Morning Coffee – By Aaron Hall
Weather forecast for Thursday, June 29, 2017
Today – Mainly cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers and risk of a thunderstorm. Wind becoming southwest 30 km/h gusting to 60 late this morning. High 27. Humidex 35. UV index 7 or high.
Tonight – Mainly cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers and risk of a thunderstorm. Wind southwest 20 km/h becoming light this evening. Low 20.
Photos of the day – Mock plane crash exercise held
More than 90 first responders, municipal staff and partners took part today in a training exercise which simulated the collision of two airplanes at Chatham-Kent’s municipal airport.
“The event was held in order to test the readiness of municipal emergency disaster plans,” stated Chatham-Kent Fire & Emergency Services Assistant Chief Bob Davidson. “It was a great opportunity for all agencies to work together and practice the protocols and procedures that are there in case our community ever needs them.”
Assisting in staging and assessing the event was the Loomex Group which brought part of a jet fuselage to the airport and confidentially prepared a scenario which tested the ability of Fire, EMS and Police to respond to a major incident.
Officials were only told in advance that the simulation involved a plane crash.
Once there, information was relayed to first responders by Trent Gervais, Chief Executive Officer for the Loomex Group and his team.
The single plane incident turned into a collision with two planes, one of which was later found to have had radioactive materials on board. The incident was further complicated by reports that one passenger had a weapon and a hostage, leading to concerns of terrorism.
Finally, a tornado watch was thrown into the mix.
Emergency personnel responded in real-time to the incident, putting out fire, dealing with medical aid for the injured and securing the airport.
After the simulation, participating staff were evaluated, de-briefed and discussed ways to improve.
“The event highlighted a high degree of collaboration and teamwork between emergency responders and the entire municipal team,” said Chatham-Kent Chief Administrative Officer Don Shropshire.
“I was pleased with the result and the municipality remains committed to continual training and improvement of our emergency response capabilities.””
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent participates annually in mock emergencies. The Chatham-Kent Airport completes a paper table top emergency annually and a full simulation every 4 years as required by Transport Canada.
Phosphorus reduction group formed
A group comprised of municipalities, conservation authorities, agricultural associations and others has been formed to find ways to reduce phosphorus in local waterways.
The Thames River Phosphorus Reduction Collaborative plans a multi-level approach to reducing phosphorus which degrades water quality and causes algal blooms in Lake Erie.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative are creators of the collaborative which formally launched its effort with a tour of Chatham-Kent Tuesday.
Co-chair of the collaborative, Chatham Mayor Randy Hope, said the group realizes that a “one size fits all” approach isn’t going to work.
“Each watershed, and even portions of the same watershed, have different challenges,” he said in a press release.
Mark Reusser, vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, said the group has gathered global research and is determining what methods best suit Southwestern Ontario.
The majority of phosphorus enters waterways through rapid ice melting in spring and heavy storms in summer.
An algal bloom in Lake Erie in 2014 forced the closure of Toledo Ohio’s water intake system.
Unemployment drops
Unemployment figures for Chatham-Kent dropped by 0.1 per cent in April to 7 per cent compared to March numbers.
Unemployment remained steady at 6.5 per cent regionally while the provincial rate increased 0.2 per cent to 6.4 per cent.
Unemployment in Chatham-Kent in March of last year was 8.5 per cent.
Transit detour
Due to the reconstruction of the Fifth Street Bridge, Fifth Street will be closed from King Street West to Thames Street. CKTransit Route 1 and 2 will be detoured as illustrated in the attached maps.
This detour will be in place for the duration of the project from June 29, 2017 until December 22, 2017.
Extra Canada Day activities on Sunday, July 2 in Chatham
Remember the Canada Day fireworks display held at the Pine’s backfield?
Thousands of people would gather every year to celebrate our nation.
Well… the Churches of Chatham-Kent are at it again!
On Sunday, July 2, the Churches of Chatham-Kent will be holding a free Canada Day event with:
– A Live Band; “New World Son”
– Bouncy Castles and activities for the kids
– A BBQ fundraiser for the youth of Chatham-Kent
– A Huge Fireworks display
Festivities start at 6 p.m. and fireworks will cap of the evening just after dark.
“Happy Birthday Canada! 150 years is something to celebrate! This will be a fantastic weekend of celebration. With so much going on: Canada Day celebrations at St. Clair Thames Campus on Friday, Canada Day celebrations at Tecumseh Park on Saturday, and Canada Day celebrations at The Pines (UCC) Backfield on Sunday. This is the proper way to celebrate a birthday… with three nights of fireworks,” said Rev. Mitch Horner, of Evangel Community Church.
To learn more, visit www.evangelck.com or call 519-352- 4220.
If you have a suggestion, story idea, column idea, or if you want to say hello… drop me an e-mail at aaron@sydenhamcurrent.ca.
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