2008 Prince Newsletters
PRINCE TOWNSHIP NEWSLETTER
March 2008
Easter Holiday
A reminder to everyone, Friday, March 21st, 2008 is Good Friday and Monday, March 24th, 2008 is Easter Monday. Both of these days are recognized as civic holidays and thus, the Prince Township Office and other government agencies will be closed.
Throughout this month’s newsletter there are a number a hidden Easter eggs. Can you find them all?
Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society
March is Spay and Neuter Month
During the month of March the Humane Society will be offering the following specials;
All shelter adoptions made during the month of March will receive:
Ø $60 assistance on unaltered dogs and female cats.
Ø $40 assistance on male cats.
If you already own a dog or cat that has not been spayed or neutered, have the surgery done during the month of March and the Humane Society will give you a Spay or Neuter rebate of 25% with presentation of qualifying receipt. Dogs or cats can have the surgery in either Ontario or in Michigan.
Please call the Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society at 949-3573 for more information.
Careers in Prince
Prince Township is look for two new employees.
The positions that are available are for a Roads Superintendent and a Custodian.
If you are interested in either of these positions, please contact the Prince Township Chief Administrative Officer at 779-2992 or email annmitchell@twp.prince.on.ca with any further questions or if you would like a detailed job description.
Prince Township New Logo Contest
ATTENTION ALL ARTISTS!!
Prince Township is looking for a new logo and they want you to design it! What do you think of when you think of Prince? Depict it in a picture and you could win!
Prince is asking all artists, young and old, to participate in our contest to develop a new logo for our Township.
The proposed drawing must be submitted between April 1st and April 30th, 2008. All entries must include Designer’s Name, email, phone number and age category. Some of the possible symbols that may be included in your drawing are: windmills, lake superior, the Canadian Shield, farmland, the idea of a bedroom community. The age categories will be children (1-10), youth (11-17) and adult (18+).
The Tourism Committee will choose winners on the bases of originality, effort and age. Either a winning drawing will become the New Prince Logo or aspects of several winning contributions will be combined to make one new logo, with recognition from each contributor.
Prizes that contributors will be eligible to win will be announced in April’s newsletter.
Recreation Committee News
Prince
Recreation Committee would like to thank the Prince Volunteer
Firefighters for donating their time to watering the Township
Skating Rink.
A thanks also
goes to all of the people that attended the Skating Party/Bonfire on
February 17th, 2008. The hotdogs, hot chocolate,
marshmallows and cookies certainly were delicious and appreciated by
those in attendance. Food certainly tastes a whole lot better when
enjoyed with friends and cooked over an open fire. It was a snowy
day but we all had so
much
fun.
The Recreation Committee is looking for new members - come out and have some fun. If you don't want to join, we could use your assistance for cleaning the rink or helping with our fun day in August. Anything you can do to help is appreciated. Give us a call; tell us your area of expertise.
We meet on the third Tuesday of every month at 7pm. Our next meeting will be March 17th, 2008, (St. Patrick’s Day). Upcoming events include the Youth Council (May 7th, 2008) & Fun Day (August 23rd, 2008).
You may leave a message with the office or contact any member of the Recreation Committee.
Recreation Committee Members:
Ron Amadio: 779-3721
Bev Couch: 779-2764
Debbie Kempny: 779-3121
Christina Luukkonen: 779-2025
Lou Madonna: 779-2583
Connor Moore: 779-3814
Bobbi Williamson: 779-3238
David
Yanni: 779-3170
Youth Council
Attention all Kids and Teenagers!!
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008, at 6:30pm, in the Community Centre, the Recreation Committee is hosting their first Youth Council Meeting. This meeting is to receive the input from the local youth to determine what type of programs they would like to participate in. Youth eligible to attend will range from ages 8 to 18.
There will be no parental involvement and parents will not be permitted to participate or attend this meeting. The Council will be organized, conducted and supervised by Bobbi Williamson, Prince Township Councillor, Margaret Lacourciere, the Community Economic Development Officer and a local Youth Outreach Worker from the YMCA Employment & Community Services. The Youth Council will hold regular meetings once a month.
Come out and tell the Township what you want to happen in your town and what kind of events you would like to participate in! Only you can influence what happens in Prince!
Best Start Hub
Prince Township Community Centre
Mother Goose and Story Time
Come on out and enjoy Mother Goose Time! We will be having interactive stories and songs with all materials we use to take home to keep. Begins Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 10:30am, for six weeks. We will be having these sessions in our Prince Township Public Library. Come on out and enjoy some singing and a story!
Circle Time
We
will include a variety of fun, interactive and hands-on activities
for children reinforcing listening and socialization skills. Every
Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 11am.
Tiny Tot Gym Time
This gross motor activity will work on you and your child’s balance, coordination and cardio, while playing fun games and singing songs. Begins Friday March 28, 2008 at 10:30pm for six weeks. Come on out and get some fun exercise!
Easter Egg Hunt
Come
on out and hunt for some Easter Eggs. Everyone will get a treat bag
when they trade in their found eggs! Wednesday March 19, 2008 from
10:30am to 11:00am. Must be pre-registered. Please call 779-3627
or sign up on the parent table.
Hours
Monday to Friday 9:00-3:00pm
Tuesday and Thursday, also 6:00-8:00pm
Saturday 10:00-3:00pm
Please Note: The Best Start Hub Prince Township Community Centre will be closed from Saturday March 21, 2008 until Monday March 24, 2008 for the East Holiday. Our regular hours begin Tuesday March 25, 2008.
PUC Great Refrigerator Roundup collects energy-guzzling appliances.
PUC Distribution Inc. has collected 1,022 aging, energy-wasting refrigerators, freezers and room air conditioners as part of the Great Refrigerator Roundup.
The Ontario-wide free collection program recently surpassed the 50,000-unit milestone.
Randy Johnson, PUC manager of marketing and communications, said when the program was first announced, it was not known how many older appliances were plugged in locally.
"We had budgeted for 144 and we far exceed that," he said. "Part of the problem was we didn't know how many were out there or if people wanted to give them up."
Many are common "beer fridges" or second units in basements or garages, holding just small amounts of beverages.
"Either way, a fridge runs 24-7 when it's plugged in and those older models use a lot more energy," Johnson said.
Organized by the Ontario Power Authority to remove old and inefficient appliances, the roundup started in June and was available across Ontario by August. It exceeded its first-year target on December 12, 2007
Johnson said the PUC can't determine how many more old appliances will be collected this year.
Those that were at least nine years old last year now qualify for free removal under the 10-year-old criteria this year, he noted. Refrigerator, freezer and window air conditioning technologies have dramatically improved over the past 20 years.
A typical fridge built in 1986 uses 1,500 kWh, costing about $180 per year, while a new Energy Star-rated fridge would use one-third of that amount.
All recyclable metals and other materials from the free collection system are separated prior to going to the landfill.
Chemicals and pollutants are also removed according to government regulations prior to the decommissioning of the appliances.
Ontarians interested in participating in the Great Refrigerator Roundup can get details on the web at www.everykilowattcounts.ca
Appointments for appliance pickups can be made online or by calling toll-free 1-877-797-9473.
Throughout Ontario, Energy Minister Gerry Phillips hopes another 100,000 old appliances will be collected in 2008.
It's expected that other Ontario Power Authority programs designed to conserve electricity will be unveiled this year.
Library News
THANK YOU NOTES: The Prince Township Public Library wishes to thank all those guests at Rita Wagner’s recent birthday party who made monetary donations to the library in lieu of birthday gifts. At Rita’s request, the donations will go toward the purchase of a much-needed printer/photocopier/scanner for the library office.
We’d also like to commend Kayla Stafford, a frequent library visitor, for her thoughtfulness in suggesting this special way to honour Grandma Rita. Thanks as well to Lydia Wagner, Kayla’s mom, for passing her daughter’s suggestions along to the party guests.
* * *
The library is also grateful to Karen Vallee and Jennifer Boston from the Best Start Hub for their quick thinking in preventing water damage to our computers after the lengthy power outage that resulted in the flooding of the Hub’s premises on Jan. 30. We look forward to seeing kids and parents return there as soon as the repairs are completed.
* * *
RECOMMENDED
READING: If you enjoy political or medical thrillers, you’ll get a
taste of both with The First Patient by Michael Palmer, in
which the physician to the American President suspects that someone
is using sinister medical methods to drive his patient insane.
Also in the political vein, we have a large-print copy of David Baldacci’s Stone Cold, the third book of the Camel Club series, featuring “Oliver Stone” and his conspiracy tracking buddies.
If you prefer the personal to the political, try The Secret Between Us, by Barbara Delinsky, in which a mother agrees to takes the blame for a car-pedestrian accident caused by her teenage daughter.
Our paperback choice is Jodi Picault’s The Tenth Circle, written partly in the form of a graphic novel, which illustrates that real life often mimics comic books when the forces of good and evil collide.
BOOK CLUB: Our next book club meeting is set for Thursday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m., when we will discuss Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who describes her flight from war-ravaged Somalia to Holland, where she risked her life to expose the suffering of women living in rigid Islamic cultures.
MOTHER GOOSE PROGRAM: This weekly program, offered jointly by the library and the Best Start Hub, invites to preschool children and their parents to listen to stories and rhymes in the library each Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Besides being entertaining, the stories reinforce basic language and counting skills.
WINTER SPRING HOURS: Monday 1-3, Tuesday 1-3 and 6:30-8, Wednesday 10-noon and 1-3, Thursday 1-3 and 6:30-8, Friday 10-noon. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
HOLIDAY CLOSING: The library will close for Good Friday on March 21 and for Easter Monday on March 24.
REMINDER TO PATRONS: When using our after-hours book deposit box outside the Community Centre, please place all returned items in a plastic bag to avoid weather damage.
Wendy’s Smile Corner...
There was and continues to be …plenty to smile about!
J NH’s B.Day reel … too funny!
J A snow-day with lights and heat remaining in the ‘on’ position!
J An A&P price checker that loves to read the ‘smile corners’! (Bless you!)
J Applauding the strength & versatility of Ms.T…that hockey bag is heavy!!!
J Meeting up with Carol B in an outdoor parking lot … just to laugh in the cold!
J The woman is wearing a rock that ‘sparkles’ (just like her)…Congrats T & R!
J ‘Yo, yo – Home-Slice to French Toast” … had me laughing out loud!
“We could learn
a lot from a box of 
crayons…
Some are sharp, some are pretty, & some are dull. Some have
different names, and all have different colours; and they all live
in the same box”.
Share your SMILE and brighten someone’s day – you’ll be glad you did!
P.S. And don’t let worldly stress get you down… accept the fact that some days we feel like the pigeon, and other days we feel like the statue!
Prince Township Surveys
The results are in! As of February 25th, 2008, there have been a total of 58 surveys returned to the Town Hall and Airways General Store.
The Winners of the Prince Township Survey Participation draws are as follows:
The winner of “Township of Prince: A Royal Experience” is: George Hladki
The winner of a $20 Gift Certificate from Boots and Saddles is: Diane Marshall
The winner of a $25 Gift Certificate from Airways General Store is: Donalda Walls
Prince Township would like to thank all those who participated in the local survey. We would like to thank Ronda from Airways General Store for allowing us to have a drop-off box at her store. We would also like to thank the Prince Library, Ray from Boots and Saddles and Ronda from Airways General Store for their generous donations to assist in the participation of this survey.
Prince Township would like to remind residents that they can still drop off their completed surveys at the Municipal Town Office between regular business hours for the entire month of March.
The information gathered from these surveys are under review and shall be released with in the next couple of months.
Prince Township Council
The following resolutions were passed at the Regular Meeting of Council held January 22, 2008, Council Meeting:
Present:
Reeve: Lou Madonna
Councillors: Ron Amadio
Ken Lamming
Roberta Williamson
David Yanni
Staff: Ann Mitchell, CAO/Administrator
Paul Cassan, Wishart Law Firm
Resolution 2008-6
Moved by Roberta Williamson
Seconded by David Yanni
“Resolved that the Council of the Township of Prince hereby confirm the wages for 2007.’
Carried.
Resolution 2008-8
Moved by Roberta Williamson
Seconded by Ken Lamming
“Resolved that the Council of the Township of Prince hereby resolve that the Township give the museum Board a grant of $500.00 for the year 2008.”
Carried.
Resolution 2008-9
Moved by David Yanni
Seconded by Ken Lamming
“Resolved that the Council of the Township of Prince hereby support the resolution passed on December 17, 2007 by the Township of Brock concerning the MOE and OMAFRA with regards to Non-Agricultural Source Material.’
Carried.
Resolution 2008-10
Moved by Ken Lamming
Seconded by David Yanni
“Resolved that the Council of the Township of Prince hereby seek confirmation in the 2008 Federal Budget that the Government of Canada is committed to allocating the Gas Tax funding as a permanent source of infrastructure investment revenue for municipalities.’
Carried.
Resolution 2008-11
Moved by David Yanni
Seconded by Roberta Williamson
“Resolved that the Council of the Township of Prince hereby confirm that a communication from Infrastructure Ontario containing more information about the program and how to submit an application will be sent to eligible municipalities when the application process is open in the new year .”
Carried
Resolution 2008-12
Moved by Roberta Williamson
Seconded by Ken Lamming
“Resolved that the Council of the Township of Prince hereby seek confirmation that the Ministries of Finance and the Municipal Affairs and Housing have confirmed individual municipal OMPF allocations will remain stable for 2008.’
Carried.
The following resolutions were passed at the Regular Meeting of Council held February 12, 2008, Council Meeting:
Present:
Reeve: Roberta Williamson (Acting Reeve)
Councillors: Ron Amadio
Ken Lamming
David Yanni
Staff: Ann Mitchell, CAO/Administrator
Leslie Cassidy-Amadio, Acting Fire Chief
Others: Wilf Lefresne, ADnet
Rob Walz, Algoma Insurance
Paul Cassan, Wishart Law Firm
Jerry Archibald
Lillian Archibald
Resolution 2008-16
Moved by Ron Amadio
Seconded by Ken Lamming
“Resolved that the Council of the Township of Prince hereby appoint Roberta Williamson as Deputy Reeve for this meeting.”
Carried.
Resolution 2008-18
Moved by David Yanni
Seconded by Ron Amadio
“Resolved that the report of the Administrator with regards to Mileage be accepted as presented.”
Carried.
Resolution 2008-19
Moved by David Yanni
Seconded by Ken Lamming
“Resolved that the Report of the Administrator with regards to Spring Run Off on Walls Road be accepted as presented.”
Carried.
Resolution 2008-20
Moved by Ken Lamming
Seconded by David Yanni
“Resolved that the report of the Administrator with regards to Family Day Closure be accepted as presented and further that the Township of Prince be closed yearly for Family Day.”
Carried.
Resolution 2008-22
Moved by Ron Amadio
Seconded by David Yanni
“Resolved that the Council of the Township of Prince hereby support the City of Port Colborne with regards to the collapse of Canada’s Infrastructure.”
Carried.
Resolution 2008-23
Moved by Ron Amadio
Seconded by David Yanni
“Resolved that the Council of the Township of Prince hereby support the Township of Galway-Cavendish & Harvey with regards to petitioning the Government of Canada and Province of Ontario to ban the ownership of handguns.”
Carried.
If
you have any questions regarding the above or any resolution, please
contact any member of Council:
Reeve Lou Madonna
779-2583
949-1978
Cell 254-8989
Councillors
Ron Amadio 779-3721
Ken Lamming 779-2875
Bobbi Williamson 779-3238
David Yanni 779-3170
Recycling and Garbage
BLUE BOX DATES – March 12 & 27
GARBAGE DATES – March 5, 12, 19 & 27
Please sort recyclables. Blue box and garbage containers should be placed for collection by 7:00 a.m. Please remember that the bins in the back of the Township Hall are clearly marked. DO NOT PLACE GARBAGE OR ITEMS THAT DO NOT BELONG IN THE BINS!
Museum and Historical Culture
Prince Township needs a formal report on the history of Prince outlining its historical events and mapping out where these events happened in order to create an accurate time line. Margaret Lacourciere will be completing this report and time line. She is asking for assistance from local residents in completing this historical background report. Residents can assist by submitting photocopies of stories, pictures, newspaper articles, old flyers, advertisements, etc, which are clearly dated.
Anyone wanting to contribute to this project can contact Margaret Lacourciere at 779-2992, email Margaret@twp.prince.on.ca, or you can visit her at the municipal office.
Friends
of the Prince Township Library News
MAMMOTH BOOK SALE, APRIL 3-5:
The Friends of the Prince Township Library will hold this year’s Mammoth Book Sale in the Station Mall from Thursday, April 3rd to Saturday, April 5th. Transportation and set-up in the mall will begin on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008.
The Mammoth Book Sale offers hardcover and paperback books, jigsaw puzzles, videotapes, and musical compact discs at low prices. Most items sell for $1.00 or lower, so now’s the time to stock up on summer reading.
If you already have a houseful of gently used books (not yellowed or torn) and working CDs and VHS tapes you don’t need, we’ll gladly accept them as donations.
Our
Friends group also needs volunteers to transport, sort, and sell the
donated items. If you can work a two-hour shift, we’ll be happy to
have you join us. We also welcome high school students who want to
earn community service hours toward graduation.
For further information, or to volunteer, call Marguerite La Haye at 779-3653
or 779-3907 or Judy McGonigal at 779-3643.
Employment Connection
Come and meet with an Employment Consultant who can assist you in your job search. An Employment Connection consultant will be available on Thursday, March 21, 2008, from 1 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Prince Township Municipal Offices.
An Employment Consultant can help you:
- Prepare/review your resume
- Write a cover letter
- Brainstorm employment prospects
- Job search on the Internet
- Provide advice/support
This service is brought to you FREE of charge and is funded by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.
Dealing with a Power Outage
Do to the several severe winter storms in the area, here are some tips to help you prepare in the event that a storm causes a power outage.
Assemble an emergency kit in advance. It should include...
· Battery-powered radio or television. The news media will provide updates on when electricity will be restored
· Flashlights or battery-operated lanterns
· Extra batteries
· Candles with holders
· Matches
· Bottled water
· Manual can opener
· Nonperishable food
· Disposable plates and utensils
· Wind-up or battered-powered clock
· Corded telephone. Cordless phones don't work when the power goes out and your cell phone may not work if cell towers are affected
Make a list of emergency phone numbers and keep this list handy, by the corded phone.
· PUC : 759-6500
o Customer Service : 759-6522
o Emergencies : 759-6555
· Great Lake Power : 759-7600
· Lake Superior Power : 942-8804
Other storm preparedness tips:
· If you use electrically powered life-support equipment, ask your doctor about emergency battery backup systems.
· Protect sensitive electronic equipment, such as computers, televisions and other devices, with surge suppressors.
· Make sure you know how to safely reset your circuit breaker or change fuses. Keep extra fuses on hand.
· If a well is your source for water, plan ahead to determine how you will get drinking water. Store containers of water for cooking and washing.
· Know how to open your garage door manually if it is equipped with an automatic opener.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers additional emergency preparedness tips. Call 800.480.2520 or visit fema.gov
During an extended power outage…
· Unplug all motor-driven appliances (refrigerators and freezers), heat-producing appliances (stoves, curling irons, etc.) and sensitive electronic equipment (televisions, stereos and computers) to minimize the danger of fire and to prevent an electrical overload when power is restored. Leave one light on so you'll know when power is restored.
· Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. If power will be out for a long time, contact a dry ice distributor. Find a local dry ice distributor in your phone book or online at yellowpages.com.
Some of the more common electronics and appliances that may be sensitive to electric variations include:
|
Plan Ahead
· When buying appliances that depend on an internal clock or timer (like an answering machine or bedside alarm clock), buy one with a battery backup. Mark your calendar to replace the battery on a yearly basis.
· Protect personal computers from loss of information by backing up files periodically.
· Minimize interference from motors and other large loads by placing sensitive equipment on separate circuits.
· Properly ground all equipment you want to protect
Install
Protection Devices
There are several devices available that may help alleviate the
effect of power variations on your electric appliances.
·
Surge
Suppressors
The simplest and least expensive solution, suppressors limit the
size of voltage spikes to a level safe for most electronic devices.
In addition, they are easily installed between the equipment and the
wall outlet. However, they will not protect your equipment from
low/high voltage or outages.
·
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
This device supplies power to the equipment it is protecting for
short periods of time during an interruption. The length of time
that uninterrupted power is maintained depends upon the size of the
battery in the UPS and the size of the load being supplied.
Call for Volunteers for the New Tourism Committee
The Township of Prince is looking for volunteers for a new Tourism Committee. This Committee will be responsible for the new development projects such as the Wind Farm Tours, the Marina and the Prince Museum and Historical Culture. Each of these projects shall be lead by a project head. The project head for the Wind Farm Tours will be Ron Amadio. The project head for the Marina will be Bobbi Williamson. The project head for the Prince Museum and Historical Culture will be David Yanni. The Project Heads shall be the designated spokes person for each project at all committee and general meetings.
Do
to the lack of attendance; the Tourism Committee still needs to
elect its board. We want to make the public aware that Prince
Council members WILL NOT BE PERMITTED to sit on the board of this
committee! Thus, we need additional residents to volunteers to
become board members for this committee.
At our first meeting, which was on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008, we discussed the development of the Wind Farms Lookout Tower. The following is a review of that discussion.
YOUR OPINION COUNTS!
VOICE YOURSELF AND YOU WILL BE HEARD!!
The Tourism Committee’s next meeting will be March 17th, 2008 at 8pm, immediately following the Recreation Committee Meeting. We hope to see you out there.
If there are any comments or questions regarding the Tourism Committee please contact Margaret Lacourciere at 779-2992 or Margaret@twp.prince.on.ca.
Airways General Store
Coming this week, K-cups for the Kuerig coffee machines.
On the Run? Did you know we carry a variety of Rico’s pasta products and sauces? We also have chicken strips, Roadhouse burgers, Pogo’s, frozen veggies and more!
New Movie Releases: Michael Clayton, American Gangster, The Assassination of Jessie James, No Reservations, The Brave One, and many more!
Dog Tags
Dog Licences are now available at the Municipal Office. The cost is $7.50 for a spayed or neutered dog or $15.00 otherwise. A licence must be purchased by March 1, 2008, after which there is a $15.00 penalty – per dog. If you cannot make the deadline please contact the Township Office at 779-2992.