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Home My WebLink AboutGoderich Signal Star, 2011-07-20, Page 13uderich Signal -Star • Wednesday, July 20, 2011 shy riverbanks a threat to waterways Longtime fisherman Gary Everson says this year there's been a surge in careless littering along our riverbanks, worse times for debris coincide withopening of trout and salmon - seasons Poll Signal -Star of unusual to haul a few big it of the Mailtland River dur- shtng trip, but for one area Ian, his last two leisurely out- ve produced more than he ted. erich resident Gary Everson ed from his last fishing trip 0 bags filled with trash, and barbecue. ..;: ,: last two tiMeS we've gone ane home with three anda gs full of garbage. It's just tble" Everson said. huffed at the amount of muck sly strewn along the river- ntctly he says, because what 'ng up isn't simply a piece of ere and there but the leavings course meals and emptied • fishing related containers. Everson said it looks to him like some people out on the lake aren't taking out what they bung in. "Last night we came out with the empty containers from an entire (fast food] meal for six, with all the plates and condiments," he said. "Then we found a portable barbe- cue ... You could tell (the one-time owner] was cooking hot dogs, becausewe also found the hot dog and bun wrappers. It Looked like they spent the whole day down there at the edge of the river and just got up and left." The Issue of littering along the riverbanks is one that the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority is aware of, said Communications Coordinator Jane Thompson, but not many complaints or issues are logged with the organization. ost calls t Accidental speed dials tie up emergency line h Signal -Stir e the number of calls for police ce declined over the months and June 2011 compared to the ionths last year, the occur- lf 911 pocket dials continues to regular meeting July 12, the "We have not have any com- plaints regarding littering along the river system, but that doesn't mean it's not happening," Thomp- son said, and added that she has seen evidence of untidy visitors. "Recently near our nature centre facility close to Auburn, 11 did see evidence of a group than clearly had been fishing and left behind bait containers and garbage." The MVCA partners with other organizations and projects throughout the. watershed to help clean up our banks, including the Middle Maitland Rejuvenation Committee's annual River Clean Up Day. Local level community groups, including the Fourth Goderich Scouts, also tread along waterways every year to collect waste. Littering is littering, no matter where the garbage is left The charge and ftne are steep for those who are caught. According to the Environmental Protection Act of Ontario every person ... is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than $1,000 on a first conviction and not more than $2,000 on each subsequent conviction. In the EPA, "litter" Is defined as any material left or _abandoned in a place other than a receptacle or place intended or approved for receiving such material, and "littering" has a corresponding meaning. The offense is. clear, "No person shall abandon any material in a place, manner, receptacle or wrapping such that it is reasona- bly likely that the material will become litter." "In my own opinion," Everson adds, "1 think the penalty should be so outrageous you wouldn't want to be caught doin .it." "I'm 41 (years -old., and it's going to be my children stuck cleaning this up. If we're not more vigilant with this now, it's going to become a destroyed resource ... 1 certainly don't want to see it destroyed because of a few people who just don't seem to carer "I think we need more signs up right at the river with information about reporting what you see," Everson said. "If the OPP aren't too tied up with other things, maybe then they could get out there and lay some of these charges." 911 not emergencies Goderich Police Services board learned that out of 42 calls to the 911 emergency number over the past two months, 20 of the dills or nearly 50 % were considered to be "pocket dials". Many of these misplaced or acciden- tal emergency calls occur when cell- phone owners mistakenly make a call from inside a pocket, purse or P backpack. Some of the calls to the emer- gency line come children, playing with phones, misdials orpeople improperly dialing 9 to get an out- side line on a phone system and accessing 91 1 by mistake. MAMU/ACTuuai• 141111111t/1t ._• HAVE IT All FOR T CASUAL LIMO" Widows • Pools • Ar•os • Samoans DIRECT TO YOB von to Mork tin Pawl 1 I dII .ding Aivwiidlk In a wide variety of cdoon PVC. TUVU AR RMi1N PURNMAt • die tf li nab M Myna Ouidrwr u. In a report from Sgt Charlene Pol- lard, it was noted that there was only one legitimate medical emergency call to 91.1 out of the 42 calls registered. The main culprits for unintentional calls arepeople who program 91.1 into their speed dial system and with more people, including school children, carrying cell phones with emergency numbers programmed into the phone, the result will be accidental calls for 911. emergency service. BIKE THEFTS Some good police work recently cleaned up a few bike thefts in town. ,p Fs�i• •0444c NEW • liink•likkrr • 1'01.1 ‘Ilunllwm • Italian • 1larrwwrxll • Acre/Aeries WrnweM how iiiiii0014 ?heath". no GRAND BEND 519-238-2110 t . 't (j1.111t • Pi1111lfdily IU 1todIy 9 1..'1 • Situ •1 'r 11 It, % • VIW•N fir 1. ' p 11 I d IIT ALSO MANUFACTURE UM•IIt1LAA. Ms(ACalfA T CUS000111$. /11MINTL., COPIP it There were five bicycle thefts reported In town the past two months and police were able to recover most of the bikes. Police advised one person report- ing a stolen bike to check the popular website Kijiji to see if the model was being offered for sale. Sure enough, the distinctive bike was being offered fora price.. Police made contact with the seller met at Tim Hortons to complete the fake buy and apprehended the sus- pect. Police were able to recover other stolen bikes at the perpetrator's house. A number of local thefts and DomrirMque Nftlburn Goderich Si iI-$tar Fisherman Gary Everson says the trash he hauls up from the riverks is often recyclable. As he surveyed some of the waste he collected during his most recent fishing trip on the Maitland River, he estimated that, "it's just that one per cent of maple who visit the lake that don't [take their garbage out with them]." break -and -enters have been cleared by police with the recent arrest of a suspect. Charges have been laid against a person suspected of being involved in a number of break and enters, mischief and thefts from Maitland Golf Course. People continue to investigate theft of property from vehicles that left unlocked. Two GPS systems were taken from unlocked vehicles in May and a purse, system and stereo equipment were taken from unlocked cars in June. Police remind residents to lock their vehicles at all times. PEC KITT 'S MFNS WEAR MERRY RAGS LADIES FASHl()NS "OUR BIGGEST EVER SUMMER SALE" io 60% O" iwv 21 S. ;Ll iid N H 5192386165 Open 1)4/1.s ., 1\ cck S 19-238-2818