With the snow melted, some areas in town—particularly the La Verendrye Parkway—have become “disgusting” sites, according to Mayor Dan Onichuk, thanks to some residents not picking up after their dogs.
And the mayor wants it to stop.
“There’s [poop] all over. The message to the public is, ‘You should be picking it up,’” Mayor Onichuk said at Monday night’s council meeting.
“It’s not just a problem on the parkway, but at all the parks in town and the sidewalks,” he added. “Even at the town hall, at 6 a.m., people are walking their dogs on the property and not cleaning it up.
“As cute as the whole thing may seem, it stinks.”
The mayor said there’s no need to have bylaw officers out there at 6 a.m. to catch people.
“If you see somebody, you don’t have to call the town hall. Holler at them. Embarrass them—maybe they’ll pick it up next time,” he remarked.
“We don’t need a flood of calls reporting people not picking it up. Just say something and let them know we want to keep out parks and that clean.”
Mayor Onichuk also said he’s been told by a resident that a bag full of dog excrement was refused pickup during the regular weekly garbage collection.
He asked Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown to find out if there are proper guidelines for the disposal of dog waste to warrant not accepting it as part of normal garbage collection.
“What if they out a ‘bag tag’ on it?” quipped CAO Mark McCaig.
Brown replied he wasn’t aware there was any specific rules regarding the correct disposal of pet feces, and it was not accounted for in the upcoming municipal waste management bylaw, but that he would check on the matter with the Ministry of Environment.
Also at Monday night’s meeting, council:
•referred a request from the Alpha Upsilon chapter of Beta Sigma Phi regarding the installation of a special needs children’s swing at Lions Park to the Operations and Facilities executive committee for a recommendation;
•referred a request from the Rainy River Valley Field Naturalists regarding the waiving of certain tipping fees at the landfill site to the Operations and Facilities executive committee for a recommendation;
•referred a request form the Canadian Cancer Society to rent facilities at Pither’s Point Park on June 25-26 for the annual “Relay for Life” fundraiser to the Operations and Facilities executive committee for a recommendation;
•agreed to a request from The Salvation Army to proclaim May as “The Salvation Army Red Shield Month” in the Town of Fort Frances;
•approved a break-open ticket licence application for the Rainycrest Home for the Aged Auxiliary at the 364 Store from May 1, 2004-April 30, 2005;
•referred a request from Dave and Angela Petsnick regarding the purchase of surplus lots to the Administration and Finance and Planning and Development executive committees for a recommendation;
•referred a nomination request from the Ontario Crime Control Commission for its 2004 Awards of Excellence for Fighting Crime to the Police Services Board for a recommendation;
•passed a bylaw to amend a zoning bylaw for property at 1305 Mill Rd., which will be used for a new Calvary Tabernacle church;
•passed a bylaw to de-register Lots 39 and 40 on Plan 48M-368 (820 Kaitlyn Dr.);
•received Planning and Development reports regarding zoning amendments at 515-525 Colonization Rd. E. and 815 Williams Ave.; and
•referred a request from Leah Casselman, president of the Ontario Public Service Employee Union, for support of OPSEU’s request of Finance minister Greg Sorbara for a review to improve service quality at the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. to the Administration and Finance executive committee for a recommendation.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
