The Citizen, 2015-12-10, Page 1CitizenTh
e
$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, December 10, 2015
Volume 31 No. 48
CONCERT - Pg. 22
Blyth singer to blend
Christmas, jazz for show
AWARD - Pg. 14
Citizen of the Year named
for the Blyth community
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:
Search underway for new Central Huron CAO
When you’re not looking...
What if, when they aren’t being observed, toys came alive? North Woods Elementary School’s
Grade 1 students answered just that question during the school’s Christmas concert matinée
on Monday. The students dressed the parts of toys in a toy shop and performed “Parade of the
Wooden Soldiers” for the show. From left: Vanessa Albrecht, Payton Illman and Abi McNaught.
The show also featured performances by “The Treblemakers”, and plenty of other holiday
classics like “Jingle Bells”, “Frosty the Snowman” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. (Denny
Scott photo)
Grey anniversary
goes ahead in 2016
County awaits report
as G2G funding held
Central Huron has again found
itself without a chief administrative
officer, as Peggy Van Mierlo-West,
who was hired in 2012, has accepted
the same position with the City of
Dryden in northern Ontario.
The city’s CAO position had been
vacant since last year. Van Mierlo-
West will officially fill the position
in the city, about four hours
northwest of Thunder Bay, on Dec.
14 after officially resigning late last
month.
Central Huron Council officially
accepted Van Mierlo-West’s
resignation after a closed-to-the-
public session held as part of a
special session on Monday, Nov. 23.
“Upon reconvening into open
session, the mayor [Jim Ginn]
advised that Peggy Van Mierlo-West
has tendered her resignation as chief
administrative officer of the
municipality effective Dec.
11, 2015,” read the minutes from
the Nov. 23 meeting.
A motion moved by Councillor
Alison Lobb and seconded by
Councillor Burkhard Metzger
accepted Van Mierlo-West’s letter of
resignation.
This continues an era of
comparative instability at the Central
Huron CAO position.
After years of working with
Central Huron, Richard Harding
resigned from the position to work
full-time with the Regional Equine
and Agricultural Centre of Huron
(REACH) in 2010, giving way to
Kevin McIlwain, who didn’t last
long in the position. Retired Huron
East CAO Jack McLachlan then
filled the position on an interim basis
before Van Mierlo-West was hired in
July, 2012.
In an interview with The Citizen,
Mayor Jim Ginn said that council
decided how it would like to proceed
immediately, at that same Nov. 23
meeting, although he couldn’t
elaborate further, as it’s a personnel
issue.
“At that meeting, we decided how
we wanted to proceed and that
process is underway now,” Ginn
said.
His hope is that council will be
able to make an announcement very
soon.
Ginn did say, however, that
council was sad to see Van Mierlo-
West go.
“I want to thank Peggy for her
work over the years and we certainly
wish her the best going forward,”
Ginn said.
Huron County Council has
pressed the pause button on the
suggested reallocation of funds
originally budgetted for staff time
related to the Goderich-to-Guelph
(G2G) Rail Trail.
The issue was up for discussion at
Huron County Council’s committee
of the whole meeting on Dec. 2.
Originally, $16,000 had been
placed in the 2015 budget to account
for staff time that would be allocated
to the trail through the Huron
County Planningb Department.
However, according to a report by
Chief Administrative Officer Brenda
Orchard, “planning staff were able to
absorb this work within their
existing schedules in 2015 and
volunteers from G2G were able to
provide time to this endeavour as
well, therefore an individual was not
hired for this purpose.”
Orchard’s report, in accordance
After a successful first planning
meeting, a Grey Township 160th
anniversary celebration in 2016 is
beginning to take shape.
Huron East Councillors Alvin
McLellan and Dianne Diehl hosted
the first planning meeting last
Thursday night – an informal
gathering of residents intended to
gauge the community’s interest in
potentially hosting a special
anniversary event.
McLellan, in an interview with
The Citizen, said the response was
overwhelming, with approximately
25 residents coming out to the Grey
Fire Hall for the meeting, more than
either he or Diehl had expected.
All in attendance, McLellan said,
were in favour of hosting an
anniversary event, but there are still
many questions that need to be
answered, whether it be from the
Municipality of Huron East or from
the Avon Maitland District School
Board over potential use of North
Woods Elementary School.
While nothing has been finalized
yet, some in attendance thought it
would be nice to roll the anniversary
celebration into the school’s annual
children’s fun fair. If the celebration
is held outside of the school year,
McLellan said, the building won’t
then be available for use.
The group is tentatively looking at
the last weekend in June, 2016 for
the homecoming weekend, but
nothing is set in stone.
He said that the weekend may
include a historical display from
Grey Central Public School (the
previous incarnation of North Woods
Elementary School) that will provide
a bit of a school reunion feel with
plenty of historical photographs for
people to see and discuss.
Those in attendance felt that for a
160th anniversary, a ball tournament
may draw too many volunteers and
players away from other events,
McLellan said, so the consensus was
that perhaps a mini old-timers ball
tournament could be part of the
weekend, which would leave people
plenty of time for other activities.
Other events that are being
considered as part of the weekend
are a beef barbecue dinner and a
parade through Ethel.
There was also discussion
surrounding a potential street dance
in Ethel, while others suggested that
if a street dance isn’t possible,
perhaps a fiddle jamboree could be
held instead.
Members of the Grey Station of
the Huron East Fire Department are
planning on hosting a firefighters’
breakfast that weekend as well,
McLellan said.
The next planning meeting has
been set for Thursday, Jan. 14 at 7
p.m., at the Grey Fire Hall in Ethel.
The Citizen
Celebrating 30 Years
1985~2015
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 20