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The Times Advocate, 2005-11-16, Page 22 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, November 16, 2005 Bylaw company taking over By Pat Bolen TIMES_ADVOCATE STAFF VARNA — The company of Keppel Creek will soon be enforcing bylaws in the Municipality of Bluewater after a motion was passed Nov. 7 to negotiate a con- tract with the company, along with Central Huron and Huron East for a 13 to 15 month period at coun- cil Clerk -administrator Janisse Zimmerman said two companies, the other of which was SOSG from Sarnia, fit the needs of the municipality and Keppel Creek, which is moving to Listowel, was the preferred choice. The company charges $21.50 an hour for 24 hours per week minimum with eight hours per municipality and 45 cents per kilometre. After hours call outs are available but require two officers at the regular rate plus a flat fee of $25 per call. Zimmerman said Keppel provides bylaw enforce- ment for seven municipalities and has three full-time employees who will be equipped with cell phones, pagers, vehicles, uniforms and cameras. She added each municipality determines itsown enforcement process and what they want enforced. Service is expected to start Dec. 1. In other business, all -terrain vehicles continue to be a problem on Bluewater municipal roads and private lands. In a letter to council, Elda Tindall, who lives on Bannockburn Line said the issue of ATVs "has become an explosive, common and annoying occur- rence on the Bannockburn Line." Tindall said the drivers "are bold, brassy and don't ask permission...there needs to be a designated area but not in farmland or woodlot areas." Bluewater Mayor BM Dowson agreed with Tindall saying it is a problem everywhere, but he is aware of only two municipalities with ATV bylaws. Tindall replied that she didn't want ATV drivers to have access to municipal roads through a bylaw, but would like to see police laying fines as a deterrent. She added she would also like to see conservation units able to lay fines. Dowson told Tindall the municipality will continue to work on the problem. In other business, chief building official Brad Dietrich reported there have been 194 building per- mits issued to date in Bluewater, compared to 227 last year for a value of $116,300.50. The number of septic permits is down from 44 last year, with 36 issued this year. There have been four demolition permits issued as of Oct. 31, compared to 12 last year. Tender Facilities manager Tom Dickens presented a report to council on quotes received for siding at the Bayfield arena. The project for steel to cover the west end of the arena was budgeted at $13,500 with Cornerstone Construction coming in with the lowest bid at $12,998.52, which was accepted by council. Council also voted to continue the playground pro- gram next summer. Donation An offer from the Bank of Montreal to donate their building in Zurich to the municipality was deferred until the chief building inspector can determine what repairs are needed on the building. Zimmerman said a bank representative contacted the municipality and the bank wishes to donate the building on an "as is basis." Zimmerman said the building could be used for any purpose except possibly as a financial institution for a period of years. Feds help teens fight substance abuse By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF CLINTON — A new project designed to help youths address teen drinking in Huron County was given a $232,809 boost from the federal government on the weekend. Federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Huron -Bruce MPP Paul Steckle made the announce- ment at the Huron County Health Unit in Clinton Saturday after- noon. The money will cover the next two years and is part of the government's Drug Strategy Community Initiatives Fund. The new project, which will be run by teens, will involve an inter- active website, called Spark Youth, that may include a chat room and online professional advice to help with substance abuse. The site will include infor- mation on addiction, employment, self-esteem, community involve- ment and education. Huron County Health Unit direc- tor Penny Nelligan said she hopes the new program will be used as a template in communities across Canada. Huron County community devel- oper Bonnie Baynham said the Health Unit has been very engaged with young people in the county. Huron County teens have identified violence and bullying, substance abuse and stress as the most pressing issues. While an anti -bullying program has already started, the new Spark website will address substance abuse. According to stats from the Health Unit, the Grey Bruce Huron Perth region has a higher rate of binge drinking (five or more drinks on one occasion) than Federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh visited the area on the weekend, announcing funding of $232,809 to help local youths start a program to fight substance the Ontario average. Also, more drivers in the region , compared to the provincial average, report drinking and driving at least once in the past year. Huron County has the highest morbidity ratios in Ontario for motor vehicle occu- pants and hospitalization rates for motor vehicle occupants for those aged 16-24. Huron's rates are more than three times the provin- cial average for males. Four local youths and a website developer will be hired for the new program. Professionals will train them to council other youths in the region. Experts from McMaster University will evaluate the pro- gram and work with the youths. Nelligan said the Health Unit is excited to work with local youths and have them develop strategies. "The beauty of public health is getting people involved," she said. Dosanjh said the program has grown out of local needs and imagination and involves the county and several partners. "I'm delighted," he said of the program, adding that he's impressed youths will do the work to deal with the substance abuse problem. South Huron councillor and chairperson of the county's health committee Ken Oke said the gov- ernment will get good value for their money. "We're excited about it." Steckle said today's youths are much more involved in their com- munity than they used to be. "Once young people recognize there is a problem and they become involved, things can hap- pen," he said. The program is slated to run until March 2007, although Baynham says she hopes the web- site will continue. Other partners in the project include Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving, Willing Workers, Avon Maitland District School Board, Huron Perth Catholic District School Board, Women Today of Huron, Foundation for Enriching Education, Huron Safe Homes for Youth and the University of Western Ontario. Residents air concerns on subdivision Continued from front page another example of "piecemeal planning" in that it doesn't deal with much of the flood water coming from large fields to the east of Eastern Avenue. A project to deal with that land (involving owners from the Hamather, Dow and McBride families) is in its infancy stages as was explained later in the meeting. Coun. Pete Armstrong said an engineer had to wait for crops to come off those fields, but has now completed measurements and will soon meet with the landowners and prepare a report for council. Morley asked the audience to consider the subdivision project and not the Hamather, Dow, McBride lands, which, while related, are another issue. DeLuca expressed the concern local residents have about future floods and said the onus is on coun- cil to protect not only existing home- owners but future unsuspecting property owners. Schuurmans said the entire town of Exeter has a flooding problem and the current subdivision project won't solve that problem. Other residents expressed concern that the stormwater pond isn't big enough and water would end up in backyards. When asked if Exeter's lagoons have the capacity to hold the additional water from the stormwater pond, operations man- ager Dennis Hockey said they do and are currently running at 60-70 per cent capacity. Morley said stormwater ponds are becoming more common in subdivi- sions and new developments in London have them. Dodds said the developer needs a number of approvals to go ahead, including those from the Ministry of the Environment. Road designs, for example, need to meet require- ments. She also said she would rec- ommend all the infrastructure of the subdivision be done in one phase and not in stages. Huron County will ultimately decide on whether or not to approve the plan of subdivision, while South Huron can recommend the county approve it with conditions, recom- mend it be deferred or recommend denying it. Council made no decision Monday night and will revisit the matter at a future meeting, likely Dec. 5, Dodds said. In the interim, staff will consid- er the comments made by the pub- lic. She reminded the audience much of the fine detailed design work of the subdivision plan hasn't been done yet because developers are waiting to see if South Huron and the county agree with the general concept and design of the subdivi- sion. 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