HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-09-17, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015.
Blanket exercise coming to Belgrave church
A choir workshop will be held in
the church on Friday, Sept. 18, 4:30
to 6:15 p.m. New members are
always welcome.
On Anniversary Sunday, Sept. 20
the children’s chime choir will play,
so the children should gather by 11
a.m. Alison (Roberts) Miculan will
be the guest speaker. Everyone is
welcome. The Blanket Exercise is
coming to Belgrave. As part of
student minister Brian Hymers’
major project he must present three
applied projects and receive
feedback for each experience.
He needs approximately 25 people
to attend the event. It is guaranteed
to be educational, very informative
and extremely emotional to boot.
All members of your family are
welcome. It will take place in the
church basement Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.
and will take between two and two-
and-a-half hours to complete.
We are hopeful for an elder or two
from Wesley United at Saugeen
Shores to join with us, as well as
Pastor Kevin Hart DLM to present
the First Nation side of the
discussion. Hope to see you on Sept.
24. Do not forget your favourite
blanket.
On Oct. 4, Chime-In practice will
resume.
The 95th Annual Elementary
School Fair will be held on Saturday,
Sept. 19.
The Elementary School Fair has
been part of our community for
almost 100 years. The fair began in
1920 and is the only remaining fair
open only to exhibits and school
work created by students.
In 1920, the fair included students
from nine schools across Morris and
East Wawanosh Townships. Over the
next few years more schools from
East Wawanosh and Turnberry
joined the fair. At one point 21
schools were participating. A
number of buildings in Belgrave
such as the Women’s Institute Hall,
Orange Hall and local churches were
used to house the students’ entries
which included everything from
cross-stitch and milk stool building
to home churned butter.
Some of the special competitions
held were hitching a horse to a
buggy, public speaking, music and
class marching. Today marching into
the fairgrounds is still a major part of
the day and the winning grades are
awarded with special prizes.
In 1967 local one-room
schoolhouses were closed and
amalgamated into the Blyth,
Brussels, and East Wawanosh Public
Schools. It was feared that this
change would be the end of the fair
but a small group of people rallied
together and ensured the fair
continued.
In 2012, with another
amalgamation and a transition to the
Maitland River Elementary School,
F.E. Madill and Hullett Central
Public School, a new group, which
includes grandchildren of the 1967
group, came together and with the
continued support of the community
and our amazing students, the
Elementary School Fair will carry on
strong for many more years.
Laundromat
Blyth Laundromat
191 Westmoreland St., Blyth
519-523-9687
By Linda
Campbell
Call
357-2188
PEOPLE AROUND
BELGRAVE
NEWS
FROM BELGRAVE
The best breakfast around
Whether visitors to the village were there for the yard sales, the annual reunion of the Huron
Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association, or both, the best breakfast in Blyth on Saturday and
Sunday morning could be found at the Emergency Services Training Centre just outside of
Blyth. Fire Department of North Huron firefighters, their friends and family, through the Blyth
Firefighters Association, were cooking bacon, Canadian bacon, pancakes, toast and eggs for
breakfast. Organizers said the event is helped along significantly by a donation from the Huron
County Egg Farmers. (Denny Scott photo)
95th School fair set for Sept. 19
This year’s Elementary School
Fair will not be held on a school day,
which President Margaret Vincent
hopes will encourage more parents
to attend.
Set for Saturday, Sept. 19, the 95th
Elementary School Fair, formerly
the Blyth, Belgrave and Brussels
School Fair, will offer up something
for everyone at the Belgrave
grounds. Vincent said that with this
being an anniversary year, she
wanted to do her best to make sure
plenty of people were in attendance.
“With work schedules, it can be
difficult for parents to come [on the
fair’s traditional day, Wednesday],
plus kids are just back to school,
which also makes it tougher,” she
said. So with the Saturday change,
she and other volunteer organizers
were hoping for a good turnout as a
result.
Next year, Vincent says, the plan is
to move the fair back to its
traditional Wednesday date, but an
official date has yet to be chosen or
announced.
This year’s event will begin at
10:30 a.m. with a student parade,
followed then by the fair’s opening
ceremonies, which will begin at 11
a.m. at the grounds’ baseball
diamond.
As part of the opening
ceremonies, organizers are hoping to
take a picture with all of the Fair’s
past presidents who are able to
attend. They are being asked to meet
in front of the wagon immediately
following the opening ceremonies.
Livestock showcases, which have
always been a big part of the
festivities, will begin at 11:30 a.m.
The Sciensational Sssnakes show
with Jenny Pearce begins at 12:30
p.m.
Nothing has really changed from
last year’s fair, Vincent says, in that
many of the same exhibits will be
back again. There will be a snake
and reptile exhibit, as well as
displays from a number of different
groups in the Belgrave Community
Centre.
Because it is an anniversary fair,
Vincent says there will also be an
anniversary exhibit that highlights
some memories from fairs past.
One of the brightest aspects of this
year’s fair, which is a historic benefit
of the fair, Vincent says, is that it
gives local students an opportunity
to interact with animals in a way
they might not otherwise be able.
While many area children have
grown up on farms, others haven’t
she says, and the fair is a great
chance for them to be up close and
personal with farm animals so they
can learn about them.
It’s experiences and memories like
those that first compelled Vincent to
become involved with the fair in the
first place.
In this, her second year as the
organization’s president, she wanted
to keep the traditions alive that she
remembered experiencing when she
was young, even if she doesn’t yet
have children who would be taking
part in the fair.
With the fair facing several school
closures a number of years ago and
its future in jeopardy, was when she
jumped in, not wanting to see nearly
100 years of history and knowledge
disappear.
“The fair had survived one
amalgamation, so we figured it
could survive a second,” she said.
The transition hasn’t been without
its challenges, she said, but overall
the dedicated group of volunteers
has made it work for the students
who are thirsty for this type of
hands-on, practical knowledge,
Vincent says.
Although the Township of North Huron does not have a cat by-law, the owner of a
cat has a responsibility to keep their cat on their property, and if going outside
placing a leash or harness on their pet to restrain it. They must also be responsible
enough to vaccinate and neuter or spay their cat to prevent attracting stray cats into
the area.
Cat owners should be aware that cats can roam a lot further than dogs. When
allowed to roam, they can get into garbage cans, defecate in flowerbeds and sandboxes, cause traffic
accidents and contribute to pet overpopulation. In addition, they can have a devastating effect on local
wildlife, killing songbirds and small animals.
The most important reason to keep your cat indoors is for their own safety, millions of cats suffer and
die because their owners give them free reign to roam the neighbourhood. In the outdoors, cats can
fall victim to disease, cat fights, poison, parasites, cruel people and the biggest cat killer of all, traffic.
While property owners can take steps to deter cats on their property, they should also be aware that
they cannot, by law, do anything that is cruel to any animal.
It takes everyone’s help to control animals at large. Keeping your garbage in a container with a tight lid
on it helps to keep unwanted animals from spreading garbage.
Be a responsible cat owner and keep your cat safely confined in its natural habitat; the home you share.
TOWNSHIP OF NORTH HURON
Be a Responsible Cat Owner!
Have A New Addition?
519-523-4792
or
519-887-9114
Let everyone know about
your new bundle of joy!
The Citizen