Release from Mayor Michael Harding    City Council Favours Municipal Tap Water  Leading by example was the proposal put to Woodstock City Council by Mayor Michael Harding at their recent meeting.  Council Agreed. Purchases of bottled water at City Hall will cease with the current supply and Chief Administrative Officer Paul Bryan-Pullam is requested to find alternate means to provide access to chilled municipal tap water for staff and for meetings that take place in the building. He is also asked to develop a plan for other municipal staff buildings. Also asked for was a plan to  develop the means to provide for the option of serving chilled municipal tap water for public municipal sponsored events and to bring back to council "as far as practical and feasible, that for the next budget,... 07/01/2008

MedQUEST Program coming to Woodstock More doctors are needed in Southwestern Ontario. Some counties face up to a 40% shortage of family physicians.[1] Efforts to address this problem need strategies to create a lasting and meaningful solution. At their last meeting Woodstock City Council supported a resolution presented by Mayor Michael Harding to bring the MedQUEST program to Woodstock next summer. The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at London's University of Western Ontario developed MedQUEST, a strategic collaborative program that encourages students from Southwestern Ontario, an area with a substantial rural population, to apply in greater numbers to medical school. "It's a small start, but an important one" said Mayor Harding. "Research says that early exposure to the pract... 06/30/2008

Granite, ceramics, hardwood, stainless and lots of green, green grass Visit www.woodstockswindsorsuites.com for more information   06/02/2008

E85, the "greenest" gasoline on the market is now available to the motoring public at the Woodstock UPI Energy EnviroStation in Woodstock, across from the Toyota plant on Hwy 2.The fuel is a blend of up to 85% high octane, water-free, corn-based ethanol, produced in Ontario, and UPI's unleaded gasoline. E85 gets its name from the maximum 85% ethanol content, which is seasonally adjusted to ensure optimum ignition.By using E85, environmental benefits can be achieved, such as the lowering of both vehicle carbon monoxide and net carbon dioxide emissions as well as producing fewer emissions of volatile organic compounds and particulate matter.UPI's E85 gasoline is safe to use in the 600,000 Flex Fuel vehicles that are currently on Canadian roads. Canada's automakers offer consumers a select... 05/29/2008

Woodstock, ON, May 22, 2008 - Transfreight's new 268,000 square foot logistics centre in Woodstock is now operational. Located adjacent to Toyota's Woodstock manufacturing plant (under construction) along highways 401 and 403, the centre provides crossdocking and several other capabilities such as yard management and control. Its on-the-floor scanning technology is fully integrated with both Toyota's ordering system and Transfreight's external logistics system, providing full visibility to shipments as they travel through the Crossdock. The centre features 64 dock doors (with expansion capability to 96) and 65 team members (slated to grow to 120+). "Our new Toyota-dedicated facility is just one example of how Transfreight is continuing to grow and expand its capabilities to provide lea... 05/23/2008

Woodstock is #30 on Money Sense Magazine's list of Canada's best places to liveIngersoll, Tillsonburg finished 46th, 75th respectively Oxford County Scores Well! From Sentinel-Review By Bruce Urquhart ECONOMICS REPORTER, Tuesday May 06, 2008WOODSTOCK - While "We're No. 30" might not have the most inspiring ring, it still means the City of Woodstock finished in the top 20 per cent of MoneySense magazine's list of top Canadian cities.In the national magazine's May 2008 issue, Woodstock is ranked 30th out of 154 Canadian communities with populations greater than 10,000, finishing higher on this list of "Canada's Best Places to Live" than cities like Peterborough, Calgary, Toronto, Kitchener and Hamilton. As for cities with the same approximate population as Woodstock, only Stratford ranke... 05/06/2008

The Woodstock Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Breakfast With The Mayor yesterday. I felt that the numbers of people (standing room only)attending was testament to the positive feelings that our business community has for the future of Woodstock. Mayor Harding is never a boring speaker! Hugo's notes were much better than mine so here follows is the account of the Mayor's address as printed today in the Woodstock Sentinel Review. Bettianne By Hugo Rodrigues POLITICS REPORTERWednesday February 13, 2008WOODSTOCK - Mayor Michael Harding touched on the city's future by returning to his past Tuesday before a Woodstock and District Chamber of Commerce breakfast.Delivering his fifth ‘state of the city' address to a packed room at the Quality Hotel and Suites, Harding spoke about a need to ... 02/13/2008

Woodstock, Ontario is a leader in municipal green programing. Who wouldn't want to live here? Copied here from a press release by Woodstock Mayor Michael Harding - Woodstock's great fridge roundup is proving to be a big success, and is helping the province meet its energy conservation goals at the same time.Woodstock Hydro reports that 155 refrigerators, 53 freezers and 3 air conditioners were picked up in the first year of the plan to save energy. The free province-wide program to remove old, inefficient appliances surpassed the 50,000 unit milestone in its seven months.Energy Minister Gerry Phillips says the goal is to double that number and get rid of another 100,000 old refrigerators this year.He says it costs about $150 a year to keep the old fridges plugged in, and says it's time ... 01/24/2008

Ontario Land Transfer Tax Rebate Program - Proposed Expansion to include Resale Homes In December 2007 the provincial government proposed to amend the Land Transfer Tax Act to include a maximum rebate of $2,000 to first-time buyers of resale homes. There are still several steps within the legislative process before this comes into effect but it will be retroactive to include agreements of purchase and sale entered into after December 13, 2007. It is recommended that anyone purchasing should review the following criteria (supplied by the provincial government web site www.rev.gov.on.ca ) and get their application at the top of the pile! E-mail me for more information about the existing Land Transfer Tax, what the amount will be on your dream home, and for more information on the propose... 01/21/2008

Though the jury is still out on whether or not a Recession has actually hit the United States, Should Canadian Realtors worry?Some Analysts predict that Canada is in a very Resilient position to weather a recession.  Some factors that back this up are as follows:- though the United States is our largest trading partner, our trade ties have been diminishing over the past few years.- Canada's natural resources are fueling a strong dollar, which strengthens our position against recession- though new housing starts are predicted to dip slightly in 2008, resales remain high, and a steady jobless rate indicates fair prospects for a successful year.- The conference board of canada predicts a GDP growth of 2.8% in 2008, alongside a 2.1% growth in US GDP- Sub-prime mortgage crunch faced in the U... 01/14/2008

Woodstock Enjoys A Record Amount of Building Activity in 2007  From the Woodstock Sentinel-ReviewBy Bruce Urquhart ECONOMICS REPORTERFriday January 11, 2008WOODSTOCK -Bolstered by the ongoing construction of the new Toyota assembly plant, Woodstock boasted a record amount of building activity in 2007 by more than doubling the previous year's mark of $138.5 million.In his final building report for 2007, Craig Wallace, the city's manager of building and facilities, specified Toyota Motor Manufacturing Inc., and its attendant $170.6 million in construction permits, as largely responsible for this unprecedented increase in construction values. "That gives you an idea of the numbers," said Len Magyar, the city's development commissioner. "It's heavily weighted towards Toyota and Toyota-relat... 01/13/2008

Outside in my garden last week while spraying weeds I looked down to see a baby owl hiding in my bush (right in the middle of the day).  Before I go any further I want everyone to know it was fine, I'm pretty sure it was getting it's lunch from a bird they flew into our window earlier that day.  It was a fairly rare sight and really neat I've never seen a wild animal stay so still and quiet while so close to a human ( It may have been six inches from my hand and just stared up at me).Now some people find their animal sightings not such a "neat" sight.  My mother lived in a town house condo complex until very recently.  She has a 5 pound lap dog that she would put outide on it's leash until last summer when she saw a few foxes wondering through the area on several different occassions.. ... 10/24/2007

Strong Summer for Woodstock EconomyWoodstock's economy continues to perform well as it moves into Q4.  This summer saw IDI break ground on 450,000 sq. ft. (41,800 m2) of new industrial lease space, Fanshawe College celebrated 40 years in Woodstock, Hino Motors "rocked" with exciting announcements and building permit values topped $304 million.To find out more about what made BIG NEWS for Woodstock economic development, please click on the following link:   http://www.woodstocknow.com/documents/2007fall.pdf Contacts:Mayor Michael HardingCity of WoodstockPhone (519) 539-2382 x 2100E-mail mayor@city.woodstock.on.caLen MagyarDevelopment CommissionerPhone (519) 539-2382 x 2112E-mail:  lmagyar@city.woodstock.on.caWeb: http://admin.easy-web.ca/extra/www.WoodstockNow.com 10/15/2007

New Gateway Signs for WoodstockAfter nearly five years of careful planning construction is about to begin on two new gateway signs which will promote Woodstock to nearly 70,000 vehicles a day on Highway 401.  The landscaped signs are a Communities in Bloom project and will be located facing both the eastbound and westbound lanes at Exit 232 (Norwich Avenue). A group of volunteers that have come forward and will be donating their time, equipment and materials to make this entire project become reality.  In addition to the contributions from the private sector the City of Woodstock has allocated $80,000 in its budget toward the project, but the committee is hopeful they will be able to complete the project under budget.Starting Friday September 14th at 2 PM construction equipment and mate... 09/14/2007

CANADA POST ANNOUNCES MAJOR EXPANSION IN WOODSTOCKWOODSTOCK (September 4, 2007) -Canada Post announced today significant changes to postal services in the city. The corporate retail counter at the Peel Street facility will move to 185 square metres (2,000 square feet)  of leased space at the Woodstock Square retail plaza at 443 Norwich Avenue (corner of Norwich and Montclair Drive), in the late fall of this year or the early winter of 2008.Another operation which assembles Community Mailboxes located in the basement of the Peel Street building will relocate to leased facilities at 28 Bysham Park Drive, in the north-east part of the city. This move will take place late fall.The company also said it is in the final stages of securing a new location for the city's mail delivery and sortati... 09/04/2007

 Woodstock's Mayor Michael harding and the Provincial government released this announcement today regarding funding to Toyota Boshoku. Toyota's new approach to technology, the environment and business is always interesting to follow. ONTARIO GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES $8.7 MILLION INVESTMENT TO TOYOTA BOSHOKU CANADA CREATING 365 JOBS IN WOODSTOCKAdvanced Manufacturing Investment Strategy Creates More Opportunities  The Ontario Government is investing $8.7 million in new jobs and leading-edge ideas at Toyota Boshoku Canada's auto parts plant, announced Minister of Economic Development and Trade Sandra Pupatello."We're working hard with Ontario manufacturers to create more jobs and greater opportunities for all Ontarians," said Pupatello.  "Today we're celebrating 365 new jobs in Woodstock. Tha... 08/22/2007

 Woodstock's Mayor Michael Harding announced the following today:   WOODSTOCK - August 9, 2007, The Federal and Provincial Government today announced more than $173 million in funding will be spent to create more than 2,700 new affordable housing units in 41 towns and cities across Ontario under the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program Agreement. Four projects have been announced recently for Oxford County, three in Woodstock and one in Tillsonburg totaling $5.38 million.The project sponsored by the Salvation Army Community Church and Anchorage Homes in Woodstock has been expanded to include 28 affordable units, an additional 14 units announced today, bringing the contribution to $1.68 million. In addition, the project sponsored by Homestead Christian Care was today increased by an... 08/09/2007

 Mayor Michael Harding says "Woodstock's economy year-to-date matches the unseasonably warm weather we have experienced - It is HOT!". Four new manufacturing investments have been announced, there has been a 50% increase in housing starts over 2006, and building permit values in the first six months of 2007 have surpassed the total value of the entire 1990's decade.More information at: http://www.woodstocknow.com/documents/JuneNewsletter2007.pdf     06/21/2007

 Please read a press release from Woodstock Mayor Michael Harding regarding Toyota Tsusho. Toyoto is one of the most environmentally friendly companies in the world and this is illustrated by the development of Toyota Tsusho in Woodstock very near the new RAV4 plant.   Toyota Tsusho Ground Breaking As construction continues on Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada's Woodstock plant, there are many other new construction projects going on nearby. These are the sites of many of the suppliers that are creating facilities specifically to meet the needs of TMMC. In addition, there are already many existing area suppliers ramping up for the new production over the coming year.Existing and new suppliers have an opportunity to grow with our Toyota plant. This growth is already adding jobs and suppo... 06/10/2007

"More than one million Toyota hybrid vehicles have been sold worldwide since 1997, a decade after the Japanese carmaker launched the new technology commercially with the Prius, which has since become a market leader." CBC WebSite  Maybe I should rethink my post yesterday about the speculation around another Toyota plan in Woodstock, Ontario? I had suggested that it may be the Matrix or even my favourite the Yaris. Today's Toyota announcement and the one earlier this week from Honda (the demise of their hybrid) leads me to believe that Woodstock may be the birth place of another (or more of the same) Toyota hybrid.  I applaud the consumer on their environmental stance and their good taste! I like mine 'absolutely red'! 06/07/2007