WELLINGTON COUNTY – The North Wellington Community News would like to wish everyone a safe and happy 2023 as we take a look back on an eventful year in 2022.
Over the next few weeks will be highlighting a small sample of the news that made headlines in northern Wellington last year.
JANUARY
With case rates skyrocketing due to the highly-transmissible Omicron variant as the COVID-19 pandemic headed into a third calendar year, the Ontario government reintroduced a series of restrictions on business and social activity, while keeping schools in the province closed until at least Jan. 17. A Jan. 3 press release from the province states the measures, which included a ban on indoor dining in restaurants, closing indoor sports facilities and limiting indoor social gatherings to five people, were taken in response to “recent trends that show an alarming increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations.”
Taxpayers in Wellington North were facing an extra $24.71 in municipal taxes in 2022 after council approved a budget with a two per cent rate hike on Jan. 10.
With the county and education portions factored in, the owner of an average single family dwelling assessed at $269,673 was expected to spend an additional $57.51 on their overall property tax bill, bringing the total to an estimated $3,400. Of each dollar the municipality collects, 38 cents is kept and the remaining 62 cents goes toward the county and education boards.
A plan to postpone the pain of a large rate increase for Township of Mapleton water system users was approved on Jan. 18, with some members of council expressing hope new funding sources could be found to keep rates lower long term. During a special meeting, council approved a 10.53% increase in base 2022 charges for local water and sewage system users in Drayton and Moorefield. The impact for the average residential rate payer is expected to be a monthly increase of $12.14. While that’s a big drop from the increase proposed to council on Dec. 20, finance director John Morrison says an additional increase will likely be necessary in 2023.
FEBRUARY
Brown Insurance Brokers was presented with the Crime Stoppers Guelph Wellington (CSGW) Cornerstone Award for 2021. The award, which recognizes businesses, organizations or individuals who have been outstanding supporters of CSGW, was shared with the business, which has offices in Minto and Mapleton, during Crime Stoppers Month. This is an annual award presented each January and is selected by the CSGW board of directors. As a not-for-profit charitable organization, CSGW relies on fundraisers, donations, and support from members of the public as well as community-minded organizations. “In this regard, Brown Insurance has been a reliable, dedicated and long-term supporter of CSGW,” officials stated in a press release.
A $3.67-million tender for the construction of a new secondary clarifier at the Palmerston Pollution Control Plant was approved by Minto council. The tender, the lowest of three submitted, was awarded on Feb. 1 to Minto-based Wellington Construction Contractors. Wastewater services manager Mark Robertson told council a consultant’s assessment of the condition of the existing clarifier was completed in 2019. The consultant indicated the existing model has an expected lifespan of 25 to 30 years and the existing clarifier was 34 years old.
Wellington North council backed an Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) paper addressed to Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey in 2019, taking issue with how municipalities are tapped for reward payments in lawsuits involving liability.
Mayor Andy Lennox called the issue “top of mind” the previous month. In Ontario, municipalities operate under a common law principle of “joint and several liability,” meaning a municipality can end up having to pay out significant payments awarded in liability lawsuits, even if found minimally liable, simply because municipalities have larger insurance policies and a tax base to squeeze.
MARCH
The north Wellington COVID-19 assessment and vaccination centre in Harriston was closed and moved to Louise Marshall Hospital in Mount Forest.
“The demand for testing has decreased due to the changes to the provincial guidelines for who can receive a PCR test,” stated Angela Stanley, president and CEO of North Wellington Health Care, in a press release.
The Town of Minto allocated $20,000 from the 2022 structural grant component of its Community Improvement Program (CIP) to assist Harriston Legion Branch 296 with funding to bring an elevator in the building back into operation.
The allocation, approved at the March 1 meeting, brings to $40,000 the amount of funds the town has set aside to assist with the project if needed.
A Cost of Community Services Study conducted for Mapleton by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) shows farm and forest lands generate substantially more revenue for the municipality than it costs to service them. The study’s authors say the results also help make the case for rethinking the way municipalities are funded across the province.
The study shows the township spends 34 cents on services for land in the farmland/forest class for every dollar it collects in taxes from such land.
By comparison, the study shows municipal spending of 80 cents for every dollar collected from the residential class and 79 cents per dollar of commercial taxation.
APRIL
Emily MacRobbie of Harriston is the first-place winner of Drayton Entertainment’s Great Community Talent Search.
MacRobbie captured the audience’s attention with her rendition of the Bob Dylan classic Make You Feel My Love, singing the Adele arrangement.
Simon Zenker of Elmira landed in second place with his juggling skills, and Malia Dilana Afonso of Leamington came in third place with her performance of Never Enough from The Greatest Showman.
“It feels so awesome to be chosen by the audience as the winner. Thank you to everyone who voted,” said MacRobbie, when artistic director Alex Mustakas called to let her know that she had taken the top honours.
Town of Minto Mayor George Bridge was recognized at a gathering of Ontario leaders in the field of economic development.
Bridge received the Community Influencer of the Year Award at the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) Awards in Toronto on April 7.
There was nothing but cheers for Drayton native Scott Cherrey when he stepped into the spotlight at Scotiabank Arena before the Toronto Maple Leafs’ April 17 home tilt with the New York Islanders.
Cherrey was celebrating his 1,000th game calling the lines at hockey’s highest level and was the focus of a pre-game ceremony.
MAY
Mapleton Mayor Gregg Davidson has announced his intent to seek re-election in the 2022 municipal elections in October.
“In the 2018 election I set a 10-year plan with number of goals to be accomplished. Some of those are completed while others are still actively being pursued,” stated Davidson in a May 2 press release.
The Harriston Kinsmen Club hosted the 2022 spring Tuff Truck Challenge at the Harriston-Minto Community Centre grounds on April 30. Organizers said around 500 spectators were on hand to take in the event.
Ground was broken on May 5 for a 1,150-square-foot addition to the Harriston Lions Community Medical Centre.
The expanded facility, which currently houses a dental practice and a chiropractor, will provide space to accommodate two physicians, a reception area and nursing station as well as waiting, procedure and exam rooms.
Originally established through the Harriston Lions Community Medical Centre Corporation in 1978, the clinic has been operated by the Minto Municipal Services Corporation (MMSC) since 2015.
Deputy mayor Dave Turton threw his hat into the ring to be the next mayor of the Town of Minto.
Turton filed his nomination papers on May 2 to seek office in the municipal election set for Oct. 24.
Current Minto Mayor George Bridge had previously announced he would not be a candidate in the 2022 election.
Turton, a life-long Minto resident, is completing his first term as deputy mayor after four terms as a councillor, beginning in 2003.
Students from Wellington Heights Secondary School brought home the grand prize from Ducks Unlimited Canada’s (DUC) national research-based case study competition. The winning trio earned $500 for their school and the title of Youth Wetland Experts.
The team from the Luther Marsh Wetland Centre of Excellence in Mount Forest, consisting of Zoë Timberlake, Yuvika Patel and Sydney West, chose to examine the role of salt marshes and dikes in combatting sea-level rise in Atlantic Canada. Their winning solution was to consider the geography of the coastline. Cities and developed areas would be protected by dikes, while unpopulated areas would be restored as salt marshes.
JUNE
Nature didn’t produce rainbows on June 12 but the community certainly did, as Palmerston hosted Minto’s Pride in the Park – its first Pride picnic in two years.
“The rain held off, now we’re waiting for the rainbows to come out,” Pride committee member Brayden Scott joked as the picnic got underway.
A few hundred folks came out for the picnic in Palmerston’s CNR Park. Some brought their own food and many took advantage of the food truck on site.
There was also a vendors’ market and games for kids.
For 43 years, Art Carr reported on the news and events of Palmerston, essentially documenting the town’s history during that time in the pages of the Palmerston Observer.
A plaque honouring his contributions to the town and the newspaper industry was unveiled on June 14. A crowd of about 40 people gathered near the entrance of Palmerston Lions Heritage Park for the event.
Carr, who held every job title from printer to publisher of the Palmerston Observer, owned the paper from April 1938 to March 1977.
Drayton resident Roelie Katerberg was named Mapleton Township’s Senior of the Year. She was given the award at a June 14 council meeting.
Katerberg, who’s about to turn 81 and has lived in the community for 58 years, said she doesn’t understand why she’s being honoured.
When she first heard she’d be given the award, Katerberg recalls wondering, “Why?”
For years Katerberg has driven seniors without cars to doctors appointments, and delivered their groceries from her longtime employer, Drayton Fresh Mart, where she still works managing the Dutch food section. She attends local council meetings and tries to be an active community member.
“If somebody needs something, I’m usually willing to help,” she said.
Police investigated an armed robbery at the RBC bank in Harriston on June 22.
Around 3pm, Wellington County OPP responded to a report of a bank robbery on Elora Street South.
“Three persons armed with handguns had entered the business and stole a quantity of currency before fleeing south on Elora Street in a silver sedan,” stated an OPP press release.
Both staff and customers were in the bank during the robbery, the release noted. An OPP video posted on social media indicated the robbers “threatened staff and clients.”
JULY
Louise Marshall Hospital announced its emergency department would closed from late-day through to the next morning on Saturday and Sunday on the weekend of July 16 and 17.
According to a July 11 press release, the closure was “due to significant gaps in nursing coverage.”
In statements to the Community News, North Wellington Health Care (NWHC) president and CEO Angela Stanley attributed such gaps to a “combination of approved leaves, unexpected medical leaves, and unfilled vacant positions” and said all hospitals within the NWHC network are struggling with a lack of staff.
Mount Forest residents dug in to some ribs at the Git Yer Hillbilly On ribfest at the Mount Forest and District Sports Complex on July 14. The ribfest, in memory of the late Bill Walker, kicked off four days of the Mount Forest Fireworks Festival. A silent auction raised money to benefit local youth sports, cancer patient services, and the Louise Marshall Hospital Foundation.
With the recent installation of a rainbow pedestrian crossover, an intersection in Harriston just got a lot more colourful.
“It feels so lovely to have such a warm and welcoming symbol as you’re coming into town,” said Minto Pride representative Rosie Krul.
The town approved the pedestrian crossover in March, with a requirement that the costs, which came in at $7,000, for the paint for the colour palette were to be funded by the Pride committee.
Half of that cost, Krul explained, was covered before the committee began fundraising through a donation from former town CAO Derek Thompson.
The remaining funds came through donations after the committee’s Pride decorations were vandalized in June.
AUGUST
The Grove Youth Wellness Hubs across Guelph and Wellington County helped more than 14,000 youth who have participated in wide range of activities at the hubs since they were launched in mid-2021.
“The system is working extremely well. It’s integrated and service partners are working together, which is absolutely phenomenal. Everybody is putting youth first,” Grove executive director Cyndy Moffat Forsyth told Minto council on July 12.
In a presentation to council, Forsyth and Minto youth and wellness coordinator Jessica Martin noted over 90 per cent of youth participating in Hub activities rate their experience as “excellent.”
Minto Minnows swim team member Finn Oxby broke the butterfly time record in the eight-and-under boys’ division during the South Western Ontario Sharks Swim League finals at the Perth East Recreation Complex in Milverton on Aug. 5. Oxby also set a new record in the breaststroke.
Faye Craig was presented with a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee pin at the Arthur and Area Historical Society meeting on Aug. 17, by Perth-Wellington MP John Nater.
“Faye is such an amazing person, and … she’s always got such a positive attitude. Anytime you talk to her she’s always positive and cheerful, and I think that’s just a wonderful thing in a community volunteer,” said Nater on Craig being honoured.
The Upper Canada Two Cylinder Club John Deere Show has a new home in Palmerston. The club announced on Aug. 24 the show, previously held in Grand Valley and before that in Drayton, will move to the Palmerston Community Centre grounds starting with its 30th anniversary show from July 21 to 23, 2023.
International Overdose Awareness Day (Aug. 31) was marked with a Stop the Stigma rally in Mount Forest on Aug. 24. The theme of the event, organized by the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy, ARCH Guelph, Stonehenge Therapeutic Community and the Rural Wellington Community Team was “Remember, Reflect and Heal.”
“Friends, family and loved ones who find themselves addicted to opioids continue to dance with deadly substances like fentanyl and other unknown fillers that have been put in a particular batch of street drugs,” Karen Lomax, overdose prevention coordinator with ARCH Guelph, told about 50 people who gathered for the noon-hour downtown event.
SEPTEMBER
The 166th Arthur Fall Fair ran on the grounds of the Arthur and Area Community Centre from Sept. 8 to 11, inviting residents to celebrate community and agriculture. A beef barbecue kicked off the four-day festival, packed with a lengthy schedule of activities for the entire family.
Local officials offered their condolences to the Royal Family following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
“On behalf of Wellington County council, and the residents of Wellington County, I wish to extend my deepest condolences to His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and all members of the Royal Family,” reads a statement from county Warden Kelly Linton.
“Wellington County joins people around the world in mourning this great loss.”
The queen died on Sept. 8 at Balmoral Castle, her summer residence in Scotland, after 70 years on the throne. She was 96.
Kelsey Lennox was crowned the 2022-23 Arthur Fall Fair ambassador. A crowning ceremony was held on the afternoon of Sept. 11, the final day of the 2022 Arthur Fall Fair, at the Arthur and Area Community Centre. Lennox, daughter of Damascus-area residents Andy and Susan Lennox, competed for the title with Alexis Herriot of Arthur.
A Barn Quilting Relay was held at the Harriston-Minto Fall Fair on Sept. 17. Fairgoers were invited to take turns painting and completed the quilt in two hours and 10 minutes, which organizers stated “has never been done before.” The completed quilt was donated to the Harriston Minto Agriculture Society.
Participants took off running, walking and cycling at the 2022 Drayton Terry Fox Run on Sept. 16. The first fully in-person Terry Fox event in the village since 2019 drew a good crowd of participants and featured a barbecue and displays at the fairgrounds in Drayton.
OCTOBER
Local business owners, BIA members and local politicians milled around a recently opened parkette in downtown Mount Forest on Sept. 30.
A fresh concrete pathway with three park benches and lamposts runs between mulch – planted with hostas, daylilies and echinaceas, to name some – linking Main Street’s western sidewalk with the parking lot behind the Bank of Montreal building.
It’s the first project completed in a series of downtown Mount Forest revitalization projects – including a mural, public wifi, and outdoor exercise equipment – using municipal, BIA (Business Improvement Area), and grant funding.
Council here has endorsed a staff report recommending the township develop an “updated work culture,” by enhancing benefits and working conditions, to attract and retain employees. Mapleton CAO Manny Baron told council the township has seen employees leave for jobs with other municipalities in recent months.
“We can’t afford to lose any more staff,” Baron stated at the Oct. 11 council meeting. “I don’t think it’s a secret that Mapleton, where we’re located geographically, is in, lately, intense conversations for staffing.”
The Town of Minto was awarded a Marketing Canada Award by the Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC).
The town earned the award in the Brand Identity category for its “Move to Minto” branding campaign.
The Move to Minto campaign puts a twist on Minto’s well-established municipal tagline, “Where Your Family Belongs” to remind residents and future residents that “You Belong Here” emphasizing “the importance of inclusivity, welcoming atmosphere, and sense of belonging felt within the community,” town officials state.
With incumbent Gregg Davidson and new mayor Mayor Dave Turton acclaimed in Mapleton and Minto respectively, the biggest news on municipal election night, Oct. 24, in this part of the county came from Wellington North, where incumbent Mayor Andy Lennox topped longtime councillor Dan Yake by 171 votes.
NOVEMBER
Classes at all schools within the Upper Grand and Wellington Catholic school boards returned to in-person learning on Nov. 8 after an agreement was struck to end a short-lived strike by education workers with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
CUPE officials agreed on Monday to end strike action after the province agreed to repeal Bill 28, which imposed a contract on CUPE workers.
Both sides also agreed to return to the bargaining table.
Renovated recreation facilities were officially opened in Palmerston by the Town of Minto on Nov. 12. The $2-million project includes additional and renovated dressing rooms at the Palmerston arena, a new ball diamond and upgraded LED ball field lighting for existing diamonds.
The project was funded through a $1.7-million grant from the federal/provincial Investing In Canada Infrastructure Program, which the Town of Minto originally applied for in 2019.
NRStor Inc. is making plans to upgrade its groundbreaking energy storage facility in Harriston. The Mississauga-based company, which currently operates a flywheel energy storage and solar generation facility in the Harriston Industrial Park, announced plans to bid on a contract with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to supply additional storage capacity In 2014 the company opened a two-megawatt flywheel energy storage system on a one-acre lot in the industrial park.
Mapleton Township’s new public works director, Jamie Morgan, was introduced at the Nov. 22 council meeting. Morgan, who worked in the same position for Mapleton in 2016, replaces former public works director Sam Mattina, who left the township staff earlier this year.
Since April of 2021, Morgan, a Palmerston resident, had been manager of operations for the Municipality of South Bruce. Prior to that he was operations manager for the Township of Chatsworth for just over four years.
DECEMBER
A zoning bylaw amendment prohibiting new ground floor residential units and hotels in downtown core areas has been approved by Minto council. The housekeeping amendment to the Town of Minto’s zoning bylaw was approved on Dec. 6. A report from Minto building and planning staff indicated discussions on the changes originated with the town’s economic development and planning committee (EDPC) around protecting commercial square footage in the central commercial (C1) zones, which are primarily located in the downtown cores of Clifford, Harriston and Palmerston.
The first annual Meagan Byers Memorial Tournament was held Dec. 9 to 11, with 36 girls’ hockey teams competing in age categories from U9 to U15. A dedicated volunteer, mentor and coach to young girls in the community, Meagan Byers, who grew up playing hockey and ball in Mount Forest and Durham, died in an automobile accident on Dec. 6, 2021 at the age of 22.
The tournament was staged by a group of individuals who coached with Meagan and the Mount Forest Minor Hockey Association (MFMHA).
A new MRI machine is coming to Palmerston and District Hospital, which officials say will help reduce wait times, eliminate the need to travel for the service and alleviate pressure on other hospitals.
“We are thrilled with the announcement of new MRI operational funding for North Wellington Health Care (NWHC) and would like to thank the [province] for their support,” stated Angela Stanley, CEO and president of NWHC, in a Dec. 15 press release.
NWHC announced the plan for a new MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine in Palmerston – the first in Wellington County – three days after a provincial funding announcement.
The province is providing about $20 million for the operating costs of 27 MRI machines across Ontario, health minister Sylvia Jones announced on Dec. 12.
Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae explained NWHC would receive $200,200 in 2022-23 and $800,800 the following year.
Hospital officials expect annual funding to total about $800,000 thereafter.
NWHC officials hope to have the machine up and running within three years, Stanley explained.
