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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-08-03, Page 1414 News Record • Wednesday, August 3, 2016 Communities in Bloom evaluation tour set for August 10 and 11 in Bluewater BLUEWATER - The Munic- ipality of Bluewater will be evaluated August 10 and 11 for its municipal and com- munity programming, physi- cal attributes and volunta- rism in the 2016 Ontario Communities in Bloom (CIB) program. Bluewater seeks to improve its rating in the Five Blooms award category for the third consecutive year. The evaluation will be completed by two profes- sional judges, Kathy Smyth of Tilbury and Betty Lamont of Tiverton during a driving and walking tour of the communities. This year, the Community Profile Book, a tool used to describe the efforts of volun- teers and the municipality, was converted to a format containing active links to municipal and external web- sites, expanding its educa- tional component. Commit- tee member and designer Heather Redick of Zurich says the 55 -page book was reworked to permit CIB judges instant access and eliminate the cost of color printing. The book may be viewed on your smart device via the websites www.munic- ipalityofbluewater.ca and www. bluewaterblooms. ca The local CIB committee has also held a successful street planter sponsorship program in Bayfield, Hensall and Zurich to offset costs. Local businesses and indi- viduals who sponsor a planter receive their mes- sage printed on a sign and placed in a planter. Another proud achievement of a long-term goal is division of a daylily named Bluewater Sunset. Bedded at Huron Ridge Acres, the daylily needs to be grown and divided for several years before it can be sold. Bluewater Blooms Commit- tee sincerely thanks Council and staff for their support and invites councillors to partici- pate. The CIB committee con- sists of these volunteers repre- senting community, business and volunteer groups: Susan Beatty, Sondra Buchner, Leigh Selk, and Carol Steckle of Bay- field and area; Harlie Johnston of St. Joseph; Liz Sangster and Kay Wise (Co -Chair) of Hen- sall, Heather Redick of Zurich and Deputy Mayor Jim Fergus- son (Chair). The CIB judges will be taken on a personal and active tour from Hensall to Bayfield, from Varna to St. Joseph and many stops in between. Points of interest are identified in each com- munity that fit into the eight criteria established by the Ontario Communities in Bloom organization: Tidi- ness, Environmental Action, Heritage Conservation, Urban Forestry, Land- scapeTurf and Groundcov- ers, Floral Displays and Community Involvement. The local planning commit- tee will bring municipal and community goals and achievements to life in short presentations from represent- atives of community, business and volunteers plus munici- pal staff. The judges will be tasked with assigning numeri- cal points for each criteria for an overall percentage. The Bluewater Communities in Bloom program was Contributed Photo established by Council in 2010 in recognition of the economic and social benefits derived from participation and in cele- bration of the efforts of count- less volunteers and municipal staff who make our communi- ties great places to live. This is an exciting finale allowing eve- ryone to proudly show why they love to work and play here. Province, federal government give $180 million for high-speed Internet access to rural Ontario Hank Daniszewski Postmedia Network The federal and provincial governments are pumping $180 million into a Ea :'.TE LTA}_ long-awaited plan to extend high-speed Internet access to rural Southwestern Ontario. The investment in the Southwestern Ontario Inte- grated Fibre Technology 1 33 Main St., Seaforth 519.600.1577 Direct 519.272.5413 THE SIGN THAT SAYS SOLD (SWIFT) will extend high- speed access to more than three million people in 350 communities over the next five years. The federal and provincial governments are each kick- ing in $90 million towards the $281 million project. At the announcement in London on Tuesday, July 26, Navdeep Bains, the federal L+_s;:J, AMY McCLURE Sales Rep. 519-525-3988 MAUREEN WILDFONG Sales Rep. 519-525-9954 Plea se Vi slit V{1+1+I w.se'&Iif95eef0T .COrn To View EXCELLENT ONE FLOOR THE SIGN THAT SAYS SOLD THE SIGN THAT SAYS SOLD GORGEOUS HOME e 4;4' -.4.'. i . . f: ' c4 ii • • a `4)f --jeL _ ..,, . ,y Kt, , • .4‘.-4- 4-b.--. O A. :IR I;s� F .,I s Ill.,r i y I W^ i_ 1,. Pr ---P .r 54 WATER ST., EGMONDVILLE 107 HIGH ST., SEAFORTH 54 WATER ST., EGMONDVILLE 82 CHALK ST., SEAFORTH MLS #679556 $219,900 MLS #260345 $134,900 MIS #679556 $219,900 MIS #607372 $329,000 GREAT AREA OF TOWN LOTS OF KITCHEN CUPBOARDS COUNTRY LIVING UNIQUE PROPERTY P` y f: ' c4 ii I• • O A. :IR I;s� F .,I s Ill.,r i y I W^ i_ 1,. Pr ---P .r , n — 23 ANN ST., SEAFORTH 38 CENTRE ST., SEAFORTH MLS #453723 $159,900 MLS #375581 $164,900 76558 MORRISON LINE 39520 BLYTH ROAD MLS #182900 $269,900 MLS #191071 $219,900 www.sellingseaforth.com Minister of Innovation and Sci- ence, said high-speed access provides a major boost to busi- nesses in small towns and rural areas, now handicapped by slow and expensive web access. "It will be key to help small home-based businesses find new markets overseas... Fast Internet is no longer a luxury, it is as essential as electricity or water;" he said. Bob Chiarelli, Ontario's min- ister of infrastructure, said high-speed access is also needed by schools and hospi- tals in rural Ontario. "This will advance south- western Ontario from being behind the curve to being ahead of the digital curve," said Chiarelli. Rural Ontario is now a patchwork, with some areas well -served by small inde- pendent telecom companies while other areas have little or no access. Gerry Marshall, warden of Simcoe County and chairper- son of the SWIFT committee, said schools and health care centres will be "anchor ten- ants" for the SWIFT Network and some of the moneywill be reinvested in extending the service. "As the money comes in, we'll tuck money away and drive that fibre network out further and further," said Marshall. Geoff Hogan, the director of information technology for Grey County, is heading up the SWIFT project. He said the network will be extended to areas with a mini- mum population of four peo- ple per square kilometre. But Hogan cautions that the SWIFT network will install trunk lines, but not bring fibre optics right to the door of homes, farms and businesses. Hogan said SWIFT will part- ner with private companies that will provide "last mile" connection to customers, typi- cally starting from an 'anchor tenant' such as a school "We are creating an infra- structure that's much closer to the end user, so the private sec- tor can develop their own busi- ness case to connect people." But he said there will be supervision of the private sector partners to ensure fair and affordable access to the SWIFT network. Hogan said SWIFT will work co-operatively with independent telecom com- panies that already provide high-speed service. "We are going to comple- ment existing fibre, not dupli- cate existing investment" Don McCabe, president of the Ontario Federation of Agri- culture, said Internet access has become essential for the high-tech vehicles and machinery on modern farms. 'Agriculture requires these technologies now. We have combines that can send all sorts of data up to the 'cloud' but we can't get the report at the house," McCabe said he wants to see more information on how the fibre network trunk lines will be connected to farms and homes.