The Citizen, 2012-02-02, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012.Councillor clarifies CH waste situation
Auburn resident
upset with council
Writer critical of
health care system
THE EDITOR,
Approximately $30 million could
be saved each and every year in
Ontario to pay for 200 family
physicians, 400 nurses, or 20 MRI
machines. This money is now being
spent in direct costs for abortion.
All of these dollars would improve
the province’s ability to provide
genuine health care and address
shortages in today’s necessary areas
of critical medical conditions and
long-term care for the elderly.
Is it any wonder why our present
health care system lacks funds to
support our medical requirements?
Yours truly,
Wayne Waechter,
RR 2, Wingham.
THE EDITOR,
After being called “irresponsible”
and “reckless” in connection with
the new garbage pickup option in
Central Huron one too may times
last week, it is time to reflect about
the underlying facts:
It is a municipal responsibility to
provide certain core services, such
as snow removal, roads and
bridge maintenance, firefighting,
policing, water and sewer where
available.
In addition there are services that
the municipality can provide if it
chooses to do so, recreational
facilities and programming,
recycling and waste management for
example.
Central Huron, as most of the
municipalities in Huron, Perth,
Lambton and Middlesex Counties,
offers recycling services to its
residents through the Bluewater
Recycling Association (BRA)
founded by a group of nine
municipalities in 1988 and now
servicing over 20 amalgamated
municipalities, representing more
than 63,000 households.
BRA now operates the most
advanced separation facility in North
America in its Huron Park location
and is still owned solely by its
member municipalities.
The most significant recent
change was the introduction of the
automated collection service and the
“wheelie bins.”
Central Huron is one of the very
few municipalities that in the recent
past has not provided or facilitated
any garbage pickup to its residents.
If a resident requires garbage
pickup, the services of a private
garbage collection company had to
be engaged, or one had to make the
trip to the landfill site.
The BRA had made a presentation
to Central Huron Council in mid-
2011 outlining the possibility of
automated co-collection, i.e. the
combined automated pickup of
recyclables and waste with the new
trucks.
Recently, after first buying out a
local waste collection company a
few years prior, Waste Management,
a major player in the garbage field,
announced that they will no longer
provide services within Central
Huron, period.
This triggered significant demands
from the public to Central Huron
Council, basically asking: how are
you guys going to address this? And
quite often also: What about the
BRA, can’t they pick up our
garbage?
A large amount of these demands
originated west of Parr Line, asking
for at least an option to facilitate
garbage collection. For the record,
this area generates 60 per cent of our
tax revenue and does not have some
of the core services.
Upon revisiting the BRA option, it
became clear, that for the average
household in Central Huron
generating about 200 kilograms of
waste per year, co-collection within
the BRA system would be a very
competitive option.
It provides a service option for all
residents in Central Huron, rural, in
town, lakeshore and everything in
between.
BRA being municipally owned,
chances are that this option will not
just disappear over night.
Central Huron will not have to
“get into the garbage business,” but
let a ratepayer-owned company take
care of it.
The automated trucks can co-
collect every two weeks and have a
“garbage only” run during weeks
with no recycling pickup.
Automated pickup provides a safe
workplace for BRA employees,
limiting long-term workplace
injuries (yes, BRA employees are
WSIB covered).
The bins are provided at no cost
and provide a safe place to store
garbage until pickup. Once at the
road, no raccoons and cats have a go
at it.
Considering all the above can be
provided at approximately 80 cents
per bag for the average household,
regardless where it is located in
the municipality, council decided
to make this option and three
different size bins available to its
residents.
The BRA facilitates the collection
and provides the bins; Central Huron
provides an efficient way of billing
by combining it with the tax bill.
In the majority of cases, residents
will pay significantly less for
garbage pickup than before.
Oh, and did I mention all this is
optional? One doesn’t want it, one
doesn’t pay, its also called user pay.
And if one produces very small
amounts of garbage, well, team up
with thy neighbour and share a bin,
how’s that?
Now is providing that
“irresponsible” and “reckless”?
This is being forward thinking and
giving residents the tools to manage
their garbage properly.
Within the next five years,
automated co-collection will be
implemented in the majority of the
BRA service area, and that’s just
keeping up with the rest of
civilization.
If one of the main focuses of
Central Huron is the attraction of
new businesses and residents, a
viable garbage collection option
without third world flair is a
bonus.
Lastly, a note about supporting
local business and taxes: Several
BRA employees, including their
operations manager, live, have
families and pay taxes in Central
Huron, with the municipality
owning a stake in BRA. How much
more local can it get?
The call to opt out to keep garbage
charges off your taxes? Factually
incorrect. There are no garbage
charges being added to your taxes. If
you choose to have the service,
you will get billed, it just happens to
be on the same paper your tax
bill is printed on. Now that is
efficient.
Those are the facts, and isn’t life
all about the right choices?
Burk Metzger, Central Huron.
THE EDITOR,
We are students in Grade 3 at
Brussels Public School. We are
writing today because we are very
sad and scared and worried. We
wrote this letter for the people who
came and damaged our school and
our gazebo last week.
Today (Jan. 27) when we came to
school we saw that our gazebo is
broken. It is a place where we read
and play pretend and play other
games. Our secretary’s dad built it
for us all with one of the classes that
used to be at our school. We think
that they must be really sad. We are
scared and we don’t feel safe right
now.
Why would you write the hurtful
words on one of our doors? Why
would you write “RIP” on our wall?
How could you say that God
hates us? We are only eight years
old. The kindergartens are only four
or five years old. They are scared
too.
Please don’t hurt us again,
because we love our school and we
love coming here and learning here.
Sincerely,
The Grade 3 class
Brussels Public School.
THE EDITOR,
I’m disappointed that the dividing
lines between three different
municipalities in Auburn has
once again been brought to the
forefront.
Waste collection in Auburn comes
from three different municipalities,
once again shedding light on the
issue of Auburn not being treated as
one community.
Soon there will be three different
garbage trucks coming through the
village at different times, servicing
different parts of the village. For a
community of 240 people, it seems
redundant to me and all it does is
highlight the mass confusion
surrounding the village.
I’m disappointed that ratepayers
in Central Huron didn’t have a say in
this matter before a decision was
made. It was made because of
residents along the lakeshore and the
residents of Auburn and other
communities didn’t have a chance to
have their voices heard.
This was not handled well.
Pamphlets detailing the services
Bluewater Recycling would be
providing should have been mailed
out before a final decision was
made, not after, and there should
have been a time and place for us to
voice our opinions.
It seems like something council
should have taken more time with
and we’re still not sleeping up here
in Auburn.
The wait until April 1 is also a
concern. It will no doubt cause a rise
in the amount of garbage being
burned or being dumped on the side
of the road.
For 60 years Auburn has had its
garbage picked up and now, for three
months, we won’t. Is this
advancement?
Jim Schneider
Auburn.
The details of your wedding will be recorded
in black and white for friends to read and you
to clip for your scrapbook if you tell the story of
your wedding in our 2012 Bridal Parade.
1 photo of the bridal couple plus
300 word write-up (write it up yourself or pick up a
form from The Citizen office and fill it in and
we’ll write it for you).
Just $25 (including HST) - must be paid in advance.
Your story will appear along with those of other bridal
couples from the past year. As well, the story and
photo (plus up to two additional photos from your
wedding) will, be published on our Brides in Huron
website (www.northhuron.on.ca)
for your friends around the world to enjoy.
Deadline: February 17
Issue date: March 1
DON’T LET THE
MEMORIES
OF YOUR
WEDDING FADE
404 Queen St., Blyth
519-523-4792
541 Turnberry St., Brussels
519-887-9114
The Citizen
Email: norhuron@scsinternet.com
Letters to the Editor
Grade 3 class
confused, scared
BUY? SELL?
TRY CLASSIFIED