Ice storm clean up continues
Administrator | Jan 09, 2014 | Comments 17
Clean up efforts from December’s ice storm are continuing throughout the County.
The municipalities’ public works crews began removing branches and fallen trees from the County’s 1,100 kilometres of roads when the storm began Dec. 18.
Due to significant and widespread damage, the clean-up of roads, sidewalks, parks and municipal properties is expected to continue well into 2014, says mayor Peter Mertens.
“The County’s top priority is public safety and clean-up of debris will continue alongside ongoing maintenance of the County’s roads, such as ensuring they are plowed and sanded,” he said.
Warming centres were opened between Sunday, Dec. 22nd and Tuesday Dec. 24th to provide residents and their pets with a place to warm up and charge mobile devices. More than 100 adults and children made use of warming centres, including 25 people who stayed overnight.
Mertens is proud of the way citizens came together during the storm.
“While Prince Edward County staff, operations crews and Hydro crews from around the province worked tirelessly to ensure the safety and security of our community, residents were checking in on friends, family and neighbours without power. This sense of community is truly what makes this County so special.”
While power has been restored to all County residents and businesses, the system is still fragile. For power-related questions (i.e. outages, downed lines, electrical emergencies), call Hydro One at 1-800-434-1235 or visit www.hydroone.com.
To report trees or branches that have fallen on public property, call 613.476.6505.
Residents cleaning up trees, branches and brush on private property may dispose of branches and brush at the following landfill sites (at no charge) on Saturdays from 8am – 4pm:
– Ameliasburgh – 245 Valley Road
– Hiller – 450 Bakker Road
– Sophiasburgh – 35 County Road 14
– South Marysburgh – 1132 Old Milford Road
If you are unable to bring branches and brush, contact Prince Edward County Customer Service to explore additional options. Call 613.476.2148 x221, e-mail info@pecounty.on.ca or drop in to Shire Hall at 332 Main St., Picton between the hours of 8:30am – 5:00pm, Monday to Friday.
Filed Under: Local News
Mark, I have to agree and I don’t believe it will be much longer. As for P.E.C. we have been in a financial doom for some time but the constant needless spending is only adding to this. Election time is coming and its a time to ask some real tough questions especially to Mayor Mertens if he decides to run again. I have kept almost every news article that he has spoken on with his counterpart Merlin Dewing. Everyone would be SHOCKED to see how well the re-organization has really worked out and the employees we have now since that. This was nothing but a shell game that has cost us lots and we will continue to have to pay for their mistakes for some time. Marilyn sorry to hear about your husbands fall and the many others out there as well. Everyone needs to understand that this was a decision of Shire Hall to do these cutbacks (roads/sidewalks) and they need to be held to the fullest accountability. Not the employees who have tried to shield the angry public off of them unto Shire Hall. SHAMEFUL doesn’t cut it. When I read in the Wellington Times how pleased the Mayor seemed to be at the New Year’s Levee with the county progress I thought to myself that he and others are obviously living in a DIFFERENT Prince Edward County then the rest of US DISGUSTED TAXPAYERS………….
On a more serious note, the provinces debt is unsustainable. Interest alone is almost as large as the health ministry. The Conservatives sent us down this road with deregulation of Ontario Hydro and the Liberals compounded the problem. The cure will be tough medicine such as none of us have ever experienced. Making that worse is that more industry and more citizens with moderate wealth will choose to leave Ontario rather than face that pain. I am planning now. Hate to speak of doom and gloom but the harsh reality is not far away.
Doris, are a lot of women’s fiance’s in dire shape? Just kidding, it did bring a chuckle however!
We are in a grave financial situation. We were in a mess 4 years ago and it does not look as if it is getting better. We just paid our taxes,
When our fiancés are in such dire shape why have we been hiring consultants for no good reason. I remember saying during the last election “Stop the spending” but few people agreed with me.
Well, I am totally fed up with the way the streets on Main Street were over the Christmas/New Year days and after in the New Year, walking on Main Street was totally dangerous. My husband fell walking down Main Street and walking in front of the Crosswalk in area of Giant Tiger on the North side (we were not crossing) the ice was not visible to the eye and he went flying down the path to the cross walk on to the road and into a pile of dog dirt and was covered all over his jeans and jacket as he tried to get up and it was so difficult with the snow banks. We had our walking clips on our boots also. The Town of Picton should be ashamed as so many people have to use the sidewalks and they were dangerous. We could not even walk to Coldstorage Rd. as the sidewalks were not even ploughed to walk on and you could not walk on the road. Please realise that some people do not have cars but even with a vehicle you could not climb the slippery snow banks. No reason for all this mess for the public!!!!! Shame, Shame!!! Businesses should really take notice of this terrible clean up job.
I just read on the county website that at the committee of the whole meeting that they are needing to borrow (I believe) 27 million dollars just in order to pay their bills until the County can collect this years taxes. I may be a bit slow when it comes to math but this only tells me that the County is barely existing financially ??? Maybe we need to hire a consultant to see if we should borrow that money..
We can’t blame the employees as its mngt. that are calling the shots. This new idea of hiring everything out and getting consultants for every little thing is going to break the municipality. Its been tried and proven in other municipalities and after they lost hundreds of thousand of dollars they had to go back to the start. The only way things are going to change is when we all stand up and say enough is enough.
Looks like filling potholes and emptying garbage cans are the only jobs that county employees are capable of doing. Everything else is contracted out. Pathetic !
If not cleaning the banks on main street was a cost saving method–I might suggest not hiring consultations would be a better cost saving measure–wasting money on things we do not need.
Everyone agrees that there was absolutely no reason for the banks on main street to be the way they were. An older gentlemen was hurt trying to get over the bank last week and people at a funeral had a very difficult time in getting to the sidewalk to the funeral home and there are more and more SAD stories such as this out there. One person (who will remain anonymous/employee) that it was a cost saving measure that would surely bite Shire Hall in the ass.
After the power was restored of course..
You would think the branch’s could wait if they were not causing problems, slippery roads and sidewalks and huge snowbanks should have been the priority.
Thank you Paul Greer and his crew for cleaning up the snow/ice drifts on Main Street. Great Job folks !
We hear a lot about shopping locally and supporting local merchants but it is pretty hard to do this when we have snowbanks like the ones on Main Street this winter. Likely a lot of older people found it impossible to negotiate those mounds of ice and snow. Who could blame anyone for driving to the mall with conditions like these in Picton?
Thank you for cleaning Main Street on Thursday night.
Those banks were very dangerous for old people like me.
Notice the main street is busy today–at last people can park and get out of their car.
I know the banks were hard to deal with but our tech should be able to handle most things.
Here is a suggestion that an elderly friend shared with me and I think its a GREAT idea to get Shire Hall’s attention. As long as the snow banks are so high on all streets where there is a parking meter. Refuse to pay the meter. Instead take a picture of the snow bank in front of the meter an if you get a ticket pay with your photo. You cannot not expect someone who is in their 70’s to climb over a snow bank for a quarter!!!
Its good to see that Main St. Picton is finally cleared. It was quite a challenge to climb over the banks and should never of gotten to that point. However with numerous complaints from the public and store owners the municipality finally took this issue seriously. Raising taxes and less service is starting to take its toll on everyone! We shouldn’t have to complain to get what needs to be done especially when we have so many seniors in this community who already have a hard time getting around.