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2 | NEWS Stronger measures needed in Breslau trespassing battle Grobe Nursery wins parking concession, but off-roading problems will take more time and money to deal with, says Woolwich STEVE KANNON Perry Grobe argues parking restrictions near his Breslau-area nursery are hurting his business, and doing nothing to deter off-road vehicles from trespassing on adjacent land. That much was an easy sell to Woolwich council, which this week eased parking rules on Greenhouse Road. The off-roading issue remains far more intractable, however. Addressing council Tuesday night at its inaugural meeting in Woolwich’s new council chambers, the operator of Grobe Nursery said parking restrictions approved in August have been largely ineffective in addressing the problem of trespassing vehicles, including trucks, all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes. “The bylaw is not solving the problem. It’s causing problems for us.” The company has seen customers use the shoulder of the road during the peak seasons in the spring and at Christmas for the past 40 years. With the new parking bylaw, the overflow traffic had nowhere to go, he explained. Councillors quickly came on side, eventually voting to allow parking along the east side of Greenhouse Road, from Kramp Road to Victoria Street. They were less cooperative, however, on the matter of a Grobe truck parked on Greenhouse Road to act as an advertisement to passing drivers on Hwy. 7. Both the township and the Ministry of Transportation, which has jurisdiction over the highway, have taken issue with the advertising strategy. Coun. Murray Martin suggested the parties sit down to negotiate a settlement, and called on staff to get a legal opinion about the township’s options. Clerk Christine Broughton noted the truck is parked in violation to the bylaw. Even if Grobe applied for a sign at that location, the township’s sign bylaw would not permit it. There are also outstanding issues with the MTO. While that disagreement could be sorted out in relatively short order, far more time will be needed to deal with trespassing off-road vehicles. The township, Waterloo Region and various landowners have been meeting to address the problem. Barriers and signs have been erected, and an enforcement blitz Notice to Hog Producers The Circovirus Inoculation Program provides eligible hog producers with financial assistance to offset costs related to testing, diagnosis and treatment of hog herds for Porcine Circovirus Associated Diseases (PCVAD2). Diagnostic testing/clinical diagnosis • Hog owners or herd managers whose herd(s) have had a certified diagnostic test for PCVAD2 since March 1, 2006, can receive up to $150 per test, up to $2,000 per fiscal year, and up to $4,000 for the duration of the program. • In the absence of a certified diagnostic test, a clinical diagnosis must have been performed by a veterinarian between March 1, 2006, and November 15, 2007. Vaccination Hog owners or herd managers whose animals were part of a herd that tested positive for PCVAD2 can receive up to $1 per piglet and up to $7 per gilt, sow, or boar. Application deadline is December 31, 2008. For more information or for an application form, call 1-800-667-8567 or visit www.agr.gc.ca/cdhi was undertaken over the summer, to no avail. Grobe told councillors off-road vehicles were using the land as recently as last weekend, providing them with photos of various access points away from the township roads where parking restrictions were introduced in August. He called on the township to deal with trespassers quickly, noting reports to bylaw officers or police aren’t dealt with in a timely manner. “To say the response has been less than swift would be an understatement,” he said. More enforcement has to be done in the evenings and on weekends, when the trespassers are using the land, he added. Broughton noted bylaw officers have been out evenings and weekends, See TRESPASS page »07 » From cover municipality must live by the same constraints faced by residents. “The way I look at running the township business is the same as running my personal affairs.” At Waterloo Region, where budget talks are further along, restraint may be the order of the day, but the numbers are still pointing at a tax increase of almost five per cent: 3.3 in general levies, and another 1.6 for the Waterloo Regional Police Service. As with the lower-tier governments, the region has its hands tied by previous commitments, explained Chair Ken Seiling. He’s also bracing for an increased demand on social services, including jumps in the welfare rolls, but council is aiming for a “stand-pat” budget. “We’re not looking to take on anything new, that’s for sure,” he said in an interview. “We’ve got to tread water to a certain degree. We’re going to be as tight as we can.” Property taxes will generally increase even as inflation drops and input costs – most notably those tied to the price of oil – have taken dramatic dips. In the past couple of years in particular, municipalities have been hit hard by rising costs for energy, transportation and construction materials such as asphalt and concrete. The building boom also led to higher prices for infrastructure projects such as road resurfacing and sewer work. THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 06, 2008 Budgets: Previous commitments leave little wiggle room B The annual inflation rate in October fell to 2.6 per cent, down significantly from 3.4 per cent in September, according to Statistics Canada. Real prices actually dropped one per cent in that period, the biggest monthly decline since June 1959. Despite a reversal in that trend, the savings haven’t shown up on municipal doorsteps, local officials say. “We’re not seeing evidence of deflation. In fact, some projects are exceeding budget,” said Seiling. Municipalities also face pressure to take part in a focus on infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy. Both the federal and provincial governments are looking at stimulus packages, with upgrades to roads, bridges, water and sewers high on the priority list. Some of the money funneled into this pump-priming will make its way into the jointfunding programs that have channeled millions into the region and both townships. However, infrastructure funding from Ottawa and Queen’s Park still require the township to spend some of its own money. Recent programs have been split three ways between each level of government. “The township has to cover its own share in such projects,” noted Brenneman. Cutting back on infrastructure projects, while perhaps helpful as municipalities look to control spending, might prove counterproductive under the circumstances, said Seiling. GRAMMA B IS ROCKING BY THE FIREPLACE DETAILS IN NEXT WEEK’S OBSERVER www.observerxtra.com
THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 06, 2008 NEWS | 3 LEADING OFF » “I was thinking, ‘how can I help? How can I make a difference?’” Cody Petrosino A CARING GESTURE Cody Petrosino holds an armful of the clothes and toys he collected for st. Vincent de Paul in november. The 12-year-old rallied his school and community to help him collect a truckload of warm winter garments for the agency. PHOTOs | jOni milTenburg The spirit of can-do Collecting clothing and toys for those in need all in a day’s work for 12-year-old Conestogo boy JONI MILTENBURG At the Optimist Club charity hockey tournament last weekend, 12-year-old Cody Petrosino of Conestogo was in charge of handing out T-shirts to players and volunteers. When another volunteer showed up to take over for him, Cody had his system all worked out. Shirts are sorted into large, extralarge and 2XL and stacked in piles of 10, he patiently explained to a man several decades his senior, sounding as if their ages were reversed. That’s just the kind of kid Cody is, said his dad John. He sees something that needs to be done and just takes care of it. So when he wanted to do something to help less fortunate families, he took the initiative and organized a clothing drive. “I call this one Panthers Winter Warmth,” Cody explained. “What you do is you collect winter items FREE DELIVERY like coats, boots, scarves, mitts, snow pants; anything that can help people in the community.” Between Nov. 1 and 26, he collected a truckload of used clothing, toys and games. “We did toys this year too, like dolls, stuffed animals, but in mint condition. It’s used, but it’s not overly used.” Cody was inspired by his nursery school teacher, a woman named Susan O’Toole. She ran an unofficial community agency from the Conestogo Public School, helping out more than 400 families in need in Woolwich. “Susan always used to come to me, you know, we have a family in need or we have a situation that they need help, clothing, food, money, whatever,” said John Petrosino. “[Cody] would always see me doing that, so he wanted to run with this.” “I was thinking, ‘how can I help? How can I make a difference?’” Cody said. “Our school’s already doing food drives and stuff, so I’m like, ‘what else W • O • O • L • W • I • C • H P H A R M A C Y 10 Church St., Elmira HELPING HAND Petrosino has enlisted the support of Kitchener-Conestoga mP Harold Albrecht, who has promised to help with next year’s collection. can I do that they’re not doing?’” The Panthers are the teams at his school, St. Boniface in Maryhill, where Cody is on the student council. Last year he appealed to his schoolmates • Compounding • Compliance Packaging • Free Blood Pressure Check • Free Blood Glucose Monitor & Teaching • Ostomy & Home Health Care 519-669-8282 for help and collected 10 garbage bags full of warm clothing for O’Toole to distribute. Cody vividly remembers when O’Toole’s husband called him last year and told him Susan wanted to talk to him. “She had a little boy come in and he started crying and she asked him why he was crying, and he finally got his first pair of winter boots.” This year illness prevented O’Toole from doing the distribution, so Cody delivered his truckload of warmth to St. Vincent de Paul. Cody is already planning to expand his collection next year. “I want to make maybe a little organization called Winter Warmth. That’s the big picture,” he said. “We were going to do the region, but if we could do it nationwide, that’d be awesome. But I don’t think it’s going get that far, at least not soon. [It would] be good to have it regional.” See WARMTH page »06 CATHY DIAMOND PHARMACIST SAMER MIKHAIL PHARMACIST /OWNER OPEN: Monday to Friday 9am-7pm; Saturday 10am-5pm; Closed Sundays
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