Hockey’s second season heralds the arrival of long hours spent in front of the telly as playoff games often require two or more periods of overtime for a winner to prevail (if you’re a Leaf fan you will not be able to relate to this, so just try to imagine).
City council could be faced with a similar information marathon Tuesday as they come to grips with a 113-page agenda stuffed with meaty matters.
Continue reading
Monthly Archives: May 2009
Wind Turbines Blamed for Adverse Health Effects
A wind turbine sits 457 metres from Barbara Ashbee’s home at the Melancthon/Amaranth wind farm in Ontario.
In Canada, wind turbines have become part of the landscape in many rural areas, with Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec leading the way in setting ambitious targets for future production of wind power.
From the Maritimes to Alberta, there are about 1,500 turbines powering almost 700,000 homes and businesses, with plans in the works to build another 1,000 to 1,500 in the next year, including in British Columbia where none currently exist.
But as wind farms proliferate, so do complaints about them. While some people experience no negative effects whatsoever, others have even resorted to leaving their homes to get away from the windmills they claim are making them sick.
Full story
Share this:
Which door is open Minister Carroll?
From Bob Foster:
How ironic that Culture Minister Aileen Carroll would stand in the legislature and boast about the “doors open” program,when the one door that has never been open,is her own,in fact she has slammed it shut in the face of every heritage advocate fighting to save the 2 remaining buildings at 96 Moore Street in St.Thomas,Ontario.It’s hard to believe Ms.Carroll could say with a straight face,how proud she is of Ontario’s built heritage,and how the “doors open” program will allow people to enter buildings otherwise off limits to the public.If we allow Ms.Carroll to continue down this path of destruction,there will be no historic buildings left standing for her “doors open” program.96 Moore Street still sits abandoned & neglected some 11 months after the inferno,that brought down Alma College,and this minister still pretends she’s a fan of Ontario’s built heritage.When will Aileen Carroll stand up and defend 96 Moore Street,she claims Ontario’s built heritage is important to her,and she can convince Alma supporters that this is indeed true,by designating 96 Moore Street as “provincially significant”.For almost 130 years Alma College held it’s “doors open” for students far & wide,the college gave to the province of Ontario in spades,and though the main building has been lost forever,we can still save a small part of the great legacy of Alma College,by restoring the music building and the chapel.Will the minister end her silence and step to the plate,or will she slam the door shut yet again? We await an answer on 96 Moore Street
Share this:
Mayor Cliff Barwick’s trip to Japan resulted in … ?
From T-J reader Chuck Siple:
I have gone through many online categories, but I don’t see anything as to the results of Mayor Cliff Barwick’s trip to Japan. It would be interesting to know what contacts were made, subjects covered and timelines as to future trade possibilities. This is similar to the way businesses evaluate the success of sending their respresentatives to trade shows and seminars. It provides metrics by which to judge the merits of the activity and their relative worth to the business (in this case the citizens of St. Thomas).
If you could, would you please let me know where I could find this online.
Respectfully,
Chuck Siple
Debary, Fl
Share this:
New Association to Monitor Municipal and County Government
Municipality of Central Elgin, Ontario, May 12, 2009 – Dismayed by a lack of transparency from municipal government, ineffectiveness in controlling costs at the municipal and county levels, and the risks of assuming the Port Stanley Harbour, a group of local citizens has formed the Central Elgin Ratepayers Association.
“The Municipality of Central Elgin has one of the highest property tax rates and water charges in Ontario” said Bruce Lemon, President. “To continually base new annual budgets on budgets from prior years rather than actual expenditures is a formula for excessive taxation.”
“We’re particularly concerned about plans to acquire the Port Stanley Harbour” Helen Garton, Vice President of the Association advised. “The acquisition will result in excessive taxes to the community if a proper long-term business plan isn’t finalized before acquisition.”
Continue reading
Share this:
Fighting for, and against, the wind
Wind energy, according to flyers handed out by some anti-wind activists, is a sham designed to exploit society’s inclination to go green.
Large wind farms barely have an impact on efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, they argue. They say utility-scale wind farms are uneconomic and make our electricity system unstable. The turbines also make people sick and cause property values to fall, not to mention the danger to bats, birds and butterflies, detractors say.
Full story
Share this:
Noise protesters howling about windfarms
High-school teacher Sandy MacLeod is near tears as she reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a plastic bag filled with a dozen or so orange earplugs.
“I wear these every single night,” she says, though occasionally she’ll “switch to headphones” to muffle the sound of the wind turbine near her home. “But it doesn’t matter. The noise still gets into your ears.”
And, she insists, it’s making her sick.
Share this:
Ottawa to push ethanol, despite concerns
Ottawa is set to push ahead with a plan to dramatically increase the use of grain-based ethanol, despite growing controversy over the greenhouse gas emissions that result from agricultural practices used to grow the feedstock grains.
Environment Minister Jim Prentice has won cabinet approval to proceed with regulations requiring refiners to include at least 5 per cent ethanol in their gasoline by September, 2010, sources say. A spokesman for Mr. Prentice’s office said the Minister had “nothing to announce” on the issue of ethanol regulations.
The department has invited the industry to a briefing this week in which officials will outline how the government intends to proceed.
Share this:
Rainy days and Mondays
From Bob Foster
Dear Culture Minister Aileen Carroll,
On Monday May 4th,2009 I drove the 2 hours from my hometown of Brampton,Ont to the beautiful City of St.Thomas,Ont to see what,if any progress has been made on the property at 96 Moore Street.The rain was coming down lightly,thunder was rumbling off in the distance and from the looks of the property,it has remained untouched since the horrific fire that brought Alma College down on Wednesday May 28th,2008.The chapel and the music building have been left abandoned and neglected,further damaged after another brutal Ontario winter.The Alma supporters are asking the ministry of culture to designate the property and 2 remaining buildings as “provincially significant” to ensure the Alma legacy lives on in the City of St.Thomas.Both the chapel and the music building could easily be restored and incorporated into any further development at 96 Moore Street.We must do the right thing and honor the hard work of every person who built the college,and most of all the students and staff who created the Alma College legacy.All of these people have an emotional attachment to 96 Moore Street,that is second to none.Allowing this property to continue being abused is a crime,but if the culture ministry would now step in and help save what remains,we could have somewhat of a happy ending,knowing the chapel and the music building were spared,and will continue on for many more years.Standing in the rain,I envisioned the college as it once was,students enjoying the beautiful college grounds,the chapel and the music building full of life with laughter filling the air,now fast forward to 2009,the entire property is full of sadness,with no signs of life and the rain now symbolizes the tears of every person who ever walked through those granite gates and experienced the beauty that was Alma College.I ask that you please consider the possibility of designating 96 Moore Street,so the sun can once again shine,on this sacred ground.
Bob Foster
Brampton,Ontario
