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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1996-03-20, Page 1SEIP'S valu-mart 44s. 83 Exeter 235-0262 Wed esday.M;arch 20. 1996 1930+7(GS f ONE DOLLAR I Name: . 1� 1 Prov, 1 Postal CodeSUMODSEDOMBION• Canada Min 40 miss . 016 100 addressed to 1 non tot* comer address MOO plus 52.31 G.S.T. Outside 40 nein . (661vn).or any tetter • canter address $e3.00 + $4.41 G.S.T. Outride Canada-Sa9.00 pa. MAO goilePi 1 USE YOUR CREDIT CARD 1 OOC](]OC]00 card No. 1 1 Expiry Date O visa D Master Caro 1 O Cheque ertaosed Return to; TIMES ADVOCATE Lam- St. Exeteiniitnt.s NOM 19.1 Tech 21 Career options for students See Crossroads Experts page 12 Announcements pages 20-21 EXETER - According to Exeter OPP, several people have reported receiving false bills from •acompa- ny calling itself Ontario Energy Electric. Police warn customers not to, un- der any circumstances, send money to this company. ' The bill, at first glance, will look like a bill from Ontario Hydro. If you have sent money to this compa- fay, please contact Exeter OPP. Residents and Township have concerns .about the proposed site that would be licenced to handle a maximum of 290 tonnes -of waste daily Brenda Burke T -A staff HURON PARK - Residents of Huron -Park are banding together to protest a proposal by Bluewater Re- cycling Association to build a waste transfer station on its prem- ises. Stephen Township is planning to address their concerns. The suggested site would be li- censed to handle 290 tonnes of household, industrial and in- stitutional garbage per day and would have the potential to serve a population of about four million in six regional municipalities and 14 counties in Southwestern Ontario. BRA is a non-profit corporation that establishes and supports facil- ities in cooperation with Huron, Middlesex Perth and Lambton counties. Although BRA's application to the Ministry of the Environment and Energy outlines Southwestern Ontario as a service area, the as- sociation claims the facility will be used at only half its capacity in or- der to serve its rural members "gen- erally located in the County of Hu- ron, Perth, Middlesex and Lambton where enough waste is generated to supply the transfer station" The station is to be located in Huron Industrial Park as an addi- tional building next to BRA, which would be a few blocks away from the area's residences. People are voicing concerns about the impact of potential odors, increased truck traffic and pests such as rodents and flies. "This, I think, has priority over anything in the areal," 'said Ann I,aytcenca,. who.lta&, listed. In Huron Park for 22 years. "This is going to affect us big time." "It's not that we're against it," added resident Lisa Schwartz. "It's just where it's being located. Two hundred and ninety metric tonnes of garbage is a lot." Despite efforts by members of the neighbor- hood campaign, who stressed they believe in recycling, the decision hinges on township and county approval. The township is waiting for feedback from the ministry before making a move on BRA's proposal. "I don't think it's going to be rub- ber stamped by our township," said "I do it's go stampe to (The) is th big pi Some Huron Park residents oppr. a Bluewater Recycling Association's proposal for a waste transfer site. At left, Ann Law , rence, Bev Dawe and Jim Dawe represent a'neighborhood campaign against the statiori. Stephen Township Reeve Bill We- ber, who admitted "potential is there for a big pile of garbage. "We're going through the process th and we'll address our concerns be- fore we give any approval," he add- ed. "We don't feel ere's,a wittq 6d't4:'t►itfg Tht5 1fl " T . there's a transfer sta- tion out there, all issues will be addressed, hopefully to the satis- faction of the rate pay- ers." "Stephen Township Council recognizes the benefits of your in- itiative, and is sup- portive of the applica- tion is principle," wrote Administrator/ Clerk -Treasurer Larry Brown in a letter to BRA dated Nov. 20. "However, as public bodies both BRA and council must be assured that the proposal has been well con- sidered, and the potential for future objection and conflicts is mini- n't think ing to be rubber d by our wnship... potential ere for a le of gar- bage." miffed." The letter also points out con- cerns about BRA's outside storage, drinage and "appropriate com- pepsation to the host municipality." eber said he would prefer BRA day storage. "We've had a number of con- cerns and we've listed them," he said. "We've had more concerns since the public meeting." The Ontario Development Cor- '' ty trans- � poration ie added, has also ex- 'Sh�' r'-' nessed'tltipprehensiot%' At the re-'", quest of Stephen Township, BRA tion 'garbage could be in," he add - held a public meeting on Feb. 28 to ed. It appeared to be stored in a inform the public and address ques- cooler environment." tions. Few residents attended the As for the spray that controls meeting. odors, he said, "By the time it takes "People didn't realize it was deal- to install this, the negative impact ing (with) residential garbage," said will already take place in the park." Dawe is also worried about the area's sewer system. "Are we going to be able to pro- cess what comes in at the plant?" he , asked. , "There seems to be a large gap, between the in- formation from Blue - water and the in- formation from contacts. It's almost like black and white, the difference." He claimed most people he contacted, including county planners, ex- pressed a negative opinion about the intended station. Although he said he expected concerns to arise, Veilleux assured they are unfounded. "There's no rocket science to it," vie' ins' four or five counties. "There may be opportunity to look at other transfer stations and see what they operate like," he said. BRA claims additional traffic generated by the station will consist of seven trucks per day. "I just don't think we need the extra transportation with the big trucks," said resident Marilyn Hern. "I think there's more appropriate places out of the way other than a residential area." Although Weber feels "the po- tential is there for another industry to have as much or more traffic" and that there are effective ways to control pests such as flies and ro- dents, he is apprehensive about the facility's proposed emergency five - adding the garbage displayed was three days old. But Dawe wasn't convinced. "The problems are going to arise in the sumlrter when it'S hot," he said, adding the garbage dem- onsiratet "Just seemed too dry." •gtity didn't lite 'the" wasecond Province e'the"wtsret`cond Province loses bid to deem meat inspection essential County of Huron will not assume responsibility for the supervision of municipally appointed meat inspectors Heather Mir T -A staff EXETER - Rural business and agriculture are feeling the pinch as the public workers strike continues. On Thursday, the Labour Relations Board ruled 'against the province's request for meat inspection to be deemed an essential service. The government's bid to have 70 inspectors de- trtared essential to protect -the public health and safe- ty was rejected by the On- . Brio Public Service Em- ployees Union, which cladmed there was no risk. Although layoffs of an estimated 2,000 employees at 290 slaughterhouses will proceed, Huron County municipalities.may Ad be able to hire their own inspectors. The County of Huron considered the issue at its 11friecb 13 meeting and given the legal and liability ty issues as well as the impact on public IMM, the board "decided not to assume re- t for the supervision of municipally appointed meat " ' e cetmty did however peas a motion to advise the ministry action is required to have nst t inspection declared an essential service. 'Udder Section 15 of the Meat Inspection Act, municipalities that' appoint meat in- spectors take on the associated liability to en- sure health and safety of the 'consuming pub- lic. The Act also . requires the Medical Officer of Health to "direct" inspectors appointed by councils. According to a letter addressed to the heads • of local councils, several Med- ical Officers of Health stated they do not possess the training nor skills to properly. supervise this activity: "A major concern of the On- tario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs (OMA - FRA) is that inspectors are propedy qualified to carry out their main functions inchding ante mortem evaluation of live- stock, post mortem inspection of carcasses, monitoring of humane slaughter, hygienic dressing procedtms, control over proper disposal of unusable material, mon- itodng of plant sanitation and waste disposal practices," stated the letter. OMAFRA also indicated individuals con- tracted to undertake fnspectiotn should be trained and certified. Adequate veterinary and tedmical laboratory • wppoet' In the ap- pointed ppointed inspectors must be provided to ensiee unacceptable meat is not marketed. Thirteen inspectors have been retained through the strike underan essential services deal to ensure no illegal killing is taking place. Because about 85 per cent of meat sold in Ontario is federally inspected, there is no shortage of meat. However, the slaughter of lamb, rabbits and other specialty meats has nearly stopped. At its Thursday meeting, Zurich Council supported a motion appealing the county's de- cision not to assume responsibility for mu- nicipally appointed meat inspectors. "Being an agricultural county, I'm surprised that they would do this," said Councillor Barb Jeffrey adding, "Why would you not support your people?" Provincially inspected slaughterhouses and local fanners will lose money as a result of the strike. Maintaining cattle past their op- timal weight is coaly fot farmers because they are less desirable to the customer due to their high fat content. Huron MPP Helen Johns also expressed dis- appointment at the ORLB ruling. 'Ilse livelihood of farmers and independent operators and employees of small meat plants ht fund Ontario is at stake. This is a blow to die economic stability of runt communities," she !need in a recent poria teleare. Huron Park resident Jim Dawe, who is leading the campaign against the station. "The industries that are presently there were not aware." The group distributed "Because the fliers last week urging waste is moved area residents to write daily, a lot of council, ODC, Helen Johns and the Huron the problems County Planning Board normally en - to express their views. countered (are) "Time is running out," eliminated." states the notice. "If you don't care what your kids breathe in, do nothing." At the request of residents, BRA held an odor control demonstration on March 11 where samples of Hensall garbage were sprayed. "The residents were satisfied that things could be under control," said BRA President Francis Veilleux, +• Continued on page 2 Household cost for co -collection less than anticipated ZURICH - Council passed a bylaw at its Thursday meeting to enter into an agreement for garbage co -collection with Bluewater Recycling As- sociation. , An error in calculating the population density reduced the cost from $25.28 per household to $17.32. Several factors including density (num- ber of households per kilometre), tonnes of garbage to be collected and distance to the landfill site, as well as to the co -collection site are used to establish the per household cost. Bag tags will be sold at $1.50 each and garbage bags are to be no larger than the standard size of 26 by 36 inches containing a maximum weight of 45 pounds. .A maximum size of 17 gallons was set for garbage containers that may be used instead of garbage tags. User -pay systems for garbage collection have been proven to increase the amount of waste recycled and composted and reduce waste going into landfill sites, giving them a longer life. Approximately 85 per cent of waste is either recyclable or compostable. "There is no doubt user -pay is going to make a difference," said Francis Veilleux, president of BRA. The main concern of a delegation that attended council's regular meet- ing was ensuring no outside garbage will find its way into the Hay landfill site. "Can you prove to me that there will be no garbage dumped in Hay Township dump other than Zurich and Hay garbage?" asked Dick Rau, a Zurich property owner. Veilieux reassured Rau it would neither be prudent nor beneficial to truck outside waste to the Hay landfill site. By entering into an agteement with BRA, Zurich also supports the es- tablishment of a waste transfer site in Huron Park.