Wednesday, January 3, 2007 · Page 2 January (cont'd) Windsor Raceway and the Ontario Harness Horse Association reached an agreement that brought live harness racing back to the track as of Jan. 18. Members of the OHHA were refusing to work without a contract since late December and were seeking a racing schedule that included at least 130 racing dates. O Essex County Council decided to form a committee to review core services for its residents following Lakeshore Mayor Bob Croft's call for a review of the 1999 amalgamation. When the 21 municipalities outside Windsor were reduced to seven in 1999, it was agreed that a review of the process would be completed in five years. The review was two years overdue. At the end of 2006, the review had still not been conducted. O The 6th annual Polar Bear Dip in support of the Youth and Family Resource Network of Essex County and ChildCan raised over $59,000 in pledges and contributions, topping the previous year's results by over $20,000. February A new television station, CFTV34, began testing its signal and announced programming would begin at the end of the month on the UHF dial. Operating out of Leamington, the station reaches residents of southern Essex County and includes a cooking show hosted by Karen Callies, sales representative with the Essex Free Press. O EDHS grad Greg Armstrong-Morris, now an actor living in Vancouver, joined the cast of Lord of the Rings, which opened in Toronto March 23. O Essex Ravens defensive linebacker Nate Fitzsimmons was selected to play on the Canadian team at the 2006 Global Junior Football Championships in Michigan. The team went on to win the pre-cursor event to Super Bowl XL for the second year in a row. O The Carnegie library building in Essex was declared surplus by town council after the library moved to its new location on Gosfield Town Line. The building was declared a heritage property in 1998 but may be sold as a historic building. Town administrators were hopeful that Heritage Essex would be able to purchase the building. Discussions continue while the building remains vacant. O Fears of a delay in the arena project surfaced when the project managers recommended the town build a completely new structure without incorporating part of the existing arena. In early February construction costs for extensive renovations and an addition to the existing arena were estimated at $7.5 million. By March, the cost had increased to nearly $9 million when total project costs were factored in. The cost of building a new single-pad arena was quoted at $8.4 to $9.9 million. Members of the steering committee travelled to St. Thomas in September to look at their arena complex as a model for a twin-pad facility and were impressed. The impact on the project of the recently Jeff Watson, left, is congratulated by his campaign manager, Richard Tapping Jr. at a celebration party Jan. 23 at Pointe West Golf Club in Amherstburg. Watson was declared the winner of the Essex riding before 11 p.m. He received 23,125 votes and over 40 percent of the total vote in the riding. announced Tecumseh Ice Track is unknown. O Town Council capped the Business Improvement Area levy at $8,000 for Ward 1 businesses after it heard from residents concerned about the BIA fees for Iler Lodge. All businesses in the town of Essex pay a BIA levy based on their property assessment. Iler Lodge was the only business affected by this decision. O A group of Essex County farmers served food at the Windsor Downtown Mission to help the mission feed Windsor's hungry and to draw attention to Food Freedom Day the calendar day when the average Canadian has earned enough to pay their grocery bill for the entire year. The farmers also presented the Mission with a cheque for $500. O Organizers of the 11th Annual Ken Knapp Ford Jingle Bell Run, Walk and Wheel celebrated the amount raised in the 2005 run. A cheque for $10,000 was presented to Community Living Essex County by Mike Knapp. O The 3rd Annual Essex Soup Luncheon had its best turnout to date and raised nearly $12,000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. The new location for the soup luncheon at Essex District High School allowed organizers to serve over 400 community supporters. O Essex Ravens football player and 2004 and 2005 Ontario Varsity Football League defensive lineman of the year Brian Bulcke signed his letter of intent to accept a five-year athletic scholarship from Stanford University. O As a result of budget deliberations, the Town of Essex decided to implement a new tax policy that would make property taxes more representative of the services received. Under this policy, rural property owners no longer pay for storm water management that benefits the urban centres of Harrow and Essex. In addition, property taxes were not raised beyond the property assessment growth increased recommended by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. The Kinsmen Club of Essex hired a fundraising coordinator for the arena renovation and expansion project. Charged with the task of raising $1.5 million to help fund construction of a new arena, the Kinsmen had gathered about $600,000 in both cash and pledges by September when they held a fundraising dinner at the Essex Cook House. O The Essex Community Centre invited the public to an open house to introduce its new programs for children and adults. Located in the renovated section of the former Holy Name elementary school, the community centre is an additional location at which the Town of Essex Parks and Recreation Department can offer programs. O Union Water announced that it would keep its 2006 wholesale water rate at the same price as 2005, but consumers would be faced with significant rate increases for 2007 and 2008. Beginning Jan. 1, 2007, water consumption rates will rise in all four of the town's wards to $1.15 per cubic metre, a 21 percent increase over 2006 rates. O The EDHS Red Raider girls' hockey team hosted a league tournament in preparation for applying for WECSSAA sanctioning. Girls' hockey officially became a WECSSAAsanctioned school sport as of the 2006-2007 season. Eleven teams belong to the league. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE TOWN OF LAKESHORE Notice of Intention to Adopt Budget Water/Wastewater In accordance with Regulation 244, notice is hereby given of the intention of the Council of the Town of Lakeshore to hold a public meeting on January 31, 2007 and February 1, 2007 commencing at 4:30 pm relating to the water and wastewater budget and rates with the intention of passing a by-law relating to the change in rates for the year 2007. Written or verbal comments will be considered. Information relating to the estimate of costs, fees and rationale for the fees is available upon request by contacting Town Hall at 519-728-2700. x he Esse Book tHouse for Cook te parties, priva ings etc. meet "Welcome to casual fine dining in our home." G u a r d i a n Preenstcrreiption C E SSEX ATM PHARMACIES LTD. DINING & CATERING In order to better serve our customers our hours starting the week of January 16, 2007 will be: Co sex CookHou se he Es T Wed. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Thurs. & Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m, 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Sat. & Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Please provide Larry and Christine with any suggestions to serve you better. Gregg Charlton - B.Sc. Phm 776-5131 169 Talbot St. S., Essex Monday - Friday 9-6 Saturday 9-12 Dan Piescic P.Eng., Director of Engineering and Infrastructure Services Sylvia Rammelaere CA, Director of Finance and Performance Services 19 Laird Avenue, Essex 519-776-5469