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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-05-12, Page 1INSIDE THIS WEEK: MS WALK - Pg. 7 Local family highlighted at annual fundraising event Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron IPM 2017 - Pg. 11 Lead-in to event begins with sign unveiling AWARDS - Pg. 19 Several locals honoured with Cultural Awards Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON NOG 1H0 C1t1Z Volume 32 No. 19 n WELCOME TO BINT H $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, May 12, 2016 FDNH battles blaze despite low water levels Battling the blaze A fire claimed a home on McConnell Street in Blyth Friday afternoon. A blaze erupted from the building shortly after 4 p.m. and firefighters from the Fire Department of North Huron were on scene in a matter of minutes using every tool in their arsenal to try and bring the blaze under control. The home of Dave and Julie Plunkett was leveled by the blaze, which caused approximately $300,000 in damages not including the contents of the home. Several community initiatives to aid the family are currently underway, including a collection and a trust fund at the Blyth branch of the CIBC. (DennyScottphoto) By Denny Scott The Citizen Fire Department of North Huron (FDNH) battled a blaze for several hours on Friday on McConnell Street in Blyth that claimed the home of the Plunkett family and caused at least $300,000 worth of damage. The official cause of the fire is under investigation, but is not considered suspicious according to FDNH Chief David Sparling. Firefighters were on the scene within six minutes of the initial call at 4:20 p.m. at which point the building was completely engulfed. Using boots -on -the -ground fire hoses, the water cannon on the back of a truck and an aerial firefighting truck, the department brought the blaze under control, however the home suffered heavy damage to the point that firefighters couldn't enter. The house is reported to be a complete loss and damage is estimated at $300,000 plus the contents of the home. No injuries were reported. After FDNH was told that municipal water levels were low, tankers were used to provide water for the firefighting efforts instead of the municipal water system's nearby fire hydrants. After tankers began bringing water, the hydrant being used was shut down. North Huron Chief Adminis- trative Officer Sharon Chambers, in a report to The Citizen, said that planned upgrades to the water system will increase pumping capacity in the future, which will address the problem. "In 2012, the township retained Continued on page 16 Huron East rec. report yields positive results By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Thanks to a detailed and thorough report from Huron East staff, some councillors feel the municipality's recreation costs aren't quite as offside as they originally thought. Chief Administrative Officer Brad Knight presented council with the report at the May 3 meeting, showing councillors that Huron East, despite its size and number of ice surfaces, stacks up quite well with its neighbouring municipalities. One of the first charts presented to council was one first compiled for the municipality's service delivery review in 2013, which showed that Huron East's per -capita recreation costs ranked third -lowest in Huron County. This ranking is notable, Knight told councillors, because Huron East's recreation costs were only bested by Morris-Turnberry and Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, neither of which have a community centre with an ice surface, whereas Huron East has two. In the comparison, Knight said, Huron East, with its two ice surfaces, was paying less for recreation than some municipalities supporting just one ice surface. He also pointed out that other comparable municipalities with two ice surfaces like North Huron and Goderich are paying over $400 per capita for recreation, compared to Huron East's $153.45, nearly triple in some cases. Knight also pointed out that at $153.45, Huron East is well under the provincial average of $196.82. Those comparisons, Knight said, while encouraging, don't offer a complete recreation picture in Huron East. He then offered a comparison between revenue versus municipal levy, which has been on the rise in recent years. For the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre, for example, the centre survived on $66,000 from the municipal levy in 2003, which was 17 per cent of its funding. However, in 2016, the municipality contributed $219,203 to the centre, or 53 per cent of its funding. The story was similar in Seaforth, where Huron East contributed 14 per cent of the Seaforth and District Community Centre's levy in 2003, but now pays 38 per cent, or $182,477 in 2016. However, while the percentages — and specifically the growth — in a 13 - year period may be cause for concern, Knight pointed out that when compared to their municipal neighbours, again, Huron East fares quite well. Huron East's support for the Brussels and Seaforth arenas, as well as the community centre in Vanastra, is in the bottom third of a county comparison. Brussels support of $219,203 and Seaforth support of $182,477 ranked far behind arenas in comparable communities like North Huron, South Huron, North Perth, Perth East and Bluewater, with municipal support for arenas ranging from $349,409 to $526,462. Again, Huron East fell below the average of $300,432 in municipal Continued on page 16 Championships this Friday This weekend 30 auctioneers from all over the country will be in Brussels to compete in the 2016 Canadian Auctioneer Champion- ships being held at Brussels Livestock. The championship, being held by the Livestock Markets Association of Canada, has been planned for Brussels for over a year. Kevin McArter, a Brussels native and last year's reserve champion, has been the driving force behind bringing the event to Huron County. The actual auctioneering competition will be held at Brussels Livestock on Friday, May 13. The weekend continues with the awards banquet on Saturday evening, at which the next inductee into the association's hall of fame will be recognized. Established in 1964, the Livestock Markets Association of Canada is a registered non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the selling of livestock by public auction. It also serves as a united voice to the federal and provincial governments on issues affecting auction markets throughout Canada. Recently, the event was granted $5,000 from Huron County to help operate. Council recognized the merit in the event and its economic development potential. For more information on the event, visit www.brusselslivestock.ca or at www.lmacmarkets.ca.