Public works crew saws off desks to accommodate scaled-down council

Some members of the city's public works department, it turns out, have passable finish carpentry skills.

As a final step to accommodate a slimmed-down City Council, public works staffers recently cut the ends off two massive desks in the council chambers. 

Back in March, City Council voted to redraw the Sault's ward boundaries and reduce the size of council from 12 councillors across six wards to just 10 councillors in five wards.

Such skill was demonstrated in cutting up the two desks and re-attaching the side panels that few people noticed the change.

Considerable quantities of sawdust were removed by cleaning staff before Monday's inaugural City Council meeting, at which five of the 10 councillors sworn in were rookies.

The newcomers are Ward 2's Lisa Vezeau-Allen and Luke Dufour; Ward 3's Donna Hilsinger; and Ward 5's Matthew Scott and Corey Gardi.

Councillors were piped into the council chambers by Scott MacGillivray, brother of Ward 1 councillor Sandra Hollingsworth.

Algoma Festival Choir sang O Canada, followed by a welcome song from Healing Lodge Singers and a blessing from Sister Mary Sammon.

Behind the mayor in the council chambers was the city's new coat of arms, created by heraldic artist Eva Pilar-Cass of Wabos and approved by then-Governor General David Johnston.

Pilar-Cass attended the Monday-night meeting.

Councillors were told that the Sault's coat of arms is the only one in Canada to have an Ojibway motto: Ojibwe Gchi Gami Odena.

In English, that means: 'settlement near the Ojibwe's big lake.'