Page 2 - Dec. 14, 2017 Regular edition

Page 2 The Independent
Dawn-Euphemia honours Bilton and Williams Heather Wright
Thursday, December 14, 2017
e Independent
Bill Bilton and Leslea Williams have reached a nearly impossible milestone.
In a time when voters
toss politicians out on a
whim, the Dawn-Euphemia councillors have stood the
test of time. Saturday night, at the municipality’s Volunteer Appreciation night, Mayor Al Broad honoured the pair for 35 years of service as municipal councillors - a feat few achieve. Famed Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion only served one year more before her retirement.
Bilton and Williams got their start long before Dawn- Euphemia became a single municipality.
Williams says she started thinking about serving when there was talk of consolidation of schools in the region. “ at peaked my interest about my community,” she says.
So, Williams started looking into things around her. “ e more I tried to inform myself, the more I wanted to know.
I needed to learn more and understand how it all worked.”
at led to running for council in the former Dawn Township.
Bilton had been active in farm politics since he was a young man. en one day, his neighbours approached him.
“A neighbour came driving in and says ‘Come on, get in the truck.’ en he said ‘Some of us have been talking and we think
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Dawn-Euphemia Mayor Al Broad presented Councillors Bill Bilton and Leslea Williams with cer cates of apprecia on marking 35
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you should run for council.’” Bilton considered the move, but when his son decided to return to Euphemia to farm, he decided the timing was right to run for council. at was 1983.
He later became Dawn’s deputy reeve, then became the rst mayor of the amalgamated Dawn-Euphemia - a position he held until 2014.
Bilton has also been the warden of Lambton County. And the current mayor says he is his role model.
“I’ve always looked up to this guy as my mentor,” Broad said before making a presentation to Bilton. “People at county council still ask ‘Where’s Bill? How’s Bill doing? He’s a better guy than you.’”
Bilton seems to enjoy his role as councillor, saying it eases him out of the busy role as mayor.
Bilton was coy about whether he’d run for another four years
saying he still enjoys the work he is doing.
But much has changed over the years.
Bilton says politicians used to play a bigger role in the day-to- day operations of a municipality.
Williams agrees a lot has changed and some things for the better.
“I remember going to council meetings and the air was blue - thick with smoke from the cigarettes because everyone smoked.”
Perhaps surprisingly, Williams says while being a woman in politics was unusual at the time, she didn’t have any major problems. e only issue would be her mail o en read Mr. Leslea Williams. But she says that was a minor inconvenience and she is honoured to serve. “It is incredibly humbling to be elected and then reelected year a er year.”
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Sutton urges Petrolia to encourage youth in politics
The Independent Staff
Right now, he says, there is no record of any students earning their volunteer hours working in local politics.
municipal elections, making phone calls to encourage voter turnout or setting up polling stations. He added they could even consider allowing students to teach seniors how to vote electronically.
Bob Sutton says wants teens to be more involved in politics.
The member of Sumara,
a group which encourages engagement in politics, told Petrolia council Monday, the town could help by enlisting students to volunteer to gain the hours they need to graduate.
“Youth are asking us to invite them to participate,” says Sutton “but the people making decisions about their lives are not engaging them.”
“Young people now are far more caring about society than we ever imagined, they just need to be invited in.”
Please visit www.plympton-wyoming.com for more information!
Sutton suggests students could help with the upcoming
Nova Chemicals says yes to Sarnia-Lambton
CON’T FROM PG 1
Township Staff and council have worked very hard to help facilitate this type of growth and to prepare our community for additional investments,” says Arnold. “The best
part of the whole project is that we will see the latest technology incorporated in the plant, making it a safe and environmentally sound facility for many years to come.”
easy for business to say ‘no, no, we’re not going to build in Ontario.’”
The province contributed $100 million to the project, the second largest manufacturing investment the province has made in the last century. .“This plant was going to be built somewhere in the world and NOVA chose here,” Duguid says.
Broad added real estate agents were already elding calls from people expecting to nd work during construction saying
“This is an exciting, historic event for our region,” says NOVA Director of Regional Manufacturing Tom Thompson. “It’s the largest capital investment in this area...in history.”
Dawn-Euphemia Mayor Al Broad was one of the municipal leaders at the announcement. “This is going to be great for all of us,” he told municipal employees at an appreciation banquet Saturday.
Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership CEO Stephen Thompson says, “This announcement re ects NOVA Chemicals’ con dence in the Sarnia-Lambton economy.
St. Clair Township Mayor Steve Arnold. He gave credit to the municipal team that has been proactive in investigating opportunities for attracting jobs and facilitating growth within the municipality. “St. Clair
And he says the huge investment could draw other multinationals to the area.
“The economic spin-off of this investment provides our existing businesses with an opportunity to elevate their own service offerings, invest in new and innovative technologies, and look at their own growth strategy with increased con dence.”
Town of Plympton-Wyoming www.plympton-wyoming.com 519-845-3939
“Nova is a well respected business...Until now it was
the construction will lead to a “booming economy.”
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