This Week in Deerwood Forest

Here's quite a bunch of photos from this week in the woods. I'll be back with this feature in a month's time.

It's time for me think about the Seguin Quotes I've collected from people in Ward 1 and write down my basic campaign platform. I'll spend a good deal of thought on it and state my platform on this blog.

Hope you like the pictures...

Newspapers Retract 'Climategate'

Check out this Newsweek article which summarizes the various Climategate retractions and apologies by newspapers (The Sunday Times of London) denying the human impact of Climate Change.

It's about time. But as the article notes, the damage is done. Lies seem more compelling in these times. Meatheads will continue to blather lies as convincing truth.

Campaign Sign Timber

Yesterday I did some more sign stenciling, then moved on to cutting timber into signs. The new table saw really helped out. Because, you know, hand sawing is all well and good, but there's a lot of wood to cut.

So....

Campaign Sign Stencils

Crafty me, I've begun my back-of-the-cereal-box work of cutting letters for my campaign signs. I'm going for the record of low-cost political campaigns. I don't like to spend money unless it's necessary. And I hate the idea of using plastic signs.

Hey, I went to kindergarten. I know how to make my own signs.

This Week in Deerwood Forest

Seguin Quotes: June 19th - 20th

I was back on the campaign trail again on a weekend with forecasts of rain and thunder, but was warm and sunny. This installment of my 'Seguin Quotes' series garnered only one quoter. Maybe I'm losing my touch! Though many people weren't home during my visit, and those who were had a lot to say. I don't know exactly why people don't want to go on record about things they'd like to change. There are many people who are happy just as things are and that's just fine.

Saturday, I cycled highway 518, Shoebottom Road, and McNaughts Road. Then on Sunday I visited people on Little Finland Road, Fox Cresent, and Nestor's Lane.

So, this set of quotes is from my only quoter of the weekend, Balbina Mersch.

My question: "What's the one thing you would change about Seguin Township?"

Fox Cresent.

"Keep taxes the way they are. Don't raise them" - Balbina Mersch, Fox Cresent.

"In the summertime [Fox Cresent] gets dusty. Can they do something in summer to keep the dust down?" - Balbina Mersch, Fox Cresent.

"Two years ago they promised to fix the road and property boundry problem [on my frontage]. Nothing has happened since. Any day they can fix it. I would appreciate it" - Balbina Mersch, Fox Cresent.

Little Finland Road.


Ward 1 resident on Little Finland Road - no comment.


View from a deck on Little Finland Road.


Nestor's Lane.

This Week in Deerwood Forest

Seguin Quotes: June 13th

After a few weeks away, I spent this Sunday on the campaign trail again. This is the next installment of my 'Seguin Quotes' series.

I swung up to the north end of Ward 1 and visited some homes along Highway 518 and ended the day on Carruthers Road. Carruthers has two long, steep gravel hills to climb that I managed to bike both up and down in one piece. There's no better way, to my mind, of enjoying the countryside than on a bicycle. It also helps me get in shape which is not such a bad idea.

This Sunday I spent a lot of time talking with a few people. I'm there to listen for as long as people want me there. While that's a good thing, I often don't get to meet as many Ward 1 people as I would like to. If I didn't get to speak to you on this round, I hope to visit more people along Hwy 518 soon.

So, onto this Sunday's quotes. The 'Seguin Quotes' series reveals the considered thoughts and beliefs of the people of Ward 1.

My question: "What's the one thing you would change about Seguin Township?"

A hill with hidden driveways on Highway 518.

"You don't see cars coming [along highway 518] from the Orrville side, coming over the hill. People driving from the Orville direction is the real problem. They carry over the hill like drag racing. You can't safely back-up out of my driveway. If you put signs up are people really going to pay attention? We need greater police presence on 518. Someone's going to get killed" - Judy Secord, Highway 518.

"What is the acreage law for keeping horses on your property? It used to be two acres per horse, then it went up to five acres. They've changed it again and I don't know if it's 10 acres, or 25 acres. Like, what is it now?" - Wendy Langlais, Highway 518.

Highway 518.

"Transparency is a real problem" - Rick and Luanne Jaklitisch, Highway 518.

"We're being over regulated" - Rick and Luanne Jaklitisch, Highway 518.

"We don't want to see taxes increase. We don't think it's necessary" - Dan Murphy, Highway 518.

One of the wash-out gravel hills on Carruthers Road.

"When we were a part of Foley we used to have our gravel road graded regularly. Since we've been made part of Seguin the road is graded irregularly. The steep hill on our road gets washed out often and needs special attention" - Hank Reinders, Carruthers Road.

View from a deck on Carruthers Road.

OCD: Council By-law, Racing, Noise, Environmental Decision

A major Ward 1 issue was decided by Seguin council on June 7th. The issues surrounding the operation of the Ontario Camp of the Deaf (OCD) in terms of zoning, noise, and environmental damage were addressed by voting.

Will Seguin sue OCD for by-law infractions? No.

Will Seguin pass a by-law to enshrine a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with OCD to limit racing activities and related noise and environmental impacts? Yes.

Further details of the council meeting may be found in two Cottage Country Now articles...

'Seguin Votes to Leave Deaf Camp Alone'.

'Deaf Camp Agreement a Compromise, Mayor Says'.

The second article reports Mayor Conn's summary of the council's 4-3 decision to support the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement with OCD...

... it passed a memorandum of understanding and new bylaws; including racing time restrictions, limits to the number of races, enforced muffler use, stipulations the camp adhere to Ministry of the Environment noise limits, and an order it undergo an environmental audit and meet any environmental recommendations the audit produces.

As I've expressed in previous posts, my main concern was about the noise pollution issue - that OCD must conform to MOE limits on noise.

Here's the related excerpt of the MOU agreement...

COMMITMENTS OF THE MISSION [OCD]

2. c. adopt follow and implement the findings/recommendations contained in the noise report of the August 8, 2009 racing report, subject to the modifications, etc. outlined in the peer review completed by the Townships noise consultant, which findings/recommendations shall include among other things, implementation of applicable MOE Guidelines, construction of berms or planting of vegetation on the property, implementation of sound muffling devices on vehicles and other operational protocols, etc.

I'm satisfied in that quantifiable measures will set the limit of legal noise for by-law enforcement. Now, the key is the strict enforcement of the by-laws. I've also called for high, escalating fines for infraction. Without high fines imposed, noise limits may be exceeded and paid simply as a cost of doing OCD business.

The noise issue could be improved upon even more by OCD adhering to the highest standards of Ontario racetrack noise reduction levels. This option - especially considering that fact that OCD is in a residential and wildlife zone - actually makes more sense.

Another element of OCD operations not addressed by the MOU is the existence of an extensive forest trail system on OCD property (60 km of trail by some estimates) used by motorized vehicles which is not officially classified as racetrack. This is a failing on the part of Seguin's MOU in that it does not address the entirety of OCD (potentially commercial) operations. I suspect an expansion of the scope of OCD commercial operations over the years and far beyond the scope in any past agreement or understanding with the former Foley Township.

How would I have voted?...

Sue OCD for zoning infraction? Nay (not for racing activities in place as of the date of amalgamation).

Pass the MOU as written? Nay. The MOU which passed 4-3 , in my opinion, fails to consider the total scope of OCD motorsport operations. The current MOU, while requiring MOE noise pollution limits, doesn't punish commercial offenders sufficiently for infractions and fails to consider all motorsport activity conducted on OCD property.

Raspberry Trail

I'm reverting to my forestry blog ways with yet another woodsy post. Go right ahead and skip over these green-coloured photo sections if you're all politics all the time. I'll be campaigning again this weekend, so...there's plenty more voter quotes to come.

As I mentioned previously, there was a big growth spurt in the forest raspberry population of late. The trouble with having forest trails though raspberry sections (or possibly blackberry) is that it gets overgrown real quick. As you can see in the photo below, the trail simply disappears...


So, on this rainy day I set off with a pair of gloves to pull out the offending plants. I do try my best to pull them out roots and all, but these young growths mostly snap off at the base with root system intact to start growing again tomorrow. Well, at least I can walk this path again without the raspberry bush level-of-hell thigh needle torture treatment.


Sure, I could wait a couple of years for the plants to grow big and woody enough to pull out the roots and all. But that would mean the trail would be overgrown with eight foot tall monsters like the ones in the photo below.


Sure, I get those plants clear once and for all, but I've had to close the trail for three years. And then other seeds take root and we start all over again. Really, there are some sections where wood chips might be a good idea.

This Week in Deerwood Forest

I've returned to the forest after a few weeks away. There has been significant plant growth - some raspberry plants have grown three feet in the middle of forest trails.

Here's some photos from a stroll through Deerwood yesterday.

The bears are back.