MINTO – The Clifford water tower will have a shiny new coat coming its way next year – and an expensive one at that.

At an Oct. 7 meeting, Minto council approved the repainting of the tower at an approximate cost of $275,000 to help extend the tower’s exterior coating an additional 10 to 15 years.

The tower was constructed in 2005 and provides 1,275 cubic metres of water storage capacity.

“In August we had an adhesion test done on the coating and it looks like it’s going to be a good candidate for an overcoat,” town water services manager Todd Rogers told council.

“As part of that process we’re also looking at doing a wash and clean of the inside.”

Typically Rogers would have brought the report to council during the budget process, but due to “limited contractors that do this work, and it typically happens in the spring, we’d like to get this out and tendered this year for next year,” he said.

Councillor Paul Zimmerman questioned whether the communication items on top of the tower need to be removed before painting.

“They don’t take them right down but they do definitely come off because there is a health concern there,” Rogers replied. “We do have to work with the telecommunication companies to have them turned off at certain points during the job.”

Council unanimously approved the project, which will allow staff to issue the tender this year, ensuring a contractor can be secured in advance of the 2026 work season.

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ABERFOYLE – Puslinch councillors hope Premier Doug Ford will reconsider his stated intention to scrap automated speed enforcement cameras in the province because the program is working here, they say.

Councillor John Sepulis asked council on Oct. 8 to support a motion from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) defending speed cameras and to write its own letter to Ford outlining the success of the program in Aberfoyle, which sees 25,000 vehicles travel through the hamlet and down Brock Road to Highway 401.

Parents and children cross the busy intersection on their way to school twice per day, Sepulis said, and the speed reduction by motorists is noticeable.

Mayor James Seeley referenced a letter to Ford signed by some 20 mayors in the province.

“The premier … stood fast on his position, which is unfortunate,” Seeley said. “It is working in Aberfoyle.”

Seeley said he has met with Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Joseph Racinsky and reiterated the township’s support for the program.

“I hope they will reconsider their position,” he said.

Council unanimously voted in favour of supporting the AMO directive.

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PUSLINCH – Now that the county has approved an official plan amendment request, parties involved with Phase 2 of the Audrey Meadows development hope to move the project forward with the township.

A second public meeting was held on Oct. 8 in council chambers.

The proposal is to build 22 single detached homes on property on Victoria Road, just south of Maltby Road and immediately north of Phase 1 Audrey Meadows.

As well as the homes, the property would have a stormwater management facility, natural environment lands and an interior public street.

The land is zoned agricultural, and the proponents are seeking to amend that to a rural residential site-specific zone. Portions of the land have provincially significant wetlands, significant woodlands, regulated watercourses and a floodplain, within the Grand River Conservation Authority limit.

The proposal first came to Puslinch in 2021 and a public meeting was held in 2022.

In April this year the County of Wellington approved an official plan amendment application, re-designating a portion of the subject lands from secondary agricultural to country residential.

This caused the proponents to reactivate the application with the township, who thought that because of the passage of time, a second public meeting should be held.

Rob Stovel, speaking on behalf of the property owner, said the project is moving through the next stages, which are to have it rezoned and work out a draft plan of subdivision with township planners.

“That will settle the details,” he said at the public meeting last week.

The property is 29 acres, and the proposed lots would be smaller (3/4 of an acre) than those in Phase 1 (one acre).

The lots would have private wells and the subdivision would use a tertiary septic treatment system, Stovel said.

The new stormwater pond will resolve the drainage issues experienced in four of the lots in Phase 1 of the development.

Stovel said once all the approvals are in place, they hope to build in 2026 and 2027.

No members of the public attended the meeting, and no questions were asked by anyone listening online.

“I was curious about public consultation,” said councillor Russel Hurst. “I’m satisfied.”

The matter will return to council at a future date.

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The Lancers and Gators settled for a split last week as six teams from EDSS went head-to-head against their Waterloo-Oxford rivals in the annual Battle of the Barns.

Both of the EDSS football teams scored some bragging rights last week, as they destroyed their counterparts on October 9.

The junior boys won 28-14, while the senior squad posted a 24-7 victory. Both EDSS teams are currently ranked at the top of the WCSSAA leaderboard as of Wednesday.

“We’re riding pretty high right now in the first place, 3-0,” senior coach Steven Karn said, noting they have one regular-season game left before the WCSSAA playoffs.

There are three lines of defence, says a Woolwich Township volunteer firefighter.

“There’s public education, there’s fire prevention, and there’s emergency response, which often takes the form of suppression,” said Lilly Pease, who works at the Maryhill station and is a fire and life safety educator for the township.

During NFPA Fire Prevention Week, the Floradale station hosted an open house to focus on the education part of the equation. Putting a human face on emergency responders, two crew members raced to see who could put on their gear the fastest, underscoring the fact that there’s just a person under all that gear, someone who’s there to help.

Emira’s Brady Martin revealed it was a proud moment for him and his watching family after making his NHL debut with the Nashville Predators.

“It was really cool,” said the 18-year-old centre after playing in the top line alongside veteran forwards Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly in a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 9.

Two nights later, in only his second regular season game and once again on home ice, the former EDSS student earned his first career point by claiming an assist for a goal scored by Forsberg in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth.

Many people would be surprised about what can be done with shadow puppets, notes Elmira-based producer Arlene Thomas.

She has performed everything from a children’s play she co-wrote about a lonely robot called Widget to one of William Shakespeare’s bloodiest dramas.

Perhaps surprisingly, the medium she fell into almost by accident after training as an actor is able to convey some big ideas in a way that can relate to very different audiences.

Art Woods proudly describes his fellow members of the Lions Club of Elmira as “doers.”

And, as the organization prepares to host a 70th anniversary celebration on October 25, there is no shortage of things it has done during its seven decades.

Elmira’s Lions Park, Lions Lake Trail, Kissing Bridge Trail, a memorial forest in Breslau, and the Lions Hall, along with countless dollars raised for Woolwich’s other amenities, are all testament to that spirit of doing.

In what could be a game changer for the poultry industry, the University of Guelph is working on an avian flu vaccine that could save the lives of millions of Canadian birds.

Dr. Fatemeh Fazel’s team is working on providing a scientific alternative to culling flocks, which at present is the only way to tackle epidemics in this country.

“This work is giving us vaccine platforms that can help us fight back – to be prepared and respond with new solutions,” said Fazel, whose efforts have been likened by colleagues to the search for the Holy Grail.

Going door to door on Halloween is typically all about the candy, but for this local group, it means asking for donations for the Woolwich Community Services’ food bank.

The youth group at Elmira’s Woodside Fellowship Church will dress up and collect non-perishable foods, such as various canned goods, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, or cereal, as examples.

The CANS (Citizens Always Need Supper) food drive is an endeavour that started 21 years ago when a group of young people decided they were too old to collect candy but wanted to support the community.

ELORA – Centre Wellington is embarking on a study to discover when, where and how to start a public transit service in the township.

Council heard on Oct. 14 the township received a $50,000 grant from the federal Rural Transit Solutions Fund to initiate a feasibility study.

Dillon Consulting has been hired to conduct the study, which will consider the needs of existing residents as well as population and employment growth in the township.

Managing director of infrastructure services Colin Baker said already there is desire to have connections to Guelph Transit and Grand River Transit in Waterloo Region.

The service would also build on existing transit programs like:

• the township’s Elora and Fergus Downtown Shuttle service;
• Wellington County’s RideWell on-demand service;
• the Guelph Owen Sound Transit (GOST) that stops in Elora, Fergus and Arthur; and
• Wellington Transportation Service’s volunteer program for residents with low incomes.

But it could also include trips to Belwood, Ariss and Inverhaugh.

In the meantime, the township is seeking public feedback and has set up a tab at ConnectCW where residents can learn about the proposal and offer their thoughts.

Baker said public feedback on potential bus routes is vital, as only ridership will guarantee a successful transit program.

“We want to connect to destinations where people want to go,” he said.

This is in the very early stages, Baker stressed, and it really begins with public engagement.

 Upcoming engagement opportunities include:

• the project website, which will include an online survey that will be available until Nov. 5;
• the township’s Key Projects Open House on Oct. 21 from 6 to 8pm at the Fergus sportsplex; and
• workshops and interviews with key stakeholder groups, including seniors, youth, persons with disabilities, Indigenous communities and others.

Baker said with the expansion of the township shuttle bus, which runs on weekends through the summer months, officials know there’s strong demand for local trips.

“We’re excited to get this started,” he said.

Mayor Shawn Watters said as the community grows, public transit will become even more important.

“This will provide options and opportunities for a lot of folks,” he said.

But don’t expect buses on the road right away.

Dillon Consulting will present a final report to council next May that will include a ridership forecast and capital and operating costs.

Council received the report for information and encouraged residents to fill out the survey at connectcw.ca/transitstudy.

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ABOYNE – Sensational Elora held its 12th Pumpkin Day on Oct. 11 at the Wellington County Museum and Archives.

The event moved from Bissell Park in Elora two years ago to allow it to grow.

• Centre Wellington’s ‘Canvas of Cultures’ on display during Culture Days
• Sensational Elora’s Pumpkin Day brings fall celebration to county museum

The day included live music, free ice cream, pumpkin carving, Indigenous and highland dancing, African drumming and a reptile show, among other entertainment.

Admission to the event was by donation to the Centre Wellington Foodbank or the Wellington County Museum and Archives.

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ERIN – Volunteers banded together to put on an agricultural fair in Erin for the 175th time this Thanksgiving weekend. 

People drove in from across southern Ontario for a taste of rural life during the fair, getting to know animals, farmers and country pastimes.  

Attendance over the three days was over 33,000, fair manager Joanne Gregson told the Advertiser.

That’s about 2,600 less than last year, she noted, but “really good considering the weather – rain on and off for three days.”

“Monday was a really good day,” Gregson said, because of “the sun coming out and staying out.”

She expressed appreciation for all the sponsors and visitors to the fair.

“It’s a real community effort and if it wasn’t for everybody’s participation we wouldn’t have the success that we do,” she said.

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Past president Jennifer Mitchell has lots of roles in organizing the fair and said it’s important that people realize it’s an entirely volunteer-run event. 

Mitchell showed a dairy cow with 4-H in 1989 and said that’s when she really started to get involved with the Erin Fall Fair.  By 1994, she was crowned fair ambassador. 

From Mitchell’s perspective the fair hasn’t changed too much in the last three decades, though it used to be the same people competing every year and now there are more new people who sign up. 

But to Gregson, who has been involved with the fair since 1979, said its changed a lot over the years.

Passion for the fair runs through the Gregson family, and Joanne’s son, Dwayne, is the Erin Agricultural Society president.

Mitchell said the fall fair is a big part of her life, and described it as something that ends up coursing through your veins.

Howie Black agrees. He was the Erin Fall Fair’s first male ambassador in 2000. 

Ambassadors from local fall fairs lined up on stage inside the Erin Agricultural Society’s exhibits hall during the fair on Oct. 12. Photo by Robin George

Asked why he decided to compete for the position, he said “one of the old gals” asked him to do it – and he declined.

It was when “another old gal” told him not to do it, because she said he’d never win, that Black jumped at the opportunity – and won.

The Erin Fall Fair is in his blood, Black said, noting his grandfather was the one to initially get the Welsh pony show going at the fair.

It’s a pretty laid back show, Black said, and organizers are quick to offer advice if they notice a rider is new to showing. 

Mitchell said it’s important to them to make the show fun, so kids have a great day, learn something new and want to return next year. 

She said the Erin Fall Fair is known as the preview to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, as many Erin winners go on to win at the Royal too. 

From left, Tonya Henderson, Lucy Murtagh, Ella Hedican, Evelyn MacPherson and Emily MacInnes competed with Welsh ponies. From Port Colborne, Henderson riding Galaxy placed first in the dressage suitability under saddle class for Welsh ponies over three years old. MacPherson from Chatsworth came in second place. Photo by Robin George

That’s not just for horse and pony showing, Black added, but across the board, including cattle, sheep and poultry shows.  

Black said unlike some other large fall fairs, Erin’s has remained true to its rural roots instead of becoming commercialized. That’s important, he said, because the fair experience is about appreciating animals, crops, produce, handcrafted quilts and other homemade creations. 

As more people move from cities into urban areas, Mitchell said it is vital to continue having conversations about the importance of agriculture. 

“Farmers really do care, and work hard, and they do it because they want to provide the world with healthy, nutritious food,” Mitchell said. 

People can see that just by looking at the livestock at the fair, Black said, which don’t have a speck of dirt on them. 

Livestock shows are highlights of the Erin Fall Fair for many attendees. Photo by Robin George

“Farmers really all love their animals,” Mitchell added. 

She noted she’s been noticing complaints on Facebook lately, ranging from the price of admission to weather shutting down rides at times. 

Sometimes the amount of complaints make volunteers wonder why they bother dedicating so much time and energy, she added, suggesting people with complaints sign up to volunteer next year. 

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