HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-01-03, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013. PAGE 9.
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when he announced that the tender
for the Maitland River Elementary
School in Wingham had been
approved.
Howe said the plan was to have the
school finished as soon as possible
and ready to open for the first day of
school in September, 2013.
Given the controversy surrounding
his proposal of a Morris-Turnberry
fire department, Mayor Paul Gowing
proposed a county-wide fire
department at the April 4 meeting of
Huron County Council.
Gowing said he is tired of being
the only municipality in Ontario to
have not even a part-share in
ownership of a fire department, and
felt that should change sooner, rather
than later.
Gowing said he arrived at the idea
of a county-wide service after
negotiating through “a great deal of
difficulty” with “one of the costliest
[fire services] in the county”.
Fire Department of North Huron
Chief John Black announced
that he would be taking a
medical leave from the department,
citing a returning battle with
cancer.
Black made the announcement at
the Belgrave Community Centre
after swearing in five new
firefighters, a new department
chaplain and fire protection
officer.
After announcing a joint meeting
to discuss fire service, North Huron
Council cancelled the meeting,
much to the dismay of Morris-
Turnberry Mayor Paul Gowing.
After comments Gowing had
made, Reeve Neil Vincent decided
that the meeting “would not be in
anyone’s best interests”.
Huron County Council approved
its 2012 budget with a modest
increase of just 0.47 per cent.
Shortly after taking a medical
leave of absence, Fire Department of
North Huron Chief John Black
passed away on April 28, leaving the
community to mourn.
Fire Department of North Huron
Chief John Black was honoured at a
large funeral service at the
Emergency Services Training Centre
in Blyth.
Hundreds were on hand to
celebrate a man that by all accounts
was a well-liked, hard-working
firefighter.
Former North Huron councillor
Steven Sparling, in a letter to The
Citizen, said he was encouraged by
the Queen Street Revitalization
Strategy that was being proposed for
Blyth. He said confidence in the
strategy would help the local
economy through tough times.
The Dave Mounsey Memorial
Fund received a $15,000 donation
from the Global series Canada
Sings. A team of OPP officers
competed on the show hoping to
raise money for the Fund. They
came up short, however, but WestJet,
the corporation which beat out the
OPP team, donated $15,000 to the
cause, to which $5,000 consolation
from the show was added.
The Huron County Plowmen’s
Association announced that it was
setting its sights on the 2017
International Plowing Match (IPM).
Not only would the 2017 match be
the 100th IPM held in Ontario, but it
would be the 150th anniversary of
the confederation of Canada.
Surveys scheduled to be
distributed by Morris-Turnberry
Council to its residents were delayed
to allow new negotiations with
North Huron to take place.
A report full of over 50
recommendations prepared by
consultant George Cuff had
members of Huron County Council
talking and discussing what should
be implemented and what should be
left as it is.
After extended fire negotiations
between North Huron and Morris-
Turnberry, Central Huron Council
decided that it wanted to be present
for negotiations as well.
The statement came as a result of a
letter written by residents of Auburn,
saying that whatever decision is
made in the North Huron/Morris-
Turnberry situation, it would affect
Central Huron residents, especially
those in border villages like Auburn.
Huron County Chief
Administrative Officer Larry Adams
and Treasurer David Carey were
officially placed on non-disciplinary
administrative leave after an
emergency closed-to-the-public
meeting.
The Wingham Heritage Theatre
closed its doors after years of
service in the North Huron
community.
Warden Bernie MacLellan
announced that he would run for a
second term of warden.
As a recommendation made by
consultant George Cuff, Huron
County Council began considering
expanding the role of warden to a
two-year term.
A Brussels-area man’s canoe was
featured in Queen Elizabeth II’s
flotilla.
Huron East purchased the former
Brussels Public School and
announced that the building
would live on as a small business
incubator.
The sixth annual Ainsleigh
Bontaine Memorial Charity Golf
Tournament was set for June 24.
Prior to the 2012 tournament,
previous tournaments had raised inexcess of $90,000 for the children’s
hospital at the London Health
Sciences Centre.
Eric Coates, the longest-serving
artistic director in the Blyth
Festival’s history, announced that he
would be stepping down from his
position and moving on to become
the artistic director of the Great
Canadian Theatre Company in
Ottawa.
During his time with the Festival,
Coates produced 28 world
premieres.
The Avon Maitland District
School Board announced that
several closures made during the
previous year had helped them to
balance the board’s budget.
Huron County Council voted to
shift its representation down from 16
to 15, voting to reduce the number of
Bluewater representatives from three
to two.
The new policy gave “larger”
municipalities two representatives
and “smaller” municipalities one
representatives.
Londesborough athlete Lexi
Aitken won three gold medals at the
Legion’s provincial track and field
championships. She also set a new
provincial record.
Blyth’s first annual Buskerfest was
hailed as a success, drawing 35 acts.
It was announced that Stephen
Charles Ainlay, great-great-
grandson of William Ainlay, the
founder of Brussels (which was
called Ainleyville at the time) would
be in Brussels later that month to
marshal the village’s Homecoming
parade.
An inquest into the 2009 death of
former North Huron Councillor
Murray Nesbitt resulted in 14
recommendation aimed at making
workplaces, such as the Sifto SaltMine, safer.
The Ontario Fire Marshal weighed
in on the dispute between North
Huron and Morris-Turnberry
Councils, saying he wanted a
resolution sooner rather than later.
With the announcement that the
E.D. Smith salad dressing plant in
Seaforth would be closing by the fall
of 2013, Huron East was slated to
lose nearly 200 jobs as a result of the
closure.
Attendance at the Walton
TransCan was said to be up between
15 and 20 per cent. Organizer Chris
Lee attributed the boost largely to
the inclusion of a Friday night
concert with Jason Blaine.
Londesborough’s Lexi Aitken set
a new Canadian record in the under-
16 girls 200-metre hurdles in P.E.I.
at the Legion’s National Track and
Field Championships.
Jacob and Brian McGavin led the
way once again at the Huron County
Plowing Match, which was held in
their home municipality of Huron
East.
Former Blyth Festival Artistic
Director Peter Smith made his return
to the position on an interim basis in
the wake of the resignation of Eric
Coates.
Members of the Blyth Festival’s
Young Company, who were
performing in The Farm 2012, got a
special treat when they received a
visit from members of the cast of
The Farm Show, the original classic
from the 1970s, including its creator
and member of the Order of Canada
Paul Thompson.
Bicycles for Humanity, a program
created by Auburn-area native Mark
Nonkes, returned for a third year.
The program collects bicycles and
sends them to Africa where they can
create jobs and change lives.
Economic development specialist
Douglas Barrill said he hoped to
complete a county-wide business
retention and expansion study by
January, 2013.
In an interview with The Citizen,
Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson
reflected back on her first year in the
Fire department loses chief to cancer in April
Honouring the fallen
A large group of firefighters, colleagues, friends and family members gathered in Blyth on April
28 to honour the life of Fire Department of North Huron Chief John Black who died due to
complications with cancer earlier in the year. The funeral was preceded by a parade that made
its way down from the Blyth and District Community Centre to the Emergency Services Training
Centre. (File photo)
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