March 16, 2017

Vol. 4, Issue 28
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Gwen Auld helps her dad, Ron, of Strathroy hold a buck while he carefully measures its rack. The member of the Founda on for the Recogni on of Wildlife was one of the professionals in Oil Springs at the annual Big Buck Day. Hunters from across the region bring in their bucks to claim bragging rights for the best rack of the year.
Heather Wright Photo
Petrolia to open youth and senior centre in May
Dawn-Euphemia
greenhouse may
mean 300 jobs
Heather Wright
The Independent
Up to 300 jobs will be created when a new greenhouse is built in Dawn-Euphemia.
Greenhill Produce from Chatham-Kent bought 100 acres at the corner of Oil Heritage Road and Edys Mill Line in 2016. It plans to build an $80 to $100 million operation to meet the growing demand for either peppers, tomatoes or cucumbers.
“Customers today are looking for a good quality product and a greenhouse can deliver that on a consistent basis,” says owner Justin Geertsma.
Geertsma has been working with the township to secure the services needed to run the operation which could be in operation by November 2017.
Dawn-Euphemia of cials recently approached Enniskillen about increasing the water ow to the area. Enniskillen gets its water from Petrolia and resells it to Dawn-Euphemia. “Dawn-Euphemia is working on water supply,” he tells The Independent. Geertsma couldn’t say how much water would be needed but added “at our current greenhouse, we’ve done two water main expansions with the municipality and we expect to do the same in Lambton.”
The company is also looking for some details on natural gas. But Geertsma says the natural gas problems are minor compared to the dif culty greenhouse operators have in Chatham-Kent.
“Infrastructure has become quite a problem for us in Chat- ham-Kent,” he says. “We have been looking for ve years for a site to expand on. Infrastructure, especially natural gas supplies, are maxed out.”
Heather Wright
Street. The drop in centre will offer kids from Grades 6 to 10 a fun and safe environment to relax, socialize, play games, snack and do homework, according to the report.
am and 2 pm three days a week. The staff estimates it will cost
Hydro is another headache for growers. Greenhill uses hundreds of thousands of dollars in power each year. Some Leamington growers have publicly complained about Ontario’s rising costs and Geertsma admits it does reduce pro tability. Many companies want to have year-round production but “that is getting harder to do. It’s something we would like to do, but that will be determined by the cost of hydro.”
The Independent
about $38,000 a year to run the drop- in centre. The budget shows about $16,400 for wages with the majority of the funding coming from The Centre’s budget. More than $10,000 will go to rent and utilities and approximately $9,000 will go to computers, WiFi, and supplies for crafts.
The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers’ Association has been looking for rate reductions, but so far without any relief. Some have announced expansions into the United States. But Geertsma is glad to have found a new home in Dawn-Euphemia. “I like where I live. I like Ontario... We like the community, we want to stay here.”
OHDCC staff will be on site when the drop-in centre is open.
Greenhill may break ground on the operation this summer with the rst plants springing up in November. Between 150 and 300 people will be employed at the greenhouse depending on what type of crop is grown.
Most of the programming for seniors and teens will be separate with the teens using the drop-in centre after school hours, with extended hours on Friday. Seniors can drop in between 11
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A new youth and senior’s centre is set to open in Petrolia in May.
Petrolia councillors approved the project put together by the staff at
the Oil Heritage District Community Centre. In a report to council, Dave Menzies, the director of facilities and community services, writes one of The Centre’s goals was to develop a youth centre.
Youth will be charged a $30 a year registration fee and can ll out their registration at the community centre.
After meeting with several community groups, staff from The Centre have decided to set up a six- day a week centre at some unused of ce space at Lambton County Developmental Service on Robert
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Seniors will share the building with the youth. They’ll be able to stop by for a fee to “safely socialize in a rec room/kitchen table style setting.”
The group has already received a $10,000 donation for the project. The town is committing $11,000 to the project this year.
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