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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2007 15THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 200714 NOTICE Janice Sheppard Clerk/CAO Township of Guelph/Eramosa The Township of Guelph/Eramosa Office will be CLOSED from Monday, December 24, 2007 to Tuesday,January 1, 2008. The Municipal Office shall REOPEN on Wednesday, Janurary 2, 2008 ??????????????????????? ?????????????????????????? 155 Main St. S. Rockwood 519-856-0803 ?????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????? ??????????????? ???????? ???????? SAUNDERS BAKERY Quality Home Baking SINCE 1914 519-856-9561 104 Main St. Rockwood Merry Christmas and Happy New Year FIT TO BE TRIED In-home Personal Fitness Training www.rockwoodbusiness.ca 519-831-3221 In Home Personal Fitness Training In-Home Training Gift Certificates available Canadian Certified Personal Trainer Certified Fitness (testing) Consultant Group Fitness Instructor miutzi@sympatico.ca A HELPING PAW: These dogs are in training to become Lions Foundation Dog Guides, who will help people with challenges. They were visiting at the Rockwood and District Lioness Clubs Annual Christmas Bazaar. From left are Noah Steinberg with Sari, Adam and Alex Ostrander with Fonzi and Ferguson. - Rebecca Ring Photo EWAG NEWS EWAG wishes to thank the community for their generosity this holiday season. Once again we are overwhelmed by the giving and caring of the residents of Rockwood and surround- ing areas. There are many, many families who have already benefited from the gifts of toys, food and cash donations and we are very pleased to know that our shelves will be full for the New Year. From the Staff and Volunteers of EWAG Thank you and we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year! Seniors Services Our seniors services will be closed for the holidays from Dec. 21 until Jan. 7. Pilates sessions will begin again on Jan. 8, Tai Chi on Jan. 16 and the next hearing clinic will be on the 15th. For times, costs and registration information, please call Mary Ellen at 519-833-0087. The latest edition of our winter older adults newsletter is available at our EWAG of- fices. Please come by and pick up to check out our upcoming events and items of interest for the 50+ age group. Holiday Hours Please note that we are closed for the holidays from Dec. 21 until Jan. 7, 2008. Our Erin office will be open the following days from 9 a.m. until noon for donation drop-offs and emergencies. December 24, 27, 28, 31 and January 2, 3 & 4. Please call 519-833-9696 for more information. Many Thanks for all the Support On Wednesday, Dec. 12 at about 9:20 p.m. Wellington OPP officers responded to a reported domestic assault at a home in Erin Twp. Officers found a 53-year- old female had an argument with her husband, which esca- lated to an assault, police said. Further interviews revealed the victim was assaulted by her husband on another date as well. A 52-year-old Erin man has been charged with two counts of assault. Harassment charge A 21-year-old Rockwood man has been charged with criminal harassment by Wellington OPP following a complaint of a 16-year-old female from Erin Township being harassed by her ex boy- friend. Police said the two only dated a short while and when the girl attempted to end the relationship in November, the man continued contacting her with emails, phone calls and at her work. The man is to appear in Guelph court on January 21 to answer to the charge. Wellington O.P.P. Report Council defers water use bylaw until they get it right By Rebecca Ring Guelph-Eramosa Public Works Manager Ken Ga- gnon proposed an extensively revised by-law regulating out- side water use for residents on township water systems. Council agreed to defer its acceptance until they could further study it. Last summers dry weather highlighted inherent prob- lems with the existing by-law, which instigated the revi- sions. One problem is that the by-law refers to the entire municipality and does not take into account the individual capacity of the two systems: Rockwood and Cross Creek. Gagnon proposed allowing the public works manager to determine water use restric- tions for any one or more of the systems. The by-law stipulates the township must place a specified number of signs in the municipality informing residents of water use restric- tions. Gagnon said this is not effective and proposed that notification be sent out via mass mail, advertisements in local newspapers, radio or TV stations, in addition to postings on the townships website and voicemail. Coun- cillor Doug Breen said signs should still be placed, but not necessarily required. Proposed exemptions to a Level 2 program include topping up swimming pools, hot tubs, fountains and ponds. Sprinklers and splash pads would be allowed in Levels 0 and 1 with restrictions. Hand watering of gardens, trees and shrubs would be added under Level 3. To balance demand with supply, Gagnon said it made no sense to have stringent requirements under Level 2, while allowing excessive use of water under the current per- mit process and unrestricted washing of vehicles. He pro- posed that in Level 2, lawn watering be allowed once per week, while allowing gardens, trees, and shrubs to be watered on alternate days and times. Vehicle washing would be prohibited at this level In Level 3, where water- ing is completely banned, an exemption would be added to allow hand watering of plants, trees, gardens and shrubs. There would be no permit applications for watering treated lawns under the new by-law, but an application process would be set out for watering new lawns. Gagnon said that com- pliance of the by-law was challenged last summer so changes are needed to facili- tate enforcement. To allow inspections, penalties would be added for obstructing an in- spector, in accordance with the Municipal Act. Fines would also be set out registered with the Attorney Generals Office to allow tickets to be issued when necessary. We need to clarify that this by-law does not apply to pri- vate wells, said Mayor Chris White. He asked how it would be enforced, if on a complaint basis or inspections. This was not yet determined. Breen confirmed that the new lawn exemption would include seeding as well as sod lay- ing. He then said that people should not install lawns in the summer anyway, but rather in September. Councillor John Scott asked how much water was typically used in lawn watering. Ga- gnon answered that watering with a standard garden hose for two hours uses about 600 gallons. Scott replied that the public education aspect of the by-law should include this information and suggested tying in the rain-barrel proj- ect, which the Environmental Stewardship Committee will implement. Barrels designed to catch rain and use it for lawn and garden watering will be available to residents at a reduced rate. This is a contentious is- sue, said White, We need more time to iron out the wrinkles, get it right, and get it done. Council agreed to defer a decision until next meeting on January 7, 08. Councillors Moyer and Knapp were absent.