Morning Coffee – By Aaron Hall

Weather forecast from Friday, January 5, 2018 to Sunday, January 7, 2018

An extreme cold warning remains in effect across Chatham-Kent.

Today – Mainly sunny. Wind northwest 30 km/h gusting to 50. High minus 15. Wind chill minus 34. UV index 4 or moderate.

Tonight – A few clouds. Wind northwest 30 km/h gusting to 50. Low minus 23. Wind chill minus 36.
Saturday, January 6 – Mainly sunny. Wind northwest 20 km/h gusting to 40. High minus 16. WWind chill minus 34.

Saturday night – Cloudy periods. Low minus 18.

Sunday, January 7 – A mix of sun and cloud with 60 percent chance of flurries. High minus 7.

Sunday night – Cloudy with 70 percent chance of snow. Low minus 7.

Warming centres available in St. Clair Township

As a reminder to the residents and visitors of St. Clair Township, town officials say during normal working hours any open public facility can be used as a warming centre.

“In the event of a prolonged power outage we have several public buildings that will be opened as reception and warming centres 24/7,” St. Clair Township officials stated.

When the Township activates these sites during a power outage, they will post it on the Township’s website, the Townships Community Services website, as well as the Emergency Services Social Media sites, @StClairFire or St. Clair Township Fire Department and issue a notice on the myCNN notification system.

The following are the reception centres and locations:

– Station 1 Brigden Fire Station 1561 First St., Brigden

– Station 2 Corunna Fire Station 249 Hill St., Corunna

– Station 3 Courtright Fire Station 1550 Eighth St., Courtright

– Station 4 Wilkesport Fire Station 1343 Main St., Wilkesport

– Station 5 Port Lambton Fire Station 362 Broadway St., Port Lambton

– Station 6 Becher Fire Station 442 Kimball Rd., Becher

As well as the following Community Centres and Facilities:

– Brigden Fair Grounds 2976 Brigden Rd., Brigden

– Courtright Community Centre 1594 Third St., Courtright

– Wilkesport Community Centre 1622 Baby Line

Chatham-Kent unemployment hits 17-year low

Unemployment in Chatham-Kent dropped seven-tenths of a point to 5.2 per cent in October, the lowest figure since the municipality began tracking the statistic.

Municipal officials say the Chatham-Kent rate is now also lower than the provincial and federal rates. During October the provincial rate rose from 5.6 to 5.9 per cent and the national rate rose from 6.2 to 6.3 per cent.

The October rate marks only the third time since 2001 the community has had an unemployment rate below six per cent.

In total, there were 50,300 people working in Chatham-Kent, an increase of 600 compared with October of 2016. It marks the fourth straight month of job increases and represents the largest number of employed persons in 2017.

“Chatham-Kent is home to many forward thinking and innovative businesses that continue to invest in themselves and achieve success,” stated Stuart McFadden, Acting Director of Economic Development for the municipality, in a press release.

“The entire community is benefiting from these leaders in our community who are finding new business opportunities that require them to hire more people.”

It was the seventh straight month of decline in the jobless rate which peaked at 7.1 per cent in March of last year, municipal officials stated.

January is Crime Stoppers Month

In recognition of Crime Stoppers Month Chatham Kent Mayor Randy Hope, Crime Stoppers board president Angie Shreve and Police Coordinator David Bakker raised the official Crime Stoppers flag at the Civic Centre.

Crime Stoppers is also releasing its annual statistics. 2017 was the 30th anniversary of the Chatham Kent Crime Stoppers program and the continuing successful partnership between the citizens of Chatham-Kent, the local media and the police has resulted in the seizure of over $100 million of drugs and recovered stolen property over the lifetime of the program.

“Its incredible when you see these numbers,” Shreve said in a press release.

“It proves that Crime Stoppers works. The community supports the program and together with the police and the media we are helping to make Chatham-Kent as better place to live, work and play. The Board wants to thank everyone for their continued support.”

2017 has been a good year for the program, Bakker added.

“The program received a 108 more tips than in 2016, resulting in 100 arrests, 138 cases cleared with 298 charges laid and 20 weapons recovered,” he said in a press release.

“Social Media is now one of the driving forces in our success. It allows us to get information out to the public faster than ever before, and the community is responding just as quickly. Suspects wanted for crimes are sometimes identified within a few minutes of the information being posted online.”

In recognition of Crime Stoppers Month the Chatham Kent Crime Stoppers Board of Directors will be hosting free skating events on Sunday, January 7 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Thames Campus Arena and on Saturday January 13 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Ridgetown Arena.

MPP holding New Year’s Levee

The MPP in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex is hosting a New Year’s Levee on Saturday, January 6, in Wallaceburg.

Monte McNaughton says everyone is welcome is join him at the Royal Canadian Legion Br. 18 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

“Each year as part of our New Year’s celebrations, Kate and I host New Year’s Levees throughout the riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex,” McNaughton said.

“This year, we are pleased to be hosting three events.”

McNaughton will also be holding events in Forest and Strathroy on Saturday.

All are welcome and there is no charge to attend the Wallaceburg event, however, McNaughton’s staff is asking anyone interested in attending to RSVP in advance by phoning 519-245-8698, 1-800-265-3916, or by emailing Monte.McNaughtonCO@pc.ola.org.

Survey launched on why and how people watch and listen to different content

The CRTC yesterday launched a survey to better understand why Canadians are consuming content in different ways.

This survey is part of the CRTC’s consultation on the future of programming distribution in Canada.

This past December, the CRTC published a reference document to help guide the consultation.

It includes information and data on how and where Canadians consume content.

The survey will help the CRTC understand the reasons behind these choices, such as:

– Why do many Canadians still watch traditional TV and listen to traditional radio?

– Why do some Canadians watch and listen online only?

– How important is programming made in Canada to Canadians?

Canadians can participate by filling out the survey before January 31, 2018.

They can also submit their comments using the reference document or on any other issues related to this process before February 13, 2018 by:

– Filling out the online form

– Writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario K1A ON2

– Or sending a fax to (819) 994-0218

This consultation arises from the Government’s request that the CRTC submit a report on future distribution models for Canadian programming, as well as its continued creation, production and distribution. The report is due by no later than June 1, 2018.