HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-02-25, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2016. PAGE 7.
Walton community shocked by Williamson passing
PEOPLE AROUND
WALTON
By Jo -Ann
McDonald
Call
887-6570
Here it is and another month in
2016 has flown by. Even with the
extra day in February the month has
slipped by, with just a few more days
to go. The groundhog predicted six
more weeks of winter or maybe an
early spring, but maybe forgot to tell
us we would have bouts of spring
throughout that six weeks. Above
normal temperatures the first week
of February and now the last week,
more warm weather. Quite the cold
snap for a few days, but really, it was
short lived and not as bad as it could
have been.
A shock this week for Walton area
folks with the sudden passing of Neil
Williamson. We send out our deepest
sympathies to wife Doris
Williamson and family. He will be
lovingly missed by sons Gary and
Brian and their families. He will be
missed by his mother Helen and
siblings, Eileen, Wayne, Eric and
What a boost!
At the first of two special breakfasts to help raise funds for the Brussels Legion expansion and
accessibility project, the Brussels Lions Club served well over 400 people on Sunday in what
can only be described as a rousing success. Working outside to keep the food train rolling
were, from left: Gord Mitchell, Merle Hoegy and Paul Mutter. The second breakfast will be held
in March. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Lois. Neil was a long-time employee
of McGavin Farm Equipment and
only retired last year. He was
enjoying time with his family and
spending his time doing his own
projects. He was known to his
friends and family as "Wimpy" and
was liked by all. Our sympathies to
all.
Our get -well wishes go to Gerry
Ryan who has suffered some broken
ribs from a fall. We hope he heals
quickly.
Glad to report that George Cousins
is home from hospital and is coming
along. We hope he continues to
improve.
Our condolences to the family of
Martin van den Heuvel on his
passing. He will be missed by his
wife Rikie and children Rein, Kees,
Theodora and Susan and their
families. Martin was a familiar face
around Walton, as he was a former
employee of Dauphin's and worked
in the mill and delivering feed.
We are glad to hear that Gerry
Wheeler is home from hospital and
is coming along nicely. We are also
glad to hear Dave Marks is home
from hospital after spending five
days in Stratford. We hope he is
starting to feel much better.
The Cranbrook Dart Club
gathered on a very cold eve, missing
half of their players. They had 13
players and one visitor take to the
boards on the cold night. The teams
had to split up and two played as
singles, but the night was still
eventful and somewhat
disappointing. There was no change
from other weeks with Murray
Houston and Ev Blake winning all
six games again. Ev was also high
lady hitting 99 and partner Murray
was high man with a 133 shot. The
group wishes Murray belated
birthday greetings from them all.
The visitor that night was Mark
Gillis, filling in for the some lost
souls and managed to get the lucky
shot of the night.
Our condolences to Mark and
Tracey Swart on the passing of his
father, Reiner "Roy" Swart of
Seaforth. He will be missed by his
wife Angeline and his other children
Reg, Joanne, Lynn and Kim and
their families. Our sympathies to the
Swart family.
Returning from a vacation to
Jamaica are Clyde and Cathy
McClure, Val Shortreed and Warren
and Judy Beuerman. They enjoyed
their week away and had good
weather except for two days of rain.
They had time to play cards and
visit. The other days, they enjoyed
wonderfully warm days by the pool.
Some of the group took side trips
and others just stayed and enjoyed
the resort and its amenities.
Celebrating birthdays this past
week include Monica McNichol,
Phil Blake, Brian Dolmage, Shawna
Terpstra, Helen Brenie, Steve Blake,
Kathy Clark, Tyler Williamson,
Steve Knight, Kevin McNaughton,
Joel Dalton, Rachel Sutcliffe, Bruce
McDonald, Tamara Williamson and
Chris Lee. Happy birthday to all.
FROM WALTON
HE nixes proposed truck, backhoe from draft budget
Continued from page 1
centres where they are now?"
MacLellan asked. "Other
departments are suffering so we can
keep the arenas and the pool open,
it's just not good business."
Councillor Larry McGrath, often
outspoken during the budget
process, said he was at a loss about
how to give staff direction in the
2016 budget.
Michiels told council she had cut
$2.5 million from the budget before
even presenting the first draft to
council. With the exception of the
purchase of a new backhoe and truck
for the public works department,
which had been eliminated from the
first draft very early by council,
McGrath said he couldn't see
anything else he would cut.
The provincial government, he
said, is continuing to make it harder
and harder for small municipalities
to do business and in many instances
the hands of local municipal
councillors are tied.
When Michiels first told
councillors about the proposed 2016
OMPF cuts late last year, she told
council that money received through
OMPF had decreased in Huron East
by over $1.1 million in recent years.
In 2016 Huron East will receive
$1.98 million from the province,
while at its peak, the municipality
was receiving over $3.15 million.
Chief Administrative Officer Brad
Knight agreed with McGrath, using
work on rural roads as an example.
He said that the last two times Huron
East has done work on rural roads,
the work has been assisted by grants.
He said he couldn't remember the
last time Huron East had extra funds
to put towards work on a rural road.
With Huron East's challenges
mounting, MacLellan held up the
recent North Huron/Morris-
Turnberry shared services
announcement as a potential
blueprint for the future of the
municipality.
MacLellan said that perhaps now
is the time for Huron East to start
conversations with neighbouring
municipalities such as Central
Huron or Bluewater about
potentially sharing services and, in
turn, driving down costs.
With the North Huron/Morris-
Turnberry model now available to
the public — and with the fact that it
took less than a year for the two
municipalities to carve out a deal —
he felt that coming to an agreement
with a neighbouring municipality
may not be as difficult as it sounds.
Several councillors agreed that
such an arrangement would be worth
looking into, but said it wouldn't
necessarily solve their 2016 budget
problems.
Council then directed Michiels to
prepare a second draft of the budget
in which the backhoe and truck
purchases (with a combined value of
approximately $153,000) were
eliminated and the tax levy was
increased to cover the rest of the first
draft's shortfall of approximately
$210,000.
Michiels didn't disagree with
council, but suggested that council
consult with Public Works Director
Barry Mills about the current
condition of the department's
backhoe that was slated for
replacement. She said Mills, who
was not present at the meeting, made
it sound as though it would need at
least $25,000 worth of repairs for the
MEETING NOTICE
Municipality of
Morris-Turnberry
The upcoming meetings for the
Municipality of Morris-Turnberry will be held:
Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. Regular Council Meeting
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. Regular Council Meeting
(Public Meeting to consider 2016 Budget and Belgrave Water Rates,
included in the Council Meeting on March 15, 2016 at 7:10 pm)
municipality to simply get one more
year out of the machine.
Council proceeded with the
aforementioned proposed second
draft of the budget, but will discuss
the state of the backhoe at the next
meeting.
The second draft of the budget will
be presented to council at its next
meeting, set for Tuesday, March 1.
CORPORATION OF
THE MUNICIPALITY OF
MORRIS-TURNBERRY
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING TO
CONSIDER 2016 BUDGET AND
BELGRAVE WATER RATES
Notice is hereby given that the Council of the Corporation of the
Municipality of Morris-Turnberry, will be giving consideration to:
1. The `2016' Budget with the intention to adopt and/or amend
the budget
2. The `2016' Water rates for the Belgrave Water System
The meeting will be held:
Date and Time: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at 7:10 p.m.
Location: The Council Chambers located at
41342 Morris Rd., Brussels, ON
Everyone is welcome to attend
Nancy Michie,
Administrator Clerk -Treasurer
Municipality of Morris-Turnberry