New Councillors Elected

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Congratulations to our new councillors in Oakland-Wawanesa! Here’s the final count in Thursday’s by-election, as provided by municipal staff: Ward 2 Craig Hatch        145 Glen Kirby            91 Neil Bok                17 Ward 3 Shaun Cory           91 Delbert Winters   40 I want to thank everyone who supported me, including my family, friends and new […]

Vote: The Future Is Yours

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Election day is Thursday and I am encouraging everyone to vote, if you haven’t already. History’s great thinkers say we get the government we deserve, so use your ‘x’ wisely. You want a fair tax solution. You want council to work collaboratively, respectfully and transparently. You want good roads and infrastructure to serve existing residents […]

Redraw Wards For Fair Representation

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Our current wards do not allow for ratepayers to be fairly represented and may even contravene the Municipal Act. Win or lose on Thursday, I challenge council to correct the imbalance between population and council seats. Provincial regulations specify that wards within a municipality should contain roughly the same number of voters. This gives equal […]

Once It’s Gone, It’s Gone Forever

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Bad news. Canada Post is negotiating with the municipality for space to locate super-mailboxes in Nesbitt, after two failed efforts since January to find a suitable postmaster and new building. Expect official confirmation sometime this month that the Nesbitt office will be permanently closed. Beyond the loss of postal services and a paying job, Nesbitt […]

Top Concerns Among Ward Two Voters

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Top Concerns Among Ward Two Voters POSTED JUNE 13,2019 GLEN KIRBY At campaign stops across our municipality, I ask farmers and acreage owners, “What does council need to work on?” Everyone has an opinion and it’s surprising how often those opinions hit the same themes. From my discussions with residents in Ward Two, here’s the list […]

What To Do About Rural Roads

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When I ask residents about setting council priorities, rural roads is among the top three concerns. Maintaining and repairing roads is costly – the biggest spending category in Oakland’s budget when you add up equipment, materials and staff. In 2019, council has budgeted $75,000 for maintenance and gravelling plus another $75,000 for road reconstruction. That’s […]

Why Vote for Me? Good Question…

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As we chatted in his garage, a young voter asked how I plan to succeed as a councillor representing rural interests in Oakland-Wawanesa, when other capable people before me have struggled. This was an important question from someone who has lived his entire life in our municipality, representing a family with a long, long history […]

Voting Opens for Councillor By-Election

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Voting opened today in the June 20 by-elections for Ward Two and Ward Three councillor positions. Residents and landowners can cast ballots by sealed envelope between May 23 and June 17, if they aren’t able to vote on either June 20 election day or June 15 in the advance poll. To vote by sealed envelope, […]