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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, October 31, 2013
Volume 29 No. 43
MADILL - Pg. 11Commencement honourslocal students CAR CARE - Pg. 13‘The Citizen’ gets yourcar ready for fall/winterSPORTS- Pg. 8Ironmen split over weekend,pull into tie for firstPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
14/19 committee presents to North Huron
Festival
reveals
season
Taking their time in order to carve the perfect pumpkin into a Jack-
o-Lantern were Lois Rowe and Helen Lindsay, left, and Braxton
Barger, right, just in time for Halloween in Huron County.
(Jim Brown photos)
It’s carving time
The third annual Auburn Village Pumpkin Party was held at
the Memorial Hall in Auburn on Saturday. The day began
with pumpkin carving, continued with a dinner and then
culminated with the lighting of the pumpkins later that night.
With a few new developments to
report, members of the 14/19
Committee visited North Huron
Township Council on Oct. 24.
Led by recently named Project
Manager Peter Smith as well as
committee chair Rick Elliott, the
organization explained to council a
few key issues including the use of
Huron Geomatics as part of
upgrades to the Memorial Hall,
demographics and their part in the
campaign and the creation of a 14/19
not-for-profit corporation.
The corporation, called the Blyth
Arts and Culture Initiative 14/19
Incorporated, will be the official
representation of the organization
when dealing with organizations like
the provincial government.
The creation of the corporation
was important because it was
required for the 14/19 committee to
apply for funds under programs like
the grant programs offered by the
Ontario Trillium Foundation.
While discussions revolving
around Huron Geomatics and the
creation of the corporation were
expected, the discussion of
demographics was a new point for
the group.
Smith, in an interview with The
Citizen prior to the meeting,
explained he had discovered Huron
County has the third oldest
population in Canada.
When he explained that to council,
Elliott said people initially saw it as
a point of pride.
“People saw in the comments that
we have the third oldest population
in Canada and four per cent
unemployment and they thought that
was a good thing,” he said in an
interview with The Citizen on
Monday. “However, that’s because
our greatest export is youth. We see
the 14/19 campaign as a chance to
keep youth here.
“We need the youth here because
they are where the energy, the
excitement, the questions and the
what-if scenarios come from,” he
said. “They will help with
the cultural hub and the cultural hub
will help keep them involved here.”
He said that, while manufacturing
businesses are a great asset to Huron
County, they won’t be as important
in the future as they have been in the
past and more cutting-edge positions
need to be here to keep youth from
leaving the area.
HURON GEOMATICS
The committee members also
The Blyth Festival officially
announced the slate of plays for its
40th season next year and Artistic
Director Marion de Vries says it’s
all about renewing the vows
between the Festival and its original
mandate, all set to a lot of
music.
Next year’s season will help de
Vries introduce herself to the
community, as her play, Kitchen
Radio will open the season with its
world premiere. The writing
process for the play began while de
Vries served as a playwright in
residence in Blyth in 2011, and was
officially commissioned by then-
Artistic Director Eric Coates for
development.
Next year’s season will also bring
a Festival first to the stage, as de
Vries has introduced the Blyth
Festival Memorial Series. She says
the series will consist of one play
each season about war, the armed
forces or a conflict important to
Canadians.
The play to kick the series off is
Billy Bishop Goes To War; however,
this musical is no stranger to Blyth,
as it has graced the Memorial Hall
stage before, produced by a touring
“ Ontario’s arts and culture tourists spent
$1.1 billion on lodging, $1.1 billion on food
and beverages, $600 million on retail
and $500 million on entertainment and
recreation in 2010.”
RECENT OAC STUDY
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 30
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 30