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The leaves have fallen, a dusting of snow, the air is crisp… a welcome relief after the long, hot summer and with the change in season, we welcome you to the fall/winter edition of The Bridge. It has been a busy six months since the last edition of this newsletter. So many things took place in Port Robinson beginning with the community wide garage sale in June. We had just over 35 homes taking part and a few folks took advantage of the great location at NTEC to hold their sale. Once again, record numbers of visitors to the community were noted and it was a perfect day for the annual plant sale at NTEC, the community BBQ and the car wash at Station 3. (Honestly, who doesn’t like to see firemen washing cars? ) In September on a rainy, humid and very overcast day, we planted the community gardens at the site of the old lock. It was heartwarming to see so many residents and volunteers take part in planting the donated flowers and plants. Thank you to all who took part and a huge thank you to Niagara Restoration Council, Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and the City of Thorold for helping us make this project come to life! The lock will be beautiful next spring. So many others contributed their time and talents to this venture and we would like to take a mo-ment to thank Peter Nieuwesteeg of Peter’s Landscaping. Peter and his crew volunteered their time and equipment to prepare the site and clear away the stumps, scrub-brush and they brought in soil for us. Great job and a big thank you! Cold drinks were kindly donated by Mark Saric of Master Installation, Port Robinson. On such a muggy day, it was certainly appreciated! All the volunteer gardeners were treated to a BBQ of hot-dogs and hamburgers, refreshments and desserts by our awesome volunteer firefighters at Station 3! Wow! Thank you! We want to thank some local residents for donating plants to the gardens: to Nelly Rempel, who do-nated several different types of plants including a “Titanic” Hosta, which commemorates the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the ship. It will be delightful when it blooms next year. And we also thank Diana Taylor for donating two gorgeous butterfly plants to the new gardens; we hope they will attract lots of monarchs next summer. It is truly a community garden! While we are on the topic of beautification of the community, we wish to thank Brandon and the staff of NTEC for completing requirements for the “Adopt a Road” program in Thorold. They are now in charge of the care of Canby Street. Awesome! The twenty new shade trees that were planted at the park in late May survived the long drought this summer with the help of the volunteers at Station # 3 who helped with the watering and to Miss Hunter Gillam for also helping to keep the trees stay watered during the hot weeks of August. Thank you!

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Port Robinson Proud held two historical walks with a lunch this summer. The historical walks were led by local resident Tom Russell and the first one was held in June with a lovely lunch provided by NTEC in their dining room and the second tour was held on a very hot July afternoon with a refreshing lunch and drinks provided by Nicki Haluka of Stevie Nics Bar. Next spring we plan on some more tours with lunch including one on the west side of Port Robinson with a lunch at Club Castropignano. Watch our Facebook page for more details. In this issue you will read about the political fight that Port Robinson Proud was involved with during this past summer. There is an informative article from No Burn Niagara detailing the battle that we helped our friends in Allanburg wage against the proposed incineration plant for Allanport Road. Fortunately, we were able to sway the minds of the “powers that be” in City Hall and the project was halted permanently. It was certainly a surprise to learn that this disastrous project was slated to mar our lovely communities in the southern part of Thorold, with little to no public consultation. But our citizens rallied, they wrote letters, made phone calls and sent emails to local politicians and got involved with a social media campaign and our voices prevailed. It was a win for our community and we can breathe easier knowing we wont have an incinerator on our doorstep. On October 23rd, the Beattie House at 10 Canby was designated by the City of Thorold’s historical committee (LACAC) as a historical home. A ceremony, plaque presentation was held and a lovely reception followed. Tours of the house were offered and many residents came out to see this historical occasion. Congratulations to Mark and Paula Saric on this wonderful event for their lovely home! In the last few editions of The Bridge, we were keeping our readers up to date on the progress of the federal grant that was applied for under the Canada Heritage 150 Fund, to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday next summer. Unfortunately, we were not chosen as a grant recipient, but we hope to find other opportunities in the future to fund the gazebo in the park. Stay tuned… With Canada’s big birthday next year, many celebrations will be planned throughout Thorold. The city’s Canada 150 committee, that our own Debbie Barnes is a part of; is looking for ideas for celebrations that are “family friendly” for Port Robinson. Our event will be taking place in summer of 2017 and we welcome any ideas or thoughts on what kind of event you’d like to see. So far we are looking at an event in the park with food trucks but more details need to be worked out. We will provide more information in the spring edition of The Bridge or on our Facebook page. We will be co-part-nering with the Board of Management of the Darlene Ryan Port Robinson Community Centre on this event.

The City of Thorold is looking for local residents to sit on a committee to deal with funding for the Port Robinson Ferry. As we know, the ferry is only funded until 2017 with the short lifeline of funding that the Region of Niagara agreed to last year. After that time, the City needs to find funding partners in order to keep the ferrying running and they would like lo-cal citizens to join this committee. If you are interested, please go to the City’s web page at www.thorold.civicweb.net and submit your application.

Also the City of Thorold is still accepting applications for vacant positions on the Board of Management for the Darlene Ryan Port Robinson Community Centre. If you are interested in volunteering your time with our community centre, please visit the City’s website for more information www.thorold.ca . Mark your calendar--- The fire fighter volunteers will be holding a turkey raffle at Station # 3 on Friday December 9th at 7 pm, please come out and help support the volunteer fire association! Last year was a blast!

This summer we bade a fond goodbye to our dear friends Steve and Nicki Haluka as they sold the “Stevie Nics Bar” and the torch was handed to Jovan and Korina Bielich who have opened the restaurant as “Bridge 12”. Please check out their new menu and upcoming events in this issue of the The Bridge. We welcome Bridge 12 to the community! Best of luck!

A quick reminder from our friends in the rural area of Darby Road, please respect the speed limit…. There has been too much speeding along this stretch of road and many children and pets live on that street. This past summer there were many accidents, some fatal, along Moyer Road, please watch your speed and spare the lives of our niegbours. The 3rd annual Holiday Lights contest will be held on Friday December 16th. Prizes will be awarded to the most festive, the most unique, the best use of lights and best overall. Some local businesses such as Bridge 12 Restaurant, Hairizona Hair Salon and Club Castropignano have kindly donated prizes. Be sure to light up your house or apartment on Decem-ber 16th by 6pm for a chance to win! Ho ho ho! If you still need some gift ideas for the holidays, why not consider one of our very unique Port Robinson re-useable gro-cery bags? Only $6, they make a great gift or a perfect gift bag. Contact Debbie to purchase through our facebook page or at 905-384-9768. On a very sad note, our community lost a tireless supporter of Port Robinson. In October, Leslie Janzen passed away unexpectedly. Leslie worked very hard for this community. We offer our sincere condolences to Leslie’s family and friends as well as her beloved fur babies, especially Ferris….. Rest in peace, Leslie. 2016 was a busy year for us in Port Robinson Proud and we accomplished most of the goals we set out for the year. But for our small group, it was also a year filled with health issues, personal and family challenges, schedule constraints and it was a time to reflect on how to best use our time. As you know, we are volunteers; we put out this newsletter, run events, and manage the social media and other things because we love Port Robinson and because we want to help keep the community connected. But putting out four news-letters a year was a lot of work and we decided that a twice yearly newsletter was a better use of time, not just ours, but also for the other volunteers who help with editing, graphics and printing. So the next issue will be in the spring of 2017. But you can always stay up to date by liking our Facebook page at www.facebook/PortRobinsonProud This issue has lots of information on upcoming events, the usual historical components which everyone loves, some news from our neighbors on the west side of Port Robinson, pictures and other articles. This is a hometown newsletter that we are honored to create and deliver, and we hope you enjoy it! We end by thanking all of those folks who like us work to connect and bridge our community, we thank you for following our Facebook page, for working with us and for all of your friendship this past year. Thank you to the Board of Manage-ment of the Darlene Ryan Port Robinson Community Centre, the volunteers of Station 3, NTEC, Bridge 12 Restaurant and our new friends in Allanburg----Allanburg Community Cares, Allanburg Community Centre and No Burn Niagara. “Moving forward often requires us to take a look back at where we’ve been. The end of the year is as good a time as any for this review of accomplishments and progress. It’s been a good year but a tough one. Port Robinson Proud grew and expanded its wings very quickly in the first two years and now we are feeling those growing pains, but with pain, comes growth and with that we are looking forward to 2017 with much anticipation of new projects and new energy. We wish everyone the best of the holiday season, a happy and very healthy 2017 and much laughter and love as you close out your own year. Thank you for your support!

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s languageAnd next year’s words await another voice.”

-T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets Cheers!Allan, Debbie, Judy and NancyPort Robinson Proud

Fire Stream – November 2016

Greetings from the men and women at Thorold Station No. 3 Fire station update... since the June newsletter our sump-pump discharge pipe has been replaced and I am happy to report that moving forward we have not had any flooding in the basement. In the last few months station members have installed weather stripping on all outer pedestrian doors as we batten down the hatches for winter. I have discussed some other building items with the Fire Chief and am waiting for decision. Firefighter Recruitment... we are looking for some community minded individuals to join

our ranks. If this sounds like an interesting opportunity and you would like more information please contact me or stop by the station during our weekly training session. Carl Pearson Cell: (905) 651-4586 Email: c.pearson@cogeco.ca Weekly Training - Wednesdays starting at 7:00 p.m.

Recognition of service... a new recruit for our station began training in June and will be completing all practical evolutions for Firefighter 1 certification by the end of October. Please join me in welcoming Firefighter 331 - Tanya Hopkins as the newest member of our team. As of June our recruits from 2015 have completed 1 year of service. In the volunteer firefighting community this is an enormous hurdle and I want to congratulate Firefighter 333 - Jacob Bartlet and Firefighter 334 - Chance Watt for their accomplishment. Remembrance Day... On Sunday, November 13th at 1:00 p.m. the Port Robinson Volunteer Firefighters' Association hosted its annual Remembrance Day service at the Fire station. Thank you for joining us in remembering those that have fallen so that we may live in a free and democratic society.

Turkey Raffle... on Friday, December 9th our association will have its annual Turkey Raffle. Please come out, meet your neighbors and have some fun while supporting PRVFA initiatives. Doors open at 8:00 p.m.

Fire Prevention Week 2016... Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.

To mark Fire Prevention Week 2016 the Ontario Fire Service has urged residents to replace smoke alarms in their homes every 10 years. The Ontario Fire Code requires all Ontario homeowners to install smoke alarms on every storey and outside all sleeping areas. The following fire prevention measures can help keep you and your family safe:

Replace smoke alarms according to the manufacturer's date, usually found on the back of the alarm

Test alarms monthly Change the batteries in smoke alarms at least once a year Reach out to neighbours, friends and relatives who may need assistance with

maintaining and testing their smoke alarms. Quick Facts

In 35 per cent of fatal home fires over the last five years, there was no smoke alarm warning. In 13 per cent of those fires, there were no smoke alarms at all.

On average, 36 injuries and six fatalities from home fires occur in October each year. Top ignition sources for the month of October include cooking, heating equipment

and electrical distribution equipment (i.e., wiring). Above information is from “Newsroom” Ontario's official news source: https://news.ontario.ca/mcscs/en/2016/10/province-marks-fire-prevention-week.html Yours in community safety, Carl G. Pearson District Chief - Thorold Station No. 3 Thorold Fire & Emergency Services

3rd Annual Port Robinson Holiday Lights Contest

...so excited to announce the 3rd Annual Holiday Lights Contest……

Its easy… just turn on your lights and displays between 6pm-8pm on

December 16/16 Great prizes and it is a wonderful way to show your holiday

spirit and sense of fun!See you December 16th! Happy Lighting!

Trish MiddlemissSalon Owner/Hair Stylist

& Proud Port Robinson Resident

905.295.3516www.hairizona.cainfo@hairizona.ca

Like us, follow us, rate us, view our photo galleries.

https://facebook.com/HairizonasSalon/https://www.instagram.com/salonhairizona/

8251 Dock St.Chippawa, ON

Hair & Esthetic Services

The Darlene Ryan Port Robinson Community Centre

Hello friends and neighbours .....

The board has gone through some recent changes with some new additions. Cherie Green remains on the board as new comers joined.

Nicki Haluka and my wife Deb Bond have joined this wonderful cause to continue supporting and manag-ing the events that surround this beautiful property. Although some names have changed, our mission and commitment to the community and its center has not.

Bookings have remained somewhat consistent, but are still slow and it is our goal to increase activity being booked through the center. If you have not used the DRPR Community Center in the past, then I urge you to book and use for your family and friend events.

It’s a simple and inexpensive way to host up to 80 people and is complimented with a full kitchen, tables and chairs.

Thanks to the efforts of Cherie Green, Nicki Haluka and their volunteers, the annual PRCC Craft Show was once again a huge success. As the title suggest, this is an annual event and we will be hosting it again next year. Vendor participation was excellent and a huge reason for the success of this day. We Thank You All very much.

The funds raised from the event will go towards the bell restoration. Moving forward it is our intent to host food fest events to bring the community together, while enjoying some food and music in the spring.

As winter approaches, I’m hoping that we will be able to make a rink on the property for community use and fun. Weather pending, I have always had a rink in our front yard and now hope to continue this tradition at the DRPR Community Center. I’m certain that I may have some red tape to get through, but I’m optimistic and hoping that other PR residents are as optimistic and full of energy, as I will need some help with this project.

As we move out of the winter months, I’m thinking it will be time to make a few horseshoe pits and create a Port Robinson horseshoe league where once again we the residents of this fine community can share some fun and games over friendly competition.

Again, as always and with most projects, help and vol-unteers will be greatly appreciated.

As always, our doors are open to join our monthly meetings and I am always open to any ideas or com-ments regarding the betterment of Port Robinson, our wonderful quaint community and of course The Dar-lene Ryan Community Center. Our team is thin, so those who wish to help and volunteer are greatly wel-comed and much appreciated.

Graham JH BondPresident, Board of Management DRPRCC

Call 905-384-9513 for more info or to book.

Are there any proposals for development on the west side of Port Robinson between the railway tracks and the canal?

The following are a series of questions that were submitted to Lola Emberson, Senior Planner for the City of Thorold, on behalf of the residents. Below each question are her replies.

1. The residents of Port Robinson West were once told that there would be no major development east of the railway tracks on Port Robinson Road because a significant increase in traffic crossing the tracks, and/or additional road crossings, would not be permitted. Is that information correct? Is traffic over the tracks an issue in any way for any possible future development on the east side of the tracks?

The Official Plan, which includes the Port Robinson West Secondary Plan, reflects the area east of the tracks as being comprised of PRW Existing Residential and PRW Low Density Residential, PRW Medium Density Residential, PRW Mixed Use Commercial and PRW Industrial. The areas shown in light gray may have Environmental features and will require additional studies to permit development. The areas shown in dark gray are considered to be undevelopable. I could not locate any information that would support that a significant increase in traffic and/or additional road crossings would not be permitted. Any planning applications for future development would be circulated to the Railway for their review and comment. As such, I do not know if there is an issue with traffic over the tracks at this time.

Information regarding development on the west side of Port Robinson Submitted by Rosina Bisci

2. According to the Port Rob. West Secondary Plan (on the City of Thorold website), it appears that some of the available lands east of the tracks are zoned residential or industrial. Have any proposals been submitted for the development of lands in this area? If proposals are submitted, when and how would residents in this area be notified? There have not been any applications for development of any lands east of the tracks. If proposals are submitted, they are circulated in accordance with the requirements of the Planning Act. In addition, for Official Plan and/or Zoning By-law amendments the City also puts notification of the proposed application in the newspaper. Draft Plans of Subdivision are required to post a sign on the subject lands reflecting the proposed draft plan and/or modification thereto. All public notices are also posted on the City website.

3. Please inform us about how water and sewage will be brought into PRW. Are there any plans to extend water and sewage services to the east side of the tracks? If so, what is the time frame? The City’s Development Policy is that developers/landowners are required to extend municipal services as part of the development process. As such, as lands develop the developer/landowner is responsible to extending municipal services to their development/property. At this time, I am not aware of any plans to extend water and sanitary sewer services to the east side of the tracks. Given the costs associated with servicing, I anticipate that development will occur in an incremental way as servicing becomes available. I have no idea as to a timeframe for areas on the east side of the tracks or when this will occur as servicing is developer/landowner driven.

4. In your response to question # 2, you state that “if proposals are submitted, they are circulated in accordance with the requirements of the Planning Act....and notification of the proposed application is put in the newspaper”. According to the Planning Act, will all neighbours in this area east of the tracks be notified if a proposal is submitted? And, how can the issue of the newspaper notice be addressed? Notices have been put in “Niagara This Week” and in this area we do not receive that paper.

If there was a development proposal on the east side of the tracks, the circulation distance is dependent on the type of application but usually 120 m if it is a major application (ie. zoning by-law amendment). Donna Delvecchio, City Clerk, was looking in Niagara This Week and their circulation for that area. If the proposal is a plan of subdivision, in addition to the circulation, newspaper and website, they also have to post signs on the property.

The 1st annual Port Robinson Proudand Community Centre

Christmas Cookie Exchange

Monday December 5th7-9 pm

Port Robinson Community Centre40 Cross Street, Port Robinson

Refreshments and snacks provided

Here’s how it works… register at portrobinsonproud@gmail or by messaging us on Face-book. (so we know how many folks are attending).

You bake one kind of cookie, you end up with a flavorful assortment to last through the holi-days......that’s the idea behind a cookie exchange. Each person brings 4 dozen baked cookies or squares, bring a plate or platter to display them on, a container to take home your ex-changed cookies and if you wish, you can bring copies of your recipe to share.

Each person will take home 4 dozen cookies, an assortment of all the cookies being shared. It’s a fun and unique way to increase the variety of your holiday baking.

It will be a fun holiday community event! If you wish to donate canned food or an un-wrapped new toy to Community Care, we will have a bin for your donations.

Please join us, have a drink, get some cookies and some holiday cheer!

120 Canby Street, Box 190 Port Robinson, ON L0S 1K0

Phone: 905-384-9491 Fax: 905-384-2691

www.ntec-nss.com

Let NTEC’s Employment Niagara Program help you to recruit, hire and train the right candidate for your company. To use our free services, please contact one of NTEC’s employment services staff.

Kathy Volpatti Job Development Coordinator Email: kvolpatti@ntec-nss.com Phone: 905-384-3155

Deanna Burke Program Facilitator/Job Developer Email: dburke@ntec-nss.com Phone: 905-933-5446

Landscaping Services Trusting your outdoor environment to NTEC means more than just exceptional quality and value, it means real opportunities for people with special needs.

NTEC’s Landscaping Services accepts both residential and industrial contracts. Program participants learn to perform a variety of tasks as part of a qualified crew, such as:

Please call us for a free no-obligation estimate at 905-384-3142 or email us at ntecinfo@ntec-nss.com.

Designing Turf establishment or

renovation Planting trees and shrubs Pruning and fertilizing

Interlocking walkways and patios

Fence construction Sheds and garden pergolas Retaining walls

Whether it’s completing a back or front yard makeover, or designing a decorative walkway, NTEC delivers the prompt and professional landscaping services you need to keep your premises looking their best.

BECKETT'S RESERVE, DUNCAN McFARLAND HOUSE c.1840, STEPHEN BEATTY HOUSE 1879 10 Canby Street, Port Robinson

On October 23rd, the home at 10 Canby Street was desig-nated as a historical landmark in Thorold. The home be-longs to Mark and Paula Saric who have lovingly begun the process of restoring this beautiful old home.

Over 40 residents and guests, local Member of Parlia-ment Vance Badaway also took part, attended the dedi-cation. The event began with our local town crier, Tony Vandermaas announcing the ceremony.

The site initially belonged to the descendant of a family of Loyalist Quakers who settled in Pelham – Edwood Beck-ett, before it was sold to the entrepreneur Duncan McFar-land in 1836. Here, the first house appears to have been

built in c.1840. From 1847 the property was associated with the medical pioneer and later President of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Dr. Duncan Campbell. Acquired in 1855 by an official of the 2nd Welland Canal and Superintendent of nearby St.Paul’s Church, John Beatty, the house was rebuilt by his son Stephen – a hero of the Battle of Ridgeway, in 1879. In 1887 it became home to one of Thorold Township’s most cherished family doc-tors – Dr. Hugh Park for nearly three decades.

This house probably underwent at least two major expansions – expansion of the original c.1840 house around 1879, and second, during the Park family tenure at the end of the 19th century. Further renovations by the Balint family from the mid-twentieth century involved some minor expansion, but overall it was regeneration of the exist-ing structure.

For more information about the many historical homes in Port Robinson and throughout Thorold, please check out the website http://www.heritagethorold.com

Looking forward to seeing the plants and native species in full bloom next spring….Picture taken the day of the community plant-ing at the old lock, September 10th, 2016. Over 30 volunteers from the community, Niagara Restoration Council and the Niagara Penin-sula Conservation Authority helped us turn this empty overgrown space into a lush butterfly and pollinator gardens to be enjoyed for many years! A community bbq followed, provided by thevolunteers at Fire Station 3… great day!

Welcome to Club Castropignano1311 Egerter Road

Port Robinson, ON, L0S1K0

For general inquires/ consultations/group inquiries, please contact hall manager at:

Phone: 905-384-9292Fax: 905-384-2232

Email: clubcastropignano@clubcastropignano.com

Tom Russell

William Ross and his four sons, John , George, Robert and Hugh built many ships (tugs) on the north side of channel where the canal course was diverted to enter the Chippawa River.Captain William Ross lived in Port Robinson for more than fifty years, he was the pilot on the passenger ship that ran between Buffalo and Port Robinson each day during the shipping season.

In other years he sailed the Great Lakes between American and Canadian ports carrying various goods.

When the Prince of Wales (later King Edward) visited Canada, Captain Ross was the mate and pilot on the Steamer Clifton which transported the Prince down the Niagara River from Fort Erie to Chippewa.

Earlier in his life, Captain Ross was a friend of William Lyon Mackenzie, (the rebellion of 1837) fame.

Captain Ross escaped death in November of 1868 here in the village, he fell into the water when the ship was in the lock, holding on to an iron rod on the side of the ship. He was pulled back on to the vessel by a Captain Watson.

Captain Ross and his sons built many ships here in Port Robinson, the following list is an example of some of the ships they built.1863- Phil Bennett- tug1867- T.R. Secord-tug1870- William Ross-tug1873- Maggie R. Mitchell- tug1880- Maggie A. Bennett-tug1883- Richard S. King-tug1885- Maid of the Mill-tug1886- Mermaid-steam yacht1888-steam yacht1895- Osprey-tug1902-Meteor-tug

Captain Ross died on Sept. 10, 1912, at his home here in the village, he is buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Port Robinson.The remaining sons continued the business for the next few years, two of the sons are buried in St. Paul’s Anglican Cemetery in the village. Sources-Township of Thorold 1793- 1967Papers from the Ross Family Collection

The Ross family moved to Port Robinson in the mid 1860’s from Chippewa , the family

home still stands today on Canby Street . The family be-came very prosperous, and at one time

owned the four homes at the corner of Canby and Hamil-ton Blvd, two homes on each side of Canby Street.

The Ross Family

Residents in Port Robinson and Allanburg nearly had a new neighbour — a toxic-emission belching incinerator, fed by as many as 60 trucks a day, bringing garbage from who knows where, containing who knows what, to a site on Al-lanport Road. That doesn’t exactly sound like a good fit for this quiet corner of Niagara that is promoting its local food, winery and tourism industries and that is advertising itself as a great community for both retirees and young families. The good news is that citizens formed No Burn Niagara and came together, with the help of Port Robinson Proud, to successfully to oppose it. At a Thorold City Council meeting on Sep-tember 6, Thorold’s Council voted unanimously to rescind their support for the proponent apply-ing for a taxpayer-funded subsidy for any energy produced. The bad news is Niagara Region has not rescinded its support for incineration so, while this particular proposal will not go ahead in the original location, another proposal in an-other part of Niagara could come forward. Incineration is not the solution to the problem of waste generation. It doesn’t make garbage disappear, it simply turns it into ash that must be landfilled and emissions that cre-ate landfills in the sky. It is the most polluting

and expensive way to deal with waste and the method that creates the least jobs. It is the least efficient way to produce energy, and besides, On-tario is already producing more energy than we need so why would we want taxpayers to subsi-dize more production? There are a multitude of better policies, practices and legislation that can reduce waste and ensure our resources are reused, recycled and composted to create a circular economy that eliminates waste. In fact, Ontario has just ad-opted new waste legislation intended to do just that over the next decade. In the meantime, No Burn Niagara isn’t going anywhere. We intend to continue to work at the Regional level to get them to say no to incineration and yes to Zero Waste measures. And we will continue to provide information to residents throughout the Region about why this issue is important. Below is a timeline of events that will give you a better understanding of what happened. If you want to keep apprised of this issue follow No Burn Niagara on Facebook or ask to be added to our email list by contacting noburnniagara@gmail.com

By Liz BenneianFounder, Ontario Zero Waste Coalition

Member, No Burn NiagaraResident of Vineland

Timeline:

• Feb.16FutureWasteSystems(Niagara),Tri-GroveHoldingsandTeslaEnergyInstitute,askfor Niagara’s Public Works Committee for approval to apply for a taxpayer-funded subsidy of 8¢ per kilowatt hour of energy generated from the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) for a $180 million incinerator. They get unanimous approval. • ThateveningitgetsapprovalfromThoroldCouncil.• It’simportanttonotethatthisproposalshouldhavegonetotheRegion’sWasteCommitteefirst, but they circumvented their own process. It’s also important to note there was no public con-sultation or even notice that this proposal was coming forward, not even to residents near the site.

• OnFeb.17thereisastoryaboutitinNiagaraThisWeek.GraciaJanes,aNiagararesidentand long-time member of the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society, sees the article and sends it to me.• February24,anengineerfromBaumgarte,theGermancompanythatmanufacturerstheincinerator, meets with Thorold mayor and Regional economic development officials.• February25,themattergoestoRegionalCouncil.Idelegateagainstit.Iamtheonlydelegateaside from the proponent. It passes with only two votes against.• ProponentssaytheyexpecttohearbackfromIESObySeptember.• Proponentsplanconstructionwillstartinspring2017andincineratorwillbeprocessingwaste by 2019.• InMarch,ImeetwithNiagararesidentstodiscussplanstoopposetheincinerator.• InMay,IconnectwithAlyshaRichardsonandJackandClaudiaStronach,Allanburgresi-dents, and No Burn Niagara is formed.• InJune,wehostapublicinformationsessioninAllanburg.About35to40peopleattendincluding people from Port Robinson. Many volunteer to help.• NancyWatersofPortRobinsonProudvolunteerstohostameetinginhercommunity.• ThePortRobinsonPublicInformationSessionisheldonJuly25.Morethan175peopleat-tend. Many had to be turned away. Most Thorold Council members attend.• ImmediatelyafterwehearsomemembersofCouncilwanttorescindtheirsupportfortheincinerator.• OnSeptember6,citizenspackThoroldCouncilchambers.NoBurnNiagaramakesadelega-tion pointing out the failed history of incinerators in Ontario, demonstrates that Baumgarte’s own data shows there will be dangerous toxic emissions and provides data that shows the proponents projected costs and power generation statistics can’t be trusted. Thorold Councillors have done their homework and ask the proponent tough questions about emissions, number of truckloads, source of waste etc. that proponent can’t answer. Councillor Paone, a chemistry professor, is especially good at proving there will be toxic emissions that exceed Canadian guidelines although the proponent had originally told local and Regional Council that there wouldn’t be any emissions. • CouncilvotestorescindtheirsupportandaskRegionalCounciltodothesame.• BecausetheproponentsneedtheendorsementofboththelocalandRegionalgovernmentstoapply for the 8¢ per kilowatt hour taxpayer-funded subsidy for any energy produced, the Allanburg incinerator project is dead at the Allanport Road site.• OnSept.15,NoBurnNiagaraholdsapublicinformationsessioninNiagaraFalls

• ...tobecontinued

We would just like to thank everyone that came out to support us on our Grand Opening of Bridge 12 Pub & Eat-ery! If you haven't stopped in yet, come on by, the place has been renovated and the food is awesome!!

We are gearing it towards families so you can come out for supper and enjoy the nice atmosphere. We also serve ice cream and have a few arcade games in there now for the children and grown ups too!

Join us for Paint Nite once a month on a Monday, and you don't have to be an artist! It's a great girls night out or date night! Check out https://www.paintnite.com/venues/140310.html for tickets or go through Groupon and get 50% off!!

Every Saturday there will be live entertainment!!! So check out our Events and join us on facebook to keep up with all of our future events. We will also have all events posted on bulletin board at Bridge 12 Pub & Eatery.

Thank you,Jovan and KorinaOwners and Operators

SATURDAY DECEMBER 3.........................................BLACK SHEEP BAND 8PM

SUNDAY DECEMBER 4...............................BRIDGE 12 CHRISTMAS MARKET!! 2PM-6PM

COME AND GET ALL YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING DONE IN ONE PLACE!! ALL KINDS OF VENDORS WITH

GREAT DEALS!! WE WILL LIST ALL VENDORS ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND PLEASE CONTACT US THROUGH

FACEBOOK IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RESERVE A TABLE! OR

CALL US AT 905-384-1967

SATURDAY DECEMBER 10....................................................BRIDGE 12 KARAOKE CHRISTMAS PARTY 8PM!!!

UGLY SWEATER CONTEST! PRIZES AND WHOLE LOT OF HOLIDAY CHEER!

SATURDAY DECEMBER 17...................................................DARYL GRAY 8PM

SATURDAY DECEMBER 31 ..................................................NEW YEARS EVE PARTY!!!!!!

BRING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH BRIDGE 12 !!! NO ENTRY FEE!! FOOD !! AND MORE!!!

BRIDGE 12PuB & EatERy

To all the residents and their families in Port Robinson!

TH

E B

RID

GE

Design and Layout C

ourtesy of Kathy Felice, Port Robinson

Contact Info for Port Robinson Proud:

Submissions for the Fall edition of “THE BRIDGE”Please submit to: portrobinsonproud@gmail.comAll content must be received by: April 15th, 2017

Preferred format: Information typed directly into an email. Attachments in .doc ~ .ai ~ .pub ~ .pdf

Photos & Logos High Res 300 dpi .jpg ~ .png ~ .gif

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