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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2015-04-15, Page 3LUCKNOW MINOR HOCKEY BRIQUET SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2015 Lucknow Arena Doors open 4pm Huron -Kinloss Council Report Valerie Gillies Lucknow Sentinel Huron -Kinloss Council met for their General Committee Meeting on April 6, 2015. Rezoning on Lake Range Drive Mr. Boyer has asked for rezoning of a portion of his land to be developed as a subdivi- sion. He realizes that there are issues with the application that would make the original plans difficult, but would still like to go aheadwith an application to rezone at least one or two lots on the part of his property that is naturally divided by road. In the discussion that fol- lowed, MayorTwolanindicated that it is hoped that the official plan will be redone within this year. It was suggested to Mr. Boyer that if he could hold off on development until the offi- cial plan is completed, he may be able to go ahead with his original plan as one of the iden- tified needs of the municipality is for more residential lots. No matter who applies for the rezoning, whether it is a property owner or the munici- pality, a study of the settlement would need to be done. Huron - Kinloss will be paying for the study, but it will not be done until next year. To get higher density of residential properties it takes longer as even thought the Provice recommends this happen, the process slows eve- rything down. Mr. Boyer has indicated that he does not wish to wait for the rezoning process through the official plan. He will proceed with his appli- cation for a single lot to be severed for development. Huron Shores ATV Club Paul Whitehead and Dan McCracken of the Huron Shores ATV Club presented the proposal to extend the ATV trail system.Amap of the rough pro- posal was provided to Council. The intent is to tin in Kincardine to existing trails. The proposed trail would extend from the Rail Trail along #13 of Saugeen Shores to Kincardine Township, along Sideroad #10, South Line and Hays Lake Avenue to connect with existing trails. The ATV club will stake signs if granted permission in order to keep users on the trail as ATV drivers tend to stay on estab- lished trails. The club is asked permis- sion to scout out the proposed trail when weather is good to determine how much work would be involved. They request a letter from Council stating permission is given to begin scouting. Council sup- ported this request. This proposed trail exten- sion is to get a start on con- necting trails which will be expanded later. The goal is to eventually link the entire trail to extend to Lucknow. Vacant Lot Inventory A lot of work has gone into this inventory. It is seen as a good exercise which yields a good indication of what is still available. The information from the inventory can be given to the consultant for the Official Plan and much of the groundwork for a raw data base is now available. The inventory covers approx- imately pproximately 500 acres of vacant land, however some that is zoned as residential may not ever be able to be developed as it may be too swampy or owned by large families who may not wish to have it developed. More study is needed as there is sig- nificant woodland in the area Ripley Minor Hockey Amalgamation Report It is recognized that both Ripley and Lucknow Minor Hockey Associations must find another Association to amalgamate with. Originally Wingham, Kin- cardine, Ripley and Lucknow had applied to the WA to combine all four centres, but this was turned down by WA. At this point, both Ripley and Lucknow committees have agreed that amalgama- tion should go ahead, but it must go to a vote of the members, of which 66 2/3 of the members must agree. If the members vote no, then the associations must move on to another option. Huron County 4-H Leaders Association is hosting an Electronics Recycling Depot S Clothing Drive Saturday, April 18 8 am - 3 pm Depot at Londesboro Feed Mill For information about accepted items contact Darrell Bergsma at 519-441-2103 Itc Wednesday, April 15, 2015 • Lucknow Sentinel 3 Presentations on shoreline hunting made to Huron -Kinloss Council Valerie Gillies Lucknow Sentinel Several presenters on both sides of the issue of shoreline hunting adjacent to residen- tial areas stated their cases at the April 6, 2015 meeting of the Huron -Kinloss Council. Michael Bayer, a resident of Point Clarke and member of Ducks Unlimited and Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters was the first pre- senter. He cited many inci- dences of hunters who were not abiding by safe hunting rules, as determined in the training necessary to obtain an Ontario Hunting License. The main issues were hunting outside of the regulated hours, as in very early in the morning when it is disruptive to resi- dents, but also unsafe as visi- bility is not sufficient to deter- mine what is in the line of gunfire; hunters firing toward the beach when there are chil- dren present on the beach; hunters trespassing on resi- dential properties; using and damaging private driveways; using unsafe fire zones. Bayer stated that his concern comes from family experience as his grandfather had been shot in the shoulder by a careless hunter, requiring hospitaliza- tion, many years ago. Other points of concern were the excessive response times when complaints are lodged with both the Ministry of Nat- ural Resources (MNR) and with the South Bruce detach- ment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). He is concerned about the lack of enforcement of existing laws. People in Point Clark are scared of irre- sponsible hunters.Bayer added that hunting is a privilege, which is taught in the required hunting courses. The original MNR rules were created to address noise issues, but in Point Clark it has gone beyond that to now become safety issues. What the hunters are doing now is illegal. MNR's response to Bayer was that they should buy better cameras to record the incidents since the MNR does not have enough person- nel to investigate every call and do not arrive in time to witness the incidents. Resi- dents are also asked to call in the time of day of incidents to be recorded. Jill Gausden has created and posted an online petition calling for a ban on hunting along the waterfront close to residential areas, such as at Point Clark. At the time of the meeting there were 104 sig- natures. Gausden intends to present the petition to Mayor Twolan to protect the ano- nymity of the signers. The petition is to ask Huron -Kin- loss Council for a bylaw to be passed prohibiting hunting close to residential areas in the Township. Gausden pro- vided a handout outlining her presentation. John Brown is an avid con- servationist who works in Ontario Parks. He moved to the Point Clark area with one of the main deciding factors being an ideal place to hunt ducks and geese. He wishes to stop the proposed by-law from taking effect as geese are seen as a nuisance by resi- dents who have thanked Brown for hunting them to help keep the goose popula- tion down. Brown indicated that all of the geese he hunts are consumed by a VJi TRUCK & nuTo REPRIR 519-529-3222 36936 dens JIM Rd:, R. R_ # t J?urtigis7a'lr?s n,. ON + Fast & Professional Service for Cars & Light Trucks • Tuneups, Exhausts & Other Repairs + Computer Diagnostics for all Makes & Models + Genuine After Market Automotive Parts area residents. He stated that recognizes that there are some irresponsible hunters, but that it has come to the point where residents automatically bully all hunters, including the responsible ones. Rather than banning hunting, Brown wants to see the irresponsible hunters caught and charged. He estimates that approxi- mately 5% of hunters are in this category, but recognizes that there are not enough officers available to enforce the hunting laws. Walter Motz has been a permanent resident of Point Clark for 20 years and has been in the area for 47 years. He is a director and member of OFAH and points out that hunting has been identified as the safest outdoor recreation activity. His concern is that there is a sign that was posted many years ago stating that hunting is allowed on the beach. The sign is in a play- ground, very close to the equipment. The signage was there before the playground was built. He believes that education is the best way to deal with unsafe hunting practices. MNR in Ontario administers hunting courses and now has started giving archery courses in 20 schools. Motz wants to see hunting of migratory birds continue to help control the population. In places where hunting has been stopped on shorelines, very soon the birds start caus- ing problems inland. He warns residents who act as vigilantes against hunters that the MNR will charge them with "harassment of a hunter': Council respectfully lis- tened to all of the presenters. However, it was made clear to all parties concerned that hunting is not included in the Council agreement with MNR in the rights of the Council to enforce along the shoreline. Councillor James Hannah explained that the agreement with MNR was originated more for control of invasive species, protection of dunes, dealing with motorized vehi- cles and other such problems. Mayor Twolan emphati- cally stated that Huron -Kin- loss Council will not be pass- ing the by-law requested by the Point Clark residents. The MNR has stated that the municipality has no control or authority over hunting. Twolan went on to state that MNR had been invited to come to Council to hear the presentations, but had declined to attend. Twolan assured those present that the new contract that Coun- cil will be drafting with the South Bruce OPP includes discussions of enforcement of hunters. Council is also insisting to the MNR that they need to have more of a presence in Huron -Kinloss to deal with the hunting issues. Particularly, there need to be enforcement officers available on week- ends when more residents are present and incidences are more likely to occur. It was recommended to residents that they continue to take down license plates and information to make the complaints to both MNR and OPP. Twolan urged the hunters present to reach out to the hunting community to spread the word that hunters need to respect the laws. BBQ and Raffle • 4:30pm Awards banquet • 5:30pm sharp Food for BBQ supplied by LAWS & LMHA Donations welcome for BBQ Supper LMHA Hockey Registration Forms will be available for 2015/2016 hockey season. Register early to receive your free Silverstick Skate Towel