The Citizen, 2013-03-21, Page 1CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, March 21, 2013
Volume 29 No. 12
AGRICULTURE - Pg. 11Huron County JuniorFarmers named best overall COUNTY - Pg. 20 Huron County releasesits ‘Sunshine List’BUDGET - Pg. 3North Huron Councilapproves 2013 budgetPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Council holds illegal meetings says Ombudsman
A little audience participation
The Puppet Tamer was in Blyth on Saturday, hosting two afternoon shows and then an evening show for the adults. While the
star of the show, left, ventriloquist Tim Hollands lives up to his name and performs most of his act with puppets such as Crackers
the Parrot, Julius the Turtle and others, he has also been known to bring up living, breathing assistants to help him with the show.
Here, Sara and Cameron jumped at the chance to give The Puppet Tamer a hand. The show was sponsored by the Blyth Legion.
(Jim Brown photo)
Peters
impresses
in NHL
return
According to Ontario’s
Ombudsman André Marin, Central
Huron held two illegal closed-to-the-
public meetings last year. Not all in
Central Huron’s camp, however, are
buying Marin’s reasoning.
As a result of the report, Marin has
made nine recommendations to
council on how situations like these
could be avoided in the future.
In a report released last week,
Marin investigated three meetings
held behind closed doors by Central
Huron Council. He found meetings
held on May 7 and July 26 to be
illegal, while a meeting held on June
11 was deemed to fit within the
province’s closed-to-the-public
meeting regulations.
To read the 17-page report in full,
visit The Citizen’s website at
www.northhuron.on.ca
Marin was called in when,
according to the report, his office
“received a complaint regarding the
closed meeting practices of council
for the Municipality of Central
Huron. The complaint referred to
closed meetings held on May 7, June
11 and July 26, 2012. The
complaintant alleged that these
closed meetings were held without
prior public notice.”
The first meeting, on May 7, was
called because of “a councillor’s
concerns about the reporting style of
a local journalist” according to the
report.
It was found to be a topic
inappropriate for a closed meeting.
Marin reported that one member of
the municipal staff said he did not
believe the subject was appropriate
for closed session, and voiced this
opinion at the meeting. This was not
reflected in the closed meeting’s
minutes.
“One councillor indicated to us,”
the report states, “that ‘council’s
displeasure with how things are
reported’ was not an appropriate
matter for closed session.”
Three councillors, however, felt it
was an appropriate topic for a
closed-to-the-public meeting.
Marin eventually concluded that
the matter, while dealing with an
identifiable individual, should have
been handled in open session.
“With respect to the discussion
about a journalist, it related to a
councillor’s concern about a
headline, rather than to any personal
matter,” the report reads.
“Accordingly, this topic did not fall
within the personal matters
exception contained in Section 239
of the Municipal Act and should
have been discussed in open
session.”
In addition, the report states that
Marin was not provided with any
indication as to why the item
concerning a local journalist was so
urgent or time-sensitive that it had to
be added to the closed meeting
agenda at the last minute. If at all
possible, Marin stated in the report,
council should avoid adding items at
After a lengthy search and
selection process, Marion de Vries
has been named the Blyth Festival’s
new artistic director.
Interim Artistic Director Peter
Smith is set to depart on Sept. 1 and
de Vries will begin her time with the
Festival on Aug. 1, leaving one
month of overlap for Smith to
acclimatize de Vries with the
Festival, though most involved with
the hiring process feel that’s not
going to be necessary.
She currently has a play
commissioned by the Festival,
entitled Kitchen Radio, and has been
to the Blyth Festival several times in
a number of different capacities,
including, most recently, serving as
the Festival’s playwright in
residence in 2010 and 2011.
For various reasons, including her
extensive experience at the Blyth
Festival, David Armstrong, chair of
the search committee, says de
Vries is the right choice for the
With an injury to first-string
goaltender Cam Ward, Blyth native
Justin Peters has led the NHL’s
Carolina Hurricanes to two wins
including a shut-out win against the
Washington Capitals on March 12.
Normally, the Hurricanes would
be fronted by Ward. However, he has
been sidelined for six weeks to two
months with a mediate collateral
ligament (MCL) sprain in his knee
and Peters was brought up to share
responsibilities with normal backup
Dan Ellis.
Two years ago, Peters was the
backup goalie for the Hurricanes
marking 12 matches in net.
He was dropped down to the
team’s American Hockey League
(AHL) affiliate the Charlotte
Checkers last year. He only
appeared in seven NHL games that
season.
Peters, however, looked every
inch the veteran goaltender when he
answered the call to fill in Ward’s
pads.
Since being called up, he has
managed a .908 save percentage and
a 2.76 goals against average, lower
than Ward’s at the time of his injury.
Ellis has played in nine matches,
started in seven, and Peters has
started and played in four, marking
two wins and two losses, having
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 8
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Festival hires de Vries as AD
Continued on page 16
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 18