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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-05-01, Page 6ptlotesworth Convenience Groceries - Gas - Videos - Hand Dipped Ice Cream Cones Fax & Photo Copy Service PROPRIETORS! PAT & ELLIOTT CULLEN PH.: (519) 291-2007 FAX: 291-2572 "In Beautiful-Downtown MOCesworth" As part of our commitment to serve you better, we're proud to introduce our new Service Guarantee. It's brimming with promise. And promises. Whenever you call us to meet at your property, we'll make an appointment for a time suitable for both of us. We promise to keep that appointment, on time. We promise to complete all the work that was agreed to. We promise that this work will be finished within a mutually agreeable time. And if for some reason we can't keep any of these promises, we'll waive the applicable service charge or fee. It's just one of the ways we're trying to do right by our customers. And in the near future, we'll be offering other improvements like expanded customer service hours, communications centres for quicker and easier access to us, and a new, more flexible billing system. At Ontario Hydro Retail, we'll never stop working towards serving you better. Promise. Ontario Hydro Heartland Hydro* * a division of Ontario Hydro Retail Guarantee does not apply in the event of severe weather. labour disputes. and/or other circumstances beyond our control: or if you cancel your appointment or are out when we call. ak "We're making changes to serve you better." Introducing our new Service Guarantee.' PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1996 Bailey pushes for look at landfill mining Continued from page 1 the county took over the sites, one compactor could be trucked from site to site to improve management of all the sites. Brush chippers could be bought to be used in vari- ous sites to reduce the large volume of brush into chips either for cover in the landfill or for sale to the pub- lic for mulching. In his experience with Northumberland County where the county took over opera- tion of all sites, the benefits have been significant both in costs and management of the sites, he said. One area there can be a saving is in collection of garbage where Northumberland saved $400,000. The cost of picking up blue box recyclables, for instance, is $80- $100 per tonne compared to $30- $49 per tonne for mixed garbage. By instituting trucks that pick up both recyclables and mixed garbage, Northumerland cut its blue box costs from $85 a tonne to $38. By tendering for environmental By Janice Becker The Ministry of Natural Resources office in Wingham received written word from the provincial government that the office will be closed in the future, however when that will happen is yet undetermined, says Ron Ben- nett, area manager with MNR. Offices across the province will be closed, some permanently, while monitoring of all landfills in the county, a saving of 60 per cent was achieved in Northumberland over the costs the municipalities had paid separately. Both consultants said the Hensall composting facility run by L&H Resources of Walton, is a tremen- dous potential asset, Cave said. Composting of organic: materials is a low-cost disposal option at $40- $50 per tonne and that doesn't include the return that can be made by selling the composted product. Cave praised Huron's success in diverting 33 per cent of its waste into recycling but said the goal of 50 per cent set out in the Master Plan is likely unachievable unless there is separate collection of food wastes. He also suggested that a user-pay system should be set up for all garbage. "When a user-pay system is implemented, the diver- sion rates go ballistic," he said. The alternatives proposed in the two studies would not provide the 40-year capacity the proposed county landfill would provide but it others will co-locate with other ministry services. The Wingham MNR staff is amongst the latter group, though details of the reloca- tion have not been ironed out. "The MNR will remain a pres- ence in Huron and Perth," says Bennett. Further details of the relocation will be made available as they become known. would buy time to look at current and future alternatives, the consul- tants said. "The world is changing so rapidly," Janes said. "We firmly believe there will be more alterna- tives (coming along)." One of those is the "mining" of old landfill sites, which Bailey urged people to look at. Cave said that when Parry Sound mined its site by digging up and sifting the soil from the site, it gained 50 per cent capacity for its landfill at a cost of $15-$20 per tonne. At an old site in Metropolitan Toronto currently being mined, it was found 70 per cent of the garbage had decomposed and could be used as soil. "In theory, it was no longer waste." The council's Planning and Development committee will receive a staff report at its May meeting with recommendations on dealing with the two studies. Hal- lam urged quick council action to decide if it was going to abandon the Ashfield site or .put it on hold. "You can't leave people in limbo," he said of the landowners in the area. "We share your concern," said Pat Down, reeve of Usborne and chair of the committee. "At the May meeting we hope to have rec- ommendations." Prov. to close Wingham MNR County seeks explanation The Huron County Board of Health should be more open in explaining its position on manage- ment changes and the move of the homecare headquarters to the old Huronview site, several councillors urged at the April 25 meeting of council. "I've had more phone calls on this issue than anything else I've been involved in," said Bill Mickle, reeve of Exeter. He pointed out he had asked at last month's council session that the Board of Health make a statement to soothe the worries of seniors that had arisen after several letters critical of the board appeared in county newspa- pers. No statement had been made. "I think answering the criticisms can be more dangerous than not," said Ron Murray, reeve of McKil- lop and chair of the board of health. The changes made did not endan- ger the quality of service to home- care recipients, he contended. But Bill Vanstone, reeve of Col- borne said he thought he had made a motion at a Health and Seniors Committee meeting that a letter responding to the criticisms be sent to the doctor who wrote the letter and to the press. Warden Bill Clifford replied that the letter was never sent to the county. "We would be responding to something we never got," he said. Vanstone said he was sure he had made a motion that a letter of reply should be sent to the county media. Mickle said councillors and board members have to be respon- sible to the people and deserve some answer to "set the record straight and comfort their fear. They've got to know that what they've had in the past is what they'll get in the future." Clifford argued that since home- care is going to be taken over by a new agency set up by the province with an independent board, the county cannot guarantee what kind of service will be provided in future. Tom Cunningham, reeve of Hul- lett, who had opened the issue in the first place pleaded with the Board of Health to think more about its image. There is a concern that the board has its own agenda and isn't listening to the public, he suggested. But Jack Coleman, reeve of Stanley, said he was against arguing the county's case in the newspapers. Murray said the public should be assured the changes have enhanced the ability to provide service, not reduced it. In answer to a question from Mickle, Murray said the board is currently receiving provincial fund- ing for the old headquarters of the Homecare building which is sitting empty, but not for the county- owned Huronview complex. "We knew when we went into the reno- vation of Huronview that there would be some period of time when there would be two buildings in use," he said. The province paid $1 million in grants to the renovation of the old Huronview for the health unit and the library and will pay operating costs of the new facility but won't pay rent on that capital it invested. Meanwhile Clifford said the board is prepared to negotiate with the new board which will take over running of the program. "We believe any new board would be hard pressed to leave the county facility. We believe•we can provide services such as payroll that a new board would be hard pressed to deliver."