HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-11-23, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017. PAGE 19.
Collisions attributed to weather, lack of snow tires
Collision
During a foggy afternoon late last month, the intersection of County Roads 4 and 25 became
the site of another collision. The intersection has become a hot topic for local politicians as
commercial development has resulted in increased traffic at a location that has been
described as a collision -prone site. Weather also played a part in five collisions that took place
over the course of several hours on Sunday, Nov. 19. (Denny scoff photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
The Fire Department of North
Huron (FDNH) responded to five
different collisions on Sunday
following a blast of snow that hit the
area starting late Saturday evening.
Weather reports called for several
centimetres of snow and potentially
rain as temperatures dropped and
saw the area wake up to white
landscapes on Sunday.
Collisions occurred near and in
Auburn, Wingham and Blyth and
Fire Chief Ryan Ladner says the
weather definitely played a factor.
Several of the collisions involved
multiple vehicles and two
resulted in vehicles landing on their
roofs.
Ladner went on to say the
collisions serve as an important
reminder for drivers to be prepared
for winter weather and have snow
tires on their vehicles.
Exhibit to feature
Huron newspapers
The Huron County Museum is
taking a look at the print medium
with a temporary exhibit called Hot
Off the Press: Seen in the County
Papers.
The exhibit opened Nov. 21 and
runs to March 31, 2018 and features
a look behind the headlines of rural
newspapers from the mid 19th
century to the present.
Equipment previously used by
North Huron Publishing and The
Citizen that was donated to the
museum when the company moved
to its current location in May,
2012 is reported to be part of the
exhibit.
The museum is located at 110
North Street in Goderich and is open
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday
through Saturday and 1-4:30 p.m. on
Sundays.
For more information, look up the
Huron County Museum on
Facebook or visit the site online at
huroncountymuseum.ca
Huron County staff prepare for changes from Bill 148
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Huron County is facing some
potentially major changes to how it
does business if Bill 148 is made
official.
The bill, proposed by the Ontario
Liberal government, is called the
Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act and
it has most commonly been linked to
the rise of minimum wage to $15 per
hour as of 2019. Human Resources
Director Lara Vanstone, however,
told councillors about the numerous
impacts the act could have on the
county.
Speaking to councillors at their
Nov. 15 committee of the whole
meeting, Vanstone outlined a
number of changes that could come
as a result of the act. She addressed
the "on-call" concerns with
volunteer firefighters and public
works staff, saying that she felt those
issues would be corrected by way of
amendments before the final bill is
passed.
However, she detailed a number of
aspects of the bill that would impact
the county. First and foremost, she
said, would be the increase to the
minimum wage, which will increase
to $14 per hour on Jan. 1, 2018 and
$15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2019.
She also outlined the changes
under the "equal pay for equal work"
legislation that would be part of the
act. It dictates that no employer shall
pay a rate of pay to one employee
that is different than another because
of a different employment status
when performing the same kind of
work for the same employer, using
the same skill, effort and
responsibility and the same working
conditions. Amendments, she said,
would require casual, part-time,
temporary and seasonal employees
to be paid the same as full-time
employees.
Exceptions, she said, would be the
seniority system, the merit system,
quantity and quality of production
and other objective factors other
than gender or employment status.
She also detailed a number of
changes to rules surrounding
employee leaves, holiday time and
sick time.
Public hearings on the new
legislation are set for this month, but
Vanstone told councillors that many
of the Huron County departments
have already begun preparing their
budgets with the act in mind. They
have been instructed to prepare their
budgets under the assumption that
the legislation will pass.
Goderich Mayor Kevin Morrison
said that while the changes may
result in some hardship for the
county, where the county will really
be hit hard will be in its small
business sector.
As a small business owner himself,
Morrison said that the changes to the
sector, which accounts for 80 per
cent of the jobs in Ontario, could be
devastating and they need to be
addressed before anything is passed
by the provincial government.
South Huron Mayor Maureen
Cole said she felt county staff and
departments needed to speak to the
Association of Municipalities of
Ontario (AMO) before making any
Bazaar finds
St. John's Anglican Church in Brussels hosted a Christmas -themed bazaar and fundraiser on
Saturday. Dozens visited the site to get a jump on their holiday shopping. (Denny Scott photo)
drastic changes. Rather than
guessing what might happen, she
said it would be wise to consult with
AMO about what it feels was going
to happen. This way, she said, AMO
and its municipalities can
communicate their thoughts and
worries about the legislation before
anything is passed, rather than
playing a guessing game as to what
might be passed down.
While Acting Chief
Administrative Officer Meighan
Wark said that she understood Cole's
changes are going to come into
effect as of Jan. 1 and department
heads are already working on their
budgets, they need to be ready and
not left scrambling in the face of
drastic changes.
Scarves
Bainton's
Old Mill
Downtown Blyth
519-523-4740
Get information
on Huron County attractions
on the
Stops Along The Way
section of our website
www.northhuron.on.ca
Your Local Paper -
The Original Social Media!
News / Information / Events / Shopping
Community / & More
The Citizen
®nannxuroscw«n
Photos
meawx...s csmr.m
The omen s.011'5,1
879 people gelbw
u ®siwmusasmn
Onteno Nam
519-523-17.
In print, online or on the go, we are your local newspaper. We keep you connected to what's
happening in our communities and surrounding areas.
The Citizen www.northhuron.on.ca
Facebook www•Facebook.com/NorthHuronCitizen
Twitter
L @TheNHCitizen
info @ northhuron.on.ca
The Citizen