HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-12-24, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008.
Uncovering a pest
During a workshop in Bayfield, Dec. 16, Bill Lammers, inspection supervisor, plant programs
with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Southwest Region, shows where an ash tree in
Bayfield has been infested by emerald ash borer. (Keith Roulston photo)
Continued from page 1technical specialist with the
Ministry of Natural Resources lives
near the outbreak in Norfolk County
near Turkey Point.
Cleland heats his house with wood
but gets his wood from a woodlot
that was originally a part of the farm
where he lives but has a different
owners and is inside the quarantined
area. He had to get special permits to
move wood to his house.
The Norfolk outbreak was
discovered at campgrounds but later
infected six woodlots. An
eradication program was undertaken
to cut 600 ash trees on private and
county-owned land and destroy the
wood. The community came
together with 100 volunteers plus
conservation authority and Hydro
One personnel. Every ash larger in
diameter than the size of a little
finger was cut and chipped. There
was pressure to get the job done
before March 31 because EAB is in
the larvae stage and unable to leave
the wood and fly to safety during the
winter.
Terry Schwann, Guelph District
forester with the ministry of Natural
Resources urged listeners not to
panic. “You do have time to look at
options,” he said.
He suggested woodlot owners
keep their trees healthy to be able tofight off any invasion by thinning the
woodlot to let remaining trees gain
strength.
EAB moves slowly and starts at
the outside edge of a woodlot,
Scwann said. Also, if you have only
10 per cent ash in your woodlot, the
insect is less likely to be a problem.
Richard Keeso of J. H. Keeso and
Sons Limited, a Listowel sawmill,
agreed it’s not a panic situation. His
mill has gone through the
regulations to be able to use EAB-
infected wood, including destroying
the outer area of logs where the
insect lives.
There are so many uses for wood
from ash trees that Keeso said he
didn’t anticipate a glut of wood
destroying the market.
Steve Bowers, stewardship co-
ordinator with the Huron
Stewardship Council, also urged
calm. First of all, it will take time
before the insect spreads to the rest
of the county from the Bayfield area.
Then even if a tree is infected, it may
take five to 10 years before the
population of larvae builds up to the
level it will kill the tree.
Continued from page 4
address the closing of schools in
small communities.
OPSBA has stated in the press that
ETFO’s proposal would leave the
boards with a $260 million shortfall.
That is simply not true. ETFO’s
offer was within the financial
parameters set by the government.
The government did not dispute the
costing of our proposal and was
prepared to accept it.
Let me make this clear: ETFO did
not ask for any additional funding
beyond that already committed by
the provincial government.
In effect, we offered the boards
peace and progress over the next
four years.
We committed to reaching
collective agreements in every board
by March 31, that would have
ensured no strikes or lockouts.
These collective agreements would
have been in place until august 31,
2012.
What the boards proposed would
have stripped away existing rights
and undermined the ability of
teachers to effectively manage their
teaching duties as professionals.
Their offer would have restricted
the use of any enhanced preparation
time by placing it under the
direction of school principals. This
offer would have resulted in an
additional 100 minutes of
supervision time each week which
would mean less time to prepare for
classes and to provide
extracurricular activities.
In addition, what arbitrators have
never awarded to the boards,
OPSBA was trying to force into
agreements at the provincial
discussion table. In proposing to do
this, the boards broke the ground
rules that had been established by
the government representatives for
these discussions. Finally, there was
no commitment on the part of the
boards to improve working
conditions for the more than 20,000
elementary occasional teachers in
Ontario.
Based on their proposal, it was
obvious that the school boards
entered these discussions with no
intention of bargaining
collaboratively in the spirit of
reaching an equitable agreement.
After this very long and extremely
frustrating process, it is
incomprehensible that the boards
would reject an offer that met the
government’s fiscal restrictions,
created 1,500 new jobs in a time of
high unemployment at no additional
cost, improved learning conditions
for children and working conditions
for teachers, increased safety in
schools, and ensured peace and
progress over the next four years.
To have rejected such an offer is
indefensible and irresponsible.
The end result is that a unique
opportunity to invest in elementary
education and the economic future
of this province has been lost.
David Clegg
President, Elementary Teachers’
Federation of Ontario.
ETFO president clarifies
NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT
MUNICIPALITY OF HURON EAST
MUNICIPAL CLASS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
FOR PROPOSED BRIDGE REPLACEMENT
THE PROJECT:
The Municipality of Huron East is planning to replace the existing bridge which spans the Walton Municipal
Drain along Division Line. The bridge is located approximately 0.05km north of the Canada Company Road,
and west of the community of Walton (as shown on the accompanying key plan). Recent engineering
inspections of the structure have identified advanced deterioration within the bridge deck and other bridge
components. The repair of the bridge is not considered practical at this time, given the extent of structural
deterioration evident during the inspection process.
The Municipality is proposing to replace the existing single lane parapet beam bridge with a box culvert
designed to accommodate two lanes of traffic. It is anticipated that the structure would be replaced during
the 2009 construction season. The affected section of Division Line would be closed during the construction
period and traffic would be diverted around the project site on existing local roads.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCREENING PROCESS:
The planning for this project is following the environmental screening process set out for Schedule B
activities under the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) document. The purpose of the
screening process is to identify any potential environmental impacts associated with the project and to plan
for appropriate mitigation of any impacts. The process includes consultation with the public, stakeholders
and government review agencies. This notice is being issued to advise of the start of study investigations.
There will be additional opportunities for public input and involvement as the study progresses.
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT:
The consultation program for this Class EA includes
several opportunities for public involvement. For the
initial phase of the program, public input into the
planning and design of this project will be received
until January 30, 2009. Additional opportunities for
comment will be provided as the process proceeds.
Any comments collected in conjunction with this Class
EA will be maintained on file for use during the project
and may be included in project documentation. With
the exception of personal information, all comments
will become part of the public record.
For further information on this project, or to review the Class EA process, please contact the consulting
engineers: B.M. Ross and Associates, 62 North Street, Goderich, Ontario, N7A 2T4. Telephone (519) 524-
2641. Fax (519) 524-4403. Attention: Mike Corby, Planner (e-mail: mcorby@bmross.net).
This Notice issued December 24, 2009 Barry Mills, Public Works Manager
Municipality of Huron East
Forester saystime for options
BUY? SELL? TRY CLASSIFIED
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• eat 5-10 servings of vegetables
and fruit a day
• be physically active
• limit your alcohol consumption
• use sun protection
• follow cancer-screening
guidelines
Find out MORE about reducing
your risk of developing cancer.
Call us at 1 888 939-3333 or
visit www.cancer.ca.
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