HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-09-22, Page 1INSIDE
THIS WEEK:
SPORTS - Pg. 8
Huron FC hosts its first-ever
futsal tournament in Clinton
MEXICO - Pg. 9
Local firefighter program
yields results in millions
TEAMS - Pg. 11
'The Citizen' celebrates
summer sports teams
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4Citiz
Volume 32 No. 37
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Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, September 22, 2016
Another year, another fair
The Elementary School Fair in Belgrave was a success
again this year, bringing out students from Maitland River
Elementary School in Wingham, as well as Sacred Heart
School for the first time this year. The much -anticipated
event included a parade, students showing livestock and
plenty of games to be played. Marching proudly in the
parade, representing their class, Grade 1A at Maitland River
Elementary, are, from left: Elizabeth Losch, Katy
Roberts, Matthew McLellan, Owen Wheeler, Olivia Al and
Ava Thompson. (Denny Scott photo)
Blyth meeting addresses numerous issues
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Taxes, snow removal and the
condition of roads in East
Wawanosh are on the minds of
North Huron ratepayers if a recent
town hall meeting is any indication.
Held at the Emergency Services
Training Centre in Blyth, the
meeting saw members of North
Huron Council, and several senior
staff members, answer what
questions they could from residents
of the municipality.
SNOW REMOVAL
The first question of the night
pertained to sidewalks not being
cleared in the winter.
Steve Hill of Wingham stated that
he believed several collisions with
pedestrians in Wingham could be
linked to council not approving
sidewalks being cleared.
Reeve Neil Vincent said that the
amount of snow that was being
cleared was dictated by the
equipment and manpower available.
Vincent went on to say that the
issue has never been officially
brought forward to council.
"At this time, nobody has brought
it forward and asked for a report as
to what snow removal costs," he
said.
While the issue had been raised
from the floor at previous meetings,
no official action had been taken.
"This has to be brought forward as
a request," Chief Administrative
Officer Sharon Chambers said. "Any
request for an increase in the level of
service should come formally to
council. Council would then decide
if they wanted to entertain that
request."
Chambers explained that if
council did entertain the request, a
report indicating the cost of
changing snow removal would be
dealt with at a later date.
Vincent said the township meets
or exceeds the minimum
requirements for road clearance.
Councillor Bill Knott said he had
raised the issue during the 2016
budget deliberations and that, this
winter, under the new Director of
Public Works Jeff Molenhuis, the
township would be closely
monitoring the cost of snow removal
across the township before making
any decisions.
DONATIONS
Doreen Taylor of East Wawanosh
asked that the municipality give no
donations to any individuals or
groups in the 2017 and 2018 budgets
unless council had already
committed to donations, such as
with the Wingham Hospital
Foundation.
Taylor had approached council
during its 2016 budget process and
was concerned about the condition
of roads in her ward, especially with
council considering hundreds of
thousands of dollars worth of
donations to groups within the
municipality.
Taylor meant all donations that
weren't part of a structured payout,
such as the funds to Blyth Arts and
Cultural Initiative 14/19 Inc. or the
aforementioned Wingham Hospital
Foundation project.
David Hedley, also of East
Wawanosh, didn't necessarily call
for the same moratorium on
donations, but did have some
suggestions for council as to how
they dealt with the requests.
He said he watched council do "a
lot of due diligence" on the hospital
donation as well as other donations,
which made sense. He didn't feel,
however, that the excessive amount
of time spent debating $100 or $200
donations wasn't necessary,
Continued on page 23
Blyth
awarded
garden
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Blyth has been awarded one of
150 of the Canadian Garden
Council's 150th Celebration
Gardens, comprised of 1,000 red
and white tulip bulbs.
The Friends of the Village of
Blyth gardening group received
word just before the weekend that
their grant application, submitted in
June, had been approved.
Lissa Kolkman, one of the heads
of the group, submitted the
application, saying that she made a
point to focus on the historical
aspects of the village and that its
gardens are accessible to residents
of all ages. She also communicated
several aspects of the Huron County
community in the application as
well, including the fact that the area
is agriculturally -focused and
includes many residents of Dutch
heritage. The garden will include
500 red tulip bulbs and 500 white,
donated by Vesey's Bulbs in Prince
Edward Island.
"Containing 1,000 tulip bulbs, the
international symbol of friendship
and an enduring symbol of our
national ethos of kindness and
hospitality, the 150th Celebration
Garden is a terrific way to say
`Happy Birthday' to our home and
native land," stated a release from
the council.
The groundbreaking for the
garden will be held on Saturday,
Oct. 1 at 10 a.m. at the Blyth
Horticultural Park on Dinsley Street
in the east end of the village.
Kolkman says she hoped North
Huron Township staff will begin the
process by digging up some of the
garden so a handful of bulbs can be
planted that morning.
The remainder of the 1,000 bulbs
will be planted later in the month in
order to bloom in the spring of 2017,
Canada's sesquicentennial year.
The release from the council also
states that the 150 gardens across
Canada will have a symbolic link to
the flagship Celebration Garden that
will be planted at Niagara Falls.
"Our garden, and the other 149
gardens planted across the country,
will be symbolically linked to a
Flagship 150th Celebration Garden
Promenade, consisting of 25,000
tulips also donated by Vesey's, to be
planted this fall and bloom next
spring adjacent to Niagara Falls, one
of the great natural wonders of the
world, and one of Canada's largest
gateways for visitors to our
country," the release states.
Kolkman says she's hoping to
have local dignitaries, students and
residents at the Oct. 1 ceremony to
kick off the planting of the garden.