Everest Tree Farms Inc recently made their third application for a licence to operate a Category 2 "Below Groundwater" quarry on Part Lot 12 Concession 10 Amabel Twsp in the Town of South Bruce Peninsula. The location of the proposed quarry is near the junction of the Sauble River and Spring Creek, a well know fish sanctuary and habitat. In order to get the licence they must also get amendments to the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaws. The property is currently zoned Agricultural and used for the tree farm. They are proposing to dig a 16 meter deep hole (think 4 or 5 story building) into the bedrock adjacent to the Sauble River to extract 'decorative' stone that is available elsewhere in the municipality in areas already designated for Industrial Extraction.

Over the last few years there's been a good deal of effort going into protecting the dunes in Sauble. There are the new walkways, the parking posts/fences and all the signs saying to keep off the dunes, etc. But still, every time I walk down the beach or drive down the lakeshore, without a doubt there is someone cutting through the dunes to get to the beach from their car, picnicking in the dunes or just strolling through them. Why is this? I mean, there are plenty of signs and such saying to keep off them and why, and you have to pretty much hop a fence to get on them (from the road). Yet, still, people continue to do this. Why is there such little respect towards the dunes? What more can we do to protect them?

Here's a call for pundits: Imagine you were the guiding light of our South Bruce Penininsula town council and you were tasked with investing $30,000 for the optimal long-range community good, whatever that may mean, for the maximum return on investment for the sum: where would you spend the money?

Further to garym’s blog “The Bicycle Highway”, I’m surprised no one has yet identified the bigger picture regarding the upcoming upgrades to County Road 13 from Ferndale to Southampton.

On September 2, 2004 Bruce County Council released its Revised Bruce County Road Designation Study Final Report. This report states that the councils of Northern and South Bruce Peninsula support a Collector Road from the Oliphant corner on County Road 13 to County Road 9 west of Ferndale. Schedule D of this report sets out budget costs of over $8 million for this upgrade (2004 figures).

i have to laugh at some of the letters to the editor i have seen recently regarding drive-thru's and idling bylaws. rather than create another bylaw, why don't people just stop using drive-thrus?

Looking at that Ontario Wind map, I can't help but notice how the Excellent to Astounding ranges are respectively the middle of Georgian Bay and just due west a little from our own SBP ...