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The Citizen, 2016-08-11, Page 1INSIDE THIS WEEK: SPORTS - Pg. 8 Locals make provincial waves with Marlins teams AWARD - Pg. 10 FESTIVAL - Pg. 18, Local honoured for 19 decades of volunteering Festival season's final two shows open Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON NOG 1H0 4Citiz Volume 32 No. 31 n WELCOME TO BINT H $1 .25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, August 11, 2016 A tough season The Blyth U18 Girls team ended a turbulent season with a close loss on Aug. 3. The team welcomed Clinton to Blyth and were defeated 5-3 after a hard-fought game. The match was the final one before the year-end tournament and saw the team end the year with a regular season record of two wins and 10 losses. The team faced off again against Clinton in the quarter -finals of the U18 Girls year-end tournament last night in Clinton. For more information, visit northhuronsoccerleague.leaguerepublic.com (Denny Scott photo) Five to compete for crown By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen On Saturday, five young women will vie for the title of Brussels Ambassador, while, for the first time in history, the Little Ambassador and Junior Ambassador crowns will also be handed out. The competition will be held on Saturday, Aug. 13, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Brussels Legion. Everyone is welcome and admission is by donation. The five Ambassador contestants are Erin McMahon, Patti Blake, Raven Kenney, Laura Souch and Regan Ryter. Sixteen -year-old Erin McMahon lives at RR2, Bluevale with her parents Shawn and Lorna McMahon. She is returning to Listowel District High School in the fall to complete Grade 12. After graduation, she is thinking about attending either the University of Nippissing or Laurentian to study education. While at school, Erin participates in volleyball and track and field and was awarded MVP in track in Grade 10. Her hobbies include photography, reading, playing volleyball, baseball and track and field. Erin is currently employed as a cashier at Zehrs in Listowel. Sponsoring Erin is the Brussels Majestic Women's Institute. Patti Blake is the 21 -year-old daughter of Greg and Marie Blake and lives in Molesworth. Patti has completed her diploma in agriculture at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus and is Continued on page 9 Central Huron pulls out of shared services discussion By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Despite continued efforts by some involved with Huron East and Bluewater Councils, Central Huron Council has pulled out of the ongoing shared services discussion until further notice. Council announced the decision at its meeting last week after a report from Chief Administrative Officer Steve Doherty advised against the agreement. Specifically, Doherty said the municipality should refrain from sharing services until the North Huron/Morris-Turnberry pilot project, which is ongoing, pans out. Doherty said that if the project is going to be used as a model for a potential sharing of services between Central Huron, Huron East, Bluewater and South Huron, it would be prudent to wait and see if the project is successful before committing. At its Aug. 2 meeting, council passed a resolution that states, "that Central Huron refrain from a comprehensive shared services discussion until such time as the Morris-Turnberry and North Huron shared services pilot project has been completed and bears evidence of efficiencies. The rationale behind this recommendation is that the existing shared service undertaking be given a year or two and, if it works, replicate their effort exploiting their successes and avoiding their failures. If the pilot project is successful, then Central Huron and their proposed partners could then embark on a similar, but improved process, levering off their proven experience." Council passed the motion. In his report, Doherty's comments were similar to those of Huron East councillors in response to potentially sharing services, saying that what North Huron and Morris-Turnberry are doing has already been done by several amalgamated municipalities. "The fact is that North Huron and Morris-Turnberry are just getting caught up to the amalgamation standard," Doherty said in his report. "As Huron East CAO Brad Knight pointed out — they project to save $600,000 via the shared service agreement, but their combined roads budgets are still $1 million over Huron East's (even though the size of the area is comparable) so they still need to find another $400,000 in savings just to get to Huron East's level of efficiency in one department." Doherty also pointed out that the quoted savings of $600,000 in the roads budget is simply speculation for North Huron and Morris- Turnberry. The only known figures, he said, are the costs associated with consultant fees and buy-out costs. He said that the "unknowns" are far greater than the known figures. Councillors said it was important to remain open to the concept of sharing services on a one-off basis if council approves it, but wanted to stay away from a "comprehensive" sharing of services until the numbers make sense. The wording of the motion was then changed to reflect that thinking. Mayor Jim Ginn agreed, saying that while he supported council's direction at the time, he wanted to make sure that the idea didn't "fall off the radar" over the next few years. Huron East Council was scheduled to discuss the shared services proposal at its Tuesday night meeting, deciding whether or not to continue. For full coverage, see next week's issue of The Citizen.