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10 | 12 | 2013 VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 41
DANCING HER WAY TO DENMARK WITH TEAM CANADA LIVING HERE PAGE 28
COMMENT PAGE 6
TIME TO GET THE SPENDING PRIORITIES RIGHT
Egg processor looking to expand Elmira plant
Bloomingdale residents want action on speeding traffic Lack of response from Waterloo Region officials prompts woman to take her message online ELENA MAYSTRUK
STEVE KANNON Odour issues topped the list of concerns as a Global Egg Corporation unveiled plans to expand its plant in Elmira. A zoning change needed to make way for the project was the subject of a public planning meeting Tuesday night in Woolwich council chambers. Currently operating from two neighbouring properties at 109 and 115 Bonnie Cr., the company wants to build an addition that would join the two structures, effectively turning the existing 22,600 and 5,200-square-foot buildings into one 38,000-sq.-ft. facility. Doing so would increase the footprint of the building in comparison to the lot size, largely reducing setbacks from roads and eliminating much of the onsite parking, explained director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley in introducing the zone-change application. The operation, which processes eggs into egg-whites, yolks, specialty mixes and other products, has been the source of odour complaints in the past, with a planner hired by the comEXPANSION | 4
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Part of a comprehensive attempt to calm traffic on St. Charles Street near her Bloomingdale home Audrey O’Hearn has posted signs for passing drivers. [ELENA MAYSTRUK / THE OBSERVER]
The Tuesday afternoon traffic was peaking on St. Charles Street when Bloomingdale resident Audrey O’Hearn stepped out of her Greenwood Road home with a disapproving look at the vehicles whooshing past. She’s got loads of advice for Waterloo Region administrators, but so far there’s been no action on the residents’ safety concerns. “Looking differently at our roads is the answer. It’s not just for commuters; we live here, we pay taxes here and you have to start considering our safety and our health,” she said of municipal officials. O’Hearn’s calls for speed bumps and other trafficcalming measures on St. Charles Street, a regional road, have gone unheeded. Now, she’s taken her battle online through her new website, www.stopspeedinginwoolwich.weebly.com, and red signage that tells drivers to: “Drive Like Your
Kids Live Here.” The website features several videos of speeding cars and clips of street noise. “What I have found frustrating in dealing with various levels of government and people is that if the problem doesn’t affect them directly, then it doesn’t exist. I have started the website in the hope of changing that mentality,” she said. The biggest worry is children’s safety. St. Charles Street abuts Koinonia Christian School located at the Sawmill Road intersection, and school buses stop on St. Charles Street, where about 10 local students from Greenwood Road and Salisbury Crescent catch a ride. “I see the kids get off and [drivers] just drive on the shoulder and keep passing the school bus. That happens all the time. We’re waiting for another incident like in Erbsville,” she said, referring to New Hamburg’s Lydia Herrle, who SPEEDING | 5