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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-05-04, Page 22 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, May 4, 2016 20th Mother's Day open house planned for local organic farm There is a bustle of activity in the green house and pas- tures as Meeting Place Organic Farm prepares to host their 20th Mother's Day Open House. Kildeer, Tree swallows and a greenhouse full of seedling heirloom tomatoes are all signs of Spring. So is Duchess, the Suffolk cross foal born the beginning of April. The Open House pro- vides an opportunity to see this local organic farm and the new colt and calves that her- ald the arrival of spring. A horse drawn wagon ride takes visitors around the farm where they can see pigs on pasture and take a walk through the wildflowers in the bush. The greenhouse is full of heirloom tomatoes and other plants ready for the vegetable garden. This year there will also be a BBQ setup to offer tastes of Meeting Place Organic Farm's pork sausage. The Open House runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 7 and 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, May8. For more info contact Kat- rinaMcQuail at 519 831-0648 or TonyMcQuail at 519-440-2511. Katrina McQuail with a newborn foal. Huron -Kinloss imposes $250 nuisance fine Darryl Coote Reporter Nuisances be warned: your days of gadfly behaviour are over. As the summer approaches and in prepara- tion of the outdoor music festival season, the Township of Huron -Kinloss passed a nuisance bylaw April 18 in hopes of curbing reckless and selfish behaviors. "It's just to keep some of the silly people from being silly," Mayor Mitch Twolan told the media following the decision Monday night. The township, given pro- vincial authority to regulate public nuisances under the 2001 Municipal Act, now has armed the local Ontario Pro- vincial Police (OPP) detach- ment with the necessary leg- islation to fine those who disrupt the public. The motion prohibits peo- ple in public from: • Expelling bodily fluids, I.E. spitting, vomiting, urinating and defecating • Knocking over, or attempt- ing to knock over, Canada Post mailboxes, newspaper boxes and garbage and recy- cling containers • Creating excessive amounts of smoke, dust or airborne matter • Dumping • Littering • Interfering, obstructing or impeding pedestrians or vehicles • And otherwise committing disorderly conduct Those who are caught com- mitting any of these offences will be fined $250. Additional fees and charges may be imposed by the municipality to recover costs it may incur while administering the nui- sance bylaw. The OPP and the Alcohol and Gaming Commision of Ontario (AGCO) informed the township this bylaw was necessary for it to continue hosting outdoor events, such as Lucknow Music in the Fields, Twolan said. "But obviously this bylaw will go to all community events," he said. "It's some- thing we didn't have in place before." Asked if anything happened at last summer's Music in the Fields festival to necessitate the OPP's request, Twolan said there were a few instances, but nothing serious. "Definitely things hap- pened that the OPP and AGCO said if you want to con- tinue on with the event you have to pass a nuisance bylaw thatwe can enforce; he said. The motion was unani- mouslypassedwith no discus- sion by council. Submitted Katrina McQuail, Fran McQuail, Derek Walton and Emily Shoenberger getting tomatoes ready for the open house. Huron -Kinloss council urges Ministry of Transport to implement 'No Wake' laws Darryl Coote Reporter If the Township of Huron - Kinloss has its way, there will be tighter restrictions and penalties for creating wakes in Ontario's waters. Huron -Kinloss council passed a motion April 18 to urge the Canadian govern- ment to legislate and enforce 'No Wake' laws in all naviga- ble provincial waters in an effort to control the waves created by boats. According to the motion debated by Huron -Kinloss council, there are presently no penalties for creating the manmade waves that "can do a great deal of damage:' Without calculating the severity of damage caused by wakes, the motion states they are responsible for eroding shorelines; flooding loon and waterfowl nests; damaging docks, marina gas pumps and moored vessels; disrupt- ing wetland habitat and upsetting canoes and small boats. Wakes are also a danger to swimmers, it reads. The motion requests for the Canadian minister of transport, Marc Garneau, to "address this dangerous and harmful situation by imple- menting legislation that would provide authorities with the ability to enforce a 'No Wake' restriction in Ontario's navigable waters:' Crafted and first passed March 14 by the Township of Georgian Bay, the motion made its way to the council chambers of Huron -Kinloss because of a clause in it that calls for it to be circulated to all Ontario municipalities. Georgian Bay Mayor Larry Braid said wakes have been an issue in his municipality for many years. "What we're after is legisla- tion giving the OPP the tools to deal with these large wakes that are damaging our shore lines, boats, docks," he said in a April 27 phone interview. The wakes, he said, can be upwards of five feet Braid said even though there is a law stating boats must stay below 10kmph within 30m of the shore, the OPP only has power to deal out punishment when wakes cause a person bodily harm "If they flip akayaker over or something along those lines then they can work at it and charge them, but it's up to the private property owner if their dock or boat gets smashed up to take a civil action:' he said. When asked directly about fines for those who break the so-called 10-30 law, the Min- istry of Transport only elabo- rated that vehicles towing a person on water skis or any sporting recreation equip- ment are exempt from this law if "the vessel follows a course away from and per- pendicular to the shore:' Braid continued stating that his municipality isn't against watersports, such as wake - boarding or waterskiing, only against people practicing them too close to the shore. "Go out into the middle of the lake, don't be right along shoreline," he said. He doesn't presently have a suggestion for what kind of penalties should be in place for offenders; first legislation needs to be passed limiting the speed or power of boats. "Hadn't even dove into that First of all they need the legis- lation. As far as I'm concerned it's up to them," he said. The motion was passed unanimously by Huron - Kinloss council.