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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-08-25, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016. PAGE 11. Seaforth's St. Onge crowned match Princess One crown to another Irelyn St. Onge of Seaforth, left, was crowned the Huron County Plowing Match's Princess for 2016/2017 on Thursday of the match, which is also known as Junior Day. St. Onge says she's thrilled to act in the Princess capacity in a year when Huron County will play host to the International Plowing Match. Crowning St. Onge was last year's Princess, Emily Terpstra. (Denny Scott photo) Central Huron Council decides against study Central Huron Council has decided against participating in a study that would analyze risk for structures within the "unstable bluff slope" along Lake Huron. Council made the decision at a recent meeting after first hearing the proposal from the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) at a meeting one month earlier. Alec Scott from the ABCA discussed the need for a study and associated costs with council at an earlier meeting this summer, but already indicated that the other municipality in the area, Bluewater, had also rejected involvement in the study. Scott said no consensus has been reached on the study, but that 65 per cent of the steering committee suggested a full, detailed assessment. However, the decision belongs to the municipalities, which would bear the majority of the costs (90 per cent, while the conservation authorities would cover 10). The total length of the affected shoreline, Scott told council, is 31.2 kilometres, 26.3 kilometres in Bluewater and 4.9 kilometres in Central Huron. The study will focus on erosion and the recession of the shoreline, which takes into account a number of residences along Lake Huron in the two municipalities. It will look ahead to effects in the next 10 to 50 years, Scott said. Scott told council that he had already made his presentation to Bluewater Council, which had opted not to proceed with the study. Initial cost estimates for the entire length of shoreline, he said, would be just under $40,000. With Bluewater declining to be involved, Scott told councillors that there would be a number of options if Central Huron wanted to proceed. First, council would have to decide if they wanted to study the entire shoreline, or just the portion in Central Huron and then they'd have to decide which level of study they wanted. Those cost estimates, factoring in the involvement of both the ABCA and the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) for its small portion, ranged from between $8,000 to $22,000 for the local portion, depending on the depth of the study, to between $10,000 and $30,000 for the entire shoreline, depending on the depth of the study. Scott originally told councillors that the money could be part of the municipality's 2017 budget, if councillors decided that Central Huron wished to be involved. By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Sixteen -year-old Irelyn St. Onge of Seaforth will serve as the Huron County Plowing Match Princess for 2016/2017 after being crowned on Aug. 19. St. Onge impressed judges at the Huron County Plowing Match and was crowned on the event's Junior Day, taking over from Emily Terpstra, last year's Princess. This was St. Onge's second time around in the Princess competition, as she let her name stand a few years ago when she was just 12 years old, the youngest participant allowed in the competition. She didn't win that year, but she says she learned so much that she was able to repackage and put towards this year's campaign, which turned out to be successful. St. Onge is a Seaforth resident and a student at St. Anne's Catholic Secondary School in Clinton. Her parents are Troy and Cheryl Ann St. Onge of Seaforth. First recruited by Ruth Townsend, the creator of the Princess competition, St. Onge said that competing for the crown at such a young age proved to be invaluable in her efforts this year. First, she went back and viewed her speech from years ago, feeling that was an area on which she could improve this time around. St. Onge returned to that speech and picked out portions she thought were good and improved upon those she felt needed work and had a speech she could be proud of. Then she began working on her presentation, saying that speaking in front of a large group is nothing new, since she has performed, both dance and music, in front of groups for years. She began practising her speech, recording herself and performing in front of her mother in order to prepare. While she thought it would be fun to participate in the competition again, St. Onge said her main reasoning for trying a second time was that she felt she could use the skills she felt she'd take away from the experience. With interviews for universities and potential jobs looming, she wanted to test herself with the Princess interview. As far as potentially winning, St. Onge said she also thought it would be fun to serve as the Huron County Princess ahead of the International Plowing Match (IPM), which is scheduled to be held in Walton next year. She said she's "lucky" to be able to represent the county in such an important year. She was very excited to win the crown, acknowledging at #1 And We Still Try Harder Recent circulation figures show The Citizen has the highest circulation in the northern part of Huron County, #3 in the entire county. The Citizen Proudly Community -Owned Since 1985 A, i ' the same time how strong the competition was, saying she couldn't have asked for a better group of girls St. Onge says she was "definitely shocked" when she heard she had won, but that she's very excited about the year ahead. The St. Anne's student says she originally thought she would study sports medicine, but has since shifted her focus, thinking she may choose to study law and become a lawyer, although she has yet to make any final decisions. It was her two go -rounds in the Princess competition, she said, that gave her the confidence to think she could stand up in front of a crowd and perform duties as a lawyer. She admits she was enticed by a program being offered in England, but with no firm decisions made, she thinks she would rather stay close to home, maybe attending either the University of Western Ontario or the Wilfrid Laurier University. In her time as a student, she has won the Const. Vu Pham Award, which is handed out through the Dave Mounsey Memorial fund, as well as a leadership award from the Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board. Impressing Irelyn St. Onge of Seaforth, front of crowds, so she was at the judges on Thursday at Match. (Denny Scott photo) is no stranger to performing in home reciting her speech for the Huron County Plowing Iii ��i0 ��� �,„ 1�1^e`I r Bird Seed Special Black Creek Premium No corn blend - 35 Ib.1� Reg. '3699 Sale $2699 \ Lawn Top Dresser Made with pelletized compost & grass seed Reg. '2899 Sale $1999 9 kg. Garden Centre Blow Out Sale 60' off F3 more Auburn Co-op 519-526-7262 --� Belgrave Co-op Huron Bay 519-357-2711 CO-OPERATIVE INC6 V4. y;