Fisher urges regional recycling

In a plea to resurrect a recycling service for the entire region, Mel Fisher of Dryden is asking former Northwest Ontario Recycle Association members, including Fort Frances, to reconsider going on their own.
It’s a matter town council will discuss at Monday night’s regular meeting here.
“People want to recycle—their common sense tells them it is wrong to stack usable materials in the ground for future generations to finally dispose of,” Fisher, a former NORA chair and Dryden city councillor, wrote in a letter to council.
“NORA provided a very high level of service, collecting and recycling a broader range of materials than most programs, and on an apples-to-apples comparison basis, was among one of the lower cost programs in the province,” he added.
“Our method of billing municipalities was not the best, and created the mistaken impression that the program was much more expensive than others,” remarked Fisher.
“The latest tender figures indicate that, in the absence of NORA, we will all be paying about twice as much money for a much-reduced service,” he warned.
“There could not be more graphic evidence of the advantage of working together rather than separately.”
Fisher said disputed the judgment that “Humpty Dumpty is broken and can’t be put back together,” and is asking all municipalities to come together for a meeting to discuss how the region once again can work together to deliver recycling services—perhaps with an outside party like Ben Bennett, chair of the Association of Municipal Recycling Co-ordinators.
Monday night’s council meeting also will include a report from Operations and Facilities manager Pat Hickerson on the avenues the town can pursue to restore recycling service in Fort Frances.
Also, with the aim to get the 2003 municipal budget wrapped up by the end of November, the town is asking residents for their input as council begins the process.
That potion of the meeting will start around 7 p.m. at the Civic Centre.
Other business at Monday night’s meeting will include:
•a presentation by Bill Martin and John Albanese regarding the policies and future direction of the Northwestern Health Unit;
•a verbal report from Mayor Glenn Witherspoon regarding the July 2 slo-pitch game versus International Falls;
•break-open ticket licence applications from the La Verendrye Hospital Auxiliary and the Rainbow Rhythmics Club;
•2002-03 crossing guard agreement with Lakeland Personnel;
•a request for a financial contribution from the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association regarding Thunder Bay Mayor Ken Boschoff’s campaign for presidency of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario;
•a request from Normiska for extension of the rail spur across McIrvine Road to its site;
•a bylaw to exempt temporary exemption from calendar parking on the 600 block of Nelson Street;
•a report on repairs to King’s Highway from Wright Avenue to York Avenue;
•information regarding the old Fort Frances High School;
•the Fort Frances Children’s Complex 2002 service contract;
•a bylaw to renew the provision of a public transportation system for the physically-disabled within the Town of Fort Frances; and
•financial requests from the Fort Frances High School boys’ soccer team and the Region 1 2002 juvenile volleyball team.
The council meeting starts at 6:45 p.m., and is preceded by the committee of the whole meeting downstairs at 5:30 p.m.