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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-03-02, Page 5letters to the editor Wednesday, March 2, 2016 • News Record 5 www.clintonnewsrecord.com Thank you to community for clothing for Syrian refugees Seaforth Manor, Retire- ment Living and Long Term Care and Queensway, Retire- ment Living and Long Term Care want to thank the com- munity for all of their support for the clothing donations for the Syrian refugees. "It was an overwhelming success" says Christine Ozimek, CEO of PLTC parent company for both Queensway and Sea - forth Manor. "It was such a great community effort and so many clothes were col- lected and dropped off that hundreds of families will ben- efit from: Both Seaforth Manor and Queensway set up clothing donations drop boxes in each home in December and clothes were collected at each home throughout January. Early February, clothes were picked up and dropped off at Canada's Immigration drop off distribution center - New Circles - in Toronto. "It took two trips and two full van loads each with thou- sands of pounds of clothing dropped off" say Richard Sul- livan, Manager of Public Rela- tions for PLTC. "Staff from New Circles came out and welcomed us and helped unload each of the bags and wanted to make sure that we send their thanks back to each community': 'Although this winter turned out much better than past winters, these clothes will still be a welcome addi- tion to each family that receives them" says Christine Ozimek "It was what we intended to do and help and the community pulled through for us:' PLTC has always been supporting the communities that our homes are in and with something like this we could not do it alone. It took a great commu- nity support to make this happen" Seaforth Manor and Queensway Bayfield Arena Community Partners Trail Bill Off -Track Association receives grants Special to Clinton News Record Bayfield Arena Commu- nity Partners Association is pleased to announce that they have received two generous grants from the Huron County Health Unit program "Healthy Kids Community Challenge" for 3 new programs for families and youth. The successful applications were for Lacrosse, Family/ Kids Zumba and Family/ KidsYoga. Ron Keys, Chair of the BACPA said "Family Zumba and Family Yoga will be lead weekly by certified instruc- tors and will be focused on a less intensive format with the intention of bringing kids and families together to pro- mote and foster a healthy lifestyle in a fun affordable environment. It is hoped that Zumba and Yoga will begin as soon as possible so stay tuned!" Bonnie Baynham, Project Manager of Healthy Kids Community Challenge from Huron County Health Unit, stated, "The committee was very impressed with the partnerships, and all the great work you have done. We are going to enjoywatch- ing Bayfield shine. We are very grateful for all your work, as it certainly fits so well with the goals and objectives of Healthy Kids Community Challenge Huron. We are looking for- ward to our work together over the next couple years and beyond" In relations to the lacrosse grant, Keys points out "last summer the BACPA spon- sored a 3 day clinic for kids to come and try out the game. This was a huge suc- cess. It was noticed that, as this was the first time that kids had tried it, there was a need for proper equipment geared to the sport for more kids to come and play with- out the expense. This grant money is going towards the purchase of such equipment for a loaning program so more kids can come out and try the sport, with the inten- tion of starting up a team that will play in a house league in the Strathroy and London area. Bayfield' s own Toronto Rock Star Drew Candy will be involved again this year': Baynham noted "We love this one. It met the criteria that is laid out by the Prov- ince, and we are very pleased with the sustainabil- ity of this program, and the free access to equipment for people in your community (and beyond)" BACPA became a not for profit in May 2015, which has enabled them to access available grants that are offered throughout the province. BACPA was originally approved by Bluewater council in June 2014 to mar- ket the facility for 3 years. With June 2017 fast approaching, this is another example of how a not-for- profit organization can help continue to dramatically improve a facility's usage and help to reduce the defi- cit, which was outlined in the BACPA's original busi- ness plan. The average weekly ice rentals are now at 30.25 hours per week which has met our original tar- gets. BACPA has always stressed the importance of a year-round facility. This grant will help with that vision. Since 2014, revenues and usage have continued to increase substantially. BACPA has worked with the munici- pality and has been supplied by the municipality, data on revenues and usage since the beginning with each year- end including full expense reports. 2015 year expenses will be available from the Municipality on March 10. Anyone who wishes to see any of this information and current status of the facility are welcome to attend BACPA AGM on March 10 at Bayfield Community Centre at 7:30 pm. '. ' al 1 VP' erill ' t _It VW /It FORE PHEVIEISTIO N ISIWTS At /east 80 percent of all fire deaths occur in home fires. Here are some smart Fire Prevention tips for protecting yourself and your family: ✓ Never leave candles burning unattended, and keep matches out of reach from children. V Keep space heaters away from curtains and other flammable materials. V Install smoke alarms on every floor of your home and outside each bedroom, and test batteries monthly. Special to Clinton News Record MPP for Huron -Bruce Lisa Thompson has responded to local concerns regarding Bill 100, the Supporting Ontario Trails Act, 2015, by asking the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport to withdraw it "The PC Party respects the right of Ontarians to access trail systems and footpaths, and rec- ognizes the value they bring to Ontario's tourism industry, but it should not come at the cost of property rights and fulsome consultation. The Minister has a responsibility to ensure that both are respected, and needs to look hard at the conse- quences of this Bill" said Thompson. In May of 2015, Minister Coteau introduced the Bill, which has recently caused con- cern among land owners and trail organizations in regards to vague terminology related to easements for trail systems. The result has been talk of land owners ending agreements with trail clubs that allow access to pathways on their land, aloss to organizations that currently enjoy the social and recrea- tional benefits these extensive networks provide. "I'm hearing from people who have already notified local trail clubs they will remove access to their land if this Bill progresses. Sadly, it has already seen one resident end their association with the Bruce Trail Conservancy because of the negative ramifications of Bill 100. Private land owners and trail organizations have long been effective partners in negotiating access to trails on private prop- erty for the wider community. These volunteers have been responsible for building posi- tive relationships and are good stewards of the land. This vague Bill, from such a disconnected government, will do serious harm to their efforts if it is allowed to progress': Concerned residents can also make their voices heard by signing and sharing the petition at the following link: http:// tinyurl.com/jmvy2e. KID'S HELP PHONE FREE EMERGENCY CALL 1-800-668-6868 RUNAWAY, SICK, IN DANGER, IN TROUBLE