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
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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.