HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-11-17, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2011. PAGE 13.
OLG donates
over $35,000
to Goderich
Courthouse to
be ready for
Dec. 12 meeting
United Way distributes money to disaster fund
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Members of the Brussels Legion Pipe Band prepared to play their instruments after the annual
Remembrance Day ceremony at the village’s cenotaph outside of the Brussels Legion. After the
ceremony Legion members and guests paraded to St. Ambrose Roman Catholic Church for the annual
Remembrance Day church service. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Following on its promise toreceive and distribute tornadorelief donations where needed
most, the United Way of
Perth-Huron has allocated
$100,000 to the Goderich and
Area Disaster Relief
Committee. United Way
Program Review and
Allocation Committee
members, including five
residents of Goderich,
recently made their decisionto support rebuilding homes,businesses and lives through
the provincially-matched
program.
Ryan Erb, Executive
Director said, “we were
happy to receive donations for
tornado relief efforts,
especially in the early days
after the disaster when the
Goderich and Area Disaster
Relief Committee was justgetting off the ground. Peopleacross Canada responded and
used our text to give, online
portal and other donation
vehicles to respond quickly. It
was something we could do
right away and do well and
now we are forwarding a
significant sum to the
Goderich and Area Disaster
Relief Committee.”“We want to thank the teamat the United Way of Perth-
Huron who have assisted us
over and above their normal
mandate. For them to be
raising funds for tornado
relief while they are still
trying to raise funds for
their annual campaign shows
a significant commitment to
our community”, says TomJasper, Chair of Fundraisingfor the Goderich and Area
Disaster Relief Committee.
The United Way of Perth-
Huron will also distribute
some funding to local non-
profit agencies in the near
future. “Agencies have been
stretched beyond their
mandates and their financial
limits as they cope with the disaster”, says SusanMoffat, Chair of the United
Way Program Review
and Allocation Committee.
“Our plan is to support
where we can, recognizing
there are many, many, needs.”
An announcement is
anticipated in the next few
weeks.
While progress is steadily
being made at the Huron
County courthouse, restoration
has far exceeded the initial
four-to-six week estimate and
councillors want to know when
the building will be ready.
At the Nov. 2 session of
Huron County Council, Chief
Administrative Officer Larry
Adams said a report would be
coming to council’s Committee
of the Whole meeting in
Clinton on Nov. 9. The report
will have to be given during a
closed session, Adams said.
Having said that, Adams did
say it was still anticipated that
the courthouse would be ready
for the revised date of Dec. 12.
Several councillors were
critical of the decision to
occupy the lawn surrounding
the courthouse with several
trailers now being used by
Ontario Court Services.
Adams, however, said that
was a decision that was made
by the courts and they had work
they needed to get done. The
Goderich situation was
straining other area courts and
the Huron County courthouse
had hearings and trials that had
to occur before Nov. 21, Adams
said.
Goderich Mayor Deb
Shewfelt said the Huron
County court system had one
murder trial that had to be
transferred to London, but that
there had been pressure from
area courts to make the
decision.
“There was pushback from
other area courts. We were
impacting them,” he said.
“Justice served is all part of the
system, but there has been a lot
of political pushback.
“All we were doing was
accommodating them. We have
a busy court system.”
When the true picture of the
devastation caused by the Aug.
21 tornado in Goderich came to
light, the staff at OLG Slots at
Clinton Raceway sprung into
action. They knew right away
they had to help the residents in
their neighbouring community.
What started as an employee
fundraising idea at OLG Slots
at Clinton Raceway, quickly
spread and was embraced
across all 22 OLG gaming sites
and corporate offices. The idea
was called “Jeans Day for
Goderich” in which employees
could wear jeans at work for a
small donation.
The “Jeans Day” campaign
ran for six weeks. When all the
donations were added up, the
total reached $36,022.91. A
cheque for that amount was
presented Nov. 10 to Tom
Jasper, a member of the
Goderich and Area Disaster
Relief Committee, during a
ceremony at OLG Slots at
Clinton Raceway.
“On behalf of the people of
Goderich, I want to thank all
OLG employees for their
kindness and generosity during
this challenging time for our
community,” said Jasper. “This
money will greatly help as we
continue to rebuild our town.”
As part of the disaster relief
effort, the province has
committed to a match of all
donations on a 2-1 basis. That
means, the $36,022.91 donated
from OLG employees is
matched and doubled by the
province to become
$72.045.82, bringing the total
donation to $108,068.73.
“Once again this shows how
committed OLG employees are
in supporting their local
communities especially when a
crisis hits, “ said Tammy
Dowdall, General Manager at
OLG Slots at Clinton Raceway.
Donations from the public
can continue to be made to the
Disaster Relief Fund through
the Town of Goderich and
at any chartered bank in
Ontario.
Get your own tree at the Goderich Santa Claus
Parade!
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See histories and
historic photographs
on the
Huron History section
of our website
www.northhuron.on.ca