JANUARY

Southgate Township’s willingness to at least consider making a landfill site available to Toronto garbage met with opposition from local residents. Don Lewis, mayor of the new township that replaced Proton and Egremont townships and Dundalk village, had said the township was considering the idea, mostly for financial reasons, and that sparked a media feeding frenzy that kept him on the phone with national print and television media. Rejection of the idea followed a presentation by Republic Services on how a possible 1,000acre landfill site in Southgate would operate. Republic operates the Michigan landfill site where garbage from Toronto, Orangeville and Shelburne.

The death toll from the Boxing Day tsunami off the northwest coast of Sumatra stood at 155,000. Many people and organizations in Dufferin County are stepping up to try and help, in any way they can.

Dufferin farmers are being exhorted to enlist the support of non-farming rural residents in what is seen as an uphill battle to preserve property rights throughout the province. Bob Fowler, volunteer secretary of the Ontario Property and Environmental Alliance and member James White, a professional agrologist, were featured speakers at a meeting of Dufferin Federation of Agriculture. Both saw last summer’s greenbelt proposal as impinging on property rights.

It’s looking more and more like John Tory, new leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, will become Dufferin’s MPP sometime in the very near future. He paid a surprise visit to Orangeville last Friday at the invitation of Dufferin MP and fellow Conservative David Tilson, who was holding a New Year’s open house at his constituency office on Broadway.

Despite vigorous protests from some of its members, Orangeville Council decided to start negotiating with Amaranth Township for the annexation of 800 acres of industrial land.

Police Chief Rod Freeman reported that Orangeville’s crime rate dropped by 10 per cent in 2004. The 1,671 reported criminal offences compared with 1,858 in 2003.

Ontario Conservative leader John Tory has accused Premier Dalton McGuinty of “ramming through” an ill-conceived greenbelt scheme to compensate for the Liberals’ handling of the Oak Ridges Moraine. His comments came as the party unveiled its attack website, http://www. greenbotch. ca.

Without a hint of fanfare, the Upper Grand District School Board approved implementation of junior kindergarten for all eligible students starting next January. Registrations are to begin next month. Chairman Bob Borden said that although the JK program will take all but about $25,000 of the Early Learning’s $5.5million budget, it still results in a shortfall of between $1.2-million and $1.5-million in the 200506 budget.

FEBRUARY

Only days after the same-sex marriage legislation was introduced, three local ministers will be voicing their displeasure with it at a meeting in the Grand Valley Community Centre.

“It’s an opportunity to be informed and be equipped,” said Rev. Paul Aasman of the Canadian Reformed Church.

They’re not the only ones who dislike the bill – Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson says he’ll vote against it.

The bill was recently tabled by Justice Minister Irwin Cotler in the House of Commons.

By all accounts, Orangeville is in the early stages of a crisis in senior citizen housing. The crisis – a shortage, really – affects seniors who need subsidized shelter and those who just want to trade down to a bungalow.

Farming has always been a tough row to hoe, but the combination of BSE, trade actions, record low crop prices and rising costs has driven the province’s second largest industry to the brink of destruction, causing the stewards of the land to lay down their implements and demand that something be done.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is demanding an emergency meeting with Premier Dalton McGuinty and the minister of Agriculture and Food Steve Peters to deal with the current crisis and do something to sustain farming in Ontario.

During a speech to the Greater Dufferin Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday morning, Ontario Federation of Agriculture vice-president Geri Kamenz said that if the Premier refuses to listen he can expect to see a lot of angry farmers on the front steps of the Queen’s Park on March 2.

Wining, dining and traversing on Dufferin’s taxpayers resulted in a heated discussion at county council after one councillor filed a $6,135 expense bill for 2004.

Council received the 2004 remuneration and expense report at its regular meeting last Thursday night, which outlined councillors’ salaries and expenditures they sought compensation for last year.

Amaranth Mayor Bob Currie was outraged by then-warden Mono Mayor Keith Thompson’s 2004 expenses of $6,135, bills submitted in addition to his $27,984 salary as warden.

Moments after his acclamation as the Conservative candidate for this riding, John Tory vowed that his first priority as MPP would be to represent the interests of the people of DufferinPeel-Wellington-Grey in the Ontario Legislature.

He also said that to do that effectively, he will open two new satellite constituency offices, one in Bolton and one in the western area of the riding, to allow constituents greater access to him. He would keep the Orangeville office.

The candidate said he will also hold town hall meetings at least four times a year, in various places around the riding, and may try an on-line meeting as well.

“My job is to stand up for the people of this riding,” he said.

“My number-one job will be to represent the people of Dufferin-PeelWellington-Grey, with diligence, sensitivity and effort.”

Former Premier Bill Davis, as spry and droll as ever, had been telling stories about his protege and was coming to the end of his anecdotes when he looked at someone nearby and said he was “having too much fun” to step down.

Mr. Tory was officially nominated by area MP David Tilson, who sat as MPP for years before giving up his seat for then Premier Ernie Eves.

A dramatic chase followed by a citizen’s arrest Tuesday night has resulted in a self-proclaimed anarchist pleading guilty to a number of charges related to a spree of paintspraying of local buildings.

Alexander Paterson, 20, of 224 Kensington Place, was released on his own recognizance and $500 nodeposit surety with a promise to return to Justice Bruce Pugsley’s Ontario Court after he has cleaned up some damage he admits he did to eight Orangeville properties .

A middle-aged man and a petite woman, who asked not to be identified, caught Mr. Paterson in the act of spray-painting the Dufferin County Court-house door, and challenged him, whereupon he bolted with the man pursuing him on foot.

Premier Dalton McGuinty will be in Shelburne tomorrow (Friday) to campaign for Bob Duncanson, the Liberal candidate in the upcoming provincial byelection.

Mr. McGuinty will arrive sometime in midor late afternoon.

“I am excited that the Premier is visiting my home riding,” Mr. Duncanson said. “It’s a great chance for the people of this area to meet the Premier and for him to meet them.” It will also be a great opportunity to discuss the issues and concerns that matter most to our community.”

Both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives sent high-profile members to the Liberal nomination meeting, which was held at Orangeville District Secondary School last Thursday, and saw Mr. Duncanson, of Mulmur Township, acclaimed as the candidate in the March 17 byelection.

Mr. Duncanson owns a home in Toronto’s posh Rosedale neighbourhood. His wife teaches in Toronto and his daughter goes to school there. However, the candidate says Mulmur “is my home, this is where I spend my time.”

Mr. Duncanson was nominated by Shelburne Mayor Ed Crewson, who got off the best shot of the meeting:

“I’m here to introduce the candidate who will defeat the Bay Street boy with the silver spoon in his mouth, who has gotten the golden parachute into this riding, and who thinks he can effortlessly and easily represent the people of Dufferin-PeelWellington-Grey,” Mr. Crewson said.

“We are here tonight with pitchforks, and we are going to puncture that parachute and make sure he has a very rough landing.”

Education Minister Gerard Kennedy, Ontario Liberal Party president Deb Lewis, 2002 DufferinPeel-Wellington-Grey byelection candidate Josh Matlow and more than 200 supporters were on hand for the event.

MARCH

Orangeville Council was presented with a draft 2005 budget that if passed as written would require a property tax increase of 11.97 per cent.

Councillors immediately began to discuss how they can reduce that figure to something more acceptable, and sent it to the finance committee for more detailed examination. Serious paring of the budget will take place over the next several weeks.

The first all-candidates night for the March 17 by-election was a goodnatured, tightly managed affair that generated heat if not light, and was served up by two of the seven participants with a generous dash of humour.

The laughs were mostly courtesy of Bill Cook, a Grey County farmer who’s running for the Representative Party, and Jim MacIntosh, representing Phillip Bender, candidate for the Libertarian Party.

The Year in Review will

continue next week