HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-01-24, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2013.
Farm groups to host
NWMO meeting Feb. 9
Plan divides Blyth residents
Making their impression
Three Blyth boys decided to make a lasting impression on
the snow that blanketed the village over the weekend,
strapping on their warm clothes and getting out and playing
in the snow. Kurtis Marks, top, Brett Bromley, centre, and
Phillip Marks, bottom, were in line and doing their
best snow angel impression over the weekend. (Vicky Bremner
photo)
In response to the Nuclear Waste
Management Organization
(NWMO) courting municipalities
around Southern Ontario for a
repository or dump site for all of
Canada’s high level radioactive
waste Huron County farm groups
are sponsoring a public information
meeting to learn more about the
proposal and its benefits and risks.
The Huron National Farmers Union
Local 335 and Huron District of the
Christian Farmers Federation of
Ontario have invited Brennain Lloyd
of Northwatch to share information
with farmers and the general public
in this part of Southwestern Ontario.
It is hoped that this meeting will
give Huron County residents an
opportunity to learn more about the
proposal by hearing from both the
proponents and from critics however
the NWMO has not responded to an
invitation to send a presenter.
Publicly available information from
the NWMO will be on display at the
meeting.
Brennain Lloyd’s presentation
“Deep Trouble: Nuclear Waste
Burial in the Great Lakes Basin”
will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday,
Feb. 9 in the banquet room at the
Regional Equine and Agricultural
Centre of Huron (REACH). There
will be an opportunity for questions
following the presentation. Since
1988 Northwatch has been
addressing sound energy planning,
healthy forests, responsible mining,
waste reduction and conservation of
our natural resources and
environmental assets. Northwatch
has worked with residents over the
past two decades to prevent
northeastern Ontario from becoming
the receiving ground for foreign
wastes, whether it’s Toronto’s
garbage, Ontario’s biomedical
waste, Canada’s nuclear reactor fuel
waste, or PCBs from around the
world.
Members of the Huron NFU were
concerned after attending an
NWMO open house that the
information provided failed to
adequately present the risks of the
proposal. They decided to host a
meeting with a broader source of
information and are pleased that the
Huron District CFFO wanted to co-
sponsor it. “The decision to put all
of Canada’s high level radioactive
reactor fuel waste under some of
Canada’s best farm land and beside
the Great Lakes is one that should be
considered very cautiously” said
Tony McQuail, Huron NFU
President.
Continued from page 1would want to go to Blyth becauseit’s easy for them to get around
there,” she said. “We want people to
say it’s easy to get around with their
walkers, scooters and replacement
hips. We should really think big and
get accessibility involved so people
who are excited to come here can
regardless of mobility and vision
problems.”
Sparling responded saying that
accessibility was a big part of the
existing plan including using
surfaces and lighting features, as
well as sound features and curb
features to make the village more
accessible for the differently-abled.
Not all the comments, however,
were completely positive. Rick
Howson, of Howson and Howson
Limited, said that he was concerned
with the discussion of changing the
flow of traffic through town since
trucks going to and from Howson
Mills do use the main street. He said
that changes, like speed bumps or
elevated areas, can cause wear and
tear on long trucks.
He also mentioned that the
Radford building, which is currently
vacant, could open again and would
likely service trucks.
Sparling said that he understood
Howson’s concerns and said that the
plan had no intention of changing
the existing speed limit. He said that,
the issue with the corner on
Westmoreland Street, where the
trucks turn, would have to be an
issue taken into account when they
begin the process of finalizing the
plans for the project.
The group discussed the existing
state of business and tourism in
Blyth with individuals like Les
Cook, owner and operator of BlythDance Studios with his wife Jackieand owner of the Queens Bakery
with Jackie and Rick and Anne
Elliott, said that a lot of people travel
to Blyth to go to locations.
“The percentage of people who
will drive to Blyth to take a dance
lesson blows us away,” he said. “But
the number of people who aren’t
driving through the village, but
coming to Blyth, is pretty surprising
at the bakery as well. They are
coming to work at the mill, to be at
the other businesses and to visit
people and they say the work being
done on the main street is absolutely
wonderful. All those people moving
to the city are looking for reasons to
come back to these little towns and
they are blown away by the capacity
of Blyth.”
The group discussed several other
issues, including comparing Blyth to
other towns and how they instituted
similar changes, before talking
about implementing the plans.
While the original plans from
Stantec Consulting called for the
implementation of changes to the
courtyard at the Blyth Memorial
Hall first, several people felt it
would be wiser to focus on Queen
Street first, including architect John
Rutledge who recently moved his
office to Blyth’s commercial core.
“You’ve got the priorities
backwards,” he said. “You need to
fix what needs to be fixed first and
the courtyard in the theatre looks
fine. Yes, maybe it needs some
improvement, but compared to other
things, it doesn’t need fixing right
now.
“That’s not the problem area,” he
said. “The problem area is the
streetscape. That’s the biggest bangfor your buck and that’s somethingeveryone notices. If you do the
courtyard, and don’t do anything
else, then we haven’t accomplished
much.”
The immediate counter-argument
made to Rutledge’s point was that
the $190,000 price tag on redoing
the Festival’s courtyard was a far cry
short of the $1 million for the street
reconstruction, however many
people felt that the streetscape
would be a better investment.
Sparling said that the redesign of
the courtyard was pictured not just
as the start of the project but as a
way to pilot the entire streetscape
plan.
“The community needs to get
behind the project and this was the
ideal spot,” he said. “It’s a living
memorial, the most visited one in
Huron County and it would show
people what we’re starting.”
Rutledge also commented that the
plans for the courtyard looked at
eliminating a lot of the existing
green space which, when he was
involved with the original design of
the courtyard, was an important
feature.
“When we were done and people
saw we kept as much of the lawn as
possible, they were happy,” he said.
“That desire still prevailed.”
While many people suggested that
the inside of the Blyth Memorial
Hall could use focus instead of the
outside, the issue was tabled as it
had nothing to do with the
streetscape plan.
The next major step for the project
is evaluating funding options, an
issue that will be brought forward
when those options are uncovered.
The 136th Annual Meeting of the Members of
will be held at the
The Office of McKillop Mutual
91 Main Street South, Seaforth, Ontario
at 7:30 p.m.
MCKILLOP MUTUAL
INSURANCE COMPANY
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
To receive, consider and approve the 2012 financial statement
and auditor’s report;
To appoint Auditors for 2013;
To elect three qualified Directors for a term of three years;
Retiring Directors are Alex Hansen, Wayne Keller and Walter
McIlwain, all of whom are eligible for re-election
To approve proposed amendments to the company By-laws; and
To transact any other business that may properly come before
the meeting.
Any qualifying policyholder wishing to seek election must
file their intention to stand for election in writing with the
Secretary of the Company at least twenty-one days in advance
of the Annual Meeting. An information session will be held for
interested candidates.
The Annual Financial Statement will be available on the
company’s website and a policyholder may request a copy by
contacting the head office in Seaforth, Ontario.
By order of the Board of Directors
McKillop Mutual Insurance Company
Seaforth, Ontario Rob Moorehead, CIP
Corporate Secretary
MEETING NOTICE
MUNICIPALITY OF
MORRIS-TURNBERRY
The upcoming meetings for the
Municipality of Morris-Turnberry will be held:
Tuesday January 29 at 7:30 pm Budget Meeting
Tuesday February 5 at 7:30 pm Regular Council Meeting
Tuesday February 12 at 7:30 pm Budget Meeting
Tuesday February 19 at 7:30 pm Regular Council Meeting
School
looks
for rep
Continued from page 3
someone from the former Blyth
Public School might step forward to
join her as a community
representative. This is important so
that the entire Hullett Central School
community has the same
opportunity for representation on
the school council. Anyone with
questions about what is involved as a
community representative is
welcome to contact her. Thanks to
Mrs. Goodall for helping our school
council and taking time to come and
talk to us.
Have an awesome week.
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