Addington Highlands Council

Jeff Green | Apr 22, 2015

Presentation to members of Denbigh Abinger, and Ashby Fire department.

The formation of the Denbigh, Abinger and Ashby (DAA) fire department came about as the result of two things. First, in the mid 1960s the township council requested that the Ontario Fire Marshall's Office conduct a fire protection survey for the township. When the survey was completed and provided to the municipality it came with a number of recommendations, mainly that a fire department be set up and what it would need.

At the same time the DAA Centennial Committee was doing fundraising for anniversary projects and the volunteer fire department was one of those projects.

Money was raised to purchase a portable building from a Belleville trucking company and was moved to the township for use as a fire hall and roads department building. More money was raised to buy a truck, and a used milk tanker truck was purchased and refurbished. The township purchased some equipment and other equipment was donated.

It was sometime after 1967 that all of the equipment was finally in place, the volunteers were trained and the department was formally established, with William Scott Senior, who had been a firefighter in Toronto, serving as the first fire chief. The service was entirely made up of volunteers, and a fire phone system was set up so that when the emergency number was dialed it rang in designated homes. The volunteers in those homes each had a list of firefighters to call.

With municipal amalgamation at the beginning of 1998, the service was amalgamated with the Addington Highlands Fire Service. A plaque commemorating all those who served between 1967 and 1997 was commissioned by Addington Highlands Township, and on Monday night, April 20, the plaque and certificates of appreciation were presented to volunteers from those years who were able to attend. A number of the volunteers were on hand in person to receive their certificates, but a larger number were not, as there are many who have died or left the area since being fire department members back in the 1970s and 80s.

“This is just a small token of appreciation for all of the service provided over those 30 years by the Denbigh, Abinger and Ashby Fire department and all its members,” said Reeve Henry Hogg.

After receiving their certificates, the firefighters who were on hand posed for a picture with the commemorative plaque, which will go on permanent display at the Addington Highlands Community Centre in Denbigh.

Notes from Council meeting

Fees waived for community wind power meeting - Paul Isaacs has organized a meeting concerning the NextEra proposed wind farm in Addington Highlands this Saturday (April 25) and he was asking for the use of the Denbigh Hall for free. The meeting will concern itself with creating three lists: a list of benefits from wind turbines, a list of detriments from wind turbines, and a list of questions to ask concerning wind turbines. Council approved the request for waiving the fee.

The idea of holding a public meeting sponsored by the township in ward 1, was also raised at the meeting and council will be considering setting one up. NextEra, as part of their public process, is going to be setting up an information Open House in Denbigh in late May. The Open House will be part of NextEra's push for council support for the project. A motion of support from the local township is one of the elements in the bid that NextEra will be submitting to Ontario Power Generation (OPG). A competitive bidding process is being used by OPG to determine which company they will sign a 20 year contract with for the purchase of 300 megawatts of wind power. As an incentive to Addington Highlands Council, NextEra is offering a $350,000 annual payment for the life of the contract. Those payments are contingent on two things happening: NextEra needs to the be successful bidder, and Addington Highlands Council needs to have supported the bid.

Support for a private members bill -

Sylvia Jones, Progressive Conservative MPP for Dufferin-Caledon, is sponsoring Bill 36, the Respecting Private Property Act, which if enacted will increase the fines for trespass on private property. The bill would establish a minimum fine of $500 for trespassing and would increase the limit for compensation to the landowner to $25,000 from the current limit of $1,000.

Council passed a motion supporting Bill 36.

Water levels low in Mississippi Valley

Councilor Kirby Thompson, who represents AH on the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority Board, reported that Gord Mountenay, who has been monitoring water levels in the watershed for 35 years, said that the lake levels are at historic lows this spring. The MVCA controls the flow of water within the system by using flow control dams, but the options are limited when water levels are low.

(see "Rain brings some relief from low lake water levels - burn ban conditions")