Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-07-11, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2013. Cardiffs celebrate 60 years Council hears town hall costs Trick wants changes to coyote regulations Huron East Council heard that inflated costs associated with the municipal town hall renovation were primarily due to labour costs at the July 2 council meeting. Treasurer Paula Michiels prepared a report for council saying that the vast majority of costs, totalling over $300,000 above budget, was due to just under 3,200 labour hours at the set contract price of $75 per hour. That left, Michiels said in her report, approximately $58,000 as the cost of additional materials. After hearing the report, Councillor Larry McGrath, stunned by what he had heard, said “there isn’t a God, trust me.” He said he felt the excessive labour costs should have been forecasted and that over $300,000 is not a slight oversight. Had council have known the project was going to cost so much, he said, perhaps the Victoria Street reconstruction project in Seaforth could have been put off until next year. “What’s done is done,” he said, adding that it was a “gross oversight” but not on the side of council. With Chief Administrative Officer Brad Knight away for the week for holidays, council was unable to ask him any questions, but Mayor Bernie MacLellan’s first question was how much Knight knew about the escalation of costs. “Did the CAO know about this? And if not, why not?” MacLellan asked council. There were other questions aimed at Chief Building Official Paul Josling and Building and Property Maintenance Co-ordinator John Hill. MacLellan asked council to hold their questions until the next meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, July 16, when all three men will be in attendance. MacLellan however, cited the St. Columban Soccer project, which went highly over budget and council slapped the soccer association’s wrist and council then turns around and did the exact same thing to its ratepayers. He said that of course there are always going to be unforeseen aspects of a project, but 3,200 hours of labour is something that could have been seen coming. “If we’re going to do a job, we want to do it right, but 3,200 hours of labour is essentially two men for an entire year,” MacLellan said. “Someone should have told somebody.” With changes regarding regulations to livestock kills taking effect on July 1, animal control officer Bob Trick appeared before Huron County Council to update council and propose further tweaking to the county’s regulations. Trick advised council that as of July 1 the process of hunting coyotes that have been involved in a livestock kill was downloaded to the county’s lower tier municipalities by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Trick told councillors he felt the downloading was a step in the right direction as far as he was concerned, saying that when a coyote kills livestock, it becomes a race against the clock. When the process shifted from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ Clinton office to Guelph, Trick said it had taken up to three weeks in the past to authorize the hunting of a predatory coyote, which is far too long of a timeline. In three weeks, Trick said, a coyote could cover a lot of ground, moving on from its den located near the livestock kill. The four groups are affected when a coyote kills livestock, Trick said: farmers, hunters, Huron County and animal right groups. Trick says that he has had his run- ins with animal rights groups over the years, including a pro-coyote meeting held in Holmesville several years ago where a group was advocating that coyotes should never, under any circumstances, be hunted and killed. He said there were some good ideas, as well as some unrealistic ones discussed at the meeting. He said that one of the best ways to prevent livestock kills is fencing, which was discussed at the meeting. However, another concept discussed at the meeting was the farmer urinating along the aforementioned fence line to repel coyotes. Trick said one of the farmers he has dealt with in the past has an operation with 1,000 ewes, which might make the urination defense a little tough to take on. “He’d have to drink a lot of beer to keep the coyotes away,” Trick told councillors. Trick did, however, take issue with certain aspects of the program, saying that the move to a five- kilometre kill radius (down from 10) was a misstep. The kill radius is a five-kilometre radius around where the livestock was killed, in which a hunter can hunt and kill coyotes in the wake of a livestock kill. Trick said he would have liked to see the radius in between five and 10 kilometres, perhaps at seven or eight. Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn agreed with Trick, saying the kill radius would have to expand for him to support a bylaw. “Five kilometres is way too small an area,” Ginn told councillors, encouraging them to change the county bylaw to a higher radius. Trick also advised that each municipality should have two designated hunters to contact when livestock is killed. He said that when livestock is killed, he wants hunters who will be able to hunt when he wants them to, not when they feel it’s convenient, which is where designated hunters, chosen by Trick, come in. Compensation for a coyote kill in the wake of a livestock kill is now $100 in Huron County, up from $50 in 2010. Trick also told councillors that coyote livestock kills are up this year from years past, which has been a cause for concern. Council then passed a motion asking staff to generate a report, taking the discussed changes into effect, for a potential bylaw change. John (Jack) and Audrey Cardiff of RR5 Brussels recently celebrated their 60th anniversary at their farm and at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre on June 29 surrounded by guests from as close as Brussels and as far away as Calgary. Audrey Stewart of RR7, Kincardine, daughter of Albert and Elizabeth (McDonald) Stewart of was wed to John (Jack) Cardiff, son of Albert and Florence (Bremner) Cardiff of RR2, Bluevale in a ceremony at Clarks United Church on the 12th of Huron on June 20, 1953. Presided over by Rev. Purchase and attended by best man Jim Cardiff, usher Gerald Cardiff , usher Cameron Stewart, maid of honour Catherine Stewart, bridesmaid Kathy Edgar, and soloist Jean Cardiff. The couple travelled to Northern Ontario for their honeymoon before returning to Brussels where, in 1956, the couple bought the farm they now live on. Jack was a mechanic at his service station in Molesworth while Audrey worked as a nurse before taking time off to care for her six children. She did eventually return to the profession and retired in 1998. Jack and Audrey’s children are Colleen and her husband Paul Hamann of Kitchener, Allan and his wife Claudia Cardiff of RR5 Brussels, Janet Cardiff Miller and her husband George Miller of British Columbia, Catherine and her husband Gord Fuller of Creemore, Stewart and his wife Alison Cardiff of St. Marys and Robert and his wife Allyson Cardiff of Listowel. The couple has 21 grandchildren. The couple has helped with many events through the farm and at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community centre over the years. Jack enjoys barbershop music and over the years both he and Audrey have enjoyed dancing and socializing with friends and family. Continued from page 15 and Mary’s grandsons Jim Smith and Ivan Wightman, who were with us in spirit. We will always remember them for their jokes and the big part they played in our reunions. The Cardiff family will plan the next reunion. On Sunday, July 14 at 11 a.m. Knox United Church worship service will be held at Ken and Lila Procter’s pond (coming north on Martin Line from Brussels Rd., turn right as directed as brush appears; coming south on Martin Line from Brandon Road, turn left as directed as brush on left ends). The community congratulates Katie Pringle and Shawn Cottrill on their engagement and wish them all the best in their marriage on July 13. There is an open reception at the Wingham Knights of Columbus at 9:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Best wishes are extended from the community to Keith Elston on the celebration of his 60th birthday. The community extends sincere sympathy to Wilma, Murray Scott and family in the loss of a dear mother, grandmother and great- grandmother Marjorie Dale. BLYTH PRINTING INC. BLYTH 523-9211 PRINTING IS OUR BUSINESS • Colour • Business Printing Forms • Posters • Brochures • Letterheads • Flyers • Envelopes • Carbonless • Business Forms Cards • Labels WE CAN DO IT ALL! Answers to Crossword on Page 6 Custom Framing 519-523-4299 414 Queen St., Blyth, Ont. By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Knox United to hold pond-side service Get wedding advice and tips, see a case study and read about local brides on the Brides in Huron section of our website www.northhuron.on.ca A milestone Jack and Audrey Cardiff recently celebrated their 60th anniversary with a large group of friends and family members at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. (Vicky Bremner photo)