Petrolia Municipal Office Closed Due to Weather Conditions

Petrolia, ON – Due to current, and projected weather conditions throughout the day today, Wednesday, January 25, 2023, the Town of Petrolia has the following closures and alterations to services:

• The Town of Petrolia Municipal Office is Closed to walk-ins, staff working remotely will respond to phone calls and emails.
• The Victoria Playhouse Petrolia Box Office is Closed, with tickets and gift certificates available online at www.thevpp.ca.
  • Staff working remotely will return phone calls and emails.
• The Greenwood Recreation Centre remains open at this time. 

Our Public Works team will be working to maintain safety on our roads, and remind residents:

Snow Removal

– Under the Highway Traffic Act Section 181 – Deposit of snow on Roadway, states that “No person shall deposit snow or ice on a roadway without permission in writing to do so from the Ministry of Transportation or the road authority responsible for the maintenance of the road.”

– This generally applies to the snow that accumulates in laneways from precipitation and from private or municipal snow plowing operations, those who insist on plowing snow from private property onto public roads can be fined

Overnight Parking

– Residents are reminded there is no overnight parking on Town streets between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.

-This allows for the Town’s Road Crews to plow the roads safely and efficiently; we ask that you please abide by the by-law and be considerate of the road crews when they are out doing their best to keep our roads open and in safe condition

Parking on Roadway

– Under the Highway Traffic Act Section 170.

Vehicles interfering with traffic

(12) Despite the other provisions of this section, no person shall park or stand a vehicle on a highway in such a manner as to interfere with the movement of traffic or the clearing of snow from the highway. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 170 (12).

Sidewalks

– Under By-Law Business owners are required to maintain the front area of their storefront, this includes the removal of snow

– The Sidewalk Plow will make its way through Town once permittable; Roads are the priority for Works Crew once they are clear Sidewalks

Sporting Equipment

– Please ensure all sporting equipment ie: hockey nets, basketball nets are removed from the curb & roadway

For support from the Town of Petrolia during this closure, and during the holidays please see the list below:

After Hours contacts:

• Water related Emergency, call 1-888-522-0117
• Public Works Emergency (non-water), call 519-882-2351
• General By-Law Enforcement, call 519-845-5420
• Parking Enforcement, call 519-312-1238
• Animal Control, JSG Animal Solutions, Jeff Dewhirst – Call/Text 519-312-1322 OR email animalcontrolofficer101@gmail.com

Please visit our online portal https://petrolia.civicweb.net/Portal/CitizenEngagement.aspxs with a specific concern if required.

Following nearly three years of online meetings during the pandemic, the Town of Petrolia has continued to broadcast Council meetings throughout 2022 once Council returned to in-person meetings.  At this time there is a need for equipment upgrades should council continue to do so. Please help us by providing feedback so that the report can include public input regarding interest and opinion on spending.  The survey is short, and it should take approximately one minute to complete.  Thank you in advance for your feedback and assistance. 

Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RC296HB

Background for the nature of this survey:

– to make its public meetings as accessible as possible to all residents
-council takes seriously its commitments and obligations to be accountable and transparent to all residents -council strives to utilize best practices in delivering services to its residents which includes the use of current technologies to improve and enhance such services – Council of the Corporation of the Town of Petrolia directed staff to investigate the potential use and costs of various methods and technologies available for the purposes of providing Audio-Visual streaming and archiving of all public open and in camera council meetings including regular and special meetings of council and report back to council its findings and recommendations moving forward.

VICTORIA PLAYHOUSE PETROLIA RECIPIENT OF GENEROUS DONATION FROM PETROLIA RESIDENT JOYCE HAMILTON

Petrolia, ON –  Today, the Victoria Playhouse Petrolia was a humbled and grateful recipient of $10,875.00 from Joyce Hamilton, a long-time Petrolia resident and patrons of the arts.

During a cheque presentation at Victoria Hall this morning, Mrs. Hamilton was joined by Mike Barron, Executive Director of the Sarnia Community Foundation and Petrolia Community Fund Administrator, Ginny Newman, a Board Member for the Sarnia Community Foundation, Town of Petrolia Chief Administrative Officer/Treasurer Rick Charlebois, and Co-Artistic Director for the Victoria Playhouse, David Hogan.

Mrs. Hamilton talked about the wonderful life she has enjoyed in Petrolia and added “…this theatre is a very important place to me.  I remember the Lion’s Frolics in the parking area, and dancing in the ballroom upstairs as a teen.” She added that she is “…so glad we have the theatre in town, and that she already has her tickets for next year.”

Barron said, “it is an honor to take part in Mrs. Hamilton’s fund direction to the Victoria Playhouse; hearing about her passion for the Victoria Playhouse and the Town of Petrolia is inspiring!”

Director of Marketing Arts and Communications, Laurissa Ellsworth thanked Mrs. Hamilton for her kindness, and for her “…vision for the future of the theatre and for the town that she loves so very much.”

Co-Artistic Director David Hogan,  touched by Mrs. Hamilton’s generosity said, “knowing part of Mrs. Hamilton’s life has been so impacted by the arts and the VPP is extraordinary.  It is with gratitude and love that we accept this generous gift.”

The Sarnia Community Foundation hosts a Fund, called the Petrolia Community Fund where financial gifts can be shared with Petrolia in either a specific way, or in a non-specific way to better the community.  These financial gifts are provided to various organizations throughout the year, and through a micro-grant program each winter. For those interested in learning more about the Fund, or how you can support Petrolia please visit https://sarniacommunityfoundation.ca/kinds-of-funds/ .

The Victoria Playhouse Petrolia’s 2023 Season – So Much to Celebrate! was announced last week.  Jesse’s Country Jubilee, featuring VPP favourite Jesse Grandmont,  will run May 2-21, followed by an original Canadian musical, Where the Heart is, on stage June 6-25.  We pay tribute to the VPP’s golden jubilee with Yesterday Once More: 1973, running from July 4-23 and renowned Canadian playwright Norm Foster’s Jonas and Barry in the Home will run from August 8-27.    Following 2018’s sold out run, Mark Payne brings his east coast flair back to the VPP stage for Mark Payne’s Kitchen Party Leftovers, on stage from September 5-24, and the season concludes with a spectacular production of Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot, running from October 10-29.  Further casting announcements will be made at a later time.

Starbright Christmas 2023 will run November 24-December 10 and The VPP Holiday Jamboree will run December 15-17. These performances go on sale January 10, 2023. 

VIP to the VPP members, Group Tickets and Subscriptions are now on sale.  Single seats go on sale Monday, December 12.  To purchase tickets, visit www.thevpp.ca or call the Box Office at 1-800-717-7694. Performances run Tuesday through Sunday with both matinee and evening options available. 

Left to Right: Ginny Newman, Mike Barron, Joyce Hamilton, David Hogan & Rick Charlebois

This evening was the final meeting of the 2018-22 Petrolia Council and the inaugural meeting of the 2022-26 Petrolia Council was sworn in. Technology did not work with us this evening, so there is no recording of the sessions.
Our sincere thanks to outgoing members Wade Deighton, Grant Purdy, Marty Souch and Don Welten. Gifts to each of the outgoing Councillors – a framed photo of Victoria Hall with a service plaque – were presented. Sam Welten, was present on behalf of his father Don to accept the recognition.
This evening, Piper Tom Rankin piped in the new Councillors, and Town Crier Les Whiting cried a cheer of all the very best wishes, and Pastor Tim Brown spoke about the pink tray, a treat tray that he brought to symbolize peace and community among Council as they face tough decisions throughout the term, he then provided a blessing.

We welcome the 2022-26 Petrolia Council – Mayor R. Brad Loosley, Councillor Bill Clark, Councillor Chad Hyatt, Councillor Joel Field, Councillor Ross O’Hara, Councillor Debb Pitel, and Councillor Liz Welsh.

The Town of Petrolia trails system has been subject to a lot of work to re-establish nature trails through Bridgeview Park area over the past couple of years. A volunteer committee has been working with the Town of Petrolia to develop walkable trails with points of interest for users of all abilities since 2020. Recently, trail signs have been added that offer route information and distances along with some basic information for using the trails safely and respectfully.

The Margaret Stokes Chapter of the I.O.D.E. dedicated a trail this afternoon in honour of former monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in acknowledgement of her Platinum Jubilee.  The group of community volunteers applied for a Platinum Jubilee Grant from Canada Heritage and for a grant from the Waste Management Green Leader Program.  Both applications were successful and led to the development of “The Jubilee Trail” at the Northeast area of Bridgeview Park.  The trail comes with signs celebrating their partners in the project, and with benches for those to stop and rest awhile, and with a tree planted in honour of the memory of the former monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

Although there was some rainfall at the dedication, it did not dampen the spirits of those who came to celebrate the ribbon cutting.  Representatives including the President of Ontario I.O.D.E., Margaret Stokes I.O.D.E. members, Warden Kevin Marriott, Mayor R. Brad Loosley, Trail Committee Chairperson, Terry Syer, and Director of Community Services, Dave Menzies spoke about the trails and shared their gratitude for the efforts and support of the trails project.

Margaret Stokes I.O.D.E. President, Wendy Loosley said, “…We are pleased to be here with all of you to celebrate this new trail.  Our group of ladies has enjoyed working with the Trail Committee and the Town staff and would like to thank everyone for their help to make this happen.”