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The Times Advocate, 2008-06-18, Page 3434 Times—Advocate Wednesday, June 18, 2008 New water rates "damaging" The proposal to charge each apartment unit a base rate is both unfair and damag- ing to affordable housing. Is council aware that many tenants now pay water charges in addition to rent (this will be charged directly to them) and those that don't can be charged under section 126 of the residential tenancies act? Part of their proposal is to add a base monthly charge to each apart- ment unit - not a charge per building as is currently done. The issues: (1) What does this do to affordable housing? It is going to be crippling for most low income tenants. (2) The provincial government legislated a 1.4 per cent rent increase in 2008 to protect tenants. What the town is proposing is a double digit increase (12.5 per cent based on $400 for rent) for low income tenants who can least afford it. This increase can be as much as six per cent of their total income. (3) Is it fair to charge one person in a small apartment the same base rate as a family of four in a 2,000 sq ft house? (4) Apartments do not put the same strain on the water system. Few have wash- ers or dishwashers and from time to time are vacant. (5) Tenants will be paying far more for the base rate than actual consumption. (6) Charging a lower water usage rate and high flat rate does nothing to encour- age conservation. (Example used: apartment of 500 sq ft and rent for $400. New charge of about $50 month.) We understand the need for clean water and the need to pay for it but to charge each apartment a full base rate is unfair and damaging to the housing community. GLENN TRACHSEL, Exeter Fair was "wonderful" We want to say thank you to the Hensall Spring Fair co-ordinators for all of their hard work throughout the past year for making the fair such a wonderful magical place for our two five year old granddaughters. We can't begin to understand the difficulty of organizing and asking and being turned down by some, to volunteer for such a historical part of rural Ontario history. To Luanne and Barb and Gail and Marty and to the horse show, tug of war and lawnmower organizers - thank you. All the volunteers give of their time, not for the recognition but to make the fair a yearly event that families can enjoy. There was so much that we couldn't take it all in! When we arrived the girls learned that two people from Toronto had won the cupcake decorating contest. The girls couldn't eat their supper until they verified the winners. Well, the weekend just kept getting more exciting! The Pet Show and the Tractor Pulls were fun to watch and more exciting if you registered to participate. There were over 32 little ones participating in the tractor pull alone. The midway in their eyes was as fine as the CNE! The one little girl loved the high flying saucer ride while the other twin and grandparents were glad to get back on the ground. The company who brought in the rides were polite and careful with the little ones and there were rides for all ages. Everyone had fun. It is possible we may not be able to bring the girls back next year to the fair if the younger folk in Hensall don't come forward to take over the organizing of the 141st Spring Fair. Let's hope that a tradition that is over 100 years old doesn't have to fade away from our community. A big thank you to those who made precious memories for our family. • Letters to L Editor dl for Update from South Huron mayor SOUTH HURON — My last arti- cle dealt with emergency pre- paredness. We all know we should have an emergency kit and an emergency plan. We also know we should be prepared to look after ourselves for the first 72 hours under most conditions and we will be given instructions for the time after 72 hours. Your municipality has also made some preparations for emergency situations. The Municipality of South Huron has an Emergency Response Plan. The aim of this plan is to make provisions for the extraordinary arrangements and measures that may have to be taken to safeguard property and health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the Municipality of South Huron when faced with an emergency. The municipality has designated buildings to be used as evacuation centres if the need arises. These centres are equipped not for your comfort, but for your survival. In the event of an emergency, a Ken Oke Community Control Group will be set up. The plan states the roles and responsibilities of the Community Control Group as well as the roles and responsibili- ties of each per- son designated to be a member of that group. The plan gives great detail on how to analyze the situation and the proper procedure the group must take to commence the oper- ation. The plan gives a list of assets that might be available in the need of an emergency and the contact people. The plan does not give the group instructions how to deal with indi- vidual emergencies. It only gives the tools to deal with emergencies. The Community Control Group must sit down and make decisions with the information available at the time to guide the community through the emergency. The information available will be supplied by on site personnel as well as experts in the field from the municipality, the county, and the province. It is the duty of the Community Control Group to keep the residents informed on what is going on and what is expected of them. In severe situations, co-opera- tion and team work is paramount to get our municipality through the emergency. After the emergency, this plan also assigns responsibilities and outlines activities which may be required to bring the Municipality of South Huron back to its pre - emergency state. When the emer- gency is completely over, the Community Control Group will evaluate their actions and the plan to determine if any improvements should be made. The Emergency Response Plan is there if we need it, but hopefully we will never have to use it. Zurich fundraiser — Blessings Community Store in Zurich held a fundraiser barbecue June 7, recog- nizing National Hunger Awareness Day.Angie Demers, the Blessings food bank co-ordinator, said the food bank feeds about 200 people a month. Pictured from left are volunteers Zach Garrow and Tyler Ryan with food bank chairman Dale Cressman.About $400 was raised at the barbecue, which will be used to buy milk and yogurt for the food bank. (photo/Scott Nixon) JANIS AND PETER BISBACK, Hensall Poster contest Second place —Twelve -year-old Bradley Schwartzentruber of Crediton, above, shows off the poster that won him second place in the MADD 2008 Poster Contest recently. Schwartzentruber, a Grade 7 student at the Amethyst Demonstration School in London, received a certificate and $75 for his poster. It was a successful contest for Amethyst as the school swept the top three — Schwartzentruber's classmates Adam Dumont of Palmyra and Jacob Smith of Sarnia fin- ished in first and third, respectively. (photo/submitted) cooking with memories By DEBBY WAGLER Light Lemon Mousse THIS IS AN AMAZING LIGHT DESSERT JUST PERFECT FOR A LIGHT TOUCH AFTER A BIG MEAL. IT CAN BE MADE AHEAD EARLY IN THE DAY AND STORED IN THE FRIDGE UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO SERVE IT UP! I AM ALWAYS LOOKING FOR FRESH IDEAS FOR THE SENIORS I COOK FOR AND THIS RECIPE WON HANDS DOWN FOR LIGHT AND REFRESHING AFTER A BIG MEAL! 3/4 cup sugar I/1 cup cornstarch 3 cups fat-free milk 2/3 cup lemon juice 1- I/1 tsp. grated lemon zest 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract 2 cups reduced fat whipped topping In a pot, combine the sugar and cornstarch and gradually stir in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thick and bubbly. Remove from the heat. Stir in lemon juice, zest and vanilla. Let cool in a sink of cold water till about room temperature or about 5 minutes. Fold in whipped topping . Spoon into dessert dishes and put in the fridge. I love to serve these up with fresh blueberries on top or a few slices of strawberries. Very Good!