County News

Where it’s always the weekend

Posted: May 25, 2012 at 9:21 am   /   County News

East Lake cottage resort puts on its finery for season opening event Ice cream, South Bay Chardonnay and a warm salt water pool greeted owners, guests and visitors on Saturday afternoon at the official season opening of Sandbanks Summer Village on East Lake. Dozens lazed poolside while other wandered through model cottages imagining lives of […]

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First moves

Posted: May 25, 2012 at 9:14 am   /   County News

County manager takes first steps in reshaping municipal business The County has begun taking steps to restructure and reorganize its business. Mayor Peter Mertens campaigned in 2010 to lead a top-to-bottom review of the municipal organization—something that hadn’t been done since amalgamation in 1998. It took longer than Mertens had hoped to find the right […]

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Market delayed

Posted: May 18, 2012 at 9:29 am   /   County News

Council puts off going to the market for insurance coverage for another year The County spends a lot of money on insurance—$834,610 last year—up 12 per cent over the year before. Three per cent of every dollar raised in taxes goes to pay the County’s insurance bill. Last year, facing its third major increase in […]

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From Be Bop to Boss Brass

Posted: May 18, 2012 at 9:16 am   /   County News

County Jazz Festival unveils 2012 headliners It may be the best lineup for the County’s Jazz Festival ever. That was the prevailing view among volunteers, sponsors and well-wishers on hand to kick off the annual week-long celebration of jazz held amid the bustling tasting room of Huff Estates Winery on Friday afternoon. Perhaps the highest […]

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On the list

Posted: May 18, 2012 at 9:06 am   /   County News

Council still learning how to balance rights of property owners and the community’s interest Is your home on the list? If so your rights as a homeowner are set to be diminished just a bit at the next meeting of council. Or looked at another way—the community just won 60 days to talk you out […]

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Coolest spot…

Posted: May 11, 2012 at 9:22 am   /   County News

Drake Hotel lays out plans for Wellington property Is Wellington ready for the arrival of “retro cool”? A weekend story in the Globe and Mail suggests the Drake Hotel may receive a less-than-warm welcome to the village when it opens the Drake Devonshire in Wellington next spring. In his story on the purchase of the […]

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Buried

Posted: May 11, 2012 at 9:13 am   /   County News

Council cuts funding to Wellington cemetery, board kept in the dark The County may soon find itself with another cemetery to manage. Last week the board of the Wellington cemetery learned their annual request for financial assistance to manage and care for the property was turned down due to budget cuts. No one called the […]

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Deadlocked, again

Posted: May 4, 2012 at 9:20 am   /   County News, Size of Council

Council puts off review of council size indefinitely The issue still confounds council. So much so that for the first 15 minutes of discussion of the issue last week, no one dared to utter the words “size of council” out loud. But eventually it became clear why councillors were suddenly speaking cryptically and seizing upon […]

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On the market

Posted: May 4, 2012 at 9:16 am   /   County News

Owner seeking bids for Midtown Meats property in Wellington It was a cool Saturday afternoon three years ago last month, that fire destroyed Midtown Meats in Wellington, throwing 145 workers out of a job. The fire levelled most of the plant, save for a small freezer unit and a detached office building. Owner Dale Willard […]

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Brush pile

Posted: May 4, 2012 at 9:11 am   /   County News

New fees waived after worries about increased burning arise County dumps are once again welcoming brush—at no charge. In February council approved a new set of fees for garbage and waste. While much of the focus was on a 50 per cent hike in the cost of bag tags, few noticed that a new fee […]

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