Buckhorn homes decorated for Holiday Home Tour

It was lovely to see the lovely homes decorated for the season by local homeowners and designers for the 2017 Holiday Home Tour sponsored by the Buckhorn Community Centre.

There was the Princess Margaret home decorated by Angela Jones of Lakeshore Design. Jones decorated the home when it was built so she knew the home well when it came time to decorate for this special season. She chose silver, blues and whites.

A six bedroom, six bath home with a full basement, main floor and upstairs was decorated by Swanky Events and the Home Tour Committee using reds and whites. There was a do it yourself Christmas project in each room.

A cute country cottage was decorated with personal decorations.

The decorations of the home behind the general store had a coastal design in whites, blues and silvers.

A home on Sumcot Drive had decorations made by the owner who happens to love crafting and had many things which she had made for sale in the home.

At the BCC the Christmas Tree Festival was supported by people from all over the area. Winners were from Peterborough and the 905 area with one Buckhorn area winner.

Home-based business workshops

The Economic Development Committee of the municipality has discussed ways in which home based businesses can be supported, assisted and encouraged. A series of small workshops specific to rural home based businesses was suggested:

1. Utilizing Taxable Deductions to help small businesses utilize all possible deductions.

2. Social Media for Beginners: Do you need it, how to use it and what it all means.

3. How to Attract and Keep Good Employees

4. Entrepreneurship - How to start, what to consider, where to find resources.

5. How Local Businesses & Marketing Alliances Can Work Together using group marketing so that an event/project benefits many

6. Human Resources Employment Law: requirements and responsibilities of small businesses with only a few employees and upcoming Human Rights Code amendments.

The tax deductions workshop will be offered first in January 2018. The workshop would be approximately one hour with two accountants speaking 15 minutes each and then 30 minutes for questions/networking. It will be held at the municipal office.

New works depot

A new works depot is under consideration by the Trent Lakes council. The initial location for the proposed depot at 110 County Road 49 lacked support by many residents. The first proposal brought in for the depot by the Chamberlain Company had many issues not desired by the council. A peer review led by Greenview who built the new fire hall was ordered. A special council meeting considered plans received from Greenview for a 21,500 square foot energy efficient building with four maintenance bays and 10 vehicle storage bays, as well as administrative and meeting space that would cost an estimated $4.65 million.

Council voted to support four separate motions:

- look at the suitability and costs of building the proposed new public works depot on municipal property near the intersection of 36 and 507

- prepare a report on the existing Galway Depot clarifying the health and safety issues with the building, consider temporary winter shelters for the vehicles, get cost estimates for demolishing that building and removing debris, and investigate third party options for plowing in that area

- confirm with Greenview Environmental Management that the tender process that was underway for constructing the new building will be suspended

- quantify productivity and effectiveness and cost reductions for this initiative.