December 2019 Town of Pelham Newsletter

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December 2019 Town of Pelham Newsletter

It's the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas in Pelham events

Visit: www.pelham.ca/christmas for a full list of events and other information.

December 1

Christmas Light Competition begins @ 5:30-8 p.m.
Candlelight Communion Service - Pelham Community Church @ 7 p.m.
Pelham Friends Advent Services begin - Pelham Friends Church @ 10:30 a.m.
Advent Christmas Services begin - Fenwick United Church @ 11 a.m.

December 6

Turkey Raffle - Fenwick Fire Station #2 @ 7 p.m.
Outdoor Christmas Market - Pelham Town Square @ 4-10 p.m.
Holiday Gift Showcase & Downtown Stroll - Downtown Fonthill @ 4-8 p.m.

December 7

Kids Toy Drive/Pet Drive begins - Fire Station #1
Pelham Food Drive - Door to Door @ 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Lighting of the Christmas Tree - Downtown Fenwick hosted by Fenwick Lions @ 5-7 p.m.
Straight Outta Bethleham - Children’s musical at the Pelham Community Church @ 3 p.m.

December 8

Straight Outta Bethleham - Children’s musical at the Pelham Community Church @ 11a.m.

December 10

Hot Chocolate Day at your Library - Both Pelham Libraries during hours of operation

December 11

Fonthill Kinsmen Seniors Dinner Party - Meridian Community Centre @ 6 p.m.

December 13

“Over To You”: A production by SAY IT: On Stage (Seniors and Youth Intergenerational Theatre) - Meridian Community Centre @ 7 p.m.

December 14

22nd Annual Pelham Santa Claus parade - Throughout Fenwick @ 1 p.m.
“Over To You”: A production by SAY IT: On Stage (Seniors and Youth Intergenerational Theatre) - Meridian Community Centre @ 7 p.m.

December 15

“Who Can Compare”: Christmas Drama - Bethany CRC in Fenwick @ 6 p.m.

December 18

Christmas Light Bus Tour - Starts at the Meridian Community Centre @ 7 - 8:30 p.m.

December 22

Tim Horton’s Free Skate - Meridian Community Centre @ 1-2:30 p.m.

December 23

Meridian Family Free Skate - Meridian Community Centre @ 2:30-5:30 p.m.

December 24

Christmas Eve Worship - Pelham Community Church @ 4-7 p.m.
Christmas Eve Service - Pelham Friends Church - 7 p.m.
Christmas Eve Worship - Fenwick United Church - 7 p.m.

Winter operations: what happens and when

snow plow

Employing a systematic approach to keeping streets, sidewalks, and municipal property maintained throughout the winter season, the Town relies on the cooperation of residents, especially when it comes to parking on the streets.

There is no parking on streets during winter operations.

Town staff follow a Winter Operations Policy, and its corresponding Winter Operations and Salt Management Plans. These plans prescribe a response to winter conditions based on snow accumulation and ice formation as well as the requirements for weather monitoring, road patrolling, and the protection of the environment related to the use of road salts and abrasives.

“In accordance to the Winter Operations Plan, our response to winter weather is prioritized based on road classification, where the roads with the highest volume of traffic are maintained throughout a storm while some residential roads may wait until the snow stops or slows before they are cleared,” said Cook. “Although this can create an inconvenience to some it ensures that the greatest number of drivers who must travel during a storm are able to navigate through town.”

Snowfall	2.5 cm	5 cm	5 cm+	Post storm	Post storm clear
Forecasting	Storm Begins	Facility parking lots & sidewalks	Plowing operations	Sidewalks and cul de sacs	Post storm patrols
Staff monitors multiple weather sources for a consistent forecast and plans operations.	Staff begins salting & sanding operations of arterial & collector roads, sharp corners & steep hills	Staff clears snow in front of all municipally owned and operated facilities.	Staff starts plowing operations of roads in priority sequence: arterial collector rural residential	Staff begins: clearing municipal sidewalks removing snow from commercial areas, if required clearing cul-desacs, bullnoses & deadens	Staff debriefs and tends to any service concerns, if necessary

Snowfall

2.5 cm

5 cm

5 cm+

Post storm

Post storm clear

Forecasting

Storm Begins

Facility parking lots & sidewalks

Plowing operations

Sidewalks and cul de sacs

Post storm patrols

Staff monitors multiple weather sources for a consistent forecast and plans operations.

Staff begins salting & sanding operations of arterial & collector roads, sharp corners & steep hills

Staff clears snow in front of all municipally owned and operated facilities.

Staff starts plowing operations of roads in priority sequence:

arterial
collector
rural
residential

Staff begins:

clearing municipal sidewalks
removing snow from commercial areas, if required
clearing cul-desacs, bullnoses & deadens

Staff debriefs and tends to any service concerns, if necessary

For more information on winter operations and what you can do, visit: www.pelham.ca/winter-operations.

MarCom Gold Award for Pelham's new website

The Town of Pelham’s redesigned website, launched September 30, 2019, has been named a MarCom Awards Gold winner in the digital media, government website category for 2019.

The international competition recognizes and honours outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals, recognizing their creativity, hard work, and generosity.The Gold award is presented to entries judged to be among the most outstanding in the competition. Pelham was one of two Canadian municipalities to have their website awarded in 2019, Morinville, AB, was the other.

“We were proud of both submissions, but judging your own work is accompanied by a very strong bias,” said Marc MacDonald, Pelham’s communications and public relations specialist. “To have an industry of professionals deem your work worthy of these acknowledgements is very humbling and rewarding.”

The MarCom Awards are administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. The international organization consists of several thousand creative professionals. The Association oversees awards and recognition programs, provides judges, and sets standards for excellence.

In 2019, over 6,500 submissions for various categories were submitted; the Town of Pelham’s Life in Pelham Guide, the community’s reimagined biannual feature received a MarCom honourable mention.With a modest budget of less than $40,000 to complete the nearly-half-year website project, the Town’s new site is easier to navigate and information is readily available. The most important and viewed information is on the landing page, headings are clearer and information is in plain language, eliminating barriers present in the previous site’s iteration; content has been reworked to best reflect the topics being searched.

“This is another example of the Town of Pelham punching above its weight,” said Mayor Marvin Junkin. “The professionals we have within the municipality, in all areas of the corporation, are remarkable. You can spend a lot of money on something that is really flashy, but residents come to our website for information, and it’s easier to find now than ever before.”

A 'Greener' Christmas

Red bows on the railings and snowflakes on the ground, but it’s a green Christmas in this Town! If you and your family are striving to become environmentally friendly this season, we have some tips for you:

1. Get creative! Avoid using wrapping paper.

2. If you must use wrapping paper, recycle paper-based wrapping with all bows, ribbons and tap removed. Wrapping paper coated in plastic or foil cannot be recycled.

3. Participate in tree shredding programs to reduce the burning of trees.

4. Look for gifts using recycled materials, or one better – make your own!

5. Substitute all Christmas lights for low energy LEDs and set up timers.

Every little bit counts – it all starts with you!