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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-05-12, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016. Becoming someone else Hullett Central Public School held its annual carnival and auction on Friday night at the Blyth and District Community Centre and there was plenty to do, including a dunk tank, a silent and live auction and lots of food. Also available was a chance to be someone (or something) else for a few hours by way of face painting. Sarah Elliott, right, took advantage of this perk of the evening, courtesy of Allison Toll. (Vicky Bremner photo) MPAC website a valuable tool By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen With 2016 set as a re -assessment year, Jennifer Lajoie was in both Central Huron and Huron East last week to update councils on the process. Lajoie, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) representative for Huron, Perth and Oxford Counties, told councillors that new notices will be mailed out on May 24 for residential properties, while farm property notices will be mailed out in the fall. They will contain information about the property's new assessment for the next four years and the factors which led to the new assessment. She also said they will contain information regarding the website, aboutmyproperty.ca, which can be an excellent tool in understanding why a property is assessed the way it is. The new notices, she said, will include plain language and attempt to make the process of assessing a property as easy to understand as possible for landowners. In Central Huron, she said, property values have risen approximately one per cent on average. Of interest, she said, was that lakefront property in the municipality has decreased 9.3 per cent. In Huron East, the average property has risen 1.2 per cent. Of particular interest to councillors, Lajoie told them there is a kit for municipal councillors as well, that will assist them in speaking to their ratepayers who might have questions about their property assessment. Adding programs to increase revenue at arenas suggested Continued from page 1 levy support. Both arenas were also comparable in terms of own -source revenue across the county, showing that trends like rising hydro costs and usage concerns are affecting community centres throughout Huron County, and all of Ontario, not just Huron East. Councillor Ray Chartrand, who had been notably critical of recreation levies early in this year's budget process, laid out some figures for his fellow councillors, saying that hydro costs and wages and benefits were inescapable costs associated with community centres that made up the bulk of budgets. For example, he said, in Brussels, wages and benefits cost $150,000 in 2003 and utilities cost $55,000, while in 2016 they jumped to $183,000 and $81,000 respectively. In Seaforth, Huron East saw similar increases, going from $137,000 in wages and benefits and $58,000 in utility costs in 2003 to $216,000 and $113,000 respectively. In Vanastra, while utility costs remained relatively even, wages and benefits rose from $160,000 to $277,000 from 2003 to 2016. Councillor David Blaney, however, countered Chartrand's statement, saying that while there has been a drastic increase in wages and benefits in Vanastra, that community centre is meeting its budget. The Vanastra example, Blaney said, could be proof that in order for local community centres to thrive, adding diverse programming and skilled professionals could serve to better community centres, rather than simply cutting budgets to the bone. Community to support Plunketts Continued from page 1 R.J. Burnside and Associates to complete an evaluation of the Blyth Water Supply System," she said. "The report provided recommendations to assist the township in determining the developing the future needs of the system." Chambers said the current Blyth well supply project is part of the recommended upgrades and will be completed by October. The report also included suggestions for storage which are being implemented. The fire was indicative of how quickly a fire can spread according to FDNH personnel. "Many people who witnessed this fire were shocked how quickly the fire grew in size," Deputy- Chief/Incident Commander Matt Townsend said. "It was a real reminder that a fire doubles in size every one to two minutes. This is why smoke alarms and fire escape plans are so important." The home has been identified as that of Dave and Julie Plunkett. A neighbour of the Plunketts, Sandy Foreman, has started Obituaries gathering items to help the family during their time of need. Foreman posted a list of items the family needed to social media including cleaning supplies, clothes and gift cards. For more information, contact Foreman at sandyforeman@live.ca A trust has also been set up at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) Blyth Branch under the following information: Bank 010, Transit 07852 and Account 7340737. Deposits into this trust account can be made at any time. For more information, visit the branch or call 519-523-4247. ,i 1,11 L i 1' r ,i .1i 1 u 4 1 ,,, flh .'— llrf Yi I Y +l i�._„N 11 i / ll ilia- l ,ui ill BRANDON MICHAEL METSKE Brandon Michael Metske, beloved son of Mike and Tina Metske, Lucknow, passed away suddenly on Sunday, April 24, 2016. He was 11. Brandon is greatly missed by his brothers Colton and Andrew and sister Megan, all at home. Brandon is survived by grandparents Walter and Cathy Bell, Goderich and Martin and Roseanne Metske, Lucknow; special aunts Lisa (Scott "Uncle Chicken") and Sandra (Dean), uncles Jeff and Tim, great- grandmother Leona Watson, Branchton, special great-uncle Jerry Stirling ("Unc") and several cousins. He is also remembered by special family Margaret and John Brand and their families; Marie and Jeff, Anne and Roland and Johnny and Anna. Brandon was predeceased by great- grandparents Tom Watson, Antje and Martin Metske, Fred and Mae Bell and Violet and Fraser Stirling. Visitation was held at the Lucknow Arena on Thursday, April 28. The funeral service was conducted on Friday, April 29. Pastor Brian Hymers officiated. Memories were shared by hockey coach Jonathon Nelson, tutor Julie Hamilton, teacher Dave Browne and 4-H mentor Brad Maclntyre. A special letter from friend Raelyn Pennington -Fritz was also read. Pallbearers were Ryan Peel, Martyn VanMeeteren, Shane Hunter, Brad Maclntyre, Scott Heyink and Brian MacKenzie. Flower bearers were Rick Taylor, Jonathon Nelson, Kenny Gregory, Brad Murray, Mike Humphrey and Stacey Kerr. Brandon's hockey team took a special place in acting as an honour guard. Interment was held at the South Kinloss Cemetery, Lucknow. Donations to the Lucknow Agricultural Society, Huron County 4-H or Wingham Hospital Foundation were greatly appreciated as expressions of sympathy. Condolences may be left online at www.mackenzieandmccreath.com Knight said that while he agrees that council should undergo a strategic planning session for the long-term viability of its recreation department, councillors shouldn't lose sight of its position amongst its peers, which is actually pretty good despite the increased scrutiny placed on recreation centres this budget year. Councillor Nathan Marshall wondered, however, if the numbers presented by staff didn't tell the whole story. While the levy figures didn't include capital expenses, Marshall wondered aloud if that didn't tell more of the story than councillors may have originally thought. He said that perhaps with capital costs omitted from the list, Huron East is made to look better than it actually is. If Huron East was committing the money necessary through capital improvements, perhaps the budgets would be higher, but the community centres would be in better shape. He cited ongoing capital concerns at all three Huron East community centres as examples of the municipality not committing nearly as much capital funds to the centres as it should be. Council received Knight's report and decided to proceed with the strategic planning session, engaging Vicki Lass of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to help facilitate the process. MIle/fa& Do you have fond memories that you'd like to share of someone whose obituary has been published recently in The Citizen. Send us a few lines or paragraphs with your story. E-mail editor@northhuron.on.ca, Fax 519-523-9140 or mail to: The Citizen, P.O. Box 429, Blyth, NOM 1H0 or P.O. Box 152, Brussels, NOG 1H0. There is no charge for comments we choose to publish. A cemetery is a history of people, a perpetual record of yesterday and a sanctuary of peace and quiet today. A cemetery exists because every life is worth loving and remembering - always Distinctive Memorials of Lasting Satisfaction North St. West, Wingham Mac & Donna Anderson 519-357-1910 REPRINTS OF PHOTOS taken by Citizen photographers are available to purchase. ALL ARE IN COLOUR 4x6 - $4.00 5x7 - $5.00 8x10 - $8.00 Phone to order 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114