Frustrated Wheatley residents hear plans for homes during fiery update with officials

Residents of Wheatley got their first in-person chance to hear about the state of their community after an explosion in late August shocked the municipality and the conversation quickly became fueled by the frustration of residents.

Many residents had to leave their homes, finding out in early October that they wouldn't be able to return for up to six months.

A panel was present Wednesday nightto explain some of the next steps for the remediation and mitigation efforts underway.

Lauren Anderson, chair of active citizens of Wheatley, Don Shropshire, the municipality's CAO, Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Kanniff, Coun. Melissa Harrigan and Coun. Mark Autier, as well as Thomas Kelly, one of the engineers working on the remediation work, were at the meeting.

Also there was Jennifer Barton, assistant deputy minister in the Ministry of Natural Resources, who said safety has been and will continue to be paramount for citizens and those working in the evacuation zone.

She said three sites have been identified as areas of concern andthe work has been a "complicated, complex" process.

Residents frustrated

Residents were given the opportunity to ask questions after the initial presentation was done.

One resident, who identified herself as one of the 14 that haven't had to evacuate, asked why the municipality and province hadn't done more to try to prevent the explosion, citing past explosions in the 1930s.

"I appreciate you guys coming in here, this is fantastic. The municipality and the province is here to help everybody out, that's great. The municipality and the province had an opportunity to do this in June and you did not."

She also went on to ask whether residents would be on the hook for property taxes and utilities fees that have been incurred since the evacuation.

CAO Shropshire said the municipality started monitoring for gas in June, and that it was told not to disturb the ground for safety reasons.

"We aren't going away," Shropshire said. "You are our citizens, we're here to support you."

As for the financial hardships, he said the municipality and province are working on ensuring people got as much support as possible.

Julie Mills asked a question on Facebook about whether the evacuation zone would be expanded.

Barton said she thought it was unlikely, but warned that as the investigation continues, and new information is uncovered, plans may change and the zone may have to be expanded.

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