Late Fall Update

Sherwood Forest School Site

The change to the zoning of the school site was not appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board.

This means that the formal transferring it to City ownership will take place once the legal formalities are complete. The next step is for the city to issue a tender for the demolition of the buildings. The tender is to be approved by City Council before work may begin. It is anticipated that the demolition will take 4 to 5 weeks and start in February or March.

Canada Post Ending Door to Door Delivery Next Year

We will be receiving mail at a Community Mailbox instead of at the door, as of sometime in the fall of 2015.

Canada Post has developed a one-on-one approach for the needs of seniors and Canadians with mobility challenges. Should a senior or any other person have a question or concern about this initiative, they are invited to contact Canada Post’s toll free number – 1-844-454-3009 – to have their questions answered.

The Community Mailbox locations are determined by Canada Post staff and shared with municipal staff for their feedback, and if the municipality wishes, their agreement. (Sandy is checking with how this will work in London and will provide an update.)

While it is still undecided how many Community Mailboxes there will be in our area, here are the general guidelines Canada Post follows:

• On public easements;
• As unobtrusive as possible;
• As close as possible to the customers it will serve;
• Sidewalks are present; if available
• Sides of corner lots, away from windows and driveways;
• Set back from intersections to provide clear sight lines;
• Walkways or other public spaces;
• Close to street lighting wherever possible.
• On private property with permission
• Church parking lot, convenience store, strip mall, gas station, etc.

Before they make site selection public, Canada Post will go to the door of the homes adjacent to the proposed location and make personal contact to let the homeowner know a site is proposed on the municipal property beside them. Once this is done, Canada Post will let customers know where their site will be by letter and directions to their website.

Medway Valley Heritage Forest Environmentally Significant Area

The next phase of the Master Plan for the ESA will start up early in the new year. Stay tuned for details. Everyone is reminded to observe the trail closed signs in the area. Some trails have been closed due to erosion. Part of the planning exercise is where trail locations make the most sense and are most sensitive to the natural environment we enjoy and want to continue to protect.

Blue Boxes

As you may have noticed, hot cups from Tim Horton’s, McDonalds and other fast food locations can now be recycled in our Blue Box. Just be sure to take the lid off because in the recycling centre, an optical sorter identifies the plastic lids while the cups are hand sorted along with other ‘polycoat’ containers (i.e. milk and juice cartons, paper ice cream cartons). Separating these two items helps us in the facility. Interestingly enough, compostable cups are not to be put in the Blue Box as they are made of cornstarch and not paper.

You might be interested in viewing a video of London’s recycling centre. They also take groups through on tour. If you are interested, please contact Anne Boyd at the City of London 519-661-2500 x 6464.

Be Watchful During the Holiday Season

During the holiday season like other times, it is important to keep an eye out for unusual activity and to report it to the police.