Saturday, December 21, 2013

Saturday December 21, 2013

Ladies and Gentlemen

Christmas is upon us. Time to gather family and friends together and get those last minute gifts wrapped. For those who have to travel this Christmas season, have a safe trip.

The Town offices close from noon on the 24th and reopen Thursday Jan 2nd.   It doesn’t mean though that the Town is shut down.  The ladies and gentlemen who plow our streets will remain on duty to clear the snow.  Water, waste water as well as Police and Fire will remain at your service.

Many other service agencies will also be working this Christmas. The GuestHouse will continue to serve the homeless, Georgian Bay General Hospital will look after the sick, Wendat  and the Salvation Army will continue to care for those in need. So many deserve a thank you for helping us this Christmas.

Just one program note – Bruce Stanton invites you to his annual New Year’s skating party on December 31st from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at the NSSRC.

Merry Christmas - And to all a good night.

Gord McKay


Be part of Midland’s Year of Getting Involved - 2013.

                                                                                              



Sunday, December 15, 2013

Sunday December 15, 2013

Ladies and Gentlemen

A fall of snow and the Christmas landscape is upon us.  All those who live in Midland know the special caring that we have for our neighbours at this time of year, as we gather family and friends to celebrate the season.  I want to recognize the good work of our Midland Police department that has been out these past two week-ends, tempting frost-bite, collecting food to help those in need. Please find it in your heart to help them out.  The last day for the Midland Police Cram-a-Cruiser program is the 21st at Valu-Mart, Foodland, Superstore and Canadian Tire.  Also your neighborhood Kelsey’s restaurant will be accepting food donations until the 22nd.

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Monday December 16th starts with the Town’s annual emergency planning exercise. Every year Midland goes through an emergency exercise, on paper, to make sure that we remain ready for any disasters that may affect our Town.  While you will not see much evidence of the exercise, it’s good to know it’s there.

At 6:00 pm that evening Council will hold a closed meeting to discuss a number of personal matters.  Then at 7:00 pm is the December Council meeting.  Should be a short meeting including:
-       Presentation of the Town Award of Merit
-       Presentation of Long Service Awards for employees
-       A deputation by the Huronia Land Conservancy
-       Vote on the tender for fixing the museum roof
-       Vote on the new traffic safety signals for Bayview School
-       Extension of the Interim Control By-law for the Waterfront lands

The CAO, Director of Planning and I will be on the road to Toronto on Tuesday December 17th. We will have an initial visit with a developer who may be interested in helping with our waterfront project. In the afternoon we will meet with four provincial Ministries to discuss building a business incubator to our area. If the roads are willing we will be back in Midland for a 7:00 pm closed meeting to discuss the potential sale of the MPUC. 

Wednesday December 18th will see the annual Police Retirees luncheon at Ste. Marie. At 4:00 pm the Police Service Board will have its final meeting of the year at the Town Hall. You are welcome to attend.

On Thursday December 19th the Town will hold an internal meeting to discuss its arrangement with the Severn Sound Environmental Association. Then at 2:00 pm, the Huronia Economic Alliance will meet at the Fire Hall in Penetanguishene.  The meeting will discuss its $400,000 request of the County and measures to bring more employment to our area.

Friday December 20th I will be talking with Infrastructure Canada about the Georgian Bay Leaders request for funding to help communities affected by declining water levels. While 2013 has seen a recovery in the levels of the middle Great Lakes, we want to make sure that Georgian Bay municipalities have the resources to weather possible future declines in lake levels.

You are invited to attend the Waterfront Steering Committee meeting at Town Hall at 11:00 am.

Weekend

Saturday December 21, the shortest day of the year. Just three months until spring.


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You may have noticed that there is no free parking in the downtown this Christmas season. This decision was made in discussion with the BIA to alleviate the situation from past years where people would park all day at the free meters. The downtown merchants are still as friendly as ever and want you to have an enjoyable visit - and take advantage of the three hour free parking behind many of the stores.


Gord McKay


Be part of Midland’s Year of Getting Involved - 2013.

                                                                                              


Saturday, December 7, 2013

Saturday December 7, 2013

Ladies and Gentlemen

Christmas is barreling down on us and now we have snow to contend with along with all the Christmas errands. A recommended stress reliever is to take a few moments out of your schedule to help someone in need at this time of year. The Out of the Cold program can always use a small donation for those with no place to live.  Please drop by Knox church any day after 5:00 pm. The Midland Police Cram a Cruiser program will be at Valu-mart, Foodland, Superstore and Canadian Tire on December 14th and 21st from 8:00 am till 2:00 pm. All donations will be given to the Salvation Army. Take time to participate in the spirit of the season.

On Monday Dec 9th Council will be holding three public meetings at the Town Hall. At 6:00 pm we will have a special meeting where an investigator will provide a report on a “Bill 168” investigation. These investigations deal with complaints of harassment and safety in the workplace.

At 7:00 pm is the December General Committee.  A short agenda including;
-          A presentation of the Huronia Museum business plan. Council will use this information to decide what level of long term public support is appropriate for the museum
-          A new policy on holding large public events on town property
-          Report on improved signage to deal with the traffic and safety of children around Bayview Public school
Following the General Committee meeting Council will move into a special meeting of Council to decide on applying for funding for our Source Water Protection Plan.

Tuesday Dec 10th at 6:00 pm will see the regular BIA meeting (open to the public). Topics such as the recent Santa Claus parade and the upcoming Butter Tart festival will be discussed. The meeting will be held at the ShopMidland location at Hugel and King. I encourage you to drop by and see this new hub of activity in in our town centre.

That same evening an important meeting for our Town is being held in Penetanguishene. The Simcoe District School Board is hosting an Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) series of meetings. The ARC process is occurring because of declining enrollment in our high schools. The question currently before the meeting is to determine whether PSS or MSS should be closed.  The unfortunate aspect of the meeting is that it pits our two communities against one another. A better course of action needs to be identified that works for Midland, Penetanguishene and our entire area. The meeting is at 7:00 pm at the Penetanguishene High School.

Early on Wednesday Dec 11 you want to get over to Foodland to meet the 104 the DOCK morning crew. The DOCK bus will be there until 9:00 am to collect food donations for our local food bank.

Then at 7:00 pm that evening the MCC will present the compelling story of the famous WWII escape from Stalag Luft III (and a surprising truth avoided in Hollywood’s telling) A young man from Penetanguishene named Alfred Burke Thompson was one of these who escaped. Mr. Thompsons grandson will recount the adventure. Tickets are $19 at Box Office or online at www.yourmcc.ca

On Thursday you are invited to a special musical performance at St Paul's United Church. The Juno award winning Ensemble Caprice will delight you with selections from Europe, Mexico and South America performed on period instruments. For 20 years Ensemble Caprice has received national and international acclaim and is regularly invited to participate in prestigious festivals around the world.


To close the week, on Friday at 7:00 pm Huronia Players will host their season special “Christmas on Broadway”. Please check with HP at the Midland Cultural Centre to see if room is still available.


Weekend

Saturday
-          Vox Huronia Community Choir’s A Big Band Christmas at St. Paul’s United Church at 7:30 pm.   Tickets are $15 for adults, kids 16 and under are free
-          Midland Heritage Committee brings you the Victorian Christmas Tour.  From 5-9 pm tour six beautiful Christmas homes. Tickets are available by contacting the Town

Sunday
-          We Are the Villagers is hosting a fundraiser.  Please join them for an enjoyable turkey dinner buffet from 5-7 pm at Library restaurant.  Ticket price is $30


Gord McKay


Be part of Midland’s Year of Getting Involved - 2013.

                                                                                              

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Sunday December 1, 2013

Ladies and Gentlemen

The Civitan Christmas parade has kicked off our Christmas shopping season in grand style. Crowds of people were downtown to give Santa a warm sunny welcome.  In the spirit of the season, a few other important Christmas events for your consideration.  

Fresh from helping Santa out at the parade, the Midland Police are pitching in with their 3rd annual “Cram a Cruiser” Food and Toy drive. Midland’s Finest will be at Foodland, Superstore and Canadian Tire on December 7th, 14th and 21st from 8:00 am till 2:00 pm. All donations will be given to the Salvation Army to assist needy families at this time of year. I know all our good citizens will be supporting the Midland Police “Cram a Cruiser’.   

The annual YMCA Gifts to Give is upon us. Those who otherwise will have no presents to exchange this Christmas are invited to select from donated items on Monday December 2nd, 2013 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, at the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre. Donations of nonperishable food items will be collected for the Salvation Army Food Bank. If you wish to donate last minute gifts to the event (no furniture or clothing please) they can be dropped at the NSSRC on December 2nd from. 9:00 am to 11:00 am

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Monday December the 2nd will be devoted to improving our area`s tourism. A two day workshop will be held in Tiny to plan a coordinated tourism strategy for the North Simcoe area. The cooperative efforts of the four municipalities are starting to pay off. Expect to see a very exciting tourism season in 2014, including the second annual Butter Tart festival.

Tuesday will be a quieter day with the conclusion of the tourism workshop and the regular BIA meeting at 6:30 pm at the library.

Wednesday will be quieter yet as the normal Planning Committee meeting has been cancelled with all items being moved to January.

On Thursday we return to economic development work with the business incubator meeting.  (A business incubator is a special facility that will rapidly grow start-up businesses) I will be headed down to Queens Park in mid-December to meet with a number of ministries to determine how they can help fund our job creating initiative. Thursday evening the Penetanguishene Curling Club is having a special member’s event to start moving Glenn Howard towards a well-deserved Olympic berth.

Friday December 6th will be quite busy. At 11:00 am you are invited to attend the Waterfront Project Steering Committee at the Town Hall.  At 1:30 pm Waypoint will be hosting a project completion event; another step in the massive expansion project in our neighboring municipality. Waypoint will open in May for normal use.

Two special events for the evening.  From 4:00 to 7:00 pm we will gather to honour Jamie Hunter who will be retiring from his position as Curator at Huronia Museum. All are invited to the museum to meet with Jamie and enjoy some light refreshments.  At 5:00 pm Rosewood is our host for the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. All are invited to attend this very moving ceremony and reflect upon one of the great social injuries of our time.







Weekend

Saturday: You are welcome to attend a special day-long celebration - the Battle for Becky.  Becky Cloutier is a beautiful 8 year old young lady in Tay who is facing a terrible fight with cancer.  Her community is rallying around her to raise funds for the long days head.  The fundraising event will start with a bazaar put on by her classmates from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm followed by a dance at 8:00 pm. All activities will be at the Oakwood Community Center in Tay.  Tickets are available in advance at the Tay municipal office or Minds Alive in Midland.

Sunday: Knox Church will host a special appreciation event for the many volunteers and supporters who make the Gift of Grace Soup Kitchen a reality. To the surprise of many, Midland has to rely upon the good work of this soup kitchen to feed many of our needy citizens.


Gord McKay


Be part of Midland’s Year of Getting Involved - 2013.