Cruickshank wins national safety award

South Dundas emergency management officials along with those from  North Dundas, South Stormont, North Stormont and the United Counties will be carrying out annual emergency response training together with exercises today (Wednesday, September 21st).

While residents across the country are encouraged to be prepared for an eventual emergency, Ontario municipalities are required to conduct emergency preparedness training and exercises on an annual basis.

South Dundas along with the other three townships and the United Counties follow a five-year program of training and exercises.

The training focuses on functional responsibilities within emergency management organizations, and the exercises reinforce those responsibilities under scenarios based on the priority hazards of the area.

The Province of Ontario is encouraging all emergency response organizations to adopt a common emergency management philosophy called the Incident Management System (IMS) which would provide a standardized organizational structure, functions, processes, and terminology.

These four townships and the United Counties have been leaders in implementing IMS. This year’s training and exercise will continue to build their effectiveness in operating during a potential emergency under IMS.

The United Counties and its six townships have established a Mutual Assistance Agreement to support each other during an emergency.

Working together with training and exercises as is the case on September 21st, the five emergency management organizations will be able to foster the sense of cooperation that will be needed in an emergency incident.

The exercise is funded under the Federal Government’s Joint Emergency Preparedness Program. In Ontario, this program is administered by Emergency Measures Ontario.

This annual training and exercise is just one aspect of the work carried out each year by the five Emergency Management Program Committees.

Following a five-year training and exercise program, the committees ensure that their emergency management program highlights potentially high emergency risks on a continuing basis.

Township committees have been in existence since 1998, when the townships were created through amalgamation. The United Counties followed them a few years later.

The Township of South Dundas is committed to being a disaster-resilient community.

[…]

The average South Dundas residential property owner can expect to pay about $35 more in property taxes this year when the counties and education components are included.

An average South Dundas residential property is valued at $178,641.

Recent United Counties of SDG budget deliberations resulted in a $23 typical increase to the Counties levy and now South Dundas has agreed to a $12.19 increase to the average South Dundas residential property owner. The education component has been reset to offset the phase-in property assessment increase.

South Dundas council was asked by South Dundas treasurer Shannon Geraghty at the March 17, regular council meeting to clarify the intent of recent budget deliberations. 

Although South Dundas deputy mayor Jim Locke didn’t want to see anything less than a 2 per cent increase in taxes paid by the average residential taxpayer, the majority of council agreed that a 1.5 per cent dollar increase would be sufficient for 2015.

With the proposed increase, South Dundas will collect 6.54 per cent more money ($342,000) from taxes than it did in 2014.

During budget deliberations, South Dundas council had cut enough from the budget to put South Dundas in a position to collect 2.26 per cent more money ($118,200) than the previous year.

In that case, the average residential ratepayer would have been paying less than last year, according to Geraghty. 

“It is more financially responsible to collect a little more this year, than to wait and have to collect even more next year,” explained Geraghty, who expects that more debt will be incurred as projects like the industrial park expansion and waterfront projects progress.

Now, by council opting to go with the 1.5 per cent average tax increase, they will have more money to put back into the budget. For now, their intent is to hold the extra funds in reserve.

Last year South Dundas collected $5,231,000 from taxation. This year, they will collect $5,573,000 from taxation.

According to the treasurer, the municipality continues to maintain healthy reserves.

[…]

 

Planning for the upcoming WDMH Auxiliary’s Bazaar was front and centre at the August 8, meeting of the group’s board of directors.

The popular event will be held at the Joel Steele Community Centre in Winchester the year on October 19. The official opening will take place at 11 a.m. 

An elevator is available for those who would find the stairs an obstacle.

Returning features are: the bake table, produce sale, silent auction, tea room, sale of cheese and honey and a 50/50 raffle. A door prize will also be awarded and the auxiliary’s award winning Christmas Plum Puddings will be available for $12 each.

New this year will be a fashion show and sale of Jockey Ladies’ wear, and other local vendors with handmade items at reasonable prices. Everyone is welcome to attend this auxiliary fund raiser. 

Hospital CEO Cholly Boland informed the board that a five year strategic plan for the hospital has been finalized. 

It focusses on three areas: continuing the positive things being done now, working closely with the community in palliative care and care for seniors and researching ways to better serve the rural population. 

In closing, Boland expressed his sincere appreciation for all that the hospital’s volunteers do for WDMH.

The Auxiliary provided state of the art Baxter IV pumps to the hospital last year at a cost of $297,000 and has agreed to purchase several more with the cost of the additional units being $55,00.

Volunteer coordinator Alan Archer told the board that volunteers offered 925 hours of service to WDMH in July bringing the total for 2013 to 6,592. 

He emphasized that new volunteers are always needed at the hospital and anyone interested in offering a few hours each month may contact him at the hospital.

President Nancy Farley-Holmes announced that three local, longtime hospital volunteers will receive Provincial Life Membership Awards this year. 

The well-deserving recipients are Grace McAuley, Ruth Shearing and Betty Wilson. These awards  are presented at the Hospital Auxiliaries Association of Ontario convention which will be held in Toronto in November.

All members of the auxiliary are invited to attend a membership meeting on Thursday, September 12, 1:30 p.m. in room C401 at the hospital. It will include an informative and relevant presentation in the area of health care.

[…]