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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2017 11THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 201710 Around Town Around Town ROCKWOODTh e Miller Guelph / Eramosa CounCil Chips By: Vivien Fleisher Bonarrow Meadows Holding Provision Removed Planner Rachel Martin recommended to council that the holding provi- sion on lots 67-70 in the Bonarrow Meadows sub- division in Rockwood be removed. Following Bonarrow's submission of a completed appli- cation last month, the GRCA was satisfied that their request that a storm water management facil- ity be sized according to their own requirements had been fulfilled. The application was deemed comple t e November 6, and it was also de- termined at that t ime that no public meeting would be required. In the agency comments, Wellington County plan- ners and engineers and the Upper Grand Dis- trict School Board had no objections, while CN left it to Metrolinx to provide comments on railway proximity given they own the corridor, and have plans for high speed trains in future, necess i ta t ing a good buffer for both noise and safety considerations. Bonarrow Meadows is a 211-unit development at the north end of town, and the last big one in Rockwood. Parkland Dedication Bylaw Every time a new resi- dential lot is created in Guelph/Eramosa, a fee is collected to go to- ward the creation of or maintenance of existing p a r k l a n d , k n o w n a s "cash in lieu" of green- space. For years, the fee was se t a t $500, only recently amended last March to $1,000 per lot . This amount still falls far short of o ther munic ipa l i t i e s though, which typical- ly charge five per cent or a flat fee of $7,500. Given the tremendous growth in home values recently, Town Plan- ning Consultant Trevor Hawkins presented a re- port recommending the fee be brought up to re- flect the increased land value. Additionally, the current bylaw does not contain any exemptions. Exemptions are made when, for example, a house burns down and is rebuilt. Waiving of fees for special projects also falls under this cat- egory. Other features of the proposed bylaw will guide staff in determin- ing what qualifies for cash in lieu, as well as what land is appropriate for conveyance to the town. As Mayor White said in a discussion after Hawkins presented the recommendation, "We should have done this twenty years ago...we'll have built our last house at the time this passes." Fees Bylaw Parks and Rec direc- tor Robin Milne outlined a revised fee schedule pertaining to township facilities, the cemetery and the aforementioned parkland dedication fee. Driven in part by the provincially phased-in minimum wage increase, the revised fees wil l absorb the total wage increase a t the same time rather than phasing them in in concert with the province's schedule. with Vivien Fleisher WORD IN THE VILLAGE Amy Coull: "I have so many. To find a balance of home life and work life. I think I'll do well with that because my husband and I have the same resolution, so we'll be each other's cheerleader." Margaret Aitken: "I have a few. One is always to focus first on faith and family, and then my pleasure, which is a passion for riding horses. I want to improve and move forward on that, but only in balance with faith and family." Jay Moore: "To get rid of my diabetes. I can do that through diet and exercise." Sharon Jull: "I did poorly with last year's. For 35 years, six of us have gotten together every New Year's Eve for dinner, and pick three or four resolutions. Last year I was going to work on the cottage; I did some of that. I was going to walk every day; I did some. And, I was going to do some kind of community service, but I did none. So, I will probably put them back on my list for 2018." "What is your personal resolution for 2018?" By: Vivien Fleisher While the debate over political correctness at Christmas time ebbs and flows at this time of year, specifically over how in- clusive our society should be of other holidays at the risk of suppressing Christmas, one thing is certain: there's more to the holiday season than just Christmas. That's be- cause, one way or another, the sun has been doing a disappearing act since June on the north side of the equator, and ancient peoples were rightly con- cerned that this shrinking daylight could be a prob- lem. So, they typically included a lot of candles and fire in their festivities to appeal to whoever was in charge to please bring the sun back. There are hol idays stretching from Novem- ber into January, as some are based on ancient cal- endars. Some float around since they're lunar-based --Hannukah and Chinese New Year--and lunisolar- based--Diwali. Many are days-long except for the one-day Winter Solstice. All celebrate light, since it's a pretty dark time of the year. And all involve special food. Hannukah is an eight- day Jewish celebration that involves lighting candles in a menorah each night; a 'helper' candle is used to light one candle the first night, two the second etc. until all eight are lit at the end, adding up to forty-four candles to get through the eight days. It's not the most im- portant holiday for Jewish people traditionally, but has taken on greater im- portance given its place in the Gregorian calen- dar, though it's based on the lunar calendar, starting on December 12 this year. Kwanzaa starts Decem- ber 26 and ends on New Year's Day. It celebrates African culture by light- ing three red candles on the left, three green on the right, and a black candle in the centre of a Kinara to symbolize seven val- ues. Like the Hannukah menorah, a new one is lit each day in a specific or- der. The winter solstice falls around the short- est day of the year in the northern hemisphere, and candles and bonfires are lit to encourage the sun to stop going in reverse. The pagans felt the need to appease the gods in or- der to bring back the sun. Yule is the ancient word for Christmas and is con- nected to this shortest day of the year. Chinese New Year is the most important Chinese holiday. Though it comes a month after Christmas, it too celebrates the promise of a return to spring. For fifteen days, families feast and celebrate, culminating in a night-time parade. Diwali is a five-day Hindu holiday and is also a Festival of Lights. I t comes well before Christmas in October and November thanks to the ancient lunisolar calendar and features fireworks, food and family. Small clay lamps are lit. The Spanish holiday Las Posadas is nine-days long, and though it ori- ginated in Spain, is very big in Mexico as well as a few others in the south. It involves candles, pro- cessionals, feasting, and piñatas. There are many more holidays throughout the world too, so, rest as- sured, if you want to extend the holiday sea- son, there's lots to choose from. Other Holidays Around Christmas Time