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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-02-25, Page 2EXPIRES MAR. 5/04 2 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday,February 25 2004 Regional wrap up Proposal GODERICH — Plans to reconfigure Goderich's waterfront have been put on hold until at least September in order to facilitate discussions between town council and Goderich Elevators over a possible land swap. The Goderich Signal - Star reported the deci- sion was reached Feb. 16 after Goderich Elevators consultant Dave Palubeski said his clients were willing to work with the town to facilitate some sort of agreement. In a presentation to council, Palubeski put forward a proposal that would see land currently owned by Goderich Elevators exchanged for a parcel of land on prop- erty that currently hous- es Captain Fats. 2004 budget SEAFORTH — With a first draft budget show- ing a 12 per cent tax increase, Huron East councillors talked at their Feb. 10 meeting about how to decrease that increase to five per cent. The Huron Expositor reported cutting $135,000 from the budget will bring 2004's budget down to five per cent, according to Deputy -Clerk Brad Knight, who presented ideas of how to cut $139,000. But, since the 2003 deficit of $275,000 was not included in the cal- culations, Mayor Joe Seili asked councillors to come up with further savings. RCMP Ride BLYTH — If enough help can be found there are some exciting plans in the works for Wingham's anniversary celebration. The North Huron Citizen reported chair- man of the homecom- ing committee Al Harrison attended the Feb. 16 council meet- ing to seek support and approval for a project that would be a prelude to the actual weekend celebration at the end of June. First female chairperson elected to ABCA board By Mary Simmons TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF AUSABLE BAYFIELD — The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) board of direc- tors elected its first female chair- person at its 58th annual meet- ing Feb. 19. Teresa Ondrejicka, representa- tive for Lucan Biddulph, was elected unanimously after Bob Norris, representative for West Perth, stepped down from the position after two years. Ondrejicka has represented the Municipality of Lucan Biddulph for the past six years on the ABCA board of directors. She has also been a committee mem- ber of the annual Conservation Dinner and is chairing this year's upcoming event. "I thank the directors for their confidence in electing me and look forward to working with them and the ABCA staff," Ondrejicka said. "This next year is encouraging for all conserva- tion authorities as the province moves towards implementing local protection plans for our sources of drinking water." Bob Weber, representative for Lambton Shores and Warwick, was elected to the position of vice -chairperson. Also around the table are Norris, Bill Dowson of Bluewater, Pete Armstrong of South Huron and Perth South, Jim Ginn of Central Huron, Lawrence McLachlan of North Middlesex, Bob Bell of Huron East and Adrian deBruyn of Middlesex Centre and Adelaide -Metcalfe. After elections were held the board moved into its regular meeting, receiving an update from Alec Scott on Grand Bend projects in areas B and C. Scott said work will soon be done in Area B and will soon begin in Area C. Scott also spoke about the Armstrong West subdivision in Port Franks. The board was asked by Paul Stevens at its last board meeting to consider trading land since his family's property is in danger from rapid erosion of the Ausable River cut. Scott said after reviewing the request, staff came to the conclu- sion the proposed general loca- tion could satisfy ABCA concerns related to shoreline hazards or flooding and erosion hazards. Scott said if the request is going to be considered Stevens should be required to complete the fol- lowing at his cost: • all necessary planning, septic and ABCA permit applications for both the existing and new lots, • all necessary legal surveys, title changes and legal issues, • moving costs, • restoration and revegetation of the existing lot, • decomissioning and removal of well, hydro and septic services on the existing lot and • investigation of the use of a portion of the existing road allowance to minimize the dis- tance that the new lot protrudes onto conservation land. Weber told the board the Municipality of Lambton Shores has a development freeze on the area and the board agreed to defer the issue until the munici- pality moves forward. Hobbs -McKenzie drain Kate Monk and Mari Veliz updated the board on the Hobbs - McKenzie drain water quality testing. Monk said testing has been done since 2001 in the area around Arkona. The water sampling program included testing once a month at six areas in the watershed. Veliz said phosphorus levels, which promote plant growth, were comparable to other areas in the Ausable River watershed. Higher concentrations were found in the headwater drains and there was no clear temporal difference. Nitrate levels, which stimulate plant growth and may be toxic, affect drinking water, aquatic life and plants. Veliz said the testing found concentrations at all sites were typically near the drinking water standard, although there were higher concentrations in April, May and November. E.coli, an indicator for fecal contamination, was found in higher concentrations from June to November. Veliz said the dominant inver- tebrate found in the area in 2002 was worms. Monk said landowners were encouraged to implement best management practices to increase the water quality, but only one out of approximately 100 actually went ahead with a project. Since grants are available, ABCA is participating in a study to find out why landowners aren't implementing best man- agement practices. Truck tender A tender was awarded to Exeter Chrysler Jeep for a Dodge Dakota four-wheel-drive club cap V6 pickup truck, at a total cost of $28,218.96, for general use by ABCA staff. ABCA board hears about headwater streams By Mary Simmons TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF AUSABLE BAYFIELD — Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) board members attended an information session on headwater streams before their annual meeting Feb. 19. "When we think about a river, we think about a big river. We don't often think small," said Mari Veliz, adding 50 to 80 per cent of the Ausable River's entire length is made of smaller creeks you could probably jump over. Veliz said the health of these systems is critical to the entire network. She defined different types of waterways, say- ing perennials flow throughout the year while intermittent flow most of the year but are driven by rainfall. Ephemeral waterways don't have a defined channel and are also known as zero order. Veliz said all waterways are conduits of nutrients, water and sediment. Streams are also defined according to order, first to fourth. When two first order waterways come together they make a second and so on. Veliz said more water is in contact with the channel in a first order than a third order. The size and function of a waterway is affected by geology, vegetation and land use. Veliz said in some areas of the watershed rivers have been straightened. moved and tiled. In the case of tiling, a percentage of the river network is closed off and the long-term effects remain to be seen. Veliz said it could result in either a decrease or an increase in water quality and quantity and a decrease in temperature, material input and habi- tat. Contributing factors include soil type, proxim- ity to springs, sub -surface geology, cropping prac- Local patient satisfaction high Continued from front page Memorial Hospital and Wingham and District Hospital. The report includes reports on acute care, emergency department care and complex continuing care. Each report contains four cate- gories: patient satisfaction, patient care, hospital finances and keep- ing up with change. Of the 24 indicators used for measuring acute care, the eight hospitals performed above average in 11, average in 12 and below average in only one. In acute care patient satisfaction, the hospitals were above average in six of eight areas, a result surpassed by only four other organizations in Ontario. The one below average mark reflects limited access across southwestern Ontario to coronary angiography, although cardiac ser- vices have recently been enhanced in Kitchener -Waterloo. Of the 17 indicators used to mea- sure emergency department care, Huron Perth hospitals were rated above average in nine, average in seven and below average in one. "The OHA hospital report 2003 did not provide hospitals with a relative ranking in the financial performance categories, but Huron Perth hospitals' financial performance was within the range of other peer hospitals. Our overall performance results are very encouraging and everyone should be proud of the work they do," South Huron Hospital CEO John Sutherland said. tices, case-by-case evalu- ations or cumulative effects. "It is important to think of a river as the small tributaries flowing into it," Veliz said. "Many people forget about them." 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