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Apsley Finally Gets MTO Recognition!

First published January 2012

I’ve had a ‘bee in my bonnet’ over the fact that Apsley has never had Highway 28 signage like our other hamlets of Big Cedar and Woodview since before I was ever elected to Council.  With my appointment as Chair of the North Kawartha Community Planning Committee my first initiative was to look into this and other signage issues within our township.  What we discovered is that the Ministry of Transportation has criteria governing the use of boundary signs:

For a town to qualify for Boundary Signs it must be officially recognized as a Lower Tier, Upper Tier, Single Tier or Formerly Incorporated Municipality.  On top of this, the official town limits must cross the highway to be eligible.  

The MTO never realized that Apsley does meet this criteria and nobody ever thought to question it… until now!  After several emails back and forth between the Township and the MTO, Council passed a motion approving the erection of boundary signs and a week before Christmas the new signs were installed.  I would like to thank the committee members and staff along with the MTO for their efforts in getting Apsley the recognition it deserves!  

Now on to our other projects: distance signage at the junctions of townships roads and highway 28, new municipal entrance signs, beautification and much more… stay tuned.

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North Kawartha Beautification

As Chair of the North Kawartha Community Planning Committee I would like to extend my gratitude to those of you that donated perennials and to the volunteers that came out on Monday June 20th to plant up the entrance signs and enhance some of the municipal properties around Apsley.  Plant donations were provided by me, Robin Miszuk, Darla-Marie Whelan, Anna Simard, Lilit Malins, Helen Osborne, Colleen Martin and some other anonymous donors.  In the beginning we weren’t sure if we’d get enough plants but there were plenty to go around.  Thanks also to Robin, Darla-Marie and Evelyn Rasberry who joined Lilit and I in the actual digging up, weeding, transplanting and watering.  The few sites that were ‘beautified’ proved to be quite labour –intensive but the results will be worth it.  It is my hope that with proper planning and budgeting we can expand our volunteer/donation base for next year as there are many more locations throughout North Kawartha that could use some attention and beautification.  It is said that ‘communities that look successful are most likely to be successful.’  The creation of public gardens and floral spaces for visitors and residents alike to enjoy is a wonderful way to express community pride, and I believe we have much to be proud of.   Thanks again to all of you for helping to make North Kawartha a little prettier.