
sign is beautiful and it only took a
day to erect the frame, and then the
sign was hidden behind tarps. Then
on Friday, workers descended and
magic happened and lovely
landscaping appeared. Walton and
IPM are on the map!
The Van Veen family gathered to
celebrate Gerritt Van Veen's 86th
birthday last week. His birthday is
actually in March but was delayed
so all the family could be there. The
afternoon party was held at Gerritt
and Helen's home. Attending were
Aggie Ten Pas, Clara, Allie and Gar,
Martha and Case and Pete and
Margaret. They enjoyed an
afternoon of tea and snacks and of
course, birthday cake. Happy
Birthday Gerritt!
The committee organizing the #11
school reunion (McGavin School) is
busy finalizing its plans for the
event. They have tracked down
many of the former students and are
well pleased with the response of
those attending the July 16 event.
Committee members met at Walton
Inn to discuss all aspects and who
they still haven't found. Meeting last
week were Linda Gingerich, Pauline
Gulutzen, Wenda Humphries,
Graeme Craig, Janet Webster and
Anne Sills. Anyone still in touch
with former students are asked to
pass on the date and a committee
member's name to contact.
It was the first Tuesday of the
month last week, so it was the
gathering of the Winthrop birthday
girls for breakfast. The group has
gathered to celebrate the month's
birthdays for a few years or they just
gather. This was the case as there
were no May birthdays. It didn't
stop Karen Braecker, Jeanette
Robinson, Judy Beuerman, Yolanda
Gubelmann, Jennifer Vellenga and
Brenda Bernard from getting
together and catching up with one
another. Carol Reinink was unable
to attend because of the opening of
her greenhouse. She invites her
friends to visit her there, but sorry,
no breakfast.
It is really nice when everyone's
lives are so busy that these seven
women still find time to get together
and stay close every month. Maybe
we all need to step back and do that!
Celebrating birthdays this past
week include Pat Melady, Armand
Roth, Gerry Sullivan, Brian
Workman, Scott McNaughton, Doug
O'Neill, Adam Jaosz, Scott Baan,
FROM WALTON
Brandon Blake, Colin Humphries,
Kyle Stevenson, Brandon Dalton,
Jim Shortreed, Maddy Bernard,
Jordan Thompson, Carman Bernard,
Calvin Flood and Nathan Wharton.
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Smuck said. "It says there are
exemptions for farm premises. I
want to know where we stand on the
word premises, if it means the
buildings or the entire property. That
clause is there for a reason and I
want to know why."
Smuck went on to say that letting
a fire burn down unsupervised is
often preferable as a regular farm
practice.
"If I have a fire, I don't want to
have to put it out at night if I'm
going to have to light it again in the
morning," Smuck said. "That's what
I said before."
Marshall said that decision would
depend on how comfortable Smuck
is with the fire. He related the story
of a fire in the Morris Ward where
someone left a fire and a neighbour
called and, by the time the fire
department arrived, there was a 500 -
metre stretch of fire that was 60 feet
wide.
"It was an hour and a half of three
trucks and 20 firefighters dragging
hoses the length of this abandoned
rail line," he said. "They had left it
and felt it was okay, but it wasn't."
Smuck said he felt there should be
a charge there, but didn't want
Marshall writing tickets for
smoldering embers.
Marshall said he didn't want to
write tickets if it wasn't necessary.
"There have been opportunities in
the past for me to write tickets and I
haven't," he said. "It's not what we
do. I don't want to. If I don't have to
lay any charges, I'm happy, I just
want safe mentality around fire."
Councillor Sharen Zinn, who had
previously brought up questions
about the definitions in the Ontario
Fire Code similar to Smuck's
concerns, said she had no problem
with the proposed bylaw, but said
she had received calls from Morris-
Turnberry residents who did.
She asked why this bylaw was
being implemented at all if the
Ontario Fire Code covered all these
issues and Marshall said it was
because of the charges being so high
that he preferred a bylaw that
allowed for education instead of
potential incarceration.
"If I have to use the fire code,
those fines go through the roof," he
said. "Not only is it a $20,000 fine
[for anyone found in contravention
of the Ontario Fire Code], it's also
automatically going to court and
potential jail time. The $200 fine is a
learning opportunity instead of
something that is a life -changing
charge."
Smuck said he wanted
clarification on how the Ontario Fire
Code applies to farms, and other
councillors agreed, stating they
would like the definition of
Continued on page 20
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