The World is a Stage
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So, what is happening with Tillsonburg Hydro? When I compare the price we pay for hydro here, with what our friends pay under Ontario Hydro, I am very thankful that we have Tillsonburg Hydro Inc. and very glad that the citizens of Tillsonburg stood up and stopped the potential sale of the company.
I had been thinking that there has been enough time for everything to have been looked over, fleshed out and hopefully a good game plan to have been designed and maybe instigated that would assure us a good future. I was going to suggest that an update on the Town page in the Wednesday Tillsonburg News or even an article would be nice. However, after going to their website to report a streetlight problem, I noticed they are looking for information from us.
This survey went on the THI website last Friday, so I presume it will be there for a short while and perhaps even be mentioned in July 13th’s paper. That is today's. Everyone who cared about our own hydro company before, needs to take the time to do this survey for them. Help them: “identify our most important goals and objectives for the next 2-3 years, develop action plans to achieve these goals, and establish a set of corporate measures to monitor progress.”
Of course to do that they ask more questions. I found the survey easy to do. You need to go to www.tillsonburghydro.ca and do the survey. I don’t know, but I hope there are paper copies for all of you that don’t have computers. Their phone 519-842-9200 or you could pop into the Tillsonburg Customer Service Centre on Lisgar to find out and/or pick up a copy. The important thing to do is spread the word and do the survey.
It turns out I have another question or two I would like to have answers to. Like: will the town ever replace the broken pole on Broadway, on town property, that allows groups to have banners across the road?
I believe the banners to be one of the best forms of publicity for any group in Tillsonburg. With so much social media, so few people reading newspapers, it is difficult to get word to ‘all’ the various types of interests that people living in town have, to remind them of the events going on. I know the pole is beside the BIA’s electronic sign, which is a lovely welcoming sign, but you just can’t read enough as you drive by either sign. Neither location is where a car stops so you can read them.
The banner is very visible and is seen by thousands of cars. There are so many important groups in town doing wonderful things for our community that benefit from the banner. I hope it will be coming back soon.
The next question I have is: does the town need to be doing something about diseased or injured wildlife? I am an Authorized Wildlife Custodian, volunteering under the MNRF (Ministry of Natural Resources & Forrest). I get or rescue, orphaned skunks, raise them up and release them back in the wild. There are others in town who do raccoons, bunnies, birds and squirrels, but none of us do adult injured or sick wildlife. There are several reasons. We don’t have the caging, supplies, room or money to handle large animals. That is actually the point. You don’t. No one does.
Yet the MNRF has decreed that the property owner is responsible for the wildlife on it. You are supposed to know the rules and regulations regarding wildlife. No one does. Most people don’t even know the MNRF has anything to do with animals. They phone us, they phone the municipally contracted animal control company, and they phone the Town, seeking help. In Tillsonburg there is no help, so most people call the police to shoot the animal.
The police will shoot the animal if it is a danger to humans. They don’t have tranquilizer guns, caging or facilities to handle animals. Why are they wasting their time and our taxes doing this?
Do you know how upsetting it is to hear gunshots in your neighbourhood? After all the shootings you see on the news, hearing shots is terrifying.
Some municipalities contract their animals control companies to include injured or diseased wildlife; to simply capture, put them down and dispose of the bodies. Yes, it will cost money and perhaps the homeowner should pay some of the costs.
The most important thing is that we know who to call and that they respond quickly so an injured animal doesn’t suffer and a diseased animal does not spread that disease to domestic animals or people or get back into the wild to have it spread further before they die.