Up-close and personal with the Kings
Although the Elmira Sugar Kings kept their fans on the edge of their seats during the course of a nail-biter of a game Sunday afternoon, some of the younger fans were itching for the match to end. Not because they were disinterested with the action, but because they knew that when the last buzzer sounded it was time for them to lace up their skates and take to the ice with the team. Read more
Trail opponents continue to press Wellesley council
A Wellesley Village neighbourhood remains divided over the prospect of a trail running through a new subdivision. As council met for the last time this year, officials were no closer to a decision on a contentious issue that’s dragged on for months. Read more
Local skater going to Special Olympics
Natalie Stevanus loves to dance. Although her favourite music is by Shania Twain, basically any song with a good beat will get her to the dance floor. “When we go to weddings,” said her mother Linda from their Bloomingdale home, “She is up dancing from the beginning to the very, very end.” Read more
Comeback Kings make it three for three
The Elmira Sugar Kings have something to smile about as they go into the Christmas holiday: the team won all three of their games last week. First they went on the road to beat Kitchener 5-0, and then trumped the Listowel Cyclones in their own barn 8-4, before making a major comeback to beat the Guelph Hurricanes 6-5 in overtime. Read more
Jacks split final two games before Christmas
The Wellesley Applejacks will only get a week’s holiday from play during Christmas, but coach Kevin Fitzpatrick says it is a much needed break as a number of teammates are off the ice with injury or illness. This last week’s play saw the team lose to the Tavistock Braves 7-4 and then beat the Burford Bulldogs at home, 4-1. Read more
Down the path set by Robert Cooke
The papers have been signed and what was once Robert Cooke Trucking is now a part of a larger environmental site remediation company, Ground Force, but new owners are hoping that customers won’t even notice the change. Read more
Winter conditions cause spike in collisions
Despite the efforts of snowplow crews, Waterloo Regional Police reported a spike in minor accidents in some parts of the region, as drivers slipped and skidded on slush and snow-covered roads during the first real snowfalls of the season.
By Monday afternoon, police had reported 107 property damage and nine injury collisions in the previous 24 hours due to weather conditions, said Const. Graham Williamson of the OPP highway safety division.
“Pretty well close to 100 per cent of the collisions that have happened simply occurred because the drivers were travelling too fast for the conditions. Even though the weather is getting a lot better, the roads are still very slippery,” he said later in the week.
Region of Waterloo manager of transportation operations Ed Switenky echoed that statement, saying that despite the rise in accidents over the past week, the snow-clearing efforts in the region have been going quite well.
The normal operating hours at the township are from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., but superintendant of Woolwich public works, Barry Baldasaro says those hours get pushed to the limits during the winter because of the townships inability to hire extra staff.
OUT ON THE ROADS The weekend's snowfall add a Christmas-like feeling to Arthur Street in Elmira, but the driving was treacherous.
“We have crews out there at 5 a.m. each day and they are clearing snow and salting for about 20 hours per day,” Switenky explained. “On some roads, blowing snow causes drifts which can make the roads especially icy and slippery, but we try to be there as much as possible to keep the ice from developing.”
The township has seven plows, as well as one backup truck and two graders that are fitted with ice-breaking blades for use on gravel roads. In each of the past 12 years, the region has erected about 13.5 kilometres of snow fencing along regional roads to prevent snow from drifting across the driving lanes. To keep the surfaces clear, crews use about 50,000 tons of salt each year.
Over the past week, the Western Region OPP responded to more than 540 collisions, and portions of several major roads, including highways 6, 7/8, 9, 21, 401 and 402 were closed at times due to treacherous conditions.
“We just want to remind drivers to slow down their driving now that the winter weather is here,” said Switenky. “It is winter. No matter what type of vehicle you are driving, the driving is going to be more difficult. Roads can ice quickly.”
EDSS students pitch in with e-waste
More than 300 million empty printer cartridges are disposed of each year in North America, equaling about 900 million pounds of waste that can potentially end up in a landfill. But for a few days in January, the EDSS Environmental Club will be doing their part to make sure that Elmira’s used electronics get to the right place. Read more
Doll-maker’s handicraft on display
If you were able to take a trip back in time 40 years and you walked down Arthur Street in downtown Elmira, there is a good chance you would have seen Esther Otto’s family’s doll shop. Before the building became what is now Woolwich Community Services, the red brick structure was home to Esther’s family and rows upon rows of hand-crafted dolls. Read more
Glasgow Street bridge set to reopen
After a $267,000 repair including the replacement of stringers, a new deck using laminated wood, a new tar-and-chip surface and various welding spots, the Glasgow Street South Bridge in Conestogo is nearly ready to reopen.
Woolwich officials expect the span to resume carrying traffic next week.
While the bridge is structurally sound at this point, the final work – including the waterproofing and resurfacing – has been put off until next summer, when the weather is more cooperative.
“The crew is out there putting the last touches on it now for its reopening,” said Richard Sigurdson, engineering project supervisor for the Township of Woolwich. “But it will be closed down for a period of time in the summer as well for some other things.”
In September, Woolwich councilors awarded a $267,000 contract to Looby Builders of Dublin, Ont. to carry out the work, a decision considered to be a quick-fix. The repairs were considered the best medium-term solution, with other options two and three times higher. In the longer-term, the township will have to look at a major rehabilitation project, or perhaps even replacing the structure.
“It is going to be reopened with the understanding that it will need more permanent fixes in the future,” said Sigurdson.
The 124-year-old bridge is mounted on pins that cause some natural movement in the structure, but not to the extent caused by the kind of speeding traffic that was never envisioned in the 19th century.
“The reality with very old structures like this is that they need to be inspected every year,” said Sigurdson. “There will be a shopping list of things to do to the bridge every year to make sure it’s safe to use.”
A funding plan and rehabilitation schedule is expected to be part of the 2011 budget process now underway.
The bridge was closed for several weeks last fall when the deteriorating deck was deemed unsafe. The township spent $36,000 for interim repairs.
The previous deck, also wood, lasted 13 years. With better technology and materials to be used this time, the township expects 15 to 18 years of use from the new deck.
