HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-05-16, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2013.Huron East couple battles transmission line
Local student wins top prize at photo show
Big winner
The Last Light Photo Show, held in memory of Sarah Mann, a former Citizen reporter, will be
on display until May 20 at the Goderich Library. Its opening gala was held last Saturday and
Jenna Hopper, second from left, from RR5, Brussels took home the top prize in the 12 and
under category, following in her sister Caleigh’s footsteps, as she won the previous year.
Presenting Jenna with her prize are Sarah’s sister Jessica, left, her mother Lynne, second
from right and her father, Steve, right. (Photo submitted)
Huron East Council will be
supporting the fight of a Seaforth-
area couple that doesn’t want their
land disrupted by a transmission line
associated with wind turbines.
Jim and Janet Papple say that over
10 mature trees will have to be
removed from the front of their
property if NextEra Energy proceeds
with its plan to install power
transmission lines along Highway 8
through Huron East. Because the
lines would be installed along a
provincial highway, however, the
company does not need permission
from any landowners ormunicipalities.Mayor Bernie MacLellan
acknowledged that there is nothing
council can do in the situation and
said that a legal opinion was
obtained, essentially telling them
that it isn’t the municipality’s fight
to wage.
Councillor Larry McGrath said
that council should request a face-to-
face meeting with NextEra and
demand some answers. Councillor
Les Falconer said that if Huron East
takes on the province in a court case
over this matter, and loses, then the
province will simply own Huron
East and the province will have to
pay anyway.Falconer suggested that councilshouldn’t ask for the transmission
line to be re-routed, that council
should tell NextEra to do it.
Councillor David Blaney,
however, said that council should
adhere to the old playground motto
that you don’t pick a fight
with someone who has all the
weapons.
“It’s an empty threat and they
know it,” Blaney said. He said that
council would never get anywhere
being falsely confident and the only
way they would get anywhere was
by being nice.
Council then approved a motion to
send a letter to NextEra Energysaying the municipality issupporting the Papples’ request to
have the transmission line re-routed.
After the Papples left, however,
conversation continued, with
MacLellan saying that he finds it
frustrating that people are coming to
council with issues council can do
nothing about.
“It’s the same as if a group of
citizens came to us not wanting to
pay their income tax,” MacLellan
said. “That’s not going to happen.”
He said that the province has never
listened to Huron East or rural
Ontario when preparing its rules and
regulations and he didn’t think they
were going to start now.MacLellan said that he andmembers of Huron County Council
have been trying to institute changes
to the Provincial Policy Statement
on planning for four years and they
have gotten nowhere.
He said that he wants to help
people who face tough
circumstances, but that he can’t
support something that will lose the
municipality millions in legal costs.
If there was even the slightest
chance that the municipality could
win such a case, MacLellan said, he
would be the first one to support it,
but he doesn’t think there is any
chance.
For the second time in as many
years, RR5, Brussels is home to an
award-winning photographer who
isn’t old enough to drive.
Jenna Hopper, sister of last year’s
winner Caleigh, was awarded the top
prize in the Community Living
Central Huron’s Last Light Photo
Show on Saturday, May 4 in
Goderich. Hopper won in the 12 and
under category, the same category
Caleigh topped in 2012.
Jenna looked at the show’s three
categories, the best of Ontario’s west
coast, sporting fun and the colour
red, and put paintbrush to canvas
before taking to her camera.
Her award-winning picture is a
well-framed shot of a canvas on
which she painted a red flower. The
image of the canvas, along with the
paintbrush and red tube of paint
impressed the show’s judges and
Hopper was named the winner of the
category.
Hopper, a former East Wawanosh
Public School student is now in
Grade 7 at Maitland River
Elementary School’s Grade 7 and 8
campus at F.E. Madill Secondary
School.
She says she has always liked
taking pictures and it’s something
that she’s considering as a career as
she will soon be making her way
into high school.
Right now, however, Hopper’s
favourite time spent at school is in
drama class.
Hopper’s mother, Debbie, has
worked at Community Living in
Wingham for almost eight years and
when she first heard about the
show/fundraiser last year through
the organization, she jumped at the
chance to get the whole family
involved and foster creativity for her
children, as well as her husband.
As he did last year when Caleigh
produced an award-winning
photograph, the pair’s father Roger
also submitted some photographs in
hopes of winning. Roger’s hobby
has always been biking around the
countryside, so Jenna says her dad
took several pictures of bikes and
submitted them to the show.
Jenna, Caleigh and Roger each
submitted three pictures, the
maximum allowed per person under
the show’s rules.
Jenna’s other pictures included a
picture of drying roses, as well as the
picture of her flower painting. Her
sister Caleigh, who also attends
Maitland River Elementary School,
at the Wingham Public School
campus, submitted pictures of a red
barn and a red mailbox, among
others.
Upon arriving at the gala opening
for the show on May 4 at the
Goderich Library, where the show
will continue until May 20, Jenna
says there’s no way that she thought
she would win, so she was pretty
surprised to find out that she had, in
fact, won.
“It was surreal,” Hopper says. “It
was really surprising.”
She says that the win is really
special to her because of her mom’s
involvement with Community
Living. She says she’s seen the good
that the organization can do, so it
was nice to be part of a fundraiser
for it.
She says that she hopes the show
will help those at Community Living
to get some special privileges that
they perhaps wouldn’t have
otherwise had the chance to
experience.
The family is looking forward to
participating once again next year,
especially Caleigh, who says that
with Jenna now moving on to adult
categories, it may give her a chance
for another win.
The Last Light Photo Show began
over five years ago when Sarah
Mann, a former reporter with both
The Goderich Signal Star and The
Citizen, was killed in an automobile
collision. Mann’s love of
photography and sunsets (the day’s
last light) helped to inspire the show,
which now serves as a fundraiser for
Community Living, a cause that was
very close to Mann’s heart. She had
served in a summer position at
Community Living in Wingham.
Pictures will remain on display at
the Goderich Library until May 20.
Pictures will be available for sale
with all of the proceeds going
straight to Community Living
Central Huron in honour of the
month of May, which is Community
Living Awareness Month.
For more information on the show,
visit Community Living Central
Huron’s website at www.clch.ca
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Jenna Hopper’s award-winning picture, seen above,
impressed the judges and kept with one of the show’s
themes of the colour red. (Photo submitted)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen
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