Dam gets $2.7-million makeover

Construction is set to start next week on a $2.7-million upgrade to the Conestogo Dam near Glen Allan in Mapleton Township.

The work involves upgrades to the stilling basin, which calms the water as it surges through the dam gates. The stilling basin can currently handle flows of 700 cubic metres per second (cms), while the dam gates are capable of releasing 1,400 cms. …Read more

Woolwich lowers building charges

Where Waterloo Region is hiking the development charges for new homes, Woolwich Township is proposing to drop its fees by about 20 per cent.

For fully serviced lots in Woolwich’s urban areas, the new charges adopted by councillors Tuesday night see levies fall to $4,395 from the current $5,474. In Breslau, due to servicing arrangements with the City of Kitchener, …Read more

Council approves sidewalk projects

New sidewalks are in the works for stretches of roads in four Woolwich settlements this summer, part of a $169,000 plan approved this week by Woolwich council.

Conestogo will see the most work, including a new walkway on the south side of Sawmill Road between Northfield Drive and Evening Star Lane, for which the Region of Waterloo will pick up the $16,800 tab …Read more

Never too soon to plan for winter’s worst

Going into a summer hiatus, Woolwich council had wintry weather in mind, making a few adjustments to the sidewalk snow-clearing bylaw first adopted in 2006.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the language of the bylaw was made more specific, indicating that clearing of snow does not necessarily require removal down to the concrete, but to a level of no more than 3.8 centimetres …Read more

Summer’s the time for kids to really connect to nature

School’s out. Parents of younger children are certainly aware of the fact: many will have had to make alternative arrangements for childcare. Some may be grumbling about that.

You’ll probably see kids placed into structured programs, such as day camps and bible schools. All-day recreational activities abound. Let’s hope, however, that there remain plenty of opportunities for kids to be …Read more

Agreement sets stage for industrial infilling at Elmira site

A long-vacant piece of industrial land in Elmira moved closer to development with Woolwich council’s approval Tuesday night of a subdivision agreement.

The deal with 2144183 Ontario Ltd. creates three new industrial lots on land surrounding the former Glenoit building on Howard Avenue, one of which is slated to house a propane distribution facility …Read more

Former student to head Rockway

From student to principal of Rockway Mennonite Collegiate.

That’s the path that Betsy Petker has taken. But it didn’t happen overnight. After some 32 years as a teacher and administrator with the Waterloo Region District School Board, the former Rockway Collegiate student was hired by the school to be its new principal, beginning Feb. 15, 2010 …Read more

Development options in the toilet

Just how much intensification can take place in St. Jacobs’ core boils down to the number of toilets allowed. Sewage capacity is the number-one stumbling block in a Mercedes Corp. plan to develop a residential project on Front Street.

A 14-unit townhouse project was discussed Tuesday night at a public meeting in Woolwich council chambers, but the company would prefer to see something closer to a 70-unit condo apartment building. But with only …Read more

Wellesley names its first full-time fire chief

After sifting through 30 applications from as far afield as Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Germany and Dubai, the Township of Wellesley found a new fire chief close to home.

The successful candidate is Andrew Lillico, deputy fire chief for the City of Waterloo. Lillico was offered the job at a special caucus meeting of council June 22. …Read more

Making it official brings summer weather

Winter came early and spring arrived late, but it seems Mother Nature finally checked the calendar and summer arrived right on time this week.

This week’s high temperatures could be a taste of what the rest of summer will be like, according to Environment Canada. On Tuesday, the weather office updated its summer forecast for July and August, predicting those …Read more

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