Page 3 - March 16, 2017

Thursday, March 16, 2017 The Independent Napper hopes to stop bank closure
Page 3
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Heather Wright
why it is closing because it always seems busy.”
and found since 2015, TD Canada Trust has been pulling out of smaller communities. “Some people are left with nothing and they have to go 40 miles to the next town.”
The Independent
Napper says losing a nancial institu- tion would be a blow to the village. “I don’t know where it is going to stop; we lost two schools in this community and now the bank.”
Plympton-Wyoming Mayor Lonny Napper is vowing council will do everything it can to make TD Canada Trust change its mind.
It will also have an effect on the town, he says. “One of the big reasons we moved the town of ce here (when Plympton and Wyoming amalgam- ated) was because the bank was here” making it easier for staff to do business without a lot of driving.
Napper has asked bank of cials for
a meeting to hear their reasons for the closure and to convince them the Wyo- ming branch should remain open.
The bank which has been on the main street in Wyoming for decades sent letters to its clients this week saying it is closing the branch down. That leaves the credit union as the lone bank.
And he plans to stress the branch is accessible where the Petrolia branch is not as easy to get into for people with mobility issues.
Napper started getting calls from angry and confused residents.
If the branch closes, Wyoming staff would have to travel to Petrolia for business.
“This is a big blow to a small muni- cipality,” says Napper. “We’re going to give it a ght and see what we can come up with.
“What I’m hearing from a lot of the seniors is it is so easy to get in and out of that bank - it is so accessible,” he says adding others “don’t understand
“We’ll do whatever it takes.”
Napper says he’s done some research
Burnie says designation “a violation of the constitution”
Heather Wright
to the home, a clear statement of trust in rebuilding the house without restoration.”
process to Bolshevik times.
He says the public notion that the
The Independent
house would disappear under his watch is “nonsense.” He says Charles O. Fairbank told his father, while he stood by, that he would have torn the build- ing down if he couldn’t nd a buyer.
The owner of Sunnyside Manor says he’s likely to appeal any move to have the house designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Burnie also suggested the lot be sev- ered to allow the apartment building to go up.
And David Burnie says the Town of Petrolia’s process to approve his minor variance has been “a violation of the constitution.”
He also offered to sell the property to the town for over $5 million.
“The actions of the Burnie family has kept this home on the property... and an apartment building on the site would not jeopardize the house at all.
Burnie was in council chambers Monday as councillors examined three options for the property widely known as Fairbank House. Burnie wants to build a 16-unit apartment building on the property. However there is wide- spread opposition to the move.
After less than a 10 minute discus- sion, town council agreed the best of the options would be to allow an addi- tion on the current building.
“Over the past 50 years, everything has not gone like a fairy tale but it is standing because of one group and one group only. I’m just asking for a little grace and humanity.”
The application to allow two build- ings on one property was approved, however it is now being appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board.
At the end of meeting, when the public had a chance to speak to council, Burnie went to the podium and unleashed on council saying he is opposed to anyone’s property being designated against their will adding “The whole process is a violation of the constitution... It guarantees the life, liberty and security of a person... the right not to be deprived of fundamental justice... and the state of being exempt from domination of another - the heritage designation is the domination of others,” says Burnie likening the
Councillor Grant Purdy countered; “I saw the smirks on your face and the disdain for this process... your sincer- ity and your word are very hard to accept.”
So March 1, Burnie gave the town three options, he says to “try to come up with a solution.”
After the meeting, Burnie told The Independent the legal wranglings have likely pushed the project back two years. He has yet to decide if he will defend his position at the OMB or move ahead with the restoration of the home. But he added it was “likely” he would appeal the heritage designation if it moves forward.
Burnie suggested he would continue with the renovations on the house and put an addition on the home - leav- ing one building on the property and “given the family’s past commitment
But Councillors Liz Welsh and Ross O’Hara made it clear the move to declare the building historic under the Ontario Heritage Act would continue.
Alvinston Optimists question spending cash on arena project
Heather Wright
campaign called “Raising the Roost” a play on words based on the new name of Alvinston’s baseball teams, the Alvinston Riverhawks.
But Armstrong became concerned after listening to council talk about putting $30,000 into the 2017 budget to hire an engineer to look at what could be done with the upper room at the arena.
The Independent
The Alvinston Optimists are ready to roll out the next phase of their fund- raising campaign for the local arena, but they’re wondering why municipal council is putting money into renovat- ing other parts of the building.
“We thought we could capitalize on that by trying to tie into the River- hawks theme,” he told councillors.
“The question does come up, what is the usage of the hall... we have 200 kids in minor ball...
The community group wants to raise $600,000 to add an outdoor pavilion on the Brooke-Alvinston-Inwood Community Centre as well as improve the canteen and washrooms.
Flyers will be mailed out and there will be visits to local businesses to request a commitment to the project.
“The Optimists use that hall for meetings but we thought this was more of a priority.
Jamie Armstrong recently spoke to councillors about a new mail-out
Armstrong is also hopeful by launch- ing a formal campaign, they may be able to attract grants for the project.
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