{"id":12965,"date":"2018-06-01T10:29:33","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T14:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=12965"},"modified":"2018-06-01T11:06:59","modified_gmt":"2018-06-01T15:06:59","slug":"rural-ontario-municipal-association-roma-board-holds-board-meeting-in-wawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2018\/06\/01\/rural-ontario-municipal-association-roma-board-holds-board-meeting-in-wawa\/","title":{"rendered":"Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) Board Holds Board Meeting in Wawa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jun 1, 2018 @ 10:29<\/b><\/p>\n

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From May 16-18, 2018 the Board of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) travelled to Wawa, Ontario in order to deepen our understanding of northern municipal issues, meet northern leaders and to immerse ourselves in the beauty, history and economy of your beautiful community on the north shore of Lake Superior. Some members chose to drive, and during their 1200 km journey, got to see the significant level of investment in improving Ontario\u2019s northern highways \u2013 the construction season is in full gear.<\/p>\n

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The ROMA board tackles issues that affect ALL rural and northern communities, including broadband, reducing energy costs, natural gas expansion, the \u2018Local Say\/Local Share\u2019 campaign, the transition from OMB to Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, police modernization, infrastructure funding, and much more.<\/p>\n

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Wawa\u2019s municipal staff and local businesses welcomed us with great service, excellent food and impressive assets. Who knew that you could get great chicken roti at the Kinniwabi Pines Restaurant, or for that matter, whitefish, Chicken Kiev, or perogies!<\/p>\n

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We had the pleasure of meeting Mayors and Councillors from communities along the Lake Superior shore, and from the Michipicoten First Nation. And of course we were treated to pickerel, blueberries and other northern specialities; the mighty Gitche Manitou touched each of us in some way. It was a memorable experience, and part of ROMA\u2019s commitment to increase outreach and communications, visit more communities, and raise the profile of Ontario\u2019s rural municipal issues.<\/p>\n

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Of course, our visit required some intense planning on the part of our hosts. Our sincere thanks go out to some very special people who made our visit very memorable. Thank you, Mayor Ron Rody and the Municipality of Wawa for making the municipal bus available for transportation. Thank you to Councillor Sandra Weitzel for the very personal touch that showed off your design and baking skills in providing some amazing \u201cgoodie bags\u201d that were in our rooms as we checked in to the Wawa Motor Inn! A big salute to both Brian Lachine and Johanna Rowe who made themselves available as tour guides ensuring we did not miss a thing. Thank you to the Michipicoten First Nation drummers and to\u00a0Councillors Evelyn Stone and JP Chalykoff who spoke to us about the importance of water and how we can work together in the future. Finally, thanks to our fellow Board Member, Chris Wray, who made all of this possible.<\/p>\n

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