Councillors “blindsided” by Thorold grow-op
The stench of a Cataract Road cannabis crop had neighbours plugging their noses.
Coun. Jim Handley reported he’s received complaints about a “marijuana facility” on Cataract Road; “about the odour that’s being emitted from it. I believe municipally, we can do something about it,” he suggested at a Council meeting in March, 2019.
“The fines in place aren’t sufficient and don’t deter individuals from reducing the stench.”
After calling the Cannabis Hotline, Handley determined that “It’s the municipality’s responsibility to regulate and control odours from facilities; be they from recreational or medical use.”
He went on to say that he was “blindsided by the fact that it did exist. I don’t think any of us knew that we have a grow-op here in Thorold.”
Tamara Tannis, the city’s director of planning, advised councillors that cannabis “is a crop, and similar to anything that can be grown. We are asking that they be in M4 zones, and that would be the extent of our ability to regulate.”
Dixon accepts role of new Fire Chief
Officially sworn in as Thorold’s new fire chief, Terry Dixon has two top priorities.
“Building a new station is number one,” the chief told Thorold News. “We just outgrew this building. It’s no longer up to standards.”
And while working on securing a suitable replacement for the aged Towpath Street fire hall, Dixon also plans to “Move forward with our standard operating guidelines. That’s what we base our training on,” he explained, “so we need to have a good structure. The growth of the city is going to dictate where we go.”
With 35 years of firefighting experience, the lifelong Thorold resident said he “grew up on Holland Road,” and spent 17 years as a volunteer firefighter before being hired full-time in 2001. He served his last four years as District Chief at Station Four, and was a Captain for the last five years.
In his new position, he will oversee the administration and operations of the Thorold Fire and Emergency Services, which is comprised of 20 full-time firefighters and 120 volunteer firefighters, working out of four fire stations.
Spirit of Jeff Yungblut lives on
Both Thorold arenas were brimming with the spirit of Jeff Yungblut last March.
Sporting custom Jeff Yungblut t-shirts, sweatshirts, toques and ball caps; friends, family, and the community at large came together to skate and swap stories about the beloved departed Thorold man through a four-day weekend tournament.
“We’ve had a phenomenal weekend,” Nancy Yungblut told the Thorold News Sunday evening.
The fourth annual hockey tournament was held in memory of her son Jeff, who passed away May 11, 2013, while at a hockey tournament in Markham with his son, Cole.
“It’s awesome,” said 17-year-old Cole. “Everybody here was affected by it, so it’s nice to have everyone here supporting us.”
Kayleigh, Jeff’s 19-year-old daughter, created the scorekeeping schedule and managed the tournament’s website and Facebook page.
“I’ve been here helping out every year,” she said. “The first year, we had six teams and it’s grown to 26. Twenty kids from Denis Morris and Thorold High came and sat in the cold and helped. It’s a sharing environment and everybody wants to talk about my dad and share stories. It’s so nice.”
Each year, companies and individuals contribute raffle prizes, or toward the cost of food or ice time.
Their financial support enables the family to continue awarding scholarships to Thorold Secondary and Denis Morris students every year in Jeff’s name.
Port Robinson couple hopes to host new “high-class” dog kennel
Pet-owners may be able to drop off their pooches for temporary respite in Port Robinson, pending a property zoning amendment approval by the city.
Tracy Norton and Guy Carter have applied to establish a new home-based dog kennel business on the corner of Allanport and Hurricane Roads.
Stephen Bedford, of LANDx Development Ltd., addressed council members to explain their application at the public portion of a March, 2019 council meeting.
If approved, the couple plans to insulate the 800-foot-square “accessory barn” on their 10-acre property, noted Bedford, adding that the building would be “renovated so it’s totally enclosed, air-conditioned and heated; kind of a high-class kennel.”
The facility would not have an outside run, and would house “approximately 26 dogs maximum, with a mix of large and small dogs,” Bedford added.
Council passes new graffiti bylaw
Anyone caught wielding a spray-can and defacing Thorold property will face stiffer penalties, thanks to a new bylaw passed in March at city council.
In efforts to clean up an ever-widening swath of spray paint that’s been sweeping across Thorold, city council directed staff at its Jan. 15, 2019 meeting “to investigate a remedy” to the growing issue of graffiti.
The result is a new by-law, designed “to prevent unsightliness of property by prohibiting graffiti on property” and requiring property-owners to keep their buildings “free of graffiti” as well.
Referred to as the “Graffiti Management bylaw,” an officer who finds someone in violation “may make an order requiring the person who contravened this by-law, or who caused or permitted the contravention, or the owner or occupier of the land on which the contravention occurred, to do work to correct the contravention.”
On first conviction, a person is liable to a fine ranging from $400 to $20,000, and on subsequent convictions to a minimum fine of $400, up to $50,000.
A corporation that is convicted of an offence is liable on first conviction to a fine ranging from $400 and $50,000, and on subsequent convictions to a fine ranging from $400 to $100,000.
Good news for Thorold taxpayers
Thorold’s regional councillor appeared at city council in March to announce the good news.
Taxes will increase in 2019, but not nearly as much as originally predicted, according to Tim Whalen.
What it means for Thorold taxpayers is that they will see a modest hike—of about $56—in 2019, stated Whalen, lower than his earlier projected increase of $84 for an average Thorold homeowner.
Some of the big-budget items contributing to the increase include repairs to Thorold Stone Road and Martindale Road, as well as $21 million in updates to the Decew Water Treatment plant.
Mayor Terry Ugulini described the latter as “a great project,” and added that the plant “supplies most of the city of Thorold with their drinking water.”
Paying tribute to Thorold athletes, past and present
Held in March at John-Michaels Banquet Hall in Thorold South, this year’s 13th annual Runway of Recognition event took on a nostalgic note when emcee Bob Elliott paid tribute to three Thorold sport supporters, all of whom passed away since the last awards banquet.
Hailing Jeno Begolo as “A champion race car driver and a champion for the city of Thorold,” Elliott called Pete Riddle “One of the best goalies the region produced,” and said Bob McGarrigle was a founding member of the Runway of Recognition committee, which has erected 97 plaques to date in the Thorold Arena.
Current NHL star Owen Nolan was team captain and the late Peter Riddle was assistant coach of the Thorold Peewee A hockey team. In 1985/86, the team captured the OMHA and the OHA championships, as well as the Great Grape tournament, the Woolwich tournament, and was a finalist in the Silver Stick regional tournament.
Finishing the season undefeated, the Thorold Secondary School senior boys’ football team “has always been a source of great pride,” noted Elliott. “This school has won two district championships in three years.”
Jacob Turner, Jason Stewart, Tyler Reid, Tyler Broderick, and Andrew Daly accepted the Team of the Year trophy on behalf of the championship football team.
Brothers Mike and Dave Graffi, both of whom played for the Hamilton Tiger Cats, were awarded at the 2019 banquet, as well as basketball superstar Samantha Keltos, the 2018 female athlete of the year. Deandre Fournier, a member of the Thorold Elite Track team, who broke records and won provincial and national medals in the triple jump, was named male athlete of the year.
For his many decades as a devoted volunteer for the Thorold Girls Softball league, Steve Krawchuk won the 2018 Albert Ciancio “Trombone” award.
Other 2018 winners included Lorna Jorgenson Keating, who launched her career as a figure skater in Thorold at age eight, and who advanced to the Canadian National Championships; Anthony Tremonte, whose name was added to the prestigious James Whyte Memorial trophy for his excellence as a hockey player; and Carson Eden, who skated his way from the TAAA to the Hamilton Bull Dogs before being drafted by Owen Sound. Carson won the 2018 Mike Egeroff Memorial trophy, and Bill Merpaw won the Daryl Mahler Memorial Award for being the coach who makes the biggest difference.
New pharmacy opens adjoining Thorold Medical Clinic
Christina Ciancio and Alexandra Tatzel teamed up to open a new pharmacy.
Adjoining the Thorold Medical Clinic, it’s a space they know well, as both women—now pharmacists—visited their parents there throughout their youth.
“I remember bringing him supper, and spent long hours visiting” said Alexandra Tatzel, daughter of Dr. Timothy Tatzel, whose “whole career” has been stationed at the Albert Street West clinic.
And Christina’s mother, Mary Ciancio, was a long-time nurse at the clinic, located at 60 Albert Street West.
The new Thorold Medical Pharmacy is “in the middle of a community,” said Tatzel. “We felt like it was a good fit for accessibility and it’s on the ground level, and has parking. That’s why we went into pharmacy. We’re the most accessible profession. There are not many places you can get the professional on the phone. That’s why we like working in a small community, because you really do get to be part of the health care team. ”
LACAC awards heritage boosters
Craig Finlay, chair of Thorold Heritage LACAC, appeared at city council to hand out hardware to 2019’s biggest boosters of local heritage.
“During Heritage Week,” he stated, “it has been our practice to recognize individuals” by presenting them with Heritage Thorold awards.
Tony Vandermaas was the first recipient, described by Finlay as “an active volunteer on many projects,” who, in addition to researching and sharing local history through writing a series of novels for “young readers,” Vandermaas has “served on every history committee,” said Finlay, including Thorold Heritage LACAC, the Thorold and Beaverdams Historical Society, the War of 1812 Bicentennial Committee, and the Friends of Beaverdams Church.
As the city’s official town crier since 1997, he’s participated in countless events through the years, and more than 30 Heritage Thorold site designations, dressed in an authentic period costume sewn by his wife, Penny. Vandermaas also “writes his own cries” for each appearance.
Rounding out this year’s heritage award recipients were Brenda Stokes Verworn and Charles Verworn, who purchased—and preserved—the historic Beatty home, located at the corner of Pine St. and Townline Road.
TCAG—“A place where everybody belongs”
An 87 per cent hike in revenue over the past four years and proportionate spike in participants in the group’s many programs had TCAG board and staff members smiling.
At their 37th annual general meeting held in March, TCAG president Denise Palomba summarized the changes made in the past five years responsible for their success, which include a new governance model, new staff, new board members, new technology and a new business model.
“I commend the organization for having a great year,” said Nicole Henderson, who prepared the group’s audited financial statements. “Your changes obviously worked.”
Despite their many changes, its mission has remained the same, said Palomba.
“We’re proud to serve as the centre of community in the Thorold area while providing much-needed programs and services that make life in Thorold healthier,” she said, acknowledging the support of its many partners, including the Niagara Region, Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey’s office, the city of Thorold, the Canal Bank Shuffle, Henderson’s Pharmacy, Bocchinfuso Funeral Home, Hartzel Auto Marine, Tim and Ilona Munday, “and countless others.”
Highlighting Thorold champions on International Women’s Day
In honour of International Women’s Day, Thorold News shone a spotlight on four of the city’s leading ladies, featuring interviews with Sue Lawrence, principal of Prince of Wales School—who said she always dreamed of being an educator—as well as Diana D’Intino, co-owner of A Yellow Flower Basket and driving force behind the BIA; lifelong Thorold resident Nella Dekker, who was elected to city council for her first term in 2018; and The Rev. Canon Katherine Morgan, rector of St John’s Anglican Church, who said she “began to have a sense of God calling me to the ministry when I was in my teens.”
Karma Kameleon chef crowned soup king, again
Sparkling silver soup ladles adorn the walls of the Karma Kameleon’s dining room on Front Street.
Awarded at competitions as part of the annual “Empty Bowls” soup fundraiser for Bethlehem Housing, Chef William Brunyansky recently captured his last two ladles for People’s Choice and the Platinum Ladle, presented after a number of prestigious judges voted on soups at the event at Club Roma.
Among them was Chef John Higgins, who has prepared food for Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace.
City wants your input
Whether you’re a parent who takes your children on weekly outings in Thorold playgrounds, a retiree who walks your dog along nearby trails each day, or a member of an arts group that performs occasionally at park events and festivals, the city wants to hear from you.
In conjunction with consultants, the city is preparing a Park, Trails and Recreation Master Plan that will guide future planning for indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, programs and activities as well as the development and management of parks, trails, and green space that is owned or managed by the city of Thorold.
As part of the study, staff is conducting a number of focus group meetings for specific ages and interests to identify and discuss residents’ interests in Thorold’s park and recreation services, and invites the public to participate.
City launches new website
In efforts to communicate more effectively with the public, the city launched a new website on March 20, 2019.
Visitors to the former city website, www.thorold.com will be redirected to the new site, at www.thorold.ca
