February 16, 2021
By Nate Smelle
No matter what season it may be, Think Turtle Conservation Initiative’s founder and lead program director Kelly Wallace has her sights set on protecting turtles and the natural environment in Ontario. While during the winter she typically hosts public workshops and presentations to raise awareness of what can be done to reduce the impact of human activities threatening turtle populations, because of the COVID-19 pandemic Wallace has had more time to study provincial legislation, and how it is affecting species at risk.
By means of her investigation, Wallace discovered that since the pandemic took hold last year at this time, the Ford government has been using Minister’s Zoning Orders – a provision under the Ontario’s Planning Act to override protections for Provincially Significant Wetlands, municipal zoning and heritage designated buildings- at an “alarming rate.”
LUCAN BIDDULPH – Lucan Biddulph learned some good news about its OPP station at a recent conference.
The municipality participated in the Jan. 25-26 Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference, which was held “virtually” this year due to the pandemic. Members of Lucan Biddulph council have expressed concern in the past about the future of the Lucan OPP station, noting that they want to ensure it stays open. As previously reported, small communities such as Exeter and Wingham lost their OPP stations last summer.
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Author of the article: Andy Bader
Publishing date: Feb 12, 2021 • February 12, 2021 • 2 minute read •
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After receiving $3,000 at the end of November to help ease the financial load with the cancellation of their fall fair over the Labour Day weekend, the Mitchell & District Agricultural Society has applied for more funding, perhaps as much as $7,000.
The Ontario government is providing $5 million to support the province’s Agricultural and Horticultural Societies impacted by the pandemic.
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Programming details were announced recently by Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) annual general meeting.
CROSBY, ONT. After years of lobbying, new traffic lights will be installed at a dangerous intersection along Highway 15 in Crosby, Ont., 35 kilometres southwest of Smiths Falls. The intersection with County Road 42 involves a long, blind corner on the provincial highway. OPP say there have been 21 collisions there in the last five years. You ll hear the transport horn and you just kind of wait for the crash, said Jim Summers, who runs Rideau Lakes Building Centre on the northwest corner. We ve seen some (collisions) where they ve hit side by side, some T-boned. We had a gentleman come right off of 15, hit the stop sign through here and off into our fence, Summers said. That s probably the worst one we ve seen but, luckily, he was safe.
SHARE ON: Photo credit: Mathew Reisler
With the Ontario Fire College in Gravenhurst set to be decommissioned on March 31st, the President of the union that represents the workers is calling on the community to help save the facility.
Chris McConnell is the President of Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 317 that represents the 20 workers at the facility. “The local has taken the steps to ensure that everybody knows what’s at stake here,” he tells the MyMuskokaNow.com newsroom. He says that the College provides full-time stable work in a community where those opportunities aren’t plentiful. McConnell says having stable employment is “paramount” to the stability of any community.