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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-03-12, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, March 12, 2015 Volume 31 No. 10 FORUM - Pg. 11 MP, MPP host annual agriculture forum HOCKEY - Pg. 8 Midget AE Crusaders reach OMHA finals Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0 INSIDE THIS WEEK: Land strategy explored further Secret, secret, they’ve got a secret Two teams from Hullett Central Public School got their hands on Lego Mindstorm kits courtesy of D&D Automation in Stratford. The company was scheduled to host a robot building competition called Battle of the Bots on March 11. The bot above is capable of recognizing the colours on the mat and reacting accordingly. From left are: Owen Whyte, Greg McDonald, Jason Wilts, Joy Pizzati and Sara Kerr. (Denny Scott photo) IPM, Fair debate persists at meeting Morris-Turnberry and North Huron Councils met at The Hot Stove Lounge on March 5 to push forward with the Wingham Industrial Land Strategy. Certain aspects of the strategy have been in a holding pattern for some time due to the two councils not seeing eye to eye on a servicing agreement for the lands in the area. The meeting also served as an opportunity for several consultants to explain their findings to the municipalities involved. The meeting was chaired by Huron County Planning and Development head Scott Tousaw. His department was responsible for a great deal of the work involved with the program as it crossed municipal boundaries. Morris-Turnberry Administrator Clerk-Treasurer Nancy Michie spoke first at the meeting explaining what the project was and how it was being pursued. The strategy seeks to create an inventory of prepared land for industrial developers. Through locating, designating and performing necessary tests on the land, developers can have projects ready to go with much less time and effort than might normally be required. “This is unique and new,” Michie said. “It hasn’t been tried in many other communities. The goal is to work together to have industrial land ready. We want to have the studies and initial strategies in place. North Huron and Morris-Turnberry councils were thinking outside the box when the plan was made.” Michie explained that the project had been recognized and appreciated by provincial politicians and had received funding through a Rural Economic Development (RED) grant which would cover half of the approximately $100,000 cost for the project. The project itself was designed as the developable land around Wingham needed to be catalogued and inspected as some necessary studies could cause serious delays in construction for potential developers, something that could cause them to look elsewhere. Michie said that the Pioneer- Dupont project was a perfect example. “When they approached the area in the beginning, there wasn’t industrial land that fit their need,” Michie said of the company which recently built a larger factory east of Wingham. “They wanted highway commercial, and the only lots available were owned by Wescast, who wouldn’t sell.” Michie said that the area was very fortunate that the development fit in the planning definitions for agriculture development. The project started with a review that considered several factors including population and housing projections, inventories of residential land, expansion rate of urban settlements and several other studies. Near the end of 2013, the reviews were completed, however both municipalities found the answers Many questions remain regarding a potential partnership between the 2017 International Plowing Match (IPM) to be held in Walton and the Brussels Fall Fair of the same year. While a number of scenarios are still on the table, discussion has boiled down to two options: hosting the fair at the match, or moving the fair to a different date. At the March 4 meeting of the Brussels Agricultural Society, it was generally accepted that the Brussels Fall Fair, as it has historically been run, simply cannot compete with the IPM if both were to be held on the same week. THE FAIR AT THE IPM Home Craft President and former Society President Nicole Noble began the discussion, first looking at hosting the fair at the IPM and listing a number of pros and cons associated with that scenario. The first pro, of course, is that the fair, normally small in size, could be showcased on a “grand scale” Noble said. With tens of thousands of people attending the IPM on a daily basis, the number of people seeing Brussels Fall Fair exhibitions and meeting those involved with the fair could grow exponentially with the potential partnership. This potential would also impact live shows at the fair, such as 4-H exhibitions and achievement days, which have historically been held at the fair. With the Dodge Ram Rodeo ring potentially available for use, attendance at those events could easily multiply, resulting in a once- in-a-lifetime experience for those 4- H members exhibiting their animals that week. In the same vein, she said, it would ensure strong attendance at the 2017 fair. This has been a concern for fair organizers because the IPM will draw many local people, likely cutting fair attendance down substantially. This fact is also a concern in terms of volunteers, as many people who have volunteered their time at the fair over the years will likely be involved helping with the IPM, a commitment that will have been years in the making and will no doubt take precedence over the fair. Another pro to the partnership, Noble said, is providing those attending the fair with the package experience of seeing the Brussels Fall Fair and the IPM all at once and all in the same place. Noble’s list of cons began with the inescapable fact of admission costs. If the fair is held on the IPM grounds, there will be an $18-per- person admission cost to enter the IPM grounds. That is a charge that will be assessed whether people are exhibitors, volunteers or spectators. It cannot be changed, Noble said, as it is mandated by the Ontario Plowmen’s Association. The fair’s annual parade too would be compromised, Noble said, being amalgamated with the IPM’s parade. Member Dorothy Cummings, however, brainstormed an idea that would enable the fair to potentially have its own parade – working in conjunction with one of the IPM’s banquets, which will be held at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. Cummings suggested that on the day of one of the IPM’s two banquets, potentially Saturday of that week, the Brussels Fall Fair parade could bring the Queen of the Furrow contestants to the community centre. Not only would that partnership elevate the importance of the parade for those involved with the IPM, she said, but the fair would then have its own parade through Brussels, as it has historically taken place. Noble said Cummings’ idea was a good one, and she hadn’t before considered that as a possibility. There were also a number of concerns with exhibitions and transportation. Noble said that the number of categories in the 2017 fair would have to be reduced, simply for logistical reasons, if the partnership was to go ahead. She also said that schedules would likely have to be altered, including two huge work days where the fair would be “set up” at the IPM and then “broken down” when it’s done. It would also shift judging schedules so that exhibits could be set up at the The Citizen Celebrating 30 Years 1985~2015 By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 19 County officially passes budget At the March 4 meeting of Huron County Council, the 2015 budget was officially passed with a tax rate increase of two per cent. “This was the first budget deliberated by this council since taking office in December and I was very pleased with the quality of our discussions,” said Warden Paul Gowing in a press release issued the next day. “We met our target of keeping the county levy to a two per cent increase and passed the budget in a timely fashion.” At the meeting, however, Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan discussed the perception of the county as he put himself in the shoes of others at the recent conference of the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association (ROMA) and the Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) in Toronto. He said that while the county had been crying poor after cuts to the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF), the budget being passed that day would, to the outside observer, tell a completely By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 14 By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 15