Wingham has finally won the war with Morris-Turnberry, and the first steps of amalgamation have been taken. The entire process of amalgamation, including the merging of Morris-Turnberry and North Huron councils, is predicted to be completed before the next election.
M-T did put up a good fight, but they were massively outmatched by the Wingham Old Boys Club. The name of this new municipality is to be “MacGowantown”, in honor of Former Wingham Ward Councillor Archie MacGowan who championed this cause. Wingham will now be in control, and will be able to turn the area into an “economic powerhouse”.
This battle was quite dirty, and scared countless investors and businesses away. Wingham refused to hook up any new water or sewer connections in Morris-Turnberry, crippling their ability to attract any new businesses. This ruthless sanction was imposed against Morris-Turnberry and Mayor Gowing questioned the legality of this sanction, but that fell on deaf ears. Like a NH councillor said “They may have the land, but we have the services and they have no choice but to pay what we demand”.
Wingham even claimed it was a capacity issue, which was proven to be untrue. In fact, it was recently revealed that Wingham Town Hall is cooled with tap water! I know you won’t believe that, so go ahead and call them at 519-357-3550 and ask. You may also want to ask why they will be spending $28,000 to upgrade the AC at town hall, but can’t find $25,000 for the fire suppression system. Use a fan, put in the fire suppression system instead.
Another battle in the fight to get Morris-Turnberry to join “MacGowantown” was to massively over-bill for fire protection services. M-T squirmed and screamed they were going to build their own fire hall, but eventually gave up.
Wingham will be marketed as the “Heart and Brain of MacGowantown” to attract investment and centralize all future development.
