WHITEWATER REGION — Eligible voters in Whitewater Region can begin voting for their candidates on Saturday, Oct. 13.
They can vote over the next nine days, 24-hours-a-day, until 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22 via telephone and internet voting.
There will be advance polls where paper ballots will be available. The advance polls are open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The first advance poll is Saturday, Oct. 13, Beachburg Public School followed on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at the administration office in Cobden. The third advance poll is Thursday, Oct. 18 at the Westmeath Community Hall followed by the final advance poll on Saturday, Oct. 20 at the Whitewater Wesleyan Community Church.
On the official voting day, Monday, Oct. 22, there will be no paper ballots.
In Whitewater Region, there are 17 candidates vying for seven positions.
Mayor – voting for 1: Hal Johnson (incumbent); Mike Moore
Reeve – voting for 1: Joe Kowalski, Cathy Regier
Councillor – voting for 5: Incumbents Charlene Jackson, Dave Mackay, Daryl McLaughlin and Chris Olmstead; and newcomers Donna Burns, Jim Butterworth, John Cull, John Kyle Dupuis, Allan Lance, Ron Laronde, Neil Nicholson, Don Rathwell and Nell Rooney.
There have been four all-candidate meetings, two in Cobden, one each in Beachburg and Westmeath.
Whitewater News reported on three of them, since one and three were almost identical, except one was in Beachburg and the other at the Cobden Agricultural Hall last Thursday evening. The final all candidates meeting was held last night in Westmeath and is published in this issue of Whitewater News.
Since it is the fourth meeting, I decided that each candidate has had time to perfect their opening speech. In this story, the candidates speak for themselves. These are their opening remarks at the final all-candidates meeting held in Westmeath Wednesday night, Oct. 10.
MAYOR
HAL JOHNSON: My name is Hal Johnson and I want to be your mayoral candidate. I have been your mayor for the last four years. With your support, I look forward to continuing the adventure for the next four years.
I truly have a passion for our community and I want to work to see it grow and flourish as a great place to live, work and play.
Over the last four years, we have seen a lot of changes. We, as council, have worked hard to bring our community together as one. I believe we have been successful.
Over the last four years, we have developed an asset management plan. This plan encompasses everything that is owned by Whitewater Region, from equipment to roads, buildings and lands. When we make a decision, we ask, where do we want to be in 25 years, how do we achieve this, how will we best benefit our residents. We know that throwing money like darts to see what will happen is not good planning.
Long range planning is a must in order to make good decisions, and good decisions allow us to grow and keep taxes in check.
Long range plans, however, take a long time to show their benefits. The current building of a new sewage plant in Cobden is happening now because of long range planning that started with the previous council and because of funding from the small communities’ grant. It is vital for the growth of Cobden since the current plant is already functioning well over capacity.
We have been instrumental in bringing together an economic development advisory committee, which includes members of our community who have vast knowledge for business, locally, nationally and internationally. We are promoting economic sustainability in our region through marketing and partnering with county and neighbouring municipalities.
Little Lakes Park in Beachburg was started by BORCA and supported by our council, and has been a huge success. Improvements have also been done to Cobden Beachhouse and Veterans park. Our recreation master plan is proving to be an asset and has shown council and residents what our potential is as a community. Recreation helps us to pull community together and by investing in our programs and people, we improve the quality of life for our residents.
A fire master plan is in effect. And all of our fire stations will remain where they are. Our department goals are to unite as one department, and to train as one department, making them even better able to protect our people and property.
We encourage our people to become involved through volunteering. In each of our communities we have an army of volunteers who dedicate time and energy to recreation, arts/culture, celebrations and so on. We will continue to acknowledge these volunteers and recognize their hours of dedicated service. Many of our volunteers work alongside our staff, who are knowledgeable and very dedicated.
Agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and hospitality, are our mainstay resources. I will continue to work with these sectors to maintain our sustainability. We can continue to create our own identity encouraging people to grow with us by offering a smart mix of business, rec, opportunity and affordability.
We want to maintain our sense of rural identity but to continue with growth in order to keep our services that people need and we want to bring new residents here.
I have the expertise and the experience in matters related to municipal government and I work well with our representatives of the provincial and federal governments, which is important when looking for grants.
I am a problem solver, I am a community builder and I am a team builder. Leadership, communication, team work and co-operation are essential and necessary for achieving effective governance.
As mayor I will lead our community into the future with unity, fiscal management, transparency, growth an continue to work hard for the township of Whitewater Region.
If you vote for Hal Johnson, you will not regret your choice.
MIKE MOORE: Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming here this evening and thank you to the Riverview Seniors Social Club for hosting this evening.
My name is Mike Moore. I live and work in Beachburg and I’m running for mayor.
We have the opportunity to build ourselves a better future by ensuring that we balance the needs of our community with smart, sustainable economic development.
Smart fiscal management is one of the most important aspects of municipal governance and allows us to offer successful programs and services to the community. During this term, salaries have increased from 2016 to 2017, our reserves have dropped, council hired consultants that weren’t required, we could have done it inhouse. Council is preparing to finance a much-needed sewage plant in Cobden which is long overdue and our financial statements from 2016 to 2017 appear to show a decrease of $120,000 in revenue from the Cobden arena alone.
We need to work and look for efficiencies throughout all our operations. Staff attrition is an incredible cost burden to any community. In the last four years, we’ve lost 25 people, both paid and volunteers who have left this municipal service. We are haemorrhaging our employees and volunteers. At this point, we will soon surpass the Whitehouse in Washington.
We need to work harder to promote our business development. We need to retain our businesses that are already here. We need to support our local dairy and farm producers after we know what happened last week.
We have to support the development of the Whitewater Business Council, which is new, and we’re looking at giving the business council a non-voting seat at the council table so everybody can stay informed.
We need to attract businesses, we cannot sit back and wait for businesses like Glass House Botanics to fall into our lap because the government legalized marijuana.
There is no guarantee that the Glass House Botanics will employee 400 residents of Whitewater, when its location is so close to Pembroke and Laurentian Valley. These two regions combined have three times the workforce of Whitewater. Rather than tell residents it is going to increase 400 jobs, we need to see how we can give incentive to have these people locate in Whitewater, if they’re not already from here.
Base Petawawa has numerous people posted in and out every single year. We need to see if there’s an opportunity to reach out to base realtors and relocation services to see how we can market our region as an alternative place to live.
We also need to invest in our infrastructure. We need to ensure that we have sufficient cellular service throughout the entire region. We have dead zones in Beachburg, Westmeath, along the Queens Line and in Foresters Falls. Cellular coverage is spotty at best.
We need to ensure our internet capabilities keep pace with the modern standards. The internet is allowing many residents the opportunity to work from home for companies that are in New York, London, while living right in Whitewater.
We need to improve the municipal website to make sure it is user friendly and search friendly optimized.
We also need to make sure it looks more professional. Our web page has the ability to market Whitewater to millions of people as a place to invest in; market Whitewater as a place to move to; promote tourism, which we already have, we have to keep pushing our tourism; we need to engage Whitewater residents on important matters, so if you can find it on the internet, it’s important.
We need to invest in our roadways; we need to look at how we can mitigate the impacts of flood damage by upgrading roads like Lacroix Bay, which reverted to impassable during the major flood two years ago.
We need to invest in ourselves.
We need to ensure our recreational services are sustainable, arenas, horse facilities and where we gather in our community, whether it be a hockey game, agricultural event, the fairs, craft and art shows, festivals and events like this.
We need to review the recreational master plan carefully to see how sustainable it is, and if it will impact our villages to offer these services to our region.
The creational master plan recommends that the Westmeath Arena goes to natural ice in five years. The creational master plan recommends that Whitewater downsize to two arenas. I do not agree with this. This is our children’s future. We need our community halls.
For 30 years I’ve been a leader in essential service within Whitewater, that has proven leadership.
Please vote and vote for Mike Moore.
REEVE
JOE KOWALSKI: All of us have heroes, I have many and one of my favourite heroes is the late Senator Robert Kennedy. One of the reasons I liked him so much, and he quoted many times, not sure if original, but he always said, “Some men see things as they are and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not.’
And that’s resonated with me my whole life. My first trip to Canada on a college canoe trip back in 1970, filled me with wonder. I dreamed of moving to Canada, and after my military service, that what’s I did.
Then I dreamed of starting Wilderness Tours and our jet boating company in Montreal on the Lachine rapids and then in Niagara Falls then Whitewater Village. I’ve dreamed my entire life.
But I was not a foolish dreamer, I only dreamed things I could achieve. And when I say, I, I mean our whole team. The only reason I say I is Kennedy’s quote had I in it, but really it was a team effort. It was always big dreams, but it was always achievable dreams. They did not come easy, it took years, some I’m still working on. But, that’s what motivated me.
And so, my greatest dream, and I had lots of them, is to be the reeve of Whitewater Region to achieve what I think we can achieve and that is tremendous residential growth which can keep our schools open. We can have schools come back, they can build schools, we can grow again and the only way to achieve that is through residential development.
I want our children, my kids, to stay in Whitewater Region. I want yours and yours grandchildren to say. I don’t want them to move away to get jobs. I want good, local jobs here, I want residential development, so that’s my dream.
How do you achieve it?
Any landowner that has ever tried to get a severance in this municipality can tell you it is expensive, time consuming, sometimes taking a year, combined with zoning change, costs you thousands of dollars. We are not going to get residential development with oppressive rules and regulations that come to Renfrew County. I think we have a great council. I think we have great people running. I’m running for reeve because I want to go to Renfrew County council, I want to keep our schools open, our churches open.
I want our young people staying here.
CATHY REGIER: I grew up in the Cobden area. My husband Greg and I have resided the past 40 years on a small hobby farm on the edge of Beachburg. I have served as your municipal councillor for the past eight years and during this time I have proven to be a hard-working, dedicated individual who has a strong work ethic, focused on achieving goals. I have shown my ability to problem solve, work effectively as a team player and provide flexibility when adapting to change. I have patiently put in the hard work and I have built my confidence level to a place where I now ascertain I can make a difference at the county level representing you as your reeve.
We’re currently experiencing a lot of growth and property development investments and we must continue to evolve by updating bylaws, working with minor variance applicants and zoning bylaw amendments to facilitate this rapid change.
If elected, I will pursue working with the county and the eastern Ontario regional network to ensure every ratepayer and business in Whitewater Region eventually has the necessity of broadband. The lack of cell phone service and dead spots throughout our region continues to be an issue. It is imperative that we, in rural Ontario, push providers and demand nothing less than full and complete coverage that major cities already experience.
We must remain focused working together with our local MPP John Yakabuski to continue pushing for twinning of Hwy. 417.
I also recognize the needs of an aging population and the importance of assisting seniors to remain in their homes longer.
We must continue to lobby provincial and federal governments to consider supplementary funding for seniors and their caregivers.
I will never give up promoting our township as a complete entity. Realizing at present that each hamlet, village, town and rural community plays an integral part.
I am confident that by continuing to work together and showing fairness and transparency to all, we will eventually come to full fruition of autonomy.
Our greatest strengths are our experienced municipal employees, including our 65 professional volunteer firefighters, led by our CAO Rob Tremblay. They are a dedicated, knowledgeable team serving ratepayers and council with pride, dignity and respect.
In closing, I ask that on October 22 you give me the opportunity to be your eyes, your ears and your voice and I will bring forth the concerns of you, the ratepayer, and be your liaison to Whitewater Region the County of Renfrew.
COUNCILLOR
DONNABURNS I’m Donna Burns and I’ve familiarized myself with municipal legislation for the past seven years now. I have been involved with the Ontario Landowners Association so I have been fighting for property rights, trying to protect our property rights, so I’m well aware of what goes on.
Here in Whitewater Region, we have three natural assets. The agriculture, the lakes and Ottawa river, forestry.. these are three natural assets that brings lots of jobs, brings tourism, generates a lot for business opportunities, your hunting, recreation, whatever. Great to have, but we have to protect them.
What we don’t have is good communication within the municipality for getting the information out to the people. On some of the issues that we’re dealing with, such as regulations and restrictions. For example, the Official Plan a couple of years ago. There were seven public meetings put out there by the county and they were advertised in the papers. I went to the first three meetings and noticed hardly anybody went. What I realized was that no one realized what an official plan was if they had read it in the paper. So, I sent out emails to all our membership to inform them what the OP was and how it impacted their personal properties. When they learned that there were designations being proposed to go on their private properties which was going to impact the values of their properties, and how they can use their land, if they can use their land, they got very interested. I suggested to them that they come to the meeting, because it is deemed to be implied consent if you don’t attend these public meetings. It means you approve the OP, so it’s very important that the public be aware of this kind of information and what it’s all about. That’s a barrier that municipalities, and not just Whitewater Region, but across the county, fail to do.
What happened was when the people learned of this, the next four meetings, they were jammed, the halls were jam packed and there was something like 900 letters that went to the county because they objected to this plan. This is the kind of information the public needs to be aware of. So, in closing, I just like to say, I have a lot of knowledge, I’d like to be able to work with the council and provide this kind of communication to the public, to help them, so you know what u are dealing with and where you’re going from there.
My name is Donna Burns and I hope to serve you as a councillor in the future. Thank you.
JIM BUTTERWORTH: Jim Butterworth: Hi, I’m Jim, Jim Butterworth. I want your second vote. I think big, I think different. Raise your hand if you want Whitewater Region to be the best place to live or own a business in the world.
I also want to have Whitewater Region to have the highest quality of life and the highest life expectancy as well. Long-term goal, it’s important to have long term goals. Any business has long term goals as well. Wherever you walk, skip, hop, or jump or drive, to any location, you may not see that location, you may not see it in the distance, it may be around many corners, but you know it’s there.
Your shoelace may be untied, you may encounter uneven ground, but at the end of the day, that’s where I’m going and that’s where I’m going to end up.
It’s going to take a little bit of time, but when we have a vision, we have a goal, we have everything we do, we have a ways of going towards it.
Whenever I encounter something challenging, I look down, take care of it, I help.
I always have one eye on the future, where we’re going to be going. Otherwise, I just have an item list of things I want to take care of. My question is…what then.
Preparation and vision are my domain. I think ahead. I prepare. I read books on things like economics, I look at coroner’s reports, I enjoy reading non-fiction and business alike.
Ask why five times and you get to the root of the problem. We don’t have a problem with taxes we have a problem with value. We’re not seeing the value of taxes.
Transparency and communication would be helpful.
There’s never been a problem with dog tags or dog-gate if we will, it’s an issue with reviewing our bylaws. Right now, I have my computer reading me the bylaws, that’s who I am.
So, we solve the issue and move forward onto another and another and another, but we still keep our eye on the vision — obtaining the highest quality of life and the longest life expectancy.
I’m raising the next generation of Whitewater residents and I want them to stay, so they can look after me.
I have a passion for people, the outdoors and learning. I’m a trained paramedic, community director, supervisor, and senior fitness instructor as well.
JOHN FELIX CULL: Good evening everyone. My name is John Felix Cull and I’d like to represent you on our Whitewater council. I’ve lived in this region for 38 years with my wife Jean. We have three grown children who had to move away from here because there’s no jobs. This is a problem I’d like to see corrected – local jobs are needed.
I’ve been a mechanic for 37 years, 21 years I’ve been self employed as John’s Repair Service. Over the last 35 years, I’ve been an active member in the OPP Auxiliary, Cobden Civitan club, and Whitewater fire department.
Now I would like to assist the public in a different direction.
I have concerns that are similar to many of you. Our bureaucracy growth is one these. Out of the auditor’s report, salaries and wages over the last three years have increased 16.89 percent, that’s $366,000 and change. Can we afford these changes when we have minimal growth and minimal new business opportunities.
More transparency and accountability from council is needed along with clearer communication to the public. There should be part of the council meeting open to the floor for issues not listed on the agenda, giving more people a chance to air their concerns and to give input to council.
Whitewater Region has many strengths, which many of them our tourists enjoy. Easy access to Transcanada Hwy. 17, natural resources, lakes, rivers, forests and parks. We still have manufacturing with Magellan, MacGregor’s in Beachburg and next year our new Glass House Botanics.
Home grown vegetables, fruit, honey, maple syrup, flowers, eggs and meat are all readily available within our region. We have something that many of us take for granted but our tourists love…it is the fresh air, the open space and the clear nights for star gazing.
I feel regulations are destroying our growth. Potential business or new home builders are scared off by the costs and the time needed to get something completed.
As a councillor I plan on listening to the concerns of the people and helping as may of them as I can.
Unity happens when you get to know and help your neighbour. Volunteering gives you a sense of companionships. I know, as I have volunteered for many years. As a region we need to help support one another’s events. I know it’s a distance here to Westmeath, but they host many a great party with wonderful people and a beautiful hall.
Being a councillor is not just another paycheque to me. It affects every aspect of our community, from how businesses are run to how many homes get built. It is an important role in the community that seems to be disconnected from its people, which I plan to change, because you are my boss.
As I plan on staying in this area for many years, I want Whitewater Region to stay vibrant, prosperous and a playground many people envy.
Thank you
John (Kyle) Dupuis: My name is John Dupuis, or Kyle Dupuis, I actually go b Kyle ,but I may be John on the ballot, you can thank my parents for that one.
I actually just moved here recently. I moved into the Cobden area, but I claim myself as a resident of Whitewater Region and have for the last six months.
I started working at Whitewater Brewery about two years ago at which time I ended up meeting my beautiful wife to be and we decided to put roots down. We became small business owners in town. We have been actively watching properties, taking part in anything around town community related trying to get to know the people better and that sort of thing.
Since we’ve decided to settle down here, I realized I ‘d like to do a little more and bring as much as I can to Whitewater, because there’s really no better place in he world to live.
That being said, everybody wants to know about development and growth and I think it’s simple. We have the resources, we have the beauty, we have the natural landscape to bring people here. We just have to keep them here and the only thing holding us back is residential.
We need places for people to live and in the grand scheme of things, jobs are great and I think we can bring lots of them here, but if somebody wants to work somewhere else and spend their coin in our town, I’m okay with that too.
So, first and foremost, I think we need to work on getting people to come to the community. In doing that I think we can build the power of the community, get ourselves recognized on a bigger platform, and start asking for the kinds of changes that we want with the support of federal and provincial governments and that sort of thing.
There’s a ton of steps we need to take to get to that power point, but I think we can do it.
That means that as a councillor for you, one thing I can guarantee is honesty, transparency and hard work. I don’t know a lot about politics, but I know a lot about other things. I have a ton of experience in trades, I’ve worked in many different trades over the years, and I’ve done many different jobs. I’ve been rich, I’ve been poor, I’ve fixed cars, I’ve fixed computers, I’ve poured beer, delivered beer, drove vehicles, drove trucks, crashed trucks, I’ve done a lot of things every one of you can picture yourselves doing, because I’ve lived. And what better thing to do in this area other than to live.
Let’s take all the people, let’s give them the transparency, let’s show them the projects we are working on and let’s hear back from them. If every person in Whitewater Region was given an opportune moment, a good chance, and time to explain or express their concerns, and we were openly transparent about every snag that we have during the process, then I believe in giving that power to the people, we gain information and information is power in the long run. Let me become a councillor for you. Let me work hard for you. You’re are our boss, not the other way around. We should be here to do everything that you see fit and if we can’t do it, then you should know why. That’s one thing I promise, one thing I guarantee, is to keep you all in the loop, keep you informed and give you the opportunity to speak up and give us the information to take over and bring things to the next level.
Charlene Jackson: A big thank you to the River Seniors Social Club for sponsoring this event. My name is Charlene Jackson. I’ve been married to my husband Paul for 31 years. We have two boys, Brandon and Kyle. Paul was born, raised, worked, and now retired here and did not consider settling down anywhere else, but here in beautiful Whitewater Region.
I was an army brat, living on each coast of our beautiful country and we settled here in Whitewater Region.
My experience in the municipal field is vast. I’ve been working in municipal finance for 23 years. I’ve worked in a number of municipalities, starting with the former Ross Township, then the municipality of Whitewater Region, before moving onto the towns of Renfrew and Arnprior. And now currently work as treasurer/deputy CAO for the Township of Laurentian Valley.
One would say I have a passion for municipal work and I take that very seriously. I am looking to be re-elected as a councillor for Whitewater Region this term.
There has been so much change in the last four years, that has brought the township together like never before. The township now has clear direction on where we need to invest our time and money and all aspects of the municipality, from fire, recreation, finance, roads and economic development.
Council and staff have a better understanding of where our focus needs to be and what we need to accomplish.
I was part of this process, working with staff and consultants, and want to be at the table moving these ideas forward, ensuring that the best possible result is completed with the least amount of tax dollars spent.
As a councillor, I have not given false information, ad I will always answer the questions honestly. There was misinformation given tonight and I’m rather frustrated with it. I’ve not ben afraid to let staff look outside the box for solutions. I for one have always looked at problems as opportunities, and certainly those opportunities have been capitalized on the last four years.
We need to continue to be opened minded, to grow and attract new residents and businesses to Whitewater Region.
We need a councillor who is willing to answer the tough questions to get the right answers, and to support the ratepayers and finding solutions to their individual issues.
I am that person. Ask me. I will give you an honest answer.
It is important to ensure that we are all accessible to all ratepayers. It is important to work with community organizations, like WDRA, along with Cobden and Beachburg recreation associations. How can we help them make their arenas better.
It’s important to have someone at the table who’s wiling and ready to help these issues move forward and have someone at the table that is not afraid to answer questions, to ask the questions.
It’s important to have an open dialogue. I am the only councillor that maintained a facebook page throughout the full four years of office at Whitewater Region. People want more from our councillors. I’ve given the ratepayers more. I want to continue to be your voice at the council table.
ALLAN LANCE: The last time I was on this stage was when the late John Hargraves 7/8 class had public speaking and I can remember him down in the front row saying, ‘look at the audience when you’re talking.’
You know, we learned a lot of things in his class – take pride in your work, always do the best job, because he’d make you do it over again.
My name is Allan Lance. I was raised on a small beef farm just outside of Westmeath on the Westmeath Road. That area is locally known as Perretton, for those who don’t know.
I think our township’s strengths far outweigh our weaknesses. Our current council has done their best to navigate the municipal waters and steered the region in the direction that is moving us forward. However, there’s always more that can be done.
I think with the proper leadership the township has a bright future ahead. One area that plagues us, has got to be our roads and infrastructure. Unfortunately, these issues can only be addressed as the budget allows or through other cost savings means.
They cannot simply be downloaded onto taxpayers in the form of an increased tax rate. That being said, it becomes ever so clear that we must be fiscally prudent in all of our endeavours. We can achieve this, there’s no doubt in my mind, that we can move forward with growth and build upon our economic position in the county, the country and the world.
In order to accomplish unity in the township and the region’s lofty goals, we must put aside our differences and look to the things we have in common to better serve the municipality and its residents.
As Red Green said, we’re all in this together.
Due to my rural roots and agricultural background, I have somewhat of an acute sensitivity to understand where we all come from. That, coupled with my age and energy, lends itself to a formidable pairing.
Being a small business owner has taught me that only through careful thought and sound decisions can we ensure the continuing prosperity and growth of our beautiful region.
Thank you and please on October 22 vote Allan Lance.
RON LARONDE: Hi I’m Ron Laronde. I’ve lived in Cobden my whole life, 58 years. Why should someone from Westmeath and La Passe vote for a guy from Cobden? My roots are here, my fondest memories are here, my heart is here.
I love Whitewater and its people. I would like to talk to you about Westmeath.
Westmeath is one of the tightest communities you could ever visit. There is a spirit and a warmth here that’s not like other places. Strangers come here and they never leave..right Neil? I attended the church supper a few months ago. I spent maybe an hour down in the Zamboni room with Terry and Bruce Ethier, who are called Hickeys, I don’t understand. Ron Ethier tried to explain that to me for years, and I still don’t understand.
I came upstairs for supper and watched the Godmother of Westmeath work, Gail Ethier. She controls everything. She is unbelievable. She is like a music conductor. Maybe that’s why Glen got into music. I had a great day coming out here.
Westmeath rink is more than just a rink, it’s the heart and the soul and the spirit of this community. It should never go away. I’m not sure why the Whitewater Kings (Junior B hockey team) don’t come out and practice and in Beachburg and support this community as well.
As a kid I came to Westmeath. My father’s from Westmeath. The three things I remember in Westmeath was the rink, Kenny’s Store, which I always thought his name was Kenny, not Kenney’s, and then Gerald Gervais’ garage. On Friday there was more parties at that garage and more people than Freddy Meilleur’s. It was like Hotel California – you can check out at any time you like, but you can never leave.
Skunk Hill, people from Cobden have no idea what we are talking about. Skunk Hill is just over here. That is where the Laronde homestead is, that is where Grandpa Laronde, my uncle King and my father Peewee Laronde grew up.
I might not be from Westmeath, but my heart is out here as well.
Thank you.
Dave Mackay: I want to be elected to be a councillor again. I’m not a public speaker, I hate speaking. It’s not natural. Public speaking is words you write down, it’s not really how you talk,
I’ve been able to talk to CBC news, Global, CTV and Prime Time on the 2012 drought — that wasn’t a problem.
I’ve met three prime ministers and 10 ministers of agriculture, either provincially or federally — they didn’t listen to me either.
I want to talk about our staff. We’ve got a great staff, who work well together and they get things done.
Now I’m going to toot our horn about our council. We’ve done an excellent job. We’ve built more roads than the last three councils put together, we’ve amalgamated the rinks and people know how important that is because all the people who have worked and volunteer at the rinks are getting worn out.
We’re going to take them over and try and work with them, work with the local people, to make them work for the township.
Built little lakes.
Rebuilt Cobden beachbhouse, put new steps in the Westmeath Hall and snow removal. We have great snowm removal. If you don’t think we do, go somewhere else and get stuck. It really works. Following a major storm, it was all cleaned up in a day-and-a-half. Very good guys.
Taxes .. very dangerous. There are 17 municipalities in Renfrew County, and we’re right in the middle. Nine are more expensive and nine pay less tax..that’s pretty good. What happens is the mill rate is set by a provincial agency (Impact). They come and say how much your house is worth.
The OPP. When I started, the OPP cost us $650,000, now it’s $1.2 million. Same criminals, just a lot more money.
I want to talk about someone I call the negativers. That’s people who talk about everybody, everything, and don’t agree with anything. These kind of people, there’s nothing wrong with being a critic, you can criticize councils, that’s fine, but I don’t like lies, innuendoes and rumours. No, the Westmeath rink is not going to close, and the fire hall in Foresters Falls is staying open.
If any of these questions come to mind, call a councillor, we’ll tell you.
I’m going to quote my stepdaughter who once said to my wife and I: I thought we were dysfunctional, until I met other people.
This township works, this council is not dysfunctional and I hope to get your vote in the next election.
DARYL MCLAUGHLIN: For those who do not know me, my name is Daryl McLaughlin and I bring 15 years of municipal experience to the table. First elected in 2003. I’ve lived on the Kerr Line for over 20 years and have been a resident of Whitewater Region for more than 65 years. I know the needs and the wants of the people.
Economic development is the key issue for our areas. We need to ensure our area can offer new industries the services they need, such as reliable cell phone service and fast, high-speed internet service. We need to support our existing local businesses to ensure that they have the services they need to survive.
With the beautiful Ottawa River in our backyard, we should be looking at ways to expand tourism in our area. We must make the county council aware of our needs and find ways to partner with them to promote the Whitewater Region. Working with the county, we can access grants necessary to help with things such as bicycle lanes and trails, which will bring the people to our region.
One of the biggest issues that we’ll face, the new council, will be to keep the municipal spending in check and still provide the services that the residents have come to expect and want from our township.
On October 22nd, I ask you to vote for experience, accountability and a proven common-sense approach and make me your choice.
Neil Nicholson: My name is Neil and I’m running for a position on council because I have a passion for getting involved. You might know me, I’m a coach for minor hockey, I’m a coach for basketball, I’m a 4H leader, I work on the WDRA executive, I’ve worked on the Muskrat Minor Hockey Association executive and I also represented the community in the fight to keep our public school open here in Westmeath, although I wasn’t successful, I still learned a whole bunch about how municipalities work.
Tonight, two points. The first is about our demographics and it was mentioned earlier. We have an above average of senior citizens, seniors who live in our municipality compared to provincial average.
Some people say that’s a negative. Seniors bring wisdom, life experience the ability to volunteer and an interest in making sure the next generation is better served than them.
I think we need to take a better look at the programs and services offered for our seniors. Local example – in Westmeath and La Passe — Linda Bromley and Doreen McNair, both very active seniors in a number of different clubs and associations. They’ve decided to downsize, and a result of not being able to find suitable housing in our municipality, they are now leaving our municipality. And those two are resources that leave our municipality, an example of what happens day to day.
What I’d like to see council do is establish a senior advisory committee that can gather the seniors input on programs and services and things like housing, that may be our council could advocate on their behalf, could work and facilitate bringing in contractors or developers that could meet some of these needs and concerns raised by our aging demographics.
Second point is communication. Our current council has all of its council meetings posted on the internet, live, as well as recorded. We see weekly and monthly bulletins that come out on facebook. I recommend we take that one step further. I’d like to see more face to face communication and offer we hold two to three town halls throughout the municipality to give individuals, residents, business owners, cottagers the opportunity to deal face to face with councillor and key staff to talk about what happened, what’s going to happen, gather input, get opinions, so that can be considered when we make decisions on your future.
These are just two of the issues. I have a number of other ideas. You’ll see them in Connie’s article in the newspaper, Whitewater News, or you can see it on my facebook page, but I just wanted to highlight these two areas that I’d like to see changed within our municipality. I look forward to your questions later tonight.
Chris Olmstead: I’m Chris Olmstead from Cobden where I’ve lived, worked and played for over 50 years.
Among all things needed in Whitewater, roads are needed the most. We have 7,000 people living in 538 square kilometres. In perspective, Renfrew and Arnprior have 8,000 people living in 13 square kilometres. Our sheer size makes it challenging to maintain our current services while improving others, like health centres, and internet and cell service.
We must grow if we want to grow our services, but we must maintain our image and our heritage. Our location, being in the heart of he county, and our proximity to Ottawa, we are perfectly situated for that growth. We have over 10,000 vehicles a day running through Whitewater Region, so we are well-positioned for sustainable, long-term economical development.
Over the last four years, as chair of community services, I am very proud of my record. We stood here just over a year ago and we outlined our plan for a long-term solution for the three covered arenas and you trusted us. Well the plans are working well. We have minor hiccups, which are to be expected, but the plans are working well. There’s no reason why this facility cannot thrive for years to come. It is as important as any other building or structure in Whitewater Region, in fact, more important than many other structures in Whitewater Region.
I feel as strong now as I did back then, that we needed a healthy active recreation association and a robust volunteer community and Westmeath and areas, we have both.
In our region we have groups, such as Civitan, Lions club, BORCA, WDRA and other rec associations, Riverview Seniors Social Club, and Beachburg and Cobden ag societies, and so many more groups that do many great things in our region. They must continue to have full support of council as these groups help showcase our regions.
We need to continue focusing on and investing in our people. Projects such as Little Lakes, Cobden Civitan beach, events such as Tour de Whitewater, Nothing but Grace, StreetStrut, local fairs and plowing matches, all create the fabric of our communities. We must continue to ensure their success.
I’m analytical, have good business acumen, worked in business for more than 30 years. Thanks to you, over the last four years, I’ve gained a good understanding of how to get things done in politics as well. I’m active in our community, donating and volunteering to many groups and organizations. I look forward to being even more involved in the community over the next several years.
Whitewater Region is on the verge of a growth explosion that we must be prepared for. There are many talented people before you tonight, talent that I believe could help form one of the best councils in our history. It is crucial that voters select a team that will work together for a healthy, prosperous future for generations to come.
I’m Chris Olmstead and I look forward to your support on October 22.
DON RATHWELL: Thank you for inviting us here to discuss the upcoming election. I was born and raised on a farm in Ross Township with three brothers and four sisters. Shortly after we were married, we bought a house and some land in the former Ross Township. Over 50 years we lived there and raised our family there.
I have spent over 30 years in municipal politics as councillor, reeve, mayor and warden of Renfrew County. The right questions of concern… we look to get elected to start a new term of office.
It simply falls into seven categories: leadership, planning, its citizens, employers, suppliers, organization performance and accountability.
This is a new day in the changing times. We must look to the future to increase residential growth, tourism and recreation dollars. This will help keep our dollars open and help business, both big and small. We must do what we can to help the farmers in this terror of times under Donald Trump.
Today, one child in five lives in poverty and we thank the food bank and all who donate food. This may help some children from going to school hungry, and I’m sure that’s everyone’s goal in Whitewater Region.
After over 15 years coaching minor and senior ball and hockey, and also girls senior ball, it has certainly showed me through those years, that the backbone of our community is the volunteers and the strong community citizen values.
I will finish with a quote from Tim Kuehl, director of international centre for municipal government: Local government does matter. It’s our task to grow partnerships and strength in our voice and expand our resources.
On election day I would ask that you vote for me and I will work the way I’ve tried in the past. I will look forward to working for you as your servant as a councillor.
Nell Rooney: My name is Nell Rooney and I have lived in Cobden for 46 years. My reasons for wanting to run to represent you on council are as follows: having a store in Whitewater township, I hear many residents wondering why their taxes have gone up substantially; I believe the taxpayer should be notified of large expenditures, should we not welcome their advice.
We must not forget it is their money. Does each township have equal representation through amalgamation? Even a projected improvement would be beneficial.
How much input did the exiting recreation association have in the restructuring of the recreation program. From accounts received from a reliable course, changes were unilaterally made by council. We are supposed to work together on council for the good of the community. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be sitting on council to work for them.
Spend only what you can afford to provide quality service to the public and still maintain financial stability. Let’s keep the township of Whitewater Region out of debt. Honesty, common sense and accountability must prevail. Some levels of government forget that taxpayers keep the country going, not the elected officials who sometimes lose sight of who they are working for.
Performance should be measured when applicable and reviewed to determine where the funds for spending are in an efficient and effective manner.
I encourage you to make it your business to find out what’s going on at council meetings. For example, minutes of the meetings, budget and passing of bylaws. If you can’t get it on the web site, get a transcript, that is your right.
My profile is as follows: my husband Mick and I have been married 56 years. We have raised four children and have been in business in Cobden for 46 years. My volunteer in Cobden is as follows: Cobden Legion Branch 550, 28 years, served as president, secretary and treasurer; Cobden Farmers Market, 15 years as treasurer; Cobden Agricultural Society, selling fair passes for 10 years.
Thank you for coming out this evening and thank you to our hosts, the Riverview Seniors Social Club. It would be an honour to represent you on council.
