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As this goes out this morning, all our roads in Bruce County are again closed for a third day. Plows and tow trucks are scrambling to clean up snow and stranded vehicles from the last two days. Again, I’m super grateful for these folks and also for our community members. This weekend, people showed up to help others in need. From neighbours helping one another to people opening up their homes to help travelers and our first responders helping stranded drivers. This is what community is all about and we can be so proud to live in a place where people won’t think twice about helping those in need.
Please also remember to check on your neighbours and family members who are home-bound and clear all vents of snow and make sure your CO detector is working.
As a reminder again, if you’re looking for road conditions, a few places to check:
Municipal 511 - Closures for local and County roads
Ontario 511 - Provincial highway closures
Hopefully next time around, there won’t be anything weather-related to talk about. I will also be more timely as the election will be over and I’ve been volunteering much of my spare time on a local campaign.
~ Jen
Garbage Pick-up Happening Earlier
From February 12 - March 30, 2025
Due to the significant amount of snowfall, our garbage services have requested to pick up garbage earlier to ensure they are able to navigate the roads. Please have garbage out by 6:30 AM. See more here.
Expressions of Interest Now Being Accepted for Paisley Library
Do you have an idea that would be ideal for a downtown space in Paisley? The municipality wants to hear from you and is now accepting expressions of interest for the former library. Read more here.
Election Resources
Due to the nature of the snap election, things are happening fast and a little different than we’re used to. Voters will not get a voting card in the mail, for example. You don’t need a card to vote though. You can just show up with a piece of eligible ID and vote on election day, but you must go to the correct poll. To find out where your closest poll is, enter your postal code here.
Here’s the quick details on where you can vote if you live in Arran-Elderslie.
Advance Voting: February 20 - 22nd, 10 AM - 8 PM, Chesley Fire Hall
Election Day: February 27th, 9 AM - 9 PM, Find your poll
If you are looking for more information on the Ontario election platform and who is running in our riding, Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, here’s a few resources.
Council Corner
DYK? The Council meeting agenda is posted online the Friday before the meeting. All meetings can also be viewed by livestream. You can find all information here.
Wards or At-Large Representation Engagement Update
The municipality rescheduled the open houses last week due to the weather and will be extending the survey to allow residents more time to participate. Council is exploring our electoral process and wants to hear from residents what you want.
To learn more and participate in the survey, visit here.
Upcoming Committee & Public Meetings
Council Meeting, Monday, February 24 at 9 AM, Council Chambers
Accessibility, Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (ADIE) Committee Meeting, Monday, March 3 from 4 - 5 PM, Council Chambers and Virtual
Wards or At Large Representation Open Houses:
Paisley: March 4 – 5-7 pm
Tara: March 5 – 3-5 pm
Chesley: March 5 – 6-8 pm
Community Events
A full list of events can be found on the website. If you have events you’d like to add to this list, you can email them to jshaw@arran-elderslie.ca.
Weekly Events
Mondays
Crokinole & Coffee, 9 AM, Paisley Legion
Learn to crochet or knit, 7 PM, Paisley Legion, $2 / night. Every Monday except holidays.
Euchre, 6:30 PM, Paisley Legion
Pickleball, 7 PM, Paisley Central School gym
Tuesdays
Euchre, 7 PM, Tara Legion
Wednesdays
Game Night, 7 PM, Tara Legion
Thursdays
Brockton & Area Family Heath Team Exercise Class, 9 AM, Paisley Legion
Community Meal, 12 Noon, Chelsey Baptist Church
Live Jammin’, 1 PM, Tara Legion
Fridays
Corn Hole, 4 PM, Paisley Legion
Sundays
Darts for Meat, 1 PM, Paisley Legion, $4 / round with meat prizes
February
Wednesday, Feb 19
All Candidates Meeting on Agriculture - 7 PM, Keady Community Centre, Keady, hosted by Grey County Federation of Agriculture
Friday, Feb 21
Country Line Dancing with Rhonda Laws - Tara Legion, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Paisley Curling Club Funspiel - Paisley Curling Club, Friday and Saturday, three 6-end games included, two meals and snacks. $320 / team. Email paisleycurlingclub@gmail.com for details.
Monday, Feb 24
Community Cooking Class - 1-2:45 PM, Tara Anglican Church
All Candidates Meeting on Climate and Healthcare - 7 - 9 PM, Harmony Centre, Owen Sound
March
Sunday, March 2
Two Step Dance Workshop - 2 - 4 PM, Tara Legion
Tuesday, March 4
Coffee with the Mayor - 10 - 11:30 AM, Tara Community Centre
Chesley Nursery School Pancake Supper - 5-7 PM, Chesley Community Centre, $12 for adults, $5 for kids under 10
Tara United Church Pancake Supper - 5 -7 PM, Tara United Church, $10 for person, $5 for kids, $30 for family
At-Large or Ward-based Representation Community Open House - 5 - 7 PM, Paisley Community Centre
Wednesday, March 5
At-Large or Ward-based Representation Community Open House - 3-5 PM, Tara Community Centre
At-Large or Ward-based Representation Community Open House - 6 -8 PM, Chesley Community Centre
Friday, March 7
Arran-Elderslie Community & Business Association International Women’s Day Breakfast - 8 - 10:30 AM, Paisley Community Centre
That’s it for this edition of The Back Porch Brief! You can expect the next newsletter in your inbox in 2-ish weeks!
Thanks for becoming our reliable source of all things happening in AE!