HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-06-01, Page 1INSIDE
THIS WEEK:
REUNION - Pg. 6
East Wawanosh 150th Reunion
committee crowns ambassadors
SPORTS - Pg. 8
F.E. Madill athletes turn
heads at regional meet
RECOVERY - Pg. 11
Blyth's Julie Sawchuk
makes recovery progress
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Volume 33 No. 22
WELCOME TO
ESTABLISHED 1877
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Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, June 1, 2017
With the band
The annual Barn Dance Jamboree was held in Blyth last
week and weekend and, through special shows on
Saturday and Sunday, country tunes were brought back to
the Blyth Community Centre and Campground. Long-time
jamboree planner Bill Simmermaker took to the stage on
Saturday night with his son Chris. The entire weekend featured a
number of fantastic performances, whether it was the bluegrass
show on Friday night, the Gospel show on Sunday morning or
Saturday night's main show, there was plenty to see, do and hear
at the Jamboree over the weekend. (Denny Scott photo)
Hullett students may face CHSS move
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Due to current and projected
enrolment at Hullett Central and
Clinton Public School, Grade 7-8
students may find themselves
attending Central Huron Secondary
School in the coming years.
According to Janet Baird -Jackson,
the Avon Maitland District School
Board's superintendent of corporate
services, the board's enrolment
forecast shows enrolment pressures
at both Hullett Central and Clinton
Public Schools, which matches up
with unused space at Central Huron
Secondary School. In addition, she
said, the daycare at Clinton Public
School has expressed an interest in
expanding its services.
According to the report, 282
students went to school at Hullett
Central in 2015/2016, which is an
increase of 81.9 per cent from the
2009/2010 school year when 155
students attended the school.
Similarly, Clinton Public School's
enrolment sat at 297 students in
2015/2016, up 25.3 per cent from
the 237 students who attended in
2009/2010.
Enrolment projections predict
that, barring any changes, student
population at the two schools will
remain steady until at least the
2024/2025 school year.
Over that same time period, the
enrolment at Central Huron
Secondary School has declined 13.7
per cent. In addition, the school's
2015/2016 enrolment of 530 is
projected to decline drastically in the
coming years to 450 students in
2025/2026.
The report makes note of the
dramatic increase in Hullett
Central's enrolment and the role the
closure of Blyth Public School
played in it.
Currently, she said, all of Hullett
Central's spots are full and the on-
site portable is also full.
Baird -Jackson said that Grade 7-8
students have been integrated into
secondary school settings in seven
of the school board's nine
communities in which there is a
secondary school. Aside from
Clinton, where integration has yet to
take place, the other is Listowel,
where Baird -Jackson says students
couldn't be accommodated in the
high school because it's nearing
capacity.
In those seven aforementioned
communities, Baird -Jackson says,
the integration has been going well,
with no major reported issues among
Grade 7-8 and high school students.
The issue has yet to be officially
discussed this year, but the
enrolment report and forecast
certainly paints the move as a logical
possibility. Baird -Jackson says that
it's unlikely that the issue will be
Continued on page 10
`Citizen' nominations wanted
The Citizen is looking for some of
the community's best and brightest
citizens to honour with its annual
Citizen of the Year awards.
Every year, The Citizen hands out
its Citizen of the Year awards, one in
Blyth and area and one in Brussels
and area, honouring those who make
a difference and make their
communities a better place.
However, more nominations are
needed to hand out that award again.
Last year, Ernie Phillips was
named Citizen of the Year for the
Blyth area for his extensive work
with the Blyth Lions Club and with
many organizations like Blyth Minor
Hockey and Blyth Public School,
while Jean Davidson won the award
in Brussels.
Davidson was recognized for her
countless hours of work with the
Brussels Lions Club and her work
within a number of programs
throughout the community.
To nominate a worthwhile citizen
from either Blyth and its
surrounding communities or
Brussels and its surrounding
communities, e-mail the name of the
nominee, your name and a brief
description of why you think that
person should be our Citizen of the
Year to Editor Shawn Loughlin at
editor@northhuron.on.ca or you can
fill out the nomination form on page
six of this week's issue of The
Citizen and bring it into either of the
newspaper's offices.
County
defers
review
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Huron County Council has
pressed the pause button on a
government service system delivery
review proposed by the Huron
County Economic Development
Board.
The proposed review, which
comes with a $60,000 price tag for a
consultant, has come under fire
from several lower -tier municipal
councils. Not only has the high cost
been criticized, but some
councillors have felt the review is
yet another step towards single -tier
government for Huron County.
Economic Development Officer
Andrew Kemp spoke to the issue at
council's May 24 committee of the
whole meeting. He said that a
number of issues had been
identified by the board that could be
improved to help streamline certain
processes within the county.
He said that the process stemmed
from a review of several processes
based around the development of
the Four Winds Barn in Brussels
and Cowbell Brewing Company in
Blyth. After those reviews, the
board felt there were a number of
ways that the development process
could be improved and the county
could be deemed more
development -friendly.
Warden Jim Ginn said he spoke
against the review as a member of
the board, saying that it has the
potential to be quite controversial.
He added that the review could
have implications at the lower -tier
level, so he felt that the motion
should be tabled until councillors
had an opportunity to bring the
issue back to their lower -tier
councils for comment before going
forward.
Ginn also added that with
something like this review, that
could have implications far beyond
governance, it is important that
councillors keep in mind that it's not
all about what councillors want to
put forward, but what the public
wants as well.
Chief Administrative Officer
Brenda Orchard said that the motion
didn't need to be voted on at the
May 24 meeting, and that it could
be moved to the following month to
allow councillors to further digest
the material and confer with their
lower -tier councillors before voting
on the issue.
Huron East Mayor Bernie
MacLellan said that there was a lot
of animosity towards the subject at
the Huron East Council table, much
Continued on page 9