This isn’t meant to cover
everything that happened in the past year, but as we end the decade a short
review of some recent changes and happenings in Wingham.
There
continues to be a shortage of workers in the area. Wescast, Britespan and down the road, Gaylea
in Teeswater, have all been vocal in the difficulty in finding workers
locally. This is compounded by the fact
that there’s a shortage of homes to purchase and rental properties in the area
for workers who would relocate to our area.
Wescast currently has approximately a dozen workers who have migrated
from Pakistan. If you see these fellows
out and about, make them feel welcome as it’s a big transition for them. Not only are the industries having issues
finding employees, but several small businesses are in the same boat.
On the
housing side, North Huron Council is taking steps to try to get some
development moving. The Hutton Heights
property south of Wingham has begun environmental studies with the intention of
a housing development on the property.
Also, the A2A property at the East end of Charles Street has some new
leadership in their development plans.
Although, not shortterm solutions, the long term is looking strong. Real estate sales for established housing
seem to be moving extremely quickly with homes for sale on the market for only a
short time.
Josephine
Street has seen some new business activity.
I won’t mention names here for fear of missing someone, but a successful
“In It To Win It” contest was run which has resulted in a new business
opening. Two new developments at the
south end of town have had the population speculating for several months
now. Regardless of the businesses that
will operate out of them, they’re adding to tax base, which is never a bad
thing.
This
year saw the end of the Wingham Police force, which had significant input for
going to OPP, both pro and con. The jury
is still out on this one, but to date, there’s been a solid OPP police presence
in town. Another item which has the
population opinion split is the future of the Howson Dam. Years of truck traffic took a big toll on the
structure and motor traffic across it was eliminated several years ago. However, as the concrete continues to crumble
there’s a debate on the viability of repairing or replacing the dam to recreate
the pond area that used to see activity for boating and water skiing. Having the dam in place not only affects
Wingham, but may have effects on farmland upriver. One more item currently getting input is the
possibility of moving the Museum from the old post office on Josephine Street
to the former train station. A Committee
of Council has been established to look into this as well as one to look into
the dam options.
Wingham
remains a strong, vibrant town with something for everyone. Minor sports thrive, there’s a wide variety
of athletic and fitness options for people to be involved in and several
volunteer groups looking for assistance.
The Wingham Community Connectors, established through the Alice Munro
Library, will be hosting a volunteer fair in April of 2020 where groups can
show what they’re all about and hopefully attract new members. The Farmer’s Market continues in the summer
months, along with the Musical Muskrat Festival and Silver Stick hockey
tournaments annually. The Wingham Golf
and Curling Club is going strong, thanks to strong volunteer support and is
hosting 3 high level bonspiels from November 2019 through to spring of 2020
which bring many people from out of the area.
Another venue bringing people to town is the renovated Town Hall Theatre. The theatre saw a larger than expected number
of events in 2019 and already has multiple bookings for 2020.
As we
head into the new year we wish you all the very best for a healthy, happy and
prosperous 2020.