Newsletter # 2

Hwy 7 & 8 Newsletter September 7, 2008 Volume #2

CURRENT OPERATING STRUCTURE

Hello again to everyone.

The community has been very busy trying to keep everyone informed, having on farm Ag visits, individual property appointments and trying to fine tune how a large group of volunteers from 3 townships, can work effectively. The 20 Volunteers, who signed up to assist have met twice. Our second meeting was to work on some administration issues requiring some fine tuning and to strategize. We met at Claynook Farms in Wilmot Township.

The Community Group has agreed to this structure:

· 2 to 3 agreed representatives from each township are consulted prior to any major decision or strategy being launched
· the full group of volunteers will meet from time to time to engage in further strategy work or when necessary
· other work and contributions will be electronic as we compile data necessary for a full Brief the combined Business Communities will be submitting
· volunteers are signing up for research to include in our brief

The Volunteer Committee also met with Mr. Charles Organ, Ms. Brenda Jamieson and Janette Smilderle. The opportunity arose for us to meet with them and we took advantage of it. We hoped for much clearer understanding of the next public phase and to discuss some issues that have come forward from the community.

As a result a new schedule /timeline for this phase with an explanation of the general protocol for any public announcement of a preferred corridor, will be coming from TSH (The Consultants).


OFFICIAL COMMUNITY RESPONSE

We are also assembling data for our formal submission on behalf of Perth East, Perth South and Wilmot West for the Sept. 30th deadline. Areas we will cover include:

· Economic figures and stats from dairy, pork, cash crop and poultry for our townships
· Provincial regulations and legislation impacting farmers
· Misleading assumptions used in original Study documents

Other strategies are being discussed and we will disseminate those as soon as possible.

CONNECTING COMMUNITIES

Volunteers are continuing to contact neighbors in all 3 townships to ensure as many as possible are informed and able to contribute data from their properties and their concerns, to the Consultants by the Sept. 30th deadline.
-- contact:

hwy7and8@gmail.com

Perth South:
Marg Van Ness 519-393-6479
Gail Stacey 519-271-0218
Jamie Gibb 519-393-6219

Perth East:
Paula Neice 519-4847
Linda Dietrich 519-655-2613
Sharon Weitzel 519-273-0918

Wilmot West:
Wayne Wagler 519-662-3658
Gary Wagler 519-662-3384

Agriculture Business Community of Perth East, Perth South, Wilmot West