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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, August 20, 2015
Volume 31 No. 32
FESTIVAL - Pg. 19
Young Company prepares
for season’s clown show
TRIATHLON - Pg. 6
Sawchuk’s fellow Tri-Hard
speaks out on initiative
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:
Local providers offer SWIFT alternative
Rocking the night away
What started as a humble idea just a few years ago has
grown into a grand Huron County attraction with the
addition of the Friday night concert at the annual Parts
Canada TransCan Grand National Championship in
Walton. This is, however, nothing new. After all, the TransCan had
humble beginnings as well, and has now grown to be one of Huron
County’s top tourism draws. Here, fans enjoy the musical stylings
of Brett Kissel, right, on Friday night. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Walton TransCan continues year-over-year growth
Since the South West Integrated
Fibre Technology (SWIFT) initiative
was first presented to Huron County
Council, councillors were looking
for a local alternative. It was
presented to them at their Aug. 12
committee of the whole meeting.
The proposal comes from the
Independent Telecommunications
Providers Association (ITPA),
created by 10 independent
companies serving southwestern
Ontario, including several local
providers like Tuckersmith
Communications, Hurontel and
Wightman Telecommunications, to
name a few.
As several councillors had
requested, the proposal, while
currently at a very “high level” stage
right now, aims for “last mile
connectivity” throughout Huron
County’s rural communities that
currently don’t have access to
internet through fibre optic cable.
Jonathan Holmes, a consultant for
the independent companies’
response to the SWIFT initiative,
spoke to council about the
document.
He told councillors that the focus
should be on broadband connectivity
and building last mile foundations.
He said that getting residents
connected down country roads
through southwestern Ontario is
“where the real need is”.
Holmes said that his document
focuses on last mile connectivity,
while the SWIFT model shines more
of a light on creating a fibre
backbone throughout southwestern
Ontario, which he says already
exists thanks to the hard work of
independent providers over the last
few decades.
Rob Van Aaken, general manager
of Tuckersmith Communications
Co-operative, said that the group felt
it was necessary to take its own
action on what SWIFT was trying to
achieve, so the companies hired a
consultant and established its own
priorities.
Holmes said that SWIFT does
little to address a number of gaps in
service, especially in Huron
County, where last mile connectivity
needs to be addressed.
Another big difference between
the two proposals, Holmes said, is
that while SWIFT is seeking to
The 88th annual Huron County
Ploughing Match will be hosted at
the farm of Bill and Dan Hayden in
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh this
Thursday and Friday.
Located at 83419 Division Line
outside of Port Albert, the match will
start with Junior Day on Aug. 20
which will include coaching, the 4-H
Sodbuster Achievement Day and the
Princess competition.
Set for 1:30 p.m., the Princess
competition will see reigning
Princess Natalie Fear hand her
crown to one of five young women
competing for the 2015 honour of
princess: Tori Cutting, daughter of
Bryan and Susanne of Dungannon;
Haley Grummett, daughter of John
and Grace of Dungannon; Emily
Terpstra, daughter of Joe and Barb
of the Brussels area; Luanne
McGregor, daughter of Steve and
Anne Marie of the Kippen area and
Jenna Thompson of the Dungannon
area, daughter of Rhonda and Bryan
Ramsey and Bob and Sherife
Thomson.
Friday will feature different
classes of competition as well as
auctions and other attractions and
the various aspects of the Queen of
the Furrow competition
The competition will see current
Queen Ursina Studhalter pass her
reign on to one of six competitors.
Hoping to capture the Queen’s
crown are: former Princess Kabrina
Bishop, daughter of Kevin and
Jacquie of Bluevale; Eugenia
Pentland, daughter of Paul and
Rosemary of the Nile area; Holly
Becker, daughter of Lance Becker
and Liz Gras of the Seaforth area;
While it’s too early to compile
exact figures, organizers think the
Walton TransCan is doing exactly
what they hoped it would every
year: grow.
The event, under its official name
of the Parts Canada TransCan Grand
National Championship, was
another success this year says Brett
Lee of Tite Racing, the event’s
parent company.
This year marks the first time the
event has required its new secondary
parking site, which Lee says is
definitely a good sign as far as
attendance is concerned.
Lee said that all of the patrons and
vendors he spoke with were very
happy with the event, which
spanned several days last week
welcoming tens of thousands of
people to the small community of
Walton.
The star of the show is still the
motocross competition, he said, and
this year provided one of the best
races in memory.
In the Moto Pro class, Lee said,
the top two competitors knocked
each other down on the first turn of
the race, making for intense drama
as the race continued.
“The racing was awesome this
year. I think the track was better this
year than it’s been in a while,” Lee
said.
The weather was also very co-
operative, making for a perfect
string of days for Huron County’s
premier tourism attraction.
The Friday night concert was
another success story, Lee said, as
its attendance grew again. It has
grown every year since it began and
this year was no exception.
Country music star Brett Kissel
proved to be a big draw, Lee said,
bringing people from all over the
country for the show.
Since Lee, along with his friend
and business partner Mark Perrin,
took over the event from Brett’s
father Chris several years ago, the
event has continued to grow, which
The Citizen
Celebrating 30 Years
1985~2015
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
HC Ploughing Match this week
Continued on page 20Continued on page 10
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 11
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen