The Citizen, 2016-03-24, Page 1INSIDE
THIS WEEK:
BRUSSELS - Pg. 2
Village's main street
welcomes new business
SPORTS - Pg. 8
Local teams post wins in
provincial tournaments
FUNDING - Pg. 9
Smith, Garratt hope to
leverage provincial funding
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Volume 32 No. 12
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WELCOME TO
BLYTH
ESTABLISHED 1877
$1 .25 GST included
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, March 24, 2016
Climbing profits
The Brussels Optimist Club held its annual spring dinner
and auction on Saturday night at the Brussels, Morris and
Grey Community Centre and it was another tremendous
success. This year's event attempted to raise funds for the
Sunshine Foundation, a Canadian answer to the U.S.-
based Make -A -Wish Foundation. The event consisted of a
50/50 draw, a scarf draw, dinner and a silent auction, but the main
attraction of the night is always the live auction, featuring
award-winning auctioneer and Brussels native Kevin McArter,
right, who receives a helping hand here in showing off the
auction's merchandise from Optimist Jeff Miller. (Vicky Bremner
photo)
Local providers begin broadband project
Huron County, and its
independent internet providers, are
taking their first step towards a
county -wide broadband internet
solution with a funding application
to the Small Communities Fund.
The battle between Huron's
independent internet providers and
the proposed Southwest Integrated
Fibre Technology (SWIFT) initiative
has been raging now for years and
while many councillors wanted to
support the local providers, they
awaited a "made in Huron" solution.
Scott Currie, the county's
communications and grants co-
ordinator, told council at its March
16 committee of the whole meeting
that the proposal would address a
handful of underserviced areas
throughout Huron County.
The project would focus on four
areas. The first would connect 450
underserviced homes along the Lake
Huron shore in Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh (ACW) between
Amberley and Port Albert.
The second project, also in ACW,
would service 150 underserviced
homes by way of a service tower in
Whitechurch.
The third would employ a fibre
extension to a total of 219 homes
north from Highway 8 through
Kinburn and then east through
Winthrop and the fourth and final
project would establish a fibre
connection to 110 homes in
the Shipka, Greenway and
Mount Carmel areas of the county.
The entire project is estimated to
cost $1.77 million with 25 per cent
being requested from both the
provincial and federal governments.
The Huron co-operative providers
would pick up the remaining 50 per
cent.
Currie, in his report, said that with
this project and funding, nearly
1,000 homes, small businesses and
one school would be connected to
download speeds greater than the
Industry Canada minimum standard.
Councillors were enthusiastic
about the application, saying that
projects like the one being proposed
aim to serve "last mile" customers,
which is something SWIFT won't
do, some councillors feel.
Council approved the application,
which will have no financial
implications on the County of
Huron.
Cowbell
zoning
approved
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Central Huron Council made
official the plans of the Blyth
Cowbell Brewing Company
Monday night, passing a zoning
bylaw amendment to allow the
owners to do all they wish to do on
the land.
Cowbell investor Steven Sparling,
along with his team of planners and
architects, were in attendance
Monday night as Huron County
Planner Monica Walker -Bolton
presented the plans.
Due to the nature of the property,
which is at the southeast corner of
London Road and County Road 25,
zoning would have to be a little out
of the norm, but fully in compliance
with the Provincial Policy Statement
and the Central Huron and Huron
County Official Plans.
The north end of the property,
essentially from County Road 25 to
the end of the soccer fields, carried
with it a developmental designation,
which, she explained, is essentially a
holding designation.
The zoning bylaw amendment
will now change that to a
classification under highway
commercial, while the southern part
of the property, referred to by those
involved with the project as the
farm, will remain zoned
agricultural, but also with special
provisions.
The urban area, which will house
the Cowbell brewery, restaurant and
retail space, as well as the current
soccer fields, will also be home to
occasional recreation events,
Walker -Bolton said. The zoning will
allow for outdoor concerts, laser tag
and other recreational uses.
On the agricultural portion of the
land, its zoning will also allow
recreational uses, she said, such as
cross-country skiing, snowshoeing
and cycling, among others.
Walker -Bolton said she felt the
property would represent a "good
balance" between the two
classifications of property and
Continued on page 11
BMG Board to host first-ever ladies' night
The Brussels, Morris and Grey
Recreation Board is looking to
bolster its finances through a ladies'
night out scheduled for next
Thursday.
The evening will feature dessert,
drinks and three guest speakers, all
meant at making a little money for
recreation in Brussels, whether it be
the community centre, the pool or
the soccer and baseball fields.
The lineup of speakers includes a
representative from Just in Time,
who will speak on decluttering and
hoarding and two women from
Essential Oils, who will speak
regarding natural solutions for your
home.
The final speaker of the night will
be nationally -recognized pharmacist
Carol Beveridge from the Brussels
Pharmacy. Beveridge's topic for the
night will be "Health at Midlife:
Marvelous or Miserable?"
The event was first proposed by
Nicole Noble, a member of the
board, who thought a night for the
women of the community would be
a great way to raise money for the
village's recreation, which has been
generating negative headlines as of
late.
The board agreed and the response
has been positive, Noble said, with
just three of the event's tables
remaining. Ladies' night out will
also feature 16 vendors selling
everything from Epicure to the
Pampered Chef. The event's vendor
capacity is full, she said.
Ladies' night out has been in the
works since it was first proposed in
November. The board meets
Continued on page 19