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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-03-23, Page 1INSIDE THIS WEEK: SPORTS - Pg. 8 Brussels Curling Club holds season's final draw IPM 2017 - Pg. 10 The countdown to IPM 2017 in Walton continues AGmcuLTuRE - Pg. 12 Local grazing event attracts nearly 300 Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON NOG 1H0 4Citiz Volume 33 No. 12 n ESTABLISHED 1877 $1 .25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, March 23, 2017 Some serious construction The Brussels Optimist Club held its annual spring dinner and auction Saturday night at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. The evening featured silent and live auctions, catered dinner, guest speakers and plenty of fun for all with proceeds being earmarked for the Brussels and Grey Fire Departments within the Huron East department. One of the highlights of the night was a competition among the tables to build the tallest marshmallow and stick structure. Here, Shelby Lee, left, and Jen McDonald Hundt got off to a great start. (Vicky Bremner photo) Ladner appointed new FDNH chief By Denny Scott The Citizen North Huron Township has appointed Ryan Ladner as the Director of Fire and Emergency Services after Fire Chief David Sparling announced his resignation earlier this year. Chief Ladner brings with him 15 years of experience working with fire departments in the City of Mississauga, Township of Puslinch and the Town of Erin. Ladner has focused his career on mentoring others. He is a graduate of Humber and Lambton Colleges as well as the Ontario Fire College. To complement his fire service experience and education, Ladner has also dedicated eight years to the Canadian military with a focus on training others. Ladner's strong background in training will be an asset to the Emergency Services Training Centre (ESTC) according to a press release issued by North Huron. "Ryan brings an abundance of knowledge, professionalism and enthusiasm to our community," said North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent in a press release. "Ryan is highly respected in the Fire Service and has extensive experience in training. I am very pleased that he has accepted this appointment." Ladner was officially welcomed to the municipality at Monday night's North Huron Township Council meeting. "There were a number of applicants for the job and a number of qualified people," he said. "The committee working on it was impressed by Ryan." Vincent said Ladner was the youngest applicant and he hoped that would translate into stability as the municipality has had significant turnover in fire chiefs over the last 12 years. He also lauded Ladner's career in training and his military background, saying they would be assets. Ladner officially begins his timewith the township on April 1 after Sparling's last day in the position. Chief Sparling announced his retirement in January and has been working part time until Ladner can begin. Vincent thanked Sparling for his years of service and wished him the best in the future. He also said he was "very happy" that Ladner had accepted the position. Ladner's initial focus will be on the ESTC and developing new training programs to increase the success of the facility according to the press release. Recently the position of director of fire and emergency services was revised and the responsibilities of community emergency planning have been Continued on page 20 County, OMAFRA to develop civic engagement project By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron County Council is hoping that a program co -designed by International Plowing Match employee Emily Morrison will help in the retention of young people. Vicki Lass, agricultural and rural economic development advisor with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, presented the youth civic engagement project to Huron County Council at its March 15 committee of the whole meeting. The presentation detailed a pilot project that took place in Listowel and North Perth and heralded its success as something that could work well in Huron County. The concept, Lass told councillors, was to reach into the high schools of Huron County and create small committees that will report to local municipal councils. First, the committees would discuss issues with their fellow students at high schools, collecting data through surveys and discussions and then bring their findings to local politicians. Through regular engagement with young residents, local councils will hear what they need and what they're looking for in their communities. Lass said there would be no funding outlay for the project, this would simply be a reporting tool for further engagement. One of the goals, she said, was to enable youth to feel more strongly reflected in the policies and decisions being made by their local politicians. She also said that young people who are more engaged in their communities are more likely to return home after attending post- secondary education. What came as a big surprise, however, were the early results of surveys from the pilot project that was carried out with North Perth Council and Listowel District Secondary School. Lass said an overwhelming number of students said that they were being conditioned to feel that in order to succeed in life they had to leave their community. Work has already begun with local school boards and the Ministry of Education, she said, to help change that attitude towards finding jobs or creating business opportunities in their home communities. The curriculum will more closely focus on local success stories and the good things happening in Listowel, rather than how important it is to find success in an urban centre away from where the students went to school. Lass said the program has shown tremendous results in Listowel and would be a great fit for Huron County where youth attraction and retention has been identified as one of council's key strategic planning initiatives. She said the projects will begin in Huron and Perth high schools later this year and those projects will eventually lead to presentations being made to local municipal councils. The project, she said, will help build familiarity and confidence with local civic engagement, build hands-on skills and familiarity with municipal governance, engage and empower youth in their communities to affect or implement change and provide the opportunity to affect Continued on page 6 Clinton fire suspect arrested On Saturday March 18 shortly after 5:30 a.m., Huron County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were called to a structure fire by the Central Huron Fire Department. The fire occurred at a building at the intersection of Highway 8 and County Road 4 (Victoria Street/Albert Street) in Clinton. Fire departments from Clinton, Seaforth and Goderich were on the scene and responders fought the fire until Saturday evening. Criminal investigators from Huron County OPP, West Region Criminal Operations, and OPP Forensic Identification Services Unit (FISU) are treating this fire as arson and found reason to believe that the fire was set deliberately. As a result of further investigation by police, a 47 -year-old male from Central Huron has been arrested and charged with arson - disregard for human life and fail to comply with probation order under the Criminal Code. He was held for a bail hearing on Sunday, March 19. Several Clinton streets remained closed for several days after the fire while investigations continued. The fire caused significant damage to the four connected buildings between the Central Huron municipal building and the intersections of Albert Street and Highway 8. Huron County OPP are asking that any person that may have been in the area in the early morning hours of March 18 or that may have any information regarding this incident to contact them at 1-888-310-1122 or (519) 524-8314. Should you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1 -800 -222 -TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.