The Citizen, 2015-07-30, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2015.
Writer praises edited bylaw
Car show, demonstrations do well at Streetfest
Riding the grind
Micah Loder was an integral part of Blyth Streetfest’s skateboarding demonstration, showing
off some of the tricks of the trade at the south end of town for some very young spectators.
(Denny Scott photo)
THE EDITOR,
Many thanks to Denny Scott for
his widely-anticipated coverage of
Morris-Turnberry Council meetings.
His admirable work captures the
concern expressed by our council
over the proposed open burn bylaw.
Scott noted their discussion of
“the minutiae of the document”,
indicating that they understand that
the devil is in the details. Indeed, it is
the needless stipulations in the draft
that harbor future problems for both
the municipality and its affected
landowners. For instance, if a
landowner has a damaging fire in
spite of following the finely-detailed
regulation proposed in the draft, can
the municipality be held liable (by
the property owner or insurer) for
damages for passing a detailed
bylaw that proved to be insufficient
in preventing harm? This would
support the principle that less
“minutiae” is sometimes better.
The head of council has suggested
that since some (but not all)
surrounding municipalities have
adopted a similar bylaw, Morris-
Turnberry should rush its
acceptance. Is this not saying that
lemmings are always right?
Furthermore, from discussions with
others, it would appear that most of
those affected by these newly-
adopted by-laws do not even know
what they contain!
Therefore, we owe a debt of
gratitude to those on council who
have openly expressed their desire to
give their constituents a fair hearing
and allowed additional time before
passing such an intrusive instrument.
We are also appreciative of the
flexibility shown in making some of
the requested changes.
As for agricultural lands open
burning, discussion among
landowners shows a broad
consensus that there are only two
needful points with which with we
agree in any local burn bylaw: 1) We
agree to informing the fire
department of a significant open
burn, and, 2) We agree that if a
person should light a fire that causes
a real public hazard, or escapes and
causes property damage, that person
may face a significant fine if they
cannot prove to have taken
reasonable measures to prevent a
threat.
As was already stated at the
council table, if a person has a fire
get away and then gets a fine of
several thousand dollars - besides
facing civil costs for property
damage - that will make everyone
else think about consequences
before starting a fire. This is known
as instilling a sense of responsibility.
The rest of the “minutiae” are then
unnecessary, over-reaching and
sometimes completely impractical.
The recently added list of fines for
minor infractions seems rather
juvenile at best. It is in the best
interests of everyone to reduce fire
calls. However, introducing “knee-
jerk” legislation (to quote one
councillor) is neither fair, nor
effective. So keep it simple, please.
The two stated points are all that we
agree to.
John Schwartzentruber, Brussels.
THE EDITOR,
Thanks to The Citizen for the July
23 article regarding the Brussels
Fiddle Jamboree. Your support of
community events such as this one is
greatly appreciated.
I must point out that the Fiddle
Jamboree is solely an endeavour of
the Brussels Lions Club. My role is
as a member of the club and a lover
of live music. The decision to host
the Fiddle Jamboree was made by
the Lions Club with the goal of
community betterment. It takes a
dedicated team to put together such
an event.
Please convey my apologies to
anyone who interpreted this as being
my project alone, and again thank
the fine service clubs that help make
Brussels a great place to live.
Jim Lee, Brussels.
Continued from page 1
animal for the entire Kiss the Pig
event, a task normally reserved for
one of the contestants, because it
proved to be a handful.
North Huron Councilor Bill Knott
raised the most money and kissed
the rear of the animal while CIBC
Blyth Branch employee Susie Elliott
raised the second most and kissed
the snout.
Citizen Editor Shawn Loughlin
played the long game, encouraging
others to donate to Knott and Elliott,
but, in light of the pig not being
holdable, he kissed the snout as well.
The pig, contestants and Hopper
were piped through downtown Blyth
to the stage by Brent Smith and
Hunter McCullagh.
Fraser said that there were a lot of
great events on the street that were
brought together by volunteers and
helpers.
A cornbox (sandbox filled with
corn) and face-painting booth were
set up by Crystal Whyte and manned
by volunteers all day and
skateboarders were showing off
their abilities at the south end of the
event brought together by skater
Micah Loder.
“The skateboarding did very
well,” Fraser said. “People were
impressed and they seemed to work
solidly through the day.”
The annual car show also did very
well according to Fraser, bringing
out more vehicles than ever before.
Prizes were given for the car show
and bike rodeo. For the bike rodeo,
prize packs donated by Blyth
Laundromat and Blyth Building
Supplies were given to Braidon
Abell and Alyssa Bromley while the
award for the car show, donated by
the Blyth Laundromat, went to Todd
McDonald.
Local emergency services were
also on scene with firefighters
helping to run the “Fire House”
trailer which imitates the smoke and
sounds of a burning home and the
Ontario Provincial Police hosting a
bike rodeo.
Fraser said the event also couldn’t
take place without the help of North
Huron Township staff.
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The Citizen
Lee thanks Lions
for their hard work