The Citizen, 2016-10-20, Page 8stopsalonglakehuron.com
PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2016.
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Phillips named 2016 Blyth Citizen of the Year
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A model citizen
Ernie Phillips of RR2, Blyth, centre (holding puck at September's exhibition game between the
London Knights and the Erie Otters at the Central Huron Community Complex), has been
named Citizen of the Year for the Blyth area in 2016. Phillips has distinguished himself with
decades of service through the Blyth Lions Club, the Blyth United Church and plying his
chosen trade of engraving to hundreds of local trophies, plaques and certificates, all on a
volunteer basis. (Fite photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Ernie Phillips of RR2, Blyth has
been chosen as this year's Citizen of
the Year for Blyth and its
surrounding communities.
Phillips has been a member of the
Blyth Lions Club for over 30 years,
being nominated as the club's
treasurer at the meeting he joined the
Lions and remaining in the position
for 10 years.
In addition, Phillips and his wife
Emily have been very active with the
Blyth United Church.
When Phillips lived in Montreal,
he took up engraving and honed his
skills to a point where he attracted
some high-profile clients, including
the National Hockey League (NHL).
For the next quarter-century, Phillips
would engrave the Stanley Cup on
an annual basis. He also worked on
many of the league's notable
individual award trophies as well,
such as the Hart Memorial Trophy,
A new season
The ice is in and ready at the Blyth and District Community Centre and local hockey and
broomball teams are already taking advantage of it. On Sunday afternoon, the Blyth Brussels
Bantam Rep team was in action against the Seaforth Stars in one of the first official hockey
games of the 2016/2017 season. The local team took the game 4-2. (Vicky Bremer photo)
the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy,
the Calder Memorial Trophy and the
Conn Smythe Trophy.
While those skills are impressive,
it's what Phillips did with them once
he arrived in Blyth in the late 1970s
that has earned him praise and
Citizen of the Year nominations in
the community.
For decades, Phillips would
engrave local awards for Blyth
Public School, the Lions Club, the
Blyth Legion, local churches and
hockey teams and many local
organizations, never asking for
payment in return.
Earlier this year, Phillips was
among a group of locals honoured
by the Ministry of Citizenship,
Immigration and International Trade
with an Ontario Volunteer Service
Award for his time with the Lions
Club.
Long-time Lions Club member
John Stewart says that Phillips has
been one of the most dedicated club
members in recent history and
remains that today. In addition to
his time as the club's treasurer,
he would complete any artwork
the club required, including its
member certificates. He also
served as the chair of the sight
committee for a number of years.
Stewart says that in Phillips'
younger days, he was always the
first or second member to volunteer
for work and remains dedicated to
the club to this day.
Last month, Phillips was asked to
drop the puck when the London
Knights and Erie Otters of the
Ontario Hockey League played an
exhibition game in Clinton.
When told he had been chosen at
Citizen of the Year, Phillips said he
was surprised and very honoured.
Phillips was nominated for the
award by Citizen readers and chosen
by a panel of the past five winners of
the Blyth and area Citizen of the
Year Award comprised of Nellie
Mason (2015), Marion Hallahan
(2014), Barb Bosman (2013), Steve
Howson (2012) and Kay
Hesselwood (2011).
The Citizen and its parent
company North Huron Publishing
hands out Citizen of the Year awards
annually in the Blyth and Brussels
communities. The awards have been
presented since 1985, The Citizen's
first year, when Cal Krauter won for
Brussels and Evalena Webster was
named the Blyth winner of the
award.
County introduces
cycling strategy
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
With a draft cycling strategy now
in place, Huron County is
attempting to make the community
one of the safest in Ontario in which
to cycle.
The draft document was released
to Huron County Council and
members of the public last week and
it identifies a number of goals —
some of which are already ongoing,
while others may take up to 2019 to
implement.
One of the first goals is the
creation of a Huron County Cycling
Advisory Committee, undertaken by
the Huron County Health Unit.
Then, the Planning and Public
Works Departments will develop
cycling routes and infrastructure, as
well as a "Share the Road" signage
plan for the county, all while
attempting to stay current on best
practices within the cycling industry.
Meanwhile, continued
improvements will be made to the
Goderich-to-Guelph Rail Trail by
G2G Inc. The Ontario Provincial
Police and the Coalition for Huron
Injury Prevention (CHIP) will also
continue to address distracted
driving through various workshops.
Those initiatives are planned for
2017.
The next steps, planned for 2017
and 2018, will include the creation
of a Cycling Education
Subcommittee, as well as the
promotion of cycling activities and
the identification and
encouragement of cycling pilot
projects, all done in conjunction
with the Cycling Advisory
Committee.
The later initiatives, planned for
2018 and 2019, are the creation of
an Active School Travel
Subcommittee by the Huron County
Health Unit, followed by a review of
the Bicycle Friendly Communities
Report from Share the Road for
additional projects and initiatives,
which will also be undertaken by the
Cycling Advisory Committee.
"The Huron County Cycling
Strategy is intended to improve
cycling safety and enjoyment in
Huron County and was developed
with input from stakeholder groups,
local municipalities and local
residents. It provides recommended
actions, identifies lead organizations
and sets out timelines for
implementation," the report states.
"[Huron] County Council strongly
believes in promoting safety on our
roads...."
The committee, which has already
been formed, is comprised of
stakeholders from the cycling,
health, municipal, police, tourism
and transportation sectors.
The report states that one of the
major considerations behind the new
strategy has been liability. Research
has indicated that the county would
not be creating additional liability
by participating in the outlined
cycling strategies.
For more information, the full
strategy can be found on the
county's website at huroncounty.ca.
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