Looking back at 2023: The Year in Review

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The North Wellington Community News would like to wish everyone a safe and happy 2024 as we take a look back on an eventful year in 2023.

The following is just a small sample of the news that made headlines in northern Wellington over the past 12 months.

JANUARY

Rising staffing costs and waste collection were among the topics raised by members of the public at a Mapleton community budget workshop at the PMD arena on Jan. 5. About a dozen local residents attended the meeting.

A first draft of the township’s 2023 budget showed a proposed tax levy increase of nearly seven per cent is required to cover anticipated expenditures.

However, Mapleton finance director John Morrison explained weighted assessment growth of nearly 3%, the second highest in Wellington County, should keep the proposed tax rate increase under 4%, adding about $18 per $100,000 in assessment to the tax bill of the average residential ratepayer.

The Drayton Kinsmen announced the club’s popular farm show would return for its 39th edition after three-years of pandemic-related cancellations. The show was set for April 12 and 13 at the PMD arena and organizers were hopeful it would return to its former scale, with more than 100 exhibitors both inside and outdoors, drawing as many as 3,000 attendees and earning thousands of dollars for cystic fibrosis research and local community betterment projects.

“We’re super excited about being able to have this show again and to be able to make those funds for our community once again. It’s been a long three years not having it,” said Kinsman Gary Van Ankum.

University of Waterloo Warriors forward Leah Herrfort of Palmerston, was part of Canada’s women’s hockey team at the FISU (Federation Internationale du Sport Universitaire) World University Games held in Lake Placid.

The team, comprised of top players from across the country, took the gold medal with a 5-0 win over Japan on Jan. 21.

The Drayton Defenders U11 Rep team won the International Silver Stick championship for their level at a tournament held in Forest from Jan. 20 to 22. Players on the team include: Alex Eby, Ben Ladd, Drew Ottens, Jack DeKoning, Jett Ellis, Michael Klopper, Nathan Pfanner, Nolan Scholten, Owen Brunkard, Patrick Heenan, Sam Kraal, Tucker Frook and Zach Hahn. Coaches are: Joe Heenan, Kevin Ottens, Ben Kraal and Brent DeKoning.

FEBRUARY

A proposed amalgamation of minor hockey associations based in Minto and Mapleton was rejected. The proposal to amalgamate the Drayton Minor Hockey and Minto Minor Hockey associations failed to garner the required two-thirds support in separate votes of members from each organization.  A statement posted Feb. 1 on the websites of both organizations thanks association members “who took a vested interest and voted on the amalgamation decision.”

Town hall meetings on the proposal were held in both communities in January and families involved in Drayton Minor Hockey and Minto Minor Hockey were given the opportunity to vote on the proposal on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

The Town of Minto has agreed to provide interim funding, if needed, if an application for a grant to help community organizations recover from the COVID-19 pandemic is successful.

“Many of our groups are having trouble in this post-COVID environment, primarily with volunteers and audiences and, I think, just volunteer burnout,” treasurer Gordon Duff told Minto council on Feb. 7.

“As we know it’s a different world. You have to try and get back your volunteers and your audiences and everything.”

Duff explained the federal government recently launched the Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF), which is open to applications from community groups, but not municipalities.

For 15 years now Wellington North has received a 100 per cent rating of its drinking water. Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks compliance assessments of Mount Forest and Arthur drinking water systems in 2022 yielded no issues and 100% inspection ratings.

“It’s 15 straight years that we’ve received 100% from the ministry of the environment, so something we’re very proud of,” environmental services manager Corey Schmidt told council on Feb. 6.

A 28-page annual report, required under the Safe Drinking Water Act, was presented to council, detailing water testing compliance and results for 2022.

MARCH

Minto council has invited the local health care professional recruiting committee to provide input for a proposed meeting with provincial health ministry officials on solutions to a shortage of primary health care providers in the region.

Chair Shirley Borges, recruiter Alison Armstrong and nurse practitioner Jodi Colwill attended the March 7 council meeting to provide an update on recruitment activities and related issues.

Borges told council “the past year has been a tough one.

“About this time last year we had nine physicians in Minto-Mapleton and currently, we have eight,” she pointed out.

The departure of one local physician in June of 2022 left the community with eight physicians for about 15,000 patients.

Borges said about 1,000 of those patients were recently transitioned, “most of them going to one of our nurse practitioners, one of three in Minto and Mapleton.

An inventory of greenhouse gases (GHG) produced within Mapleton shows the lion’s share is transportation related.

A study by CIMA consulting engineers indicates 46.3 per cent of local emissions come from “on-road transportation” sources.

Manufacturing, at 15.8%, accounts for the next highest output of GHGs, followed by:

– agriculture, forestry and fishing, 14.2%;

– commercial, 12.7%;

– residential, 9.8%; and

– solid waste, 1%.

The study originated with council’s direction on March 22, 2022 to CAO Manny Baron to work with CIMA to create a plan “allowing Mapleton to transition towards a sustainable way of doing business and develop a plan to combat climate change.”

The Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies has named Helen Moffat this year’s Reserve Butter Tart Champion.

She’s been making butter tarts for about 60 years, initially learning the craft growing up “on a farm in a fairly large family,” she said.

Now she’s known as the “butter tart lady,” or the “butter tart queen,” and everywhere she goes, people want her to bring tarts – whether it’s “a meeting, or a dinner or a family affair.”

Moffat has lived in the Drayton area for 53 years and is president of the Alma Women’s Institute. She was named Mapleton’s Senior of the Year in 2019.

No stranger to winning awards for her tarts, she noted the most recent recognition is “kind of descending,” as in 2019 she was Ontario’s Grand Champion rather than the reserve champion.

On March 13, Minto councillor Ron Elliott announced at the Palmerston arena that James and Cara Toccalino are donating $60,000 for the purchase of a state-of-the-art video scoreboard for the hockey rink.

Minto facilities manager Greg Mallett described the new scoreboard as a big LED board that, in the future, will also contain a video feed.

APRIL

The Town of Minto made plans to recognize an inactive cemetery site in Clifford as historically significant.

At its April 4 meeting, Minto council approved a Cultural Roundtable recommendation to designate Brown Cemetery as historically significant and install signage acknowledging its existence and historical story.

The Drayton Kinsmen Farm Show made a successful return to the PMD arena complex after a three-year pandemic-related absence.

“Attendance was high … all in all, it went pretty well,” said Kinsmen Club member and farm show chair Ray Kuper. He estimated around 2,500 people came through the doors for the two-day event on April 12 and 13.

Inflationary pressures, rising claim costs for municipalities across the province and a “hard market” for insurance are among the factors driving the township’s insurance premium up by just over 21 per cent for 2023. The increase will cost local taxpayers $69,297, as the township’s premium rises from $319,680 to $388,997.

“We are currently on, well we hope, the tail end of perhaps one of the longer hard markets that the insurance industry has seen in a number of decades,” Colin Smith, regional manager for Intact Public Entities, told Mapleton council on April 11.

There’s LED lighting, upgraded bleachers, new surfacing, and updates to bathrooms and a concession building at the Drayton ball diamonds.

The improvements were completed from March to December 2022, thanks to an Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) grant of just over $234,000, said Mapleton parks manager Lucas Rogerson during an event on April 15 recognizing the grant.

Palmerston Public School student Callie Cole won first place at both branch and zone levels in the Royal Canadian Legion Poster and Literacy Competition for her entry in the Intermediate Colour Poster category. She also placed second at the district level with her poster.

Bonny McDougall was the 2023 recipient of Wellington North’s Senior of the Year award. Mayor Andy Lennox presented the award to McDougall on April 21 at the Arthur and Area Community Centre before a room of roughly 200 residents and volunteers. The list of organizations McDougall has given her time to runs long, but in more recent years it has included  4-H clubs, the Arthur Figure Skating Club, and the Upper Canada Two Cylinder Club. McDougall has also photographed and documented thousands of headstones at the Mount Forest Cemetery.

MAY

Wellington North council began discussing how the township’s electoral ward boundaries may need to change with the township’s growing population. A report from township clerk Karren Wallace, presented to council on May 8, prompted discussion of how to better delineate ward boundaries to reflect a fairer distribution of electors. In her report, Wallace wrote that “by 2026, it doesn’t appear the representation in each ward would vary too greatly from 2022.” However by 2030, Wallace wrote, boundaries in Wards 3 and 4 would require adjustment.

Officials with the Town of Minto and Kridak Developments gathered on May 16 for a groundbreaking ceremony for the “Palmerston Business Junction.” The industrial condominium development, located at 200 Minto Rd. in the Palmerston Industrial Park, will include medical, office, industrial and warehouse units and was expected to open in 12 to 15 months. What began as a three-acre lot purchase doubled to a six-acre development totalling 150,000 square feet. The junction will consist of three condominium buildings with 35 total units, 20 which officials say have already been sold to medical professionals.

Mapleton council adopted terms of reference for a new environment advisory committee and named six community members and four township officials to the group. The committee includes council representative councillor Martin Tamlyn, ex-officio members  Mayor Gregg Davidson and CAO Manny Baron and staff liaison clerk Larry Wheeler. Community members selected through an application process are: Ed Benjamin, Dave DeVries, Doug Duimering, Jamie Israel, Srinivasa Kunuthur and John Mohl. The mandate included in the committee’s terms of reference, approved at the May 23 council meeting, states the committee is tasked with “providing guidance and education on matters concerning Mapleton’s natural and built environments.”

JUNE

A petition calling for the reversal of a decision to cut a performing arts course at Norwell District Secondary School gained steam, but local school board officials said the decision won’t be reversed in time for the next school year.

The decision not to offer the Grade 9 Arts Performance Project (APP) program in the future has some parents and students concerned about the impact on students and the school’s culture. The Grade 9 APP program was launched along with a hockey skills program in 2015. A Grade 11 version of the APP program, which is slated to continue, was added the following year.

The Town of Minto agreed to provide a letter of support for the Minto-Mapleton Family Health Team’s application to the province for funding to expand staffing to allow more local residents to access primary care providers. In a letter to council, the local family health team explained the government recently announced the availability of new funding to expand existing inter-professional primary care teams (such as family health teams) “in communities with greatest need. The health team is looking for funding to add two nurse practitioners, one registered practical nurse and one receptionist “for the purpose of attaching orphan patients living in Minto and surrounding area with a primary care provider,” Shirley Borges explains in the letter.

Willa Wick was named Senior of the Year for the Town of Minto. Mayor Dave Turton announced the award at the June 6 town council meeting. “Willa Wick embodies the very essence of a senior citizen who is active and involved in her community, giving back and sharing her knowledge and gained experience with adults and youth alike,” said Turton. A member of numerous community organizations, including the Harriston and District Horticultural Society,  Harriston Historical Society and Carry On Women’s Institute, Wick often takes on the task of chronicling and promoting local events with videos, photos and submissions to local publications.

JULY

Graduating Grade 12 Wellington Heights Secondary School student Joey Townsend has won the University of Toronto’s National Book Award.

The award is presented to students who demonstrate superior academic performance, original and creative thought, and exceptional achievement in a broad context. Townsend will be studying social sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus next year. 

After 39 years of service to the Drayton and Mapleton fire departments, Fire Chief Rick Richardson announced his retirement, effective July 14. 

“Rick has been an integral part of our fire department since January 1984 and has served as fire chief since October, 2002,” states a press release from the municipality. “We extend our best wishes to Rick and his family as he embarks on this new chapter in his life.”

On July 19, the 19th annual Mary Lynne Forrest Memorial Golf Tournament was held at the Pike Lake Golf Centre.  The golf tournament serves as a fundraiser in memory of Mary Lynne Forrest, who passed away 20 years ago. George Forrest, Mary Lynne’s husband, decided to start the annual event in her memory to raise funds for the hospitals in north Wellington: Louise Marshall Hospital in Mount Forest and the Palmerston and District Hospital (PDH). This year, over $45,000 was raised from the tournament will  go toward the purchase of an MRI machine for PDH. 

Proceeds of $500 from a July 14 lemonade stand by Wellington North’s Arthur Day Camp have been used to set up a new Buddy Bench near the camp’s home base at the Arthur ball diamond. “After putting some thought into what the donations should go towards, our camp team decided to reach out to Myrna Hutchison and the SH44 (Get In Touch for Hutch) team, an organization [which] brings awareness to mental health in our Arthur community,” site leader Paige Coffey. “We are thrilled to join in on the Buddy Bench project, which focuses on fostering friendships, supporting kindness and inclusion, providing awareness on our mental health message of #NeverAlone and to promote an opportunity for conversations to begin on the playground.”

AUGUST 

Minto council approved a site plan control agreement for a 99-bed addition to long-term care (LTC) facilities at the Royal Terrace in Palmerston. The agreement was approved on Aug. 8. A report from director of building and planning Terry Kuipers indicated that, upon completion of the addition, the facility at 600 Whites Road in Palmerston will provide a total of 99 LTC beds and 80 retirement home beds. The facility currently houses 67 LTC care beds and 50 retirement home beds. The report notes Royal Terrace owner Kash Ramchandani estimates the expansion will create need for an additional 50 employees at the facility. Provincial approval was granted for 29 additional LTC beds at the facility in March of 2019.

Guelph-to-Owen Sound inter-community transit (GOST) buses will continue running through Wellington North for the next two years. A new agreement, signed by the township and Owen Sound, ensures riders can access buses in Wellington North until at least August of 2025. 

The existing agreement was set to expire at the end of August. The province fully funds the transportation program, which is administered by Owen Sound, with private transportation company Voyago contracted to operate it. The province is shelling out $818,354 in taxpayer dollars to fund the service from 2023 to 2025.

Members of a Midget softball team that captured an All-Ontario championship in 1963 gathered at the Harriston Library on Aug. 12 to share memories of the achievement. The team’s journey to capturing the Western Ontario Athletic Association title, then the Ontario Amateur Softball Association crown, required series wins over Linwood, Sarnia, Preston, Oshawa and Burlington, before the final series against the Cache Bay Trappers, a team representing northern Ontario.

SEPTEMBER

Mapleton council agreed to amend a policy that dictates staff wages be increased annually, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as of the end of August of the previous year. On Sept. 12, council approved a motion from councillor Michael Martin proposing the change. The motion, which was approved unanimously, also directs “that wage increases be proposed and discussed publicly during the annual budget process.” In 2023, following the former policy resulted in a seven per cent increase, based on the August 2022 CPI. Conversely, two years earlier, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic impacts, staff received no increase at all based on the relevant CPI data.

Minto council has approved an agreement to sell a 3.83-acre lot in the Palmerston Industrial Park to a local developer with plans to develop a business condominium complex. At the Sept. 12 meeting, council authorized an agreement of purchase and sale for the land at 460 Minto Rd. to Jeremy Metzger. Director of economic and community development Belinda Wick-Graham told council Metzger’s plans include putting up two buildings with combined total square footage of 24,000 square feet. “The purpose would be to create a condo project that would also allow ownership or rental options for a variety of businesses,” the report states. Wick-Graham said the deal is set to close on Jan. 24, with construction expected to start in April.

Local MPP Matthew Rae met with the team at New Growth Family Centre (NGFC) Inc. on Sept. 16 to recognize a $68,700 Resilient Communities Fund grant awarded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). “The New Growth Family Centre does amazing work to help children live life to their fullest potential,” said Rae. The grant is being used to recover from the impact of COVID-19 by improving communication through the purchase of equipment to upgrade technical capacity. The grant also provides for hiring support staff to assist and supervise  the complex needs of adolescent and youth clients who attend their therapeutic programs which includes short-term overnight respite accommodation. 

Youth games, a barbecue and rides on the “Sunflower Express” were part of the Optimist rink roof raising celebration in Moorefield on Sept. 23. The event wrapped up with a “Street dance” at the rink with Loose Change providing the musical entertainment.   

Mapleton Township is once again looking for outside assistance with financing and constructing municipal water/wastewater facilities. On Sept. 26, council directed staff to call for proposals for a “proponent who can assist in financing and construction of our water/wastewater assets.” A motion approved by council also directs staff to confirm the agreement will “indeed ensure that [tax] rate increases remain reasonable throughout the entire buildout of the plants.” Council also directed staff to engage the proponent to help establish a Municipal Service Corporation to “enable the borrowing of funds without negatively impacting the overall borrowing capacity of the township.” Regulated in Ontario under the Municipal Act, a Municipal Service Corporation’s shares are owned by a municipality, or a municipality and one or more other public-sector entities, to provide a system, service or thing that the municipality itself could provide.

OCTOBER

Four local groups received $3,250 each from the proceeds of the 2023 Minto Mayor’s Golf Tournament.

At the Oct. 3 town council meeting, the Harriston Skating Club, Grey Wellington Theatre Guild, Palmerston 150th Anniversary Committee and Teviotdale History Group were presented with the funds from the Aug. 10 tournament, held at Pike Lake Golf Centre.

“The groups chosen to benefit in 2023 provide a wide range of services to our community, including planning events to bring current and past residents together, teaching youth sports, supporting the arts and celebrating the history of Teviotdale,” said Minto deputy clerk and coordinator of human resources and legislative services Quinn Foerter, a member of the tournament organizing committee.

Wellington North council was set for a chilly dip into winter budget talks to determine how money will be poured from the 2024 budget into a proposed outdoor pool. Tillmann Ruth Robinson Inc., the architectural firm hired by the township to design a new Mount Forest pool to replace the defunct Lion Roy Grant pool, provided updated costing based on designs with modern building codes and accessibility standards. The cost has increased to an estimated $5.5 million from a $5.3 million estimate provided to council in January.  

Where the additional $200,000 is going to come from isn’t yet known, and may not be for some time. Council had agreed to spend $2.8 million in taxpayers’ dollars on the pool, to the tune of $350,000 each year for the next eight years, with the remaining $2.5 million tasked to a fundraising committee.

The Clifford and District Horticultural Society (CDHS) celebrated National Tree Day by planting a tree in the Old Rotary Park in Clifford to honour Georgie Hutchison, who passed away in January.  

“Georgie was an enthusiastic volunteer and avid gardener,” society officials note. 

Minto Mayor Dave Turton outlined some of the many organizations in Clifford that benefitted from her involvement, including Girl Guides, Knox United Church, Historical Fair, Homecoming Celebrations, Newcomers’ Welcome Program and many others. 

NOVEMBER

The beautification team for All Aboard Palmerston came together with members of the community and surrounding area to crochet 1,600 poppies into a banner that was placed onto the Old 81 Engine at Lions Park. Taylor Keunen, the beautification committee chair who helped bring the project to life, offered a brief speech at the official unveiling on Nov. 3. “We felt like we could do something big to honour our veterans, and pull the community together,” said Keunen.

The project was completed with 1,600 crocheted poppies in the matter of a month and a half. “In the end we had about 60 crocheters,” Keunen told the Community News. 

The Grey Wellington Theatre Guild brought a heartwarming Christmas comedy, set to seasonal music, to the stage at the Harriston Town Hall Theatre. Twelve Days ‘til Christmas followed the antics of an eccentric group of guests caught up in a hilarious struggle to find the Christmas spirit while stuck at the Pear Tree Hotel through the holidays.

Written by guild member Megan Raftis, the original script was brought to life by cast of 30 local actors from Harriston, Palmerston, Mount Forest, Listowel and surrounding areas. The show ran for six performances between Nov. 17 and 26.

Police charged two people in connection with the death of Jason John Brown, who was last seen alive in Harriston over four years ago. On Nov. 10, Wellington County OPP officials announced that Joshua Alexander Drumond, 32, of Edmonton, and Steven Jon Walsom-Gerigs, 33, of Brantford, have both been arrested and charged with kidnapping and first degree murder. Brown, 43, lived in Kitchener and was last seen on Jessie Street in Harriston on March 12, 2019. His body was located the following day, just north of Whitby.

DECEMBER

Organizers of a local event that brings hundreds together for fellowship and a Christmas Day meal are among the recipients of the first-ever Wishbone Awards. 

Minto residents Dave and Jean Anderson received one of eight 2023 awards for hosting the Andersons’ Community Christmas Dinner since 2016.

Launched by Think Turkey in response to rising food insecurity in Canada, the Wishbone Awards recognize and support “community heroes who help put holiday meals on the table for those in need,” a press release states. Nominations were open nationally from Nov. 2 to 15, inviting Canadians to share the story of a community hero who embodies the holiday spirit and is dedicated to fighting food insecurity. All recipients are recognized with a Wishbone Award and a $2,500 grant to help fund their 2023 holiday community efforts.

MOTUS O Dance Theatre recently received an award at the Flato Markham Theatre. At an awards ceremony in Markham, the Flato Markham Theatre presented MOTUS O, now located in Mount Forest, with the 2023 Professional Artist of the Year Award. 

The award goes to a professional artist and/or company that has had a varied career of considerable length, and has had a significant impact on the growth of the arts and culture scene within the City of Markham. 

The Seniors’ Centre for Excellence (SCE) and Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) teamed up for their fifth year of providing Christmas stockings to north Wellington seniors “needing a lift” this holiday season. “It’s for people who may not get a gift, people who are living alone, people who have had a really rough year … or they’ve been diagnosed with a chronic disease or cancer,” said SCE program coordinator Helen Edwards. This year, SCE and VON (Waterloo Wellington Dufferin – Mount Forest office) created 82 stockings to give out to seniors, a number that is up from previous years.