NEWS | 1
The Observer | Saturday, March 08, 2008
Weather has many travellers bound for the sunny south ........................ »11
Kings move on to second round
»14 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 10
It’s been “snow-go” for school buses this winter
SATURDAY, MARCH 08, 2008
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» TransPOrTaTiOn WOes
Fire wipes out Heidelberg barn
Frustrations mount over traffic flows at John Mahood
Weather prompts record number of closures this year
As more parents drive kids to and from school, parking and traffic on First Street are cause for concern
VANESSA MOSS
See SNOW page »02
MARC MIQUEL HELSEN
stroyed despite the efforts of firefighters from Wellesley, St. Clements and St. Jacobs. The cause of the fire at 2512 Kressler Rd. has yet to be determined, said Dave Geil, Wellesley Township fire chief. With heat lamps and equipment problems ruled out, Geil said he
Frustration levels are running high as increasing numbers of parents dropping off and picking up their kids at Elmira’s John Mahood Public School are meeting with a finite, and small, amount of parking space near the building. The high volume of traffic has made the shuttling process painfully slow, and children are in greater danger because of all the cars, say concerned parents. Many agree that a lack of space for parking is to blame and have looked to the school and the township for answers. Some, like parent Evelyn Brubacher, believe that increasing the size of the parking lot – which is Woolwich Township property maintained by the Waterloo Region District School Board during the winter months – would be one possible solution. Currently, a limited number of diagonal parking spots beside the tennis courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The lack of space has sparked some frustration which, in turn, has led some parents to park in prohibited areas. “Some people, just out of frustration [over] being closed out of the tennis court lot were just stopping along First Street in front of the school to pick up their children, which posed another problem: kids climbing over snow-
See FIRE page »28
See TRAFFIC page »02
PHOTO | JOe merliHan
As Woolwich and Wellesley township residents dug themselves out from yet another dumping of snow this week, many parents were forced to find daytime childcare when the school boards cancelled buses Monday and again Wednesday. The most recent public and Catholic board-wide cancellation marked the area’s ninth this year, up from two each in 2006 and 2007. “This is the highest we have seen in something like 20 years,” said Art Phelan, Waterloo Region District School Board controller of facility services. “The previous record was seven in the mid-‘80s.” Although the cancellations coincide with the region’s record precipitation this winter – the highest levels since 1970 according to Environment Canada – Phelan still hears complaints about buses being cancelled inappropriately. In response, he explained that the decision is a judgment call made between 5-5:30 a.m. based on information from people driving around in the townships – a
PRICELESS
STOPPING THE SPREad With a Kressler road barn completely engulfed in flames Tuesday afternoon, Wellesley Township firefighters try to salvage surrounding buildings by dousing them with water.
Damage pegged at $400,000 as firefighters arrived to find the building beyond recovery VANESSA MOSS Some 130 hens and six horses died in a barn fire on Kressler Road south of Heidelberg Tuesday afternoon, the second major fire in Wellesley Township in as many weeks. The building was completely de-