The province is footing the $150,000 marketing bill for Caledonia's latest pitch for people to come and shop in the beleaguered town.
The money, given to the county in November, is in addition to the $210,000 handed over in the summer for the first marketing campaign.
That campaign focused on trying to counteract the negative publicity the town faced. The latest winter campaign, in papers and on airwaves, is meant to entice people into stores and local businesses. It includes a draw for a $10,000 shopping spree with ballots only available in participating Caledonia businesses.
So far, more than 30,000 ballots for the draw have been filled out. The campaign runs until the end of this month. Mike Pullen, manager of tourism for Haldimand County, said he wasn't sure how the winter campaign was affecting sales yet but they plan to do a survey to see how effective it has been. He said it also isn't clear yet how this year's Christmas season fared compared to 2005.
Pullen said business is still down in the town, by an amount estimated this fall at between 15 and 40 per cent. The severity of the impact is largely determined by how dependent the business is on tourism.
Donna Richardson, owner of Cafe Amore on the main street of Caledonia, said her customers were enjoying the latest campaign and filling out ballots.
She said it was a good idea and is at least lifting the spirits of people in town.
"It shows Caledonia is trying," she said.
The Hamilton Spectator
Protest planned
The Richmond Hill man who organized previous protests in Caledonia is vowing to return to town on Jan. 20 to put up Canadian flags on utility poles opposite the disputed property. Gary McHale said he is meeting people at the Canadian Tire store at 11:30 a.m. McHale said yesterday that the protest was to prove how the OPP don't enforce the laws. OPP spokesperson Constable Paula Wright said they were aware of the protest and would "not allow anyone's personal agenda to interfere with the safety of the community." McHale already tried once to put up flags in the area, was arrested and released without charge in December during one of the protests.