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Disposing of old tires once used to float docks at Wawa's marina is costing the municipality several thousand dollars.
Infrastructure Services Director Cory Stainthorpe informed Council during Tuesday's committee meeting that the tires - which had been stored at the municipal landfill since they were removed from the marina - could not be disposed of as expected because they were filled with debris, and they were instead hauled away, expected to cost about $25,000.
Council has approved a proposed minor variance application.
Through a "Committee of Adjustment" hearing held during Tuesday's regular Council meeting, Council approved Brian Lockstein's request to be granted a minor variance, reducing the sideyard setback from 1.2 meters to 0.6 meters so he could build a "car port".
No objections had been submitted to Council nor were any raised during the meeting, though there is a 20-day waiting period before the decision takes effect.
The Municipality of Wawa's looking at updating its policy on arena ice rentals.
Wawa Municipal Council was presented with a draft revised policy during last night's Corporate Planning/Policy Manual Committee meeting, and CAO/Treasurer Maury O'Neill explains it features multiple changes.
Acting Community Services and Tourism Director Brian Lachine emphasizes this is still a draft for public input, but underscores difficulties associated with early ice.
Lachine adds the end of the season has another problem.
While discussing the policy during last night's meeting, Council was told about various issues with early ice - particularly with warmer September weather in recent years, which strains current equipment, makes it more difficult to make ice, and causes condensation issues - while numerous cancellations have been seen after March Break - a problem the policy seeks to address, by refusing refunds for cancellations during the "Spring of Fall Shoulder Season", while requiring at least 24 hours notice of a cancellation for an event taking no more than 6 hours, or 3 days notice for events requiring more than 6 hours of ice time over a span of one or more days.
The policy also warns "no organization, group, or user will have ice times automatically reserved from one year to the next", though the Municipality will attempt to maintain consistency when possible, with ice time to be prioritized in the following order: municipal programming; regionally significant events; tournaments; youth recreational programming; senior recreational programming; adult recreational programming; and finally, private and commercial rentals.
It also mandates the Municipality to inform users groups of annual ice rental rates and charges once the Municipal Fees and Charges By-Law is approved by Council - who will make an effort to do so by May 1st - with user groups to be informed of ice rental rates no later than July 1st, though it further emphasizes all users will be charged per the schedule of fees unless Council authorizes an exception.
Emphasizing this is a draft, O'Neill says the Municipality is talking with ice user groups and has posted the proposed revised policy on the municipal website for the public to review and provide comments by August 28th.
Plans are for the revised policy to come to Council for a vote September 3rd.
The Municipality's looking at dropping National Car Rental service - but it looks like it will remain in town.
During last night's Corporate Planning and Policy Manual Committee meeting, Council discussed a staff recommendation to discontinue its agreement to provide National Car Rental service - due to staffing and other requirements for it - though Mayor Ron Rody did note another, unspecified party's interested in picking up the service.
Council agreed to take on the service in December 2015, amid concerns it would be lost if the Municipality didn't step in.
The repeal of the agreement's expected to come to Council in two weeks, with the Municipality to cease providing the service a month later, if it's approved.
Wawa Municipal Council's considering a new policy regarding docking, mooring, launching, and boating on Wawa Lake beachfront properties.
CAO/Treasurer Maury O'Neill explains the idea stems from concerns raised by some members of the public.
O'Neill assures the policy isn't intended to block access for boats.
O'Neill further emphasizes that the policy's currently in draft form, which will be posted on the municipal website and available at the Municipal Offices for the public to review and provide comments before the policy comes to Council for a possible vote at the September 3rd Council meeting.
The Municipality of Wawa's moving forward on plans for work on Mission Road and Main Street.
Just weeks after Ontario's Ministry of Transportation confirmed up to $3-million for "reconstruction" of the roads through "Connecting Link" funding, the Municipality's issued a request for proposals for engineering services and project management on this "Connecting Link" project.
While Infrastructure Services Director Cory Stainthorpe's continually emphasized the plan is subject to changes in the design phase, the proposal presented to the province would see Mission Road change from the current four lanes - two each direction - to one lane each direction with a middle turning lane and bike lanes on each side, a move Council was told generally makes it safer and improves flow - following adjustments - as it would help reduce travel speed along Mission Road and eliminate opportunity for drivers to weave in and out of lanes.
Also proposed were crosswalks at three points - the intersection of Mission Road with Churchill and Winston, the intersection of Mission and Magpie, and the intersection of Mission with Main Street and Third Avenue - with some work on Main Street, as well, including slightly thinner islands dividing the existing lanes of opposing traffic.
Mayor Ron Rody's told JJAM FM News he expects public consultation this fall, with plans to be confirmed over the winter so construction can happen next summer.
The R-F-P's open until 2:45 p-m on Friday, August 23rd.
No injuries have been reported after a fire at Alamos Gold's Island Gold Mine.
A statement from Environmental Superintendent Nish Logeswaran says "a small fire occurred underground" around 3:30 Monday afternoon, but "was rapidly extinguished" and "no personnel were injured".
He adds that "all underground personnel were safely evacuated to the surface" and the night shift still proceeded "as regularly scheduled".
Wawa Municipal Council's set to hold a pair of meetings tonight.
First up will be a joint Corporate Planning/Policy Manual Committee meeting, with items on the agenda including: a draft policy for docking, mooring, launching, and boating on Wawa Lake beachfront properties; a draft revised policy for arena ice rentals; the National car rental agreement; refuse collection; and letters on Cemetery Road repair and garbage on Long Beach Road.
Council will then hold a regular meeting, with items on that agenda including a request to waive fees for the Bumps, Babies, and Beyond Expo, a Committee of Adjustment hearing on a minor variance application, and staff recommendations to: award the Town Hall Roof project to Dynamic Roofing; waive the RFP process and award the Pavement Preservation Project contract to J. Provost Contracting; and award the contract for Curb Side or Curb Stop Upgrades to Water Services to an unspecified company.
There are also four "in-camera" items on that agenda: an "Education" item involving "Council Training"; and three "Personal Issue" items relating to one or more letters of complaint.
Aside from the "in-camera" portion, tonight's meetings are open to the public, starting at 6:30 pm in Council Chambers.
Runners will be crowding in Dubreuilville in honour of a local ALS activist later this week.
"Let's Roll For Eddy" Half Marathon organizer Josee Bouchard explains the upcoming event dates back three years.
Bouchard encourages everyone to come out for the event - which includes a 1k "kiddie run", a 5k "run, walk, and roll", and 10, 15, and 20k runs.
It will be held at Dubreuilville's ecole secondaire l'Oree des Bois on Friday, with registration starting at 5:15 p-m and the run at 6.
It's not the only event happening in honour of Eddy this weekend: the "Let's Golf For Eddy" ALS Golf Tournament is coming to Wawa's Michipicoten Golf Club Saturday, though the registration deadline is this Thursday - anyone interested can contact Eric Levesque via email: eric@davidsonfuels.com.
While Wawa's drag races may be over, racers have another local event to look forward to: Chapleau's first ever Gold Rush Nationals drag race.
While speaking with JJAM FM News in April - after an agreement was reached with the Township - Michel Sylvestre of the CRDC noted the Chapleau event will be similar to Wawa's, with Luskville Speedway running the races, as it does for Wawa's.
The inaugural Gold Rush Nationals Drag Race will be held at Chapleau's airport August 23rd to 25th.
The checkered flag has been waved for another year of Wawa's Northern Nationals Drag Race.
Wawa Dragway Committee Chair Rob Sanderson says the event went quite well, with more than 200 cars participating.
While there was some frustration from looming dark clouds and rain early Friday afternoon, Sanderson says the weather worked out.
Sanderson commends the committee and upwards of 100 volunteers - including the firefighters - for making the event possible.
Multiple people have been arrested after a series of drug-related search warrants were executed in Wawa and White River.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say - following a lengthy investigation - members of the OPP's North East Region Community Street Crime Unit and the Pic River Anishinabek Police Service helped execute the three warrants on Wednesday, with officers seizing a "large amount of Canadian currency and drugs suspected to be cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, and oxycodone" - an estimated street value of about $5500.
Police also seized several firearms and prohibited weapons.
In total, six people were arrested: a 26-year-old Wawa man; and a 32-year-old woman, a 38-year-old woman, a 27-year-old man, a 45-year-old man, and a 50-year-old man, all from White River.
A total of 26 charges were laid, ranging from two counts of failing to comply with a recognizance for the Wawa man - the sole charges laid against him - to possession of a schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking, unauthorized possession of a weapon, possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm or ammunition, and making or possessing explosives for an unlawful purpose.
They're scheduled to appear in court next month.
Wawa's drag races are racing into town today.
The 8th annual Northern Nationals Drag Race kicked off festivities last night, with races beginning today - and Wawa Dragway Committee Chair Rob Sanderson reminds there's racing for "basically any age group".
Sanderson notes there is other special entertainment, including funny cars, fun for the kids, and a fan favourite from the Wawa Volunteer Fire Department.
Sanderson adds the transit bus will be running to help people get to the airport - and reminds volunteers are still welcome.
Driver registration is at the Community Centre from 8 am to 1 pm, when it moves to the airport, where gates will open for the races at 2 o'clock pm.
Algoma Power's finalized a deal to take over Dubreuilville's electricity distribution system.
The utility says it has closed a transaction to purchase the electricity distribution assets from Dubreuil Lumber Inc., with Algoma Power assuming the permanent role of operator for the system in the Township of Dubreuilville - it had been ordered by the Ontario Energy Board in April 2017 to be the interim operator after Dubreuil Lumber opted not to renew its licence to distribute power locally.
According to the company, its "familiarity with the community will help ensure both a smooth transition and the continued operation of the distribution system", while Mayor Bev Nantel's quoted as saying the town "looks forward" and is "pleased with the transfer to Algoma Power to provide for our community and security and service now into the future".
A subsidiary of FortisOntario, Algoma Power has about 12,000 customers across the Algoma District, with more than 1800 kilometres of distribution lines in an area covering over 14,000 square kilometres.
Preparations are revving up for Wawa's annual drag races.
The Wawa Municipal Airport is now closed for the weekend, as setup will begin at noon for this weekend's Northern Nationals Drag Races.
While that means a disruption to service at the airport - preventing "fixed-wing aircraft" from landing - Wawa's Acting Community Services and Tourism Director, Brian Lachine, assures some form of medical transportation is still possible.
Lachine adds that Ornge - Ontario's air ambulance service - is aware of the situation, and has used a helicopter for a medical evacuation during the drag races before.
As setup nears, Wawa Dragway Committee Chair Rob Sanderson notes volunteers are welcome to come and help out.
Sanderson adds volunteers are also welcome for the rest of the weekend - and he adds the Wawa Motor Inn's hosting the "Rev-Up Night" kickoff event at 6 this evening.
Driver pre-registration for the drag races runs from 4 to 9 today at the Community Centre, with registration at the Community Centre tomorrow from 8 to 1, when it will move to the Airport.
A Toronto-area man's been identified as the person killed in a fatal collision south of Wawa early Tuesday morning.
Ontario Provincial Police, the Wawa Fire Department and Algoma EMS were called to the scene along Highway 17 - about 30 kilometres south of Wawa - at 12:44 Tuesday morning, with investigation revealing a single southbound vehicle had left the roadway and struck a rock cut.
Superior East OPP say 41-year-old Choudhry Nouman Ahmed Tariq of Brampton was pronounced dead at the scene.
While their initial report suggested there were three other people in the vehicle, the latest report says there were four in the vehicle (aside from Tariq), all uninjured.
OPP Technical Collision Investigators are continuing to look into the fatal crash.
Some details are emerging about a fatal collision which closed Highway 17 south of Wawa this morning.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say they responded around 12:44 this morning to a reported collision about 30 kilometres south of town, finding a vehicle had left the roadway and struck a rock cut.
One of the vehicle's passengers was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other three occupants of the vehicle were uninjured.
None of them have been publicly identified.
The collision closed the highway for several hours - with periods of alternating traffic - but it fully reopened around 10:15 am
OPP are still investigating, with help from Technical Collision Investigators.
This is an updated version of the story. The previous version is below.
Few details are emerging at this time about a collision which closed Highway 17 south of Wawa this morning.
Ontario Provincial Police first tweeted around 1:40 this morning that the highway was closed about 30 kilometres south of Wawa following a collision, though alternating traffic was allowed from 6:30 to 9:30, when it fully closed again before fully opening around 10:15 this morning.
JJAM FM News has reached out to the OPP for information about the collision, but has received no response at this time.
Some good news from some local mining properties.
Manitou Gold says initial results from ongoing exploration work at its properties along the Goudreau-Localsh Deformation Zone - north of Wawa - saw an average of three grams of gold per tonne with an average width of 1.5-metres along the exposed strike length of the recently-exposed Rockstar vein system.
Meanwhile, Red Pine Exploration says drilling's restarted at its Wawa Gold Project - just southeast of town - focusing on: testing priority targets at the newly discovered Cooper Structure; proving the continuation of the Surluga Deposit to depth beyond the footprint of the current resource; and testing strategic exploration targets in the Hornblende Shear Zone.
And Alamos Gold is touting record gold production at its Island Gold Mine near Dubreuilville: 39,500 ounces over the second quarter, the third consecutive quarter of record production.
Golfers are being encouraged to get out on the greens for a good cause this month, with the upcoming "Let's Golf Fore Eddy" ALS Golf Tournament.
Organizer Eric Levesque explains the event supports the efforts of his friend, Eddy Lafrancois, the Dubreuilville ALS activist who passed away earlier this year.
Levesque adds that it is a fun tournament for teams of two or three - men, women, or mixed - and there will be some prizes.
He encourages golfers to contact him by Thursday, August 15th, which is just days before the tournament's held on Saturday, August 17th.
It's not the only event happening in honour of Eddy next week: the "Let's Roll For Eddy" half marathon is coming Friday, August 16th.
A proposal to bring liquefied natural gas to Wawa has completed another step, as an environmental report's now been published.
Stantec Consulting Limited has released reports for proposed LNG storage facilities and distribution systems for Wawa, Manitouwadge, Marathon, Schreiber, and Terrace Bay, with separate reports for each community.
At nearly 600 pages, Wawa's report outlines plans for the LNG storage depot west of Mills Drive, with the pipeline to cross and parallel Highway 17 into town - the main pipeline would travel along Mission Road, Broadway Avenue, and Government Road, with lateral lines to serve other parts of town.
The report also outlines plans to identify, assess, and mitigate impacts of the facility and pipeline, along with monitoring and contingency plans.
This report needs to go to the Ontario Energy Board for approval for the project to move forward.
