The arrival of the email was as disturbing as it was unexpected and the tone of the opening paragraph introduced an icy chill to an otherwise warm and cheery Christmas morning.
“My brother just moved to this assisted living house a few weeks ago, disgusting is all I have words for this,” announced the email from Shelley Turner.
“I have written the ombudsman, spoke with the people in charge of this residence to no avail.
“My brother is a recent leg amputee, they assist in what? Taking people’s money? That’s the complaints I hear from within, besides the food that is deplorable, and the bed bug situation that has been there for a year now as I was told.”
Before delving deeper, I was resigned to reading another horror story about a poor soul warehoused away at Walnut Manor in St. Thomas.
Category Archives: Port Stanley
Pilot project would see St. Thomas Transit buses venture beyond city limits
Hopping on a bus bound for London may soon be a reality for St. Thomas and Elgin county residents.
The city is about to pitch a pilot project to the province seeking funding support for regional transit connectivity for residents of St. Thomas, Central Elgin, Southwold, Malahide and Aylmer.
The undertaking was a recommendation of the Transit Strategic Plan presented to city council a month ago, although the pilot project would go beyond the one-year test suggested in that report.
As outlined Monday (Dec. 16) by Mayor Joe Preston at the reference committee meeting, the three-year undertaking would see a Monday through Sunday service operating from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The bus would leave St. Thomas on the hour for each trip, although Preston stressed these times and hours of operation could be adjusted.
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Where your St. Thomas tax dollars are destined in 2019 (a lot are going to wages and benefits)
Director of Finance David Aristone has made public the 2019 proposed operating and capital budgets, with city council due to begin deliberations 5 p.m. Monday (Jan. 7).
As outlined in the budget document, this year’s property tax levy is $52.3 million, an increase over last year of 1.8 per cent.
The capital budget target for 2019 is $4,045,000, up from $3.4 million in 2018. Proposed capital projects involve $23.5 million in expenditures.
Some of the key projects flagged for approval include the reconstruction of Elm Street, from Sunset Road to First Avenue at a cost of $8.8 million, none of which will come from the tax levy, but instead from development charges, reserves and water/sanitary/stormwater charges.
Same story for the complete streets program, budgeted for $7 million.
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The time has come to brag about St. Thomas, says Coun. Linda Stevenson
Linda Stevenson’s trip to city hall this past Monday (July 16) ensured the sitting council would not be in a lame duck position to close out the term.
Stevenson filed her nomination papers, signalling her intention to seek a second term on council. The following day, Mayor Heather Jackson entered the now-crowded mayoral race, leaving only Coun. Mark Burgess as the lone question mark for the Oct. 22 municipal vote.
Following her official business at the clerk’s counter, we talked with Stevenson at length about her initial four years in the council chamber and her expectations for the future.
“I enjoyed the first term a lot,” advised Stevenson. “I think it was a good working council. We got a lot of work done. A lot of faith in staff bringing forward reports that were full and the information was good so we can make good planning decisions. Continue reading
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Sticky notes the first step in shaping the look of Port Stanley harbour
Port Stanley and area residents were invited to enjoy a free cup of coffee Monday and help define the look of the village for decades to come.
The harbour redevelopment open house attracted dozens of participants to the Village Square Coffee House who eagerly posted their ideas on brightly coloured sticky notes affixed to several aerial maps of the waterfront.
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A crowded table for debate over mobile food vendors in Port Stanley
Mobile food vendors would set up for the day in Port Stanley and then leave town at night without any investment in the community.
Not the case at all, insisted an operator of a vehicle in question. “We’re not invading the territory, we’re here to complement existing restaurants.”
Such was the scope of argument Monday night (March 27) at a public meeting held to gather input from both sides of the table on whether to allow mobile food vendors in Port Stanley. The one-hour dialogue preceded the regular meeting of Central Elgin municipal council.
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Port Stanley Polar Bear Dip: Taking the plunge for children with cancer
More than 100 brave souls took the plunge Saturday morning at Little Beach in Port Stanley, making a splash for children with cancer.
It was the 3rd annual Port Stanley Polar Bear Dip in support of Childcan, and although the final total has not been tabulated, participants shattered this year’s $20,000 target with just under $30,000 raised as of late Saturday.
Fifteen-year-old Angel Murray of Woodstock watched apprehensively as 106 people charged into the frigid water in small groups and just as quickly scampered back to shore.
The teenager had two compelling reasons to join the frigid fray as the final polar plungee of the day.
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Port Stanley harbour: “We are in total control of this” – Central Elgin Mayor Dave Marr at the State of the Municipalities lunch
We’re going to start off with our Belmont Library. We started this actually the previous year (2015) and finished up in 2016 with the help of the county. It is now totally accessible . . . and this enables us to continue on a great library . . . and if Belmont is lucky enough to get a school, it certainly is going to help them.
With our Lynhurst projects, engineering is finished and it’s mainly to do storm drainage and new roads. The roads are in terrible shape in that particular area, this is the old Lynhurst. We had hoped we were going to be doing it starting the construction this year, but after going through budget and reviewing our priorities, and we know this is going to be a three-year project, we decided we needed to do some other things because of health and safety . . . so the tenders will go out hopefully in the fall so they can start construction early January in 2018.
This is a big thing we’re doing and has to do with healthy communities. That’s our Master Trail Plan. We’ve asked people to send in their requests, information and their ideas on how we can improve our trails throughout the municipality. Now for Central Elgin, that means anywhere from Belmont, heading all around St. Thomas, heading south through Union and Sparta and ending up in Port Stanley.
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Should city consider purchasing its downtown nemesis?
Just when you thought the Sutherland Saga couldn’t attain grander levels of absurdity, comes word the structure is now on the market as a power of sale listing.As of March 19, the building is available for purchase from E & M Cavaco for $99,888.
While the listing didn’t quite describe it in this fashion, we can imagine something along the lines of this.
“A spectacular fixer-upper in need of a little loving attention. Ideal for the handyman. With a little time and resources could be returned to former glory. Close to downtown and adjacent to rail transportation. No reasonable offer refused.”
So where does this leave the city and (former?) owner David McGee? They are supposed to appear in St. Thomas court next Friday as McGee attempts again to stall demolition of the structure that dates back to 1913.
