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The Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-03-02, Page 66 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, March 2, 2016 Bruce County road conditions/closure app wins OGRA award Submitted County of Bruce members, from left: Arran-Elderslie Mayor Paul Eagleson, Director of Highways Brian Knox, Web specialist Rick Aitken, Waste Management/Environmental Coordinator Kerri Meier, Chief Administrative Officer Kelley Coulter, Office Supervisor Sherri Dillon, Operations Supervisor Brent Glasier, Brockton Mayor David Inglis, and Saugeen Shores Mayor Mike Smith. County of Bruce staff won a provincial transportation award Feb. 23 for developing an smartphone application (app) that allows Highways Staff to update road and weather conditions as well as road closures and openings in real-time. The John Niedra Better Practices Award in the cate- gory of Innovative Manage- ment Practice was conferred upon Bruce staff during the annual Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) confer- ence on Tuesday afternoon in Toronto. Warden Mitch Twolan expressed his congratulations to the team. "This award is highly coveted and our team [is] to be commended. They identi- fied a problem and proac- tively worked together to solve it. Our businesses appreciate this additional tool as do our service part- ners in the OPP and member municipalities. It is wonder- ful that their work is being recognized by others," he said in a telephone interview. The OGRA holds an annual competition to recognize innovations and achieve- ments that improve the effi- ciency of municipal transpor- tation, public works services and operations. The John Niedra Better Practices award showcases the ingenuity of municipal employees, Smyth Welding, `building everything from the ground up' CONTINUED FROM > PAGE 1 "We build everything from the ground up," he said. The company does its own testing and repair work, which gives them an inti- mate understanding of how their machines work. "Over the years we've The Lucknow Sentinel Birthday Club Delilah Haldenby March 2, 2007 1 9 years old Hutton MacKay March 4, 2010 6 years old Shelby Barger March 5, 2005 11 years old Justin Rintoul March 6, 2006 10 years old Tyler Aitchison March 6, 2008 8 years old Your child can be a member of the Sentinel's birthday club call 519-528-2822 to register rifmknow MUM 619 Campbell Street 519-528-2822 P=5, ONMIllii1.1111111111.111110411ilw repaired a lot of the imple- ments so you know the breaking points, what works and what doesn't. I like to think this gives us a little bit of an advantage to help find weak spots and detect them early," he said. Also while some manufac- turers might think being in Huron -Kinloss would have its drawbacks due to only being able to ship by land, Barry is adamant there are no disadvantages to manu- facturing from the township. "In fact," said Barry, "it might give us a little bit of an advantage. We have a good drawing area. We have good dedicated employees willing to help us out ... the guys really make the effort" One could even say the employees are neighbourly. "If we've got into a jam and we're tight for deadlines or whatever, the guys are good to help out. That's one thing we find with any local business that you're not going to find in the bigger centre right? You ask a little extra of your guys and they'll pitch in and help you out," he said. "... I think it's that kind of home grown tendency for people to help out. It's almost like a work bee. If you're really behind the eightball and you're strug- gling people see that and will dig in a little deeper just to help out to get through:' Depending on how this new expansion into the States goes, he next has sights on South America. "I'd like to [expand]," he said. "In the last few years we've been trying to estab- lish markets in South America. We haven't got according to a press release. Other categories include Innovative Service Delivery, Innovative Management Practices and Innovative Equipment. The Bruce County's app is an email notification system that alerts OPP, emergency services, media outlets, stakeholders and the county's website once an update is made. During winter, the county web page on road conditions and closures receives approx- imately 50,000 visits a month and will likely see an increase in the years to come. County of Bruce CAO Kel- ley Coulter said, "Our tal- ented employees are so deserving of this award. They identified a problem, devel- oped technology and imple- mented an innovative solu- tion. The work of this group has had a big impact on our county operations." Director of Highways Brian Knox is thrilled with the app and the enhanced service it provides to the community. "It is an honour for our solution to be recognized. The entire highways team along with the IT department is to be commended on their development of this app. The success of this app relies heavily on the department's winter maintenance staff and I am appreciative and proud of their efforts." Darryl Coote/Reporter Barry Smyth says there is no disadvantage to being in Lucknow. "In fact it might give us a little bit of an advantage. We have a good drawing area. We have good dedicated employees willing to help us out In fact," he said. there yet, but that's our next kind of goal." This is the fourth article of a six -part series on Lucknow businesses with interna- tional reach. MP Lobb praises Bruce Power CEO at House of Commons On Feb. 17, 2016, Huron - Bruce's Conservative MP Ben Lobb used his time dur- ing the Statements by Mem- bers portion of the House of Commons to speak of the contributions and work of Bruce Power President and Chief Executive Officer Dun- can Hawthorne, who announced early this month that he will retire within the year. "Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House today and recognize one of the great citizens in the community of Huron— Bruce, Duncan Hawthorne, president and chief execu- tive officer of Bruce Power," Lobb said. "He announced a few weeks ago that he would be stepping down at the end of this year," "Duncan has FP LI i1]L i1 L a ,rawer 4 .-,4J - 'GODERICH 5.19 524 7811 Fort MOVIE INFORMATION... wwww,mavielinks.ca nit,g d ,��a-8013-265-343B �•— .....�, 4 9 M,°$PI ism IT'S IN LAW revolutionized the nuclear industry in Canada, in Ontario, and certainly reju- venated the economy in Huron—Bruce." "Bruce Power has over 3,000 employees. This year alone, it was record produc- tion with eight reactors. It provides 30% of the electric- ity in the Ontario grid, at under 30% of the average cost. It has secured produc- tion until 2064. In the past 15 years, Dun- can has set out, met, and achieved every goal he has endeavoured to take. He has taken the nuclear industry on his back and made it world class." Submitted "All the best in the future to Duncan and his wife, Les- lie," Lobb concluded. The Statements by Mem- bers is generally used by MPs to highlight persons or organizations that have con- tributed to their riding.