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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2009 11 Rockwood Physiotherapy Centre 197 Main Street South. PO Box 209 Rockwood On. N0B 1K0 NOW OPEN New Patients Welcome Physiotherapy Sports Injuries Custom Orthotics Treatments are covered fully or partially by most Employee Benefit Plans They are not covered by OHIP Please call (519)856-1221 to book an appointment or (519) 833- 0606 for more information LAST CHANCE FOR SNOWBLOWERS 4 - 6HP/24 Poulan - pull start only 1 - 7.5HP/27 Poulan - Pro Electric start 2 - 8HP/27 Poulan Pro - Electric start 1 - used 5HP/24 Electric start Jims REPAiR sHOP 105 ALmA sT. ROCKWOOD TEL: 519-856-2564 RESEARCH AWARDS: Trent University students Kaillin Breton-Honeyman of Rockwood left, and Jennie Knopp of Milton recently won research awards for their scientific work from the Arctic Change conference - submitted photo Rockwood graduate student wins arctic poster award Two Trent University graduate students, one from Rockwood and the other from Milton, recent- ly won research awards for their scientific work from the Arctic Change 2008 conference, the largest arctic research conference in Canadian history. Kaitlyn Breton-Honey- man of Rockwood and Jennie Knapp of Milton returned home last week from Quebec City where the conference was held. It meant a lot to me to win this award be- cause injuries resulting from climate change in the Western Arctic are a crucial issue that havent received a lot of atten- tion yet, said Kaitlin Breton-Honeyman, who won second place in the health sciences category for her poster entitled Climate Change, Public Health and Safety in the Arctic. For Inuit, health and safety on the land is of particular concern as many communities report increasingly frequent un- characteristic weather and sea-ice conditions put- ting hunters and others at greater risk than ever be- fore. Classmate Jennie Knopp placed third in the social sciences category for her poster Bridging the Gap: Linking Scientific and Traditional Knowledge with Community-Based Monitoring which was part of the International Polar Year Char Climate Variability and Change project. Ms. Knopp and Ms. Breton-Honeyman were two of only 12 award winners out of a field of 320 posters. Both students were supervised by Dr. Chris Furgal of Trent, a pro- fessor of indigenous and environmental stud- ies and a member of the conference organizing committee. Considered one of Can- adas leading experts in combining indigenous and scientific knowledge, Professor Furgal gave several presentations on his research that explores how climate change is transforming how people survive in the Arctic. The Arctic is experiencing some of the most rapid effects of climate change globally and how north- ern residents are able to cope with the variety of changes they face is of particular concern for their health and safety, he explained. Prof. Furgal and his graduate students pre- sented how changing ice conditions affect northern peoples ability to hunt and fish, and the emergence of vulnerability assessments as an informative research approach to understand- ing potential impacts and identifying characteristics of those communities and individuals most at risk. Council grapples with property standards bylaw By Rebecca Ring Council deferred vot- ing on a proposed property standards by-law last Mon- day, for the second time. They agreed to further re- view it, provide input to the By-law Enforcement Offi- cer Mathew Williamson by the end of this month, and consider passing it at their meeting on February 2. It should be ready by then, but we will do this until we get it right, says Mayor Chris White. He adds that the nature of such a by-law is complicated, as the wording is always open to interpreta- tion. It needs to be strong enough to be enforceable, yet flexible enough to allow for discretion. The by-law defines general standards for all properties, and sets rules for fences and barriers, storage of garbage, sewage, drainage, structures, yards, driveways, compost, etc. It also defines building standards for all properties. The proposed by-law is based on existing by-laws and the Municipal Act. It will define municipal respon- sibilities when a complaint is made against a property owner. The goal is to help facili- tate a resolution if people have problems with a property, says White, If the issue is not under municipal jurisdiction, then we can help by guiding the person in the appropriate direction. Some disputes are outside of the realm of government and can only be settled in civil court. If passed, the by-law will re- place the current one. As the Township grows, some areas are becoming more urbanized and issues may change, says White, We need this by-law to be functional but also keep things civil. Bylaw for committee By Rebecca Ring Last Monday, Council passed a new bylaw, Monday, gov- erning the rules of procedure for Advisory Committees Ap- pointed by Council. There are currently five such committees: Heritage, Eco- nomic Development, Trails, Environmental Stewardship, and Commercial Corridor Improve- ment. The by-law is the result of an overall review and updating of all procedural by-laws. We have to keep bylaws cur- rent and conform to Municipal Act updates, says Mayor Chris White, We struck three new committees this term. They are the latter three. The by-law defines rules for meetings, a Quorum, ab- senteeism, agendas, disclosing pecuniary interests, appointing and acting as Chair, delegations, voting, conduct and more. A new item is setting a maximum of ten years for any individual to sit on a committee, but it allows for exceptions. The committees are renewed with each new term of municipal government every four years.