4 MUSKOKA PROPERTIES SECTION 1, February 4, 2009.

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BracebridgeEXAMINER

, NO. 38

$1.25 (includes GST) Pub. 40017902

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2008

Tree-cutting bylaw passes

BY MATT DRISCOLL

Sunday was a potentially hazardous day in

Muskoka, as falling trees, flying debris and downed

power lines caused mayhem in the area and knocked

out power for thousands of residents.

At the height of the storm, winds gusting up to

110 km/h knocked out power to some 230,000

homes in Ontario.

As of Monday, 13,300 Hydro One customers in

Bracebridge and 15,700 customers in the Huntsville

area were among the estimated 60,000 to 100,000

Ontarians still in the dark.

Hydro One spokesperson Daniele Gauvin said

some customers in Muskoka shouldn’t expect to

have their power restored until Wednesday night.

“During a severe winter storm we typically lose

around 100,000 customers,” said Gauvin. “We lost

230,000 this time, so it tells you there’s a lot of

cleanup to be done.”

Helping out with that cleanup are dozens of hydro

crews and several helicopters, she said.

On Monday morning Ernst Johle of Lakeland

Power reported only a handful of outages remained

among Lakeland customers and they expected to

have most of those remedied within the day.

Johle said the majority of their customers lost

power during Sunday’s storm but most had their

power restored by the end of the day.

He credited Ontario Hydro crews for helping

Lakeland Power’s crews to get customers back

online so quickly.

The winds also caused chaos on local roadways as

limbs and debris covered some streets.

In Gravenhurst, a large metal sign came crashing

down on the main street, while in Bracebridge, OPP

cruisers blocked off a section of Entrance Drive

where fallen power lines crossed the road.

BY MATT DRISCOLL

official, the town of Bracebridge now

a bylaw to govern where, when and

h trees can be cut down across a large

ion of the municipality.

ast week, town council gave final

roval to a tree-cutting bylaw more than

ear-and-a-half in the works.

A tree-clearing permit is now required

everyone in Bracebridge removing trees

areas defined as urban or near-urban,

lands within 60 metres of a navigable

waterway, lands within 70 meters of Hwy.

11, and any lands in a flood plain or that

are zoned environmental protection.

The bylaw only passed after some last

minute wrangling over the permit fee.

The final version of the bylaw stipulated

a cost of $150 per property, and $50 for a

permit renewal. However, councillor Steve

Clement proposed an amendment to drop

the fees to $50 for a permit and $25 for a

renewal. Assistant director of develop-

ment services Dana Rahkola reported that

the cost to the town to process an applica-

tion has been pegged at roughly $300.

Rahkola said staff has checked tree-cut-

ting bylaws in 17 other Ontario munici-

palities and determined the average cost is

roughly $140 per permit. He pointed out,

however, that some other municipalities

charged by the tree, not the property.

Councillor Graydon Smith said he con-

tinues to have serious issues with the

overall bylaw, and with the new proposal

to reduce fees. “It’s a case of user pay versus universal

pay,” he said. “If you reduce the fees…you

load the cost of the program onto all of the

other taxpayers. What cures one side is an

ill for the other.”

Councillor Scott Young said he felt the

general public would be willing to pay the

BY KAREN LONGWELL

It was a very good

year, at least at the local

level. A look back at 2008

saw several accom-

plishments for both

Bracebridge and the

Township of Muskoka

Lakes, according to the

municipalities’ mayors.

“We had a really

busy and good year,”

said Bracebridge mayor

Don Coates.New education facili-

ties were at the fore-

front, he noted.

The opening of the new Nipissing

University and Georgian College cam-

puses were big highlights of 2008, said

Coates.“Both are a wonderful addition to our

community,” he said.

On the political front, Coates thought

the Convergence strategic planning

project, which provides community

vision for Bracebridge, was paramount.

“From a council perspective, I think

that was the highlight of our term,” he

said.Council undertook the Convergence

project after changes on the job mar-

ket.“That was done as a result of . . . major

job losses in the community, the largest

ones being from Dura (Automotive) a

year ago,” said Coates.

Bracebridge residents were engaged

and provided input into the plan, he

added.“We had huge community support . . .

it is truly a document that has been cre-

ated by the community for the future.”

The creation of a new tree-cutting

bylaw, passed just this month, was

another major accomplishment.

“We had a lot of public input on that,”

said Coates.Another highlight for many resi-

dents was the 100th anniversary of the

Bracebridge Public Library.

“There were wonderful celebrations

every month,” said Coates. “Our library

staff has really worked on that.”

On the sports and recreation side of

things, Bracebridge saw several notable

events. There was a new tri-

athlon this year, which will

continue next year.

“That is great for the sport

tourism business,” said

Coates.Bracebridge has also

completed the final design

for its new ball diamond.

Construction should start

next year, so the diamonds

can be open by the spring of

2010, said Coates.

Also, a final design for a

new skateboard and BMX

park was completed about

three weeks ago. The new

park will be tendered for

spring 2009.Looking ahead, work on the 2010

Winter Games and 2010 G8 Summit

will be on the horizon for the entire

region.In the township of Muskoka Lakes,

the addition of two new staff members

came foremost to Mayor Susan Pryke’s

mind.New township treasurer Julie Stevens

and CAO Walt Schmid, who both start-

ed at the end of 2007, have added a

level of stability across the board for the

township, said Pryke.

In 2008 the township, like all muni-

cipalities, has had to prepare for the

new public sector accounting system

for 2009.

Mayors look back at 2008

Storm packs a wallop

BRACEBRIDGE CLEANS UP. Ron Mann, 75, sweeps up branches that were torn from trees in front of his house on Spencer St., following the

windstorm on Sunday. Residents on Beaumont Drive (inset) also experienced wind damage. (Photo by Darren Lum)

BY BRENT COOPER

The news just keeps getting worse for Algonquin

Automotive.Just one month after the automotive parts manu-

facturer announced it would be cutting back on its

workforce, the company recently revealed it would

also extend its planned seasonal shutdown.

The move was in response to an announcement

by the North American auto makers that they will

extend their holiday shutdowns to mid-January or

later.A press release by Algonquin Automotive stated

that employees are facing workweek reductions and

temporary layoffs, with limited recalls beginning

the week of Jan. 12.

“Unfortunately, the conditions in our industry

More troubles for Algonquin Automotive

CONTINUED ON PAGE A8

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� CONTINUED ON PAGE A8

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COATESPRYKE

LOOKING BACKAT 2008

Read the biggest stories of 2008.

Starting on page A3.

SPORTSHIGHLIGHTS OF 2008Read about the best athletes and

sporting events of the past year.

Starting on page B1

Free Estimates Available645-84041-800-732-015820 Gray Road, BracebridgeFax: 645-7263Visit us at: norstarexteriors.com and bracebridgeexaminer.com

Open Mon. - Fri. 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. .

to work outside in Winter!

The Banner takes a look back at some of the biggest stories of 2008.(Starting on page A3)

A LOOK BACK AT 2008

VOL. 130, NO. 48 $1.25 (includes GST) Pub. 40031044 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2008.

— www.gravenhurstbanner.com —

Partnership saves Bala’s Bliss centreBY KAREN LONGWELLChristmas came early for the Blissymbolics Learning Centre in Bala.

The centre, which was threat-ened with closure in early November due to a lack of fund-ing, has been granted a last min-ute reprieve.Just three days before

Christmas, the board of dir-ectors of Community Living South Muskoka (CLSM) and the Blissymbolics Learning Centre announced CLSM will support the continuation of the centre. Blissymbolics, located in Bala,

has helped non-verbal, cerebral palsy students with communica-tion and literacy skills since 2002. After a main source of funding from the Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy ended, the centre was scheduled to close this spring.

The new collaboration will take effect on Jan. 1, 2009. The name of the Blissymbolics centre will be changed to the Bala Learning Centre (BLC).“It seemed like there was

an absolutely perfect fit with Community Living,” said Anna Mallin, who was the acting chair of Blissymbolics and is now a new board member on CLSM. “It couldn’t be better.”

The sudden save of the Bliss centre came when Tom Steadman, chairman of the board of CLSM, read a Nov. 5 article in the Gravenhurst Banner, about the centre’s impending closure. He phoned Mallin the next day, he said.

“Thanks to the press for the support, because it really was getting the information out that made the contact. Without that,

AFRICA BOUND. Len, left, and Carla Veitch point to Burkina Faso in West Africa where they will do volunteer work at two

orphanages. (Photo by Karen Longwell)

BY KAREN LONGWELLA volunteer trip to Africa is an opportunity to give

back for a Gravenhurst couple.Carla and Len Veitch plan to volunteer at two

orphanages in Burkina Faso in West Africa this

February. It will be their first experience in a develop-

ing country.Carla said they heard about the opportunity to

volunteer from friends and fellow church members

Brad and Susan Fraser, also of Gravenhurst. The

Frasers, and their daughter Hannah, 12, will be going

on the trip with them. The couples will join a team of 20 people from

Ontario that will embark on the two-week trip Feb.

13.A non-profit organization called Careforce

International, based in Burlington, is leading the The Veitches were drawn to the humanitarian

effort by the children of Africa.“We just have a heart for children,” said Carla, who

is an education assistant at K.P. Manson School. The

couple has four children and two grandchildren.Len works as a technician with Bell Canada and

will be able to offer valuable building skills. “I have been involved in construction all my life,”

he said. At the first orphanage, called the Village of Hope,

the team will work on a project to build a protective

wall around the buildings, said Carla.The Village of Hope houses 411 children and is

situated just outside the capital city of Ouagadougou.

It was established eight years ago. The orphanage

provides schooling and Christian teachings to the

children. In addition to the wall building, the team will work

with the children when they are not in school. They

will also meet women in town and teach them skills

such as sewing.Some of the children do have surviving parents,

but their parents are either too poor or ill to take

care of them, said Carla. Learning new skills will

help bring them out of poverty.In addition to their volunteer work with the team,

the Veitches have also decided to do another two

weeks of volunteer work at a second orphanage, on

their own, called Paradise Orphanage, located about

an hour-and-a-half from Village of Hope.Paradise Orphanage opened in November and

houses 48 children, said Carla.

BY MATT DRISCOLLSunday was a potentially hazardous day in Muskoka, as

falling trees, flying debris and downed power lines caused

mayhem in the area and knocked out power for thousands

of residents. At the height of the storm, winds gusting up to 110 km/h

knocked out power to some 230,000 homes in Ontario.

As of Monday, 13,300 Hydro One customers in

Bracebridge and 15,700 customers in the Huntsville area

were among the estimated 60,000 to 100,000 Ontarians

still in the dark.Hydro One spokesperson Daniele Gauvin said some cus-

tomers in Muskoka shouldn’t expect to have their power

restored until Wednesday night. “During a severe winter storm we typically lose around

100,000 customers,” said Gauvin. “We lost 230,000 this

time, so it tells you there’s a lot of cleanup to be done.”

Helping out with that cleanup are dozens of hydro crews

and several helicopters, she said.On Monday morning Ernst Johle of Lakeland Power

reported only a handful of outages remained among

Lakeland customers and they expected to have most of

those remedied within the day. Johle said the majority of their customers lost power

during Sunday’s storm but most had their power restored

by the end of the day. He credited Ontario Hydro crews for helping Lakeland

Power’s crews to get customers back online so quickly.

The winds also caused chaos on local roadways as limbs

and debris covered some streets. In Gravenhurst, a large metal sign came crashing down

on the main street, while in Bracebridge, OPP cruisers

blocked off a section of Entrance Drive where fallen power

lines crossed the road. “We had a number of calls, mostly regarding trees block-

ing roadways,” said OPP constable Skeeter Kruger. “The

roadways are just littered with debris.”Kruger said no serious accidents were reported due to

the windstorm, but the public should remain cautious of

Wild winter winds wreak havoc in Muskoka

‘It seemed like there was an absolutely perfect fit with Community Living’— Anna Mallin,Acting chair of Blissymbolics

Responding to the call

WARM GREETINGS. Children at the Village of Hope

Orphanage wave to the camera. (Submitted photo)

Arch construction starts in new year BY KAREN LONGWELLWork on Gravenhurst’s $222,000 gateway arch is set to begin in the new year.Kilworthy’s Cross Bay

Construction plans to complete the replacement arch before the next Victoria Day holiday, said Cross Bay Construction owner Gail Stiver.“Most of the work will be hap-

pening off-site because of the nature of it,” said Stiver.The arch will then be brought

in pieces to the site.Sub-trade shops near Midland and Severn Bridge will do the work, she said.The arch will span all three

lanes of Muskoka Road South just south of the Howard Johnson motel. Steel support columns and

rolled aluminum stock will be bonded to plywood and painted with aircraft paint for the struc-ture.

It will look the same and be the same colour, a beige colour, as the previous arch, erected in

the Town completed work on the three lane road where the former arch sat last spring, said Nick Popovich, manager of develop-ment services for the Town of Gravenhurst.The old arch was in very bad

shape and was disposed of three

■ CONTINUED ON PAGE A8

Local couple heads to West Africa to volunteer at orphanages and help children in need

WINDY PATH OF DESTRUCTION28 cracked trees and did damage. This sign near the Salvation

Athletes, teams and stories that made the top Sports news in the past year.(Starting on page B1)

TOP SPORTS STORIES

■ CONTINUED ON PAGE A8

CONTINUED ON PAGE A8

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$1.00 includes GST – Vol. 14 No. 14 Friday, August 1, 2008

Crash kills restaurant employee

by Jacqueline Lawrence

A 19-year-old Ancaster man is

dead after a serious collision on

Muskoka Road 169 near Foot’s Bay

Tuesday night.

According to Bracebridge OPP,

the accident occurred just after 9

p.m. when the youth, who was driv-

ing a minivan, pulled out from the

parking lot of the Bass Lake House

Restaurant & Tavern and into the

path of an oncoming tractor-trailer.

The victim, whose name was not

released, was reportedly an employ-

ee of the MacTier-area establish-

ment.The restaurant declined to com-

ment on the accident, but was closed

for business Wednesday.

According to police, Muskoka

Road 169 was closed for approxi-

mately six hours while police and

members of the Muskoka Lakes fire

department worked to extricate the

victim from his vehicle following

the crash.

Fire chief Jim Sawkins said fire-

fighters were able to free the man

within 20 minutes of arriving on-

scene.

The severity of the accident, how-

ever, was difficult for emergency

workers to take, he said.

“It was pretty bad,” said Sawkins.

“I’ve been to a few accidents in my

time, but that one was one of the

worst.”

The victim’s parents were on scene

while firefighters were responding to

the call, Sawkins said.

The fire chief planned to meet with

restaurant employees Wednesday

evening to discuss ways to respond

to grief and trauma.

OPP said no charges will be laid in

the accident.

TWISTED METAL. A 19-year old Ancaster man died Tuesday night after his minivan

collided with a tractor-trailer on Muskoka Road 169, just outside the Bass Lake House

Restaurant & Tavern, pictured here. The youth was reportedly an employee of the

MacTier-area establishment.

Photo by Kristan Farlie

Town, union ratify new four-year contract

by Matt Driscoll

The Ontario Public Service Employees

Union (OPSEU) and the Town of

Bracebridge have struck a deal that will

see unionized town workers receive a

three per cent raise every year for the

next four years.

Town council ratified the deal during a

special council meeting Wednesday.

OPSEU Local 305 represents 42 full-

time town staff working in a variety of

operational, recreational, programming,

clerical, administrative and technical

positions.

The new collective agreement will

replace the one that expired on May

31, 2008, and be in effect until May 31,

2012.In addition to the wage increase, the

new contract allows for a “floater holi-

day” to be taken in place of a fixed holi-

day on Family Day.

The union also agreed to several mea-

sures that the town hopes will help stem

the ever-increasing cost of benefits.

“The union has agreed to some lan-

guage in the collective agreement that

helps to put a cap on some of our costs,

specifically in the area of dental and

drug plan costs,” said Bracebridge CAO

John Sisson. “That helps to limit potential

increases to benefit costs in the future.”

Another key tenet aims to cut back on

overtime costs.

“We’ve developed specific wording to

identify that we provide services outside

of the traditional 8:30 to 4:30 range,”

said Sisson. “It helps provide clarity to

staff and flexibility to the corporation in

staff scheduling. It also avoids potential

overtime costs.”

Sisson called the negotiations, which

began July 9, amicable. Mayor Don

Coates echoed those sentiments.

“The negotiated agreement demon-

strates the commitment of council and

the town’s staff to ensuring the residents

of Bracebridge, the businesses that oper-

ate in town and the visitors to the com-

munity continue to receive uninterrupted

public services,”

Tom Young, Local 305 president, called

the three-day negotiations the smoothest

and most professional he’s seen.

“Typically, you ask for something and

they just tell you ‘no’ without an explana-

tion,” said Young.

“This process was really open. John

Sisson explained everything and told us

why we couldn’t have certain things and

the intent behind the decision.”

Young said the union asked for a lot of

but this fits the municipal cycle better,”

said Young. “Typically, you’d either have

a council on its way out promising the

opposed.

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Your local edition of the Weekender

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Mary Edgar: Sundridge’s camp pioneer

It’s ‘sew’ true, fat quarters rockIndie artist Justin Ashby does more than scream

Fiction: Muskoka LoonsOxtongue Lake’s lureis undeniable

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