Wellington North council briefs: Township recognizes volunteers, earmarks fire safety grant for training, computers

WELLINGTON NORTH –  Councillors here took a moment out of their April 12 meeting to recognize April 18 to 24 as National Volunteer Week.

“As we all know, volunteers are extremely critical to the amenities that we enjoy in our community, so it’s really quite good that we were able to do this little bit of recognition,” said Mayor Andy Lennox.

Grant application

Also at the April 12 meeting council considered a Fire Safety Grant program application for approval. Ontario announced a new grant program for fire services in Ontario, with North Wellington eligible to receive $7,500.

Council approved a resolution to allow the fire department to enter a payment agreement with the province to receive funds.

Fire Chief Chris Harrow explained fire chiefs in the county have decided to pool their $7,500 to buy bigger things individual departments alone could not afford.

Up to $5,000 of the money will be for the Blue Card training program, with the remaining $2,500 used for purchasing computers and tablets to assist with online training.

“We are definitely looking for some more online support,” said Harrow. “We realize this isn’t going away and it’s going to be the future for fire training.”

Contributor