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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-01-21, Page 1INSIDE THIS WEEK: SPORTS - Pg. 8 Local details her Colombia rugby trip FILM - Pg. 11 FauxPop begins work on ambitious new project FESTIVAL - Pg. 19 Garratt announces directors for 2016 season Publications Mail Agreement No.40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON NOG 1H0 4Citiz Volume 32 No. 3 n $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, January 21, 2016 The sting of defeat In an extremely tight game on Sunday, the Blyth Brussels Minor Hockey Association Atom Rep Crusaders were toppled by the Wingham Ironmen 2-1 in the contest played at the Blyth and District Community Centre. Entering the third period tied, neither team could break ahead and it wasn't until overtime and a power -play that Wingham was able to score the game -winning goal. (Denny Scott photo) R2R conference becoming reality By Denny Scott The Citizen Blyth will host a one -of -a -kind event later this year with the Rural Talks to Rural (R2R) Conference this September organized by the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity under the Blyth Arts and Cultural Initative 14/19 Inc. The event will bring together rural innovators from across the country to talk about the unique challenges, opportunities and solutions that face rural communities, a community that's often overlooked when it comes to major planning in Canada. According to Blyth Arts and Cultural Initiative 14/19 Inc. Project Director Peter Smith, the event will welcome innovators to share their stories in hopes that people can adopt new techniques to combat challenges and make rural communities stronger. The conference is being produced through a collaboration between the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity, Huron County, the Huron Business Development Corporation, the Huron Food Action Network, the University of Guelph, The Rural Voice magazine, North Huron, the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the provincial government. Set for Sept. 28-30, the event will be held in Blyth, making use of the Blyth Community Centre and Campground (as Memorial Hall could be under construction at that point). The event will bring together rural innovators through several different discussions including opportunities for delegates to share stories with those attending. There will also be small-scale conversation sessions, late-night discussions, tours of the county, a think tank focusing on specific issues and "pitch and catch" sessions where entrepreneurs will be able to discuss their plans with investors. The event will also host what Smith calls "kitchen table" conversations. "Every important discussion I've had has been at a kitchen table or in the kitchen doing the dishes after a meal," Smith said. "The informality of it, of sitting at a table with someone and having dinner, leads to people being more comfortable and better ready to talk to each other." While the event's base is Blyth, meals, events and entertainment will be hosted across the county, according to Smith, to make sure that everyone is seeing what is offered by this particular rural community. Smith is also attempting to bring the KHOR II program by Theatre as Architecture, Architecture as Theatre (TAAT) to Huron County for the event. KHOR II is a program in which all the materials necessary for building a theatre are delivered to an area. The theatre is then built and a play is performed on the stage. The entire R2R program was born of regular lunch dates that Smith has with The Citizen and Rural Voice publisher Keith Roulston. "Keith and I have been meeting for lunch for several years, just talking about the world," he said. Continued on page 11 County facing decision on G2G funding app. By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron County Council has reached a fork in the road in regards to its support of the Goderich-to- Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail, says Chief Administrative Officer Brenda Orchard. Citing correspondence from the Ontario Municipal Cycling Infrastructure Program (OMCIP) discussed at council's Jan. 13 committee of the whole meeting, Orchard says the provincial government has essentially asked a yes -or -no question of the county in regards to just over $70,000 worth of funding. The e-mail, sent from the OMCIP to Huron County Director of Planning and Development Scott Tousaw, noted some confusion in the application. "The county's expression of interest indicated that the county would contribute $70,200 of project funding, OMCIP funds would cover $175,000 and another partner would contribute the remaining $105,800. However, the financial agreement between the county and the Goderich-to-Guelph Rail Trail Inc. submitted as part of the application indicates that `G2G will be solely responsible for raising and providing the applicant's required contribution toward the project in the currently estimated amount of $70,200 or such other amount as may be required from the applicant for the project,"' the e-mail to Tousaw reads. The group behind the funding was concerned, the e-mail said, because the applicant, which in this case is Huron County, must contribute at least 20 per cent of the total cost. "This leaves us with the impression that G2G will be paying all project costs other than the $175,000 requested from the province. We're double-checking to be sure there has been no misunderstanding," the e-mail reads. "As you may know, the applicant must contribute at least 20 per cent of the total eligible project costs... A donation from a third party that is specifically for this project cannot be counted toward the 20 per cent municipal minimum. Instead, it would be considered a partner contribution." When the issue was raised at the Jan. 13 meeting, several councillors said they needed to know what the G2G Inc. plan is in terms of the funding. This is in addition to the recently announced Trillium Fund money in the amount of $150,000, which also needs to be matched by the organization. Orchard said that the province would prefer that the $70,000 in funding come from the county and not be filtered through G2G. "Basically, is the county willing to put up $70,000, yes or no?" Orchard said. Bluewater Mayor Tyler Hessel said that he felt it was important to hear from G2G Inc. before council makes a decision. He felt it was crucial because much of the G2G presentation hinged on the fact that G2G Inc. would be paying for the trail, and not the county. Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan said that he never felt the county was planning on spending that kind of money on the project and felt council should get a detailed explanation as to how the $20,000 grant given to the organization from the Economic Development Board was spent before any further commitment can be made. Orchard said the tone of the e-mail was that the province wanted to know the money was coming from the county. Any other arrangement, bringing in the money from any other sources, would be dishonest with the province. Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (ACW) Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek said he was afraid this would happen, explaining that the arrangement was the same when ACW Council was asked to support the Port -to -Point Trail. He said it had to be money from the applicant (which was ACW in that case). Orchard agreed, saying that the province is, essentially, asking the county "eyeball -to -eyeball" if it's supporting the project or not. Orchard suggested that Paul VanderMolen and Chris Lee of G2G Inc. be invited to the Jan. 20 committee of the whole meeting, which has already been scheduled, to explain the organization's stance. A report will be featured in next week's issue of The Citizen.