Opinions being solicited regarding the local OPP

A second wind development company courting municipal support for a project proposal was presented their project to South Dundas council at the May 19th meeting.

On the agenda were James Murphy and Ryan Ralph of Invenergy, North America’s sixth largest renewable energy generation company.

 Murphy is the vice president of business development and Ralph is the senior manager of business development for the company headquartered in Toronto. Invenergy Canada is based in Toronto.

The purpose of their presentation is to update council on the Nine Mile Wind Project being developed in the municipalities of South Dundas and North Dundas.

Option agreements have been secured with 30 landowners for the Nine Mile Wind Project.

This is the second wind energy company to make a presentation to South Dundas council. Municipal support is an important criteria in the new competitive energy procurement process, although project decisions are made by the province.

At present, the previous South Dundas council deemed this municipality, ‘not a willing host’. However, this newly elected council has decided that they are open to seeing what these projects are proposing before taking a stance on future wind generation projects.

South Dundas’ current position states that proposals will not be considered unless there is a demonstrated need for energy.

Both companies presenting to South Dundas council are contending that there is a need for increased wind power generation.

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Upper Canada Village’s new fall event Pumpkinferno continued its winning ways in Ottawa April 24,  when Ottawa Tourism named it New Company of the Year.  

The award category recognizes an event or company two years or less in operation that through its success has stimulated the economy.  

Pumpkinferno which was launched in 2012 has certainly done that.  

In just two years of operation, not only has Pumpkinferno taken the region by storm hosting almost 75,000 people but it has contributed an estimated $8 million in economic impacts to the region’s economy. 

“Over the past three years we have taken a close look at our business operations and have encouraged our staff to be innovative in their approach to developing new visitor experiences.  Pumpkinferno is a great example of that type of thinking. Not only does it showcase amazing artistic and creative talents that go into making this such an amazing event, but our business strategy is really solid and surpassing our projections” commented Darren Dalgleish, General Manager & CEO, St. Lawrence Parks Commission. 

Festival and Events Ontario recognized Pumpkinferno as Ontario’s Best New Event in 2012 and in November 2013 the Tourism Association of Ontario honoured it with the award for Ontario’s Tourism Event of the Year.

“The Pumpkinferno team exceeded expectations to deliver an event that attracted over 35,000 guests in our first year and then topped that number last fall with over 38,000 visits.  We believe we have something special here and it is so gratifying to see this acknowledgement from the tourism community.  It was an honour just to be named a finalist in the Ottawa Tourism awards.  Our hats are off to the other excellent nominees.” said Geoff Waycik, Manager of Upper Canada Village.

Upper Canada Village gets an early start to the 2014 season opening on Wednesday, May 7. 

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One of the concerns by parents and students of the proposed closure of Seaway District High School by the Upper Canada District School Board is the longer bus routes and transportation times. In the board’s […]