ALMAGUIN NEWS, Wednesday, October 3, 2007 Page 9

Airport managers retire,

receive national award
Keely Grasser
Staff Reporter
SOUTH RIVER The skies were
buzzing with the sound of planes in
Almaguin on Saturday, as over 150
people came out to bid a fond farewell
to two long-time features of the local
aviation scene.
At a fly-in at the South RiverSundridge District Airport on Sept. 29,
Ron and Verna Cooper, after 25 years
of managing the municipal airport,
officially retired.
If it wasnt for them, we wouldnt
have an airport now, said airport
chair Barry Morris.
The airport was bustling as many
planes (and cars) carrying wellwishers came to join in for a breakfast
and barbecue under the sunny skies.
During the ceremony, the Coopers
received messages of congratulations
and gratitude from Parry SoundMuskoka MP Tony Clement, Parry
Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller,
Sundridge mayor Elgin Schneider,
South River mayor Jim Coleman and

the Almaguin Flying Clubs Bill Brown,

among others.
They
received
a
plaque
commemorating their efforts from the
townships of Joly, Machar and Strong
and the villages of Sundridge and
South River, and other gifts.
But the biggest surprise came all
the way from Ottawa, in his plane, of
course.
Kevin Psutka, president of the
Canadian
Owners
and
Pilots
Association (COPA), was on hand to
present the Coopers with their first
annual award of merit.
He thanked them on behalf of all
Canadians who fly small aircraft for
their efforts to a community airport,
all of which Psutka said are so
important to the areas they serve.
Morris pointed out that the award
was national in scope.
I think its very important and very
unusual, he said.
Thanks to each and every one of
you, Verna told the crowd. We do
appreciate your attendance here
today.

Building committee
implements
zero tolerance
By Jen Nicholson
ALMAGUIN Pleading ignorance
when building without a permit isnt
going to be tolerated anymore. Thats
the message the joint building
committee (JBC) wants to get out to
area ratepayers, said committee chair
Chris Ellis.
A simple phone call is all people
have to make to find out if they need a
permit, said Ellis. The building
department means business. We are
serious about people needing
permits.
Area ratepayers are finding an
important notice included in their
tax bills this year. The notice informs
people that the building department is
tightening the reins. The JBC is
enforcing a zero tolerance policy,
moving straight to a charge for anyone
caught building without a permit.
Previously, Chief Building Official
(CBO) Brian Dumas erred on the side
of leniency, issuing orders to comply
before resorting to fines, said Ellis.
Faced with an ongoing high
number of orders-to-comply issued,
the JBC which oversees building
policy
and
activity
in
the
municipalities of Burks Falls, Joly,
Machar, Ryerson, South River, Strong
and Sundridge has decided to
discontinue the practice of issuing
warnings. They are moving straight to
a fine when people are found to be
building without a permit.
Hopefully things will settle down
and people will start to comply, said
Dumas.
Last year alone 50 orders to comply
were issued. Thats a quarter of all the
building permits issued, said Dumas.
With building activity picking up
this year already by the end of this
September, 208 building permits had

been issued, matching last years total

Dumas and his half-time assistant
have been busy.
And there are better uses of our
resources than issuing orders to
comply, said Dumas.
Reasons for people not getting
building permits vary, said the CBO.
Some people figure, if they do get
caught they do, if they dont they dont
some just dont realize they need a
permit. Some blame it on (changes to
the building code contained in) Bill
124.
Ellis attributes some of the
unruliness to staff change-ups in the
building department over the past few
years.
We didnt have a CBO for a few
months before Brian Dumas was hired
last year, explained Ellis. And prior to
that the building department had
gone downhill . . . . it was difficult to
get a hold of the CBO . . . . So things
had gotten a little bit out of hand. Now
we are just following through with the
policy, said Ellis.
Examples of non-compliance
include people building decks or
additions and people building on
remote hunt camps or on existing
foundations. Dumas said he has even
found someone building an entire
house without a permit.
Fines for non-compliance come in
around $1,000 to $3,000, said Dumas.
Enough to get the message out there.
The zero tolerance policy was
approved by the committee in the
spring. According to Dumas and Ellis,
the new policy reflects how things are
carried out in other jurisdictions.
Dumas can be contacted at the
Magnetawan municipal office on
Mondays and Tuesdays at 387-3947 or
at the Strong Office on Thursdays and
Fridays at 384-5819.

New face in Magnetawan

Continued from page 1

application deadline for this position was last week. Evans

said he received five fairly localized applications and he
will be involved in short-listing candidates this week.
Interviews will begin as soon as possible. When asked if he
was applying for the new position, Evans said he would not
be involved in the hiring process if he were an applicant.
Late in the summer, the municipality identified the
need, through an organizational review, for the new
position of CAO/Clerk. Reporting to the mayor and council,
the CAO will be responsible for the overall strategic
leadership and general management of the municipality.

REWARDING EFFORTS: Verna and Ron Cooper pose with

Canadian Association of Owners and Pilots president Kevin
Psutka. He presented them with the associations first annual
award of merit during their retirement celebrations on Sept. 29.

WHAT AN ENTRANCE: This float plane, approaching the airport

from nearby waters, is just one of many aircrafts that carried wellwishers to Ron and Verna Coopers retirement as managers of the
South River-Sundridge District Airport.

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