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Orono Town Hall BOWMANVILLE LIBRARY ^ 62 Temperance St ■ ■ Bowmanville, Ont. L1C q> i.UU GST Included Wednesday July 2, 2003 Serving Kendal, Kirby, Leskard, Newcastle, Newtonville, Orono, Starkville and Tyrone since 1937 Junior West, (driver) and Tom Luke (navigator) were doing the Canada Day tour in Junior's newly restored 1928 Model "A" Ford Tùdor. Area students receive awards What's Inside... Meadowview Farms bid farewell to Frisky Michelle see page 3 Clarington's last council meeting before the summer break began with the Mayor presenting academic achievement achievement awards to a number of local school students. Award recipients are graduating graduating students who in the opinion of their school administrators administrators demonstrated academic academic excellence and a commitment commitment to leadership and community service. Students were presented a with personal plaque by the Mayor. Secondary students received a personalized plaque and a $100 bursary to put towards their further education. education. Award recipients from the local schools were: Nichole Skripkariuk from St. Francis of Assisi School, Emily Malcolm for The Pines Senior Public School and Liz De we 11 from Clarke High School. 407off the map in Clarington All options are on the table again in Clarington as regards to the Highway 407 completion. The technically preferred route is now off the map in Clarington, residents were told at last Wednesday's public public Information Session held at the Garnet Rickard Complex. Doug Allingham, of Totten Sims Hubicki Associates, the consultant firm retained by the Ministry of Transportation told residents residents in attendance that the need for a freeway link to the 35/115 highway is being revisited. Completion of the 407 from Brock Road in Pickering to the Highway 115/35 has been broken up into three study segments for the impending environmental assessment. Wednesday's public information information session was an opportunity opportunity for residents to comment comment on the draft terms of reference for the Environment Assessment (EA). Many of the residents present at the meeting voiced their frustration with a process they see as never ending. In 1989 the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) initiated initiated the Route Planning/Environmental Assessment for Highway 407 east of Highway 48. The planning studies were conducted. conducted. However, the study for the section through Clarington was never filed with , the Ministry of Environment. With this new EA for the highway completion, consultants consultants are looking at two categories categories of work -- how the EA will be done and the traffic needs in the Region. Need for the 407 has been determined in the Region west of Clarington, and the EA will focus on some route alignments and how the highway highway should be built in that section. Need for the highway through Clarington, east of the Courticc link to the 401 is being revisited. The study will look at alternatives to building the 407 east to highway highway 115/35, such as improving improving existing routes, a new provincial highway, managing managing the transportation demand, doing nothing, or a combination of the above. The question was raised at last Wednesday's meeting as to why is the government buying up houses along what was once designated as the 'technically preferred route' if there is no plan to put the highway through Clarington? Allingham explained, the government is not out actively actively seeking property. A government government spokesperson elaborated elaborated by saying, "Advance purchase occurs when people come to us, they say 'we can't sell our property', if they meet certain criteria, we buy. We simply buy from people who had been negatively negatively impacted by the preferred preferred route." Comments on the Terms of Reference for the EA will be received until July 31st, 2003. Clarington Council, in their final meeting before the summer break, last week Monday, passed a motion at the urging of Linda Gasser, asking the MTO to extend that final commenting period to September 15th. Gasser felt it was important important that there be public input into the staff report, which will be the municipality's official comments on the 407 EA terms of reference, to be submitted to the MTO. "Historically staff recommendations recommendations have differed significantly significantly from the political decisions taken on 407. Staff are not accountable accountable to the public--you should be," she stated, at the June 23rd council meeting. Allingham hopes to have the finalized EA terms of reference reference submitted to the Ministry of Environment for formal review and approval in September of this year. The selection of the Technically Preferred Concept Concept Design Alternative is scheduled for the fall of 2004.