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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-02-23, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012. While the warmer weather has seemed like a boon to those who have to travel, it has made this a winter of oddities and hardships for some people in the area. Gary Pipe, the public works director for Morris-Turnberry, said that, while there hasn’t been any plowing to do, the warmer weather has brought a whole new set of concerns for safety and road conditions. “This weather has had an unbelievable effect on the roads around us,” he said. “Usually we have a freeze in November and then it thaws in March but we’ve had six or seven freeze and thaw cycles this winter.” The problem with the freezing and thawing, according to Pipe, is that it’s causing pot holes and road degradation and, given the makeup of Morris-Turnberry’s road system, it could affect up to 90 per cent of the roads. “We’ve ice bladed 10 times this year,” he said. “That’s something you need to do after freezing rain to deal with the problems it causes. Usually we don’t have to do it at all.” While Morris-Turnberry and neighbouring municipalities will likely save money on snow removal, Pipe said that there are new costs associated with this warmer weather that he hasn’t experienced in his 13 years with Morris-Turnberry. “We’re going to spend a lot more time grading,” he said. “We have never graded in February before and we’ll need to make sure that the roadremains safe. “We’ll also still have snow removal in November and December of this year to worry about,” he said. The weather has impacted more than the roads as well as local businesses are finding their average winter clientele has changed this year if they haven’t dropped off. Jen Elliott of Nature’s Nest in Londesborough said that, due to the prevalence of natural food in the warm weather, they aren’t selling as much bird food. “The birds are finding and eating more food on their own and they don’t need as many oils,” she said, explaining that the oils in sunflower seeds and peanuts help birds survive the winter by providing energy for them. “Those are a big part of our sales in the winter.” She stated that, while the warmer weather has changed bird habits and seed sales, it hasn’t been warm enough for people to start looking ahead to spring. “People aren’t ready to get into their ‘spring mode’ yet,” she said. “It’s spring-like weather but it’s just not nice enough out yet.” Jason Rutledge at the Blyth Inn stated that the lack of snowmobilers has hurt his business but that he doesn’t rely on their presence. “It has been amazingly awful this year without the snowmobilers,” he said. “We usually serve about a thousand of them a week.” He said that other people are visiting Blyth and the inn from other towns but that it isn’t a comparable amount of business. “With less snow we have more outof towners, but not as many snowmobilers as we would have,” he said. “But we don’t rely on their business to be viable.” He stated that snowmobilers are an added bonus to living in the area but that he knows that, like the snow, you can’t know when they will be in. “We live in Blyth not North Bay,” he said. “When we have snow this place is full with snowmobilers; We’re busy all day and all night. But you have to know they might or might not be there.” Karen Warwick, an employee atStickers in Auburn said that their business is affected when the weather changes but only for a short time after that. “Whenever the weather changes, either for good or bad, business drops off,” she said. “Whether it’s suddenly getting warmer or colder we feel it.” She said that with cold weather people begin to hibernate and eventually decide to come out after some time. With good weather people focus on cleaning around their houses and homes. In both situations, they see a dip in business.She said that the more ‘open’ winter hasn’t affected the business as people are staying out and about. She also said that despite the lack of snow locally, salt truck traffic from Goderich hasn’t really dropped off compared to other years. “The boats can still go across the lake so they can ship salt that way and we have a few less trucks, but we still have a lot of trucks here,” she said. “There is still snow in other parts of the country and they need that salt. Last week we had five or six trucks parked here.” Busy parents don’t have time to sit through long presentations. So when Tracy Bachellier went to a Stratford “Ignite” presentation, a speaking event with the slogan “Enlighten us, but make it quick”, she realized she had something exciting for Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) parents. Bachellier is chair of the AMDSB Parent Involvement Committee (PIC), a provincially-mandated organization focused on increasing parents’ engagement with their kids’ school communities. At Ignite events, speakers have only five minutes to speak. Behind them, a slide show automatically advances to a new slide every 15 seconds, for a total of 20 slides. It makes for a fast-paced presentation with little room for filler. (To see how it worked in Stratford, visit www.igniteStratford.ca/videos) “We loved the concept and the format and how unique it was,” Bachellier said. The group worked with Ignite event founders O’Reilly Media to obtain the right to use the name Ignite Parents. Now Bachellier and the rest of the PIC have high hopes that AMDSB parents will find Ignite Parents, to be held at the Arden Park in Stratford May 2, just as inspiring as other Ignite events. “Parents matter,” she said. “And by the end of the evening, we hope to inspire parents with a sense of partnership; that they are valued as partners in their child’s education and that they have an important role to play in their child’s learning. Together, parents and educators, we share a common goal - our children’s education.” The free event has 12 speakers scheduled. At the Ignite series, anyone can talk about their passion and Bachellier is proud that the twelve speakers are parents, students and teachers from the AMDSB. “They’re not the big name draws,” she said. “They’re just everyday people like you and me sharing their passions.” Speakers include Leigh Cassel, the teacher behind the board’s digital Human Library. Cassel has taken her students at Stephen Central Public School to Russia, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Germany and the United States through video conference technology. Other topics include art, music, social media, relaxation, restorative justice and student transitions from a student’s point of view. Speakers confirmed so far are Cassel, Heather Durnin from Turnberry Central Public School, John Herbert from South Huron District High School, Wes MacVicar from the Foundation for Education Perth-Huron, Karen Congram, Karen Schulman Dupuis, Peter McAsh, Matt Knarr, Scott Fisher, Scott Mitchell and Mark McIntosh. Besides hearing the speakers, parents can also pick up information from displays by the Ministry of Education, the AMDSB, the Perth District Health Unit, the Stratford Public Library and other community partners. The event also includes live music, a cash bar, door prizes and food. The AMDSB PIC encourages people to register now at igniteparents.ca Warm weather affects area roads, businesses Board wants to ‘ignite’ parents A long-awaited performance Friday night at the Blyth Christian Reformed Church featured a performance by ‘thatotherchoir’ as part of Faith-in-Song. Choir Director Louise Dockstader led the choir in song. 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