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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-11-14, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013. Junk-o-lanterns! Some traditions die, others are like the undead and refuse to go down like Junk-o-lanterns. Junk-o-lanterns, or jack o’ lanterns made out of reusable materials, were a mainstay at Blyth Public School and continue to make appearances at Maitland River Elementary School in Wingham. Shown proudly displaying their works are, from left, Zachary Walden, Ethan Sangster, Ryan McMichael and Leif Skelding. (Denny Scott photo) With Huron County Council set to debate a recommendation that would brand the county an “unwilling host” to wind turbines, an Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (ACW) resident felt her voice should be heard prior to the vote. Jennifer Miltenburg, who holds a lease for one turbine on her property, said that she was “frustrated” by her lack of representation on council and felt her voice should be heard at the county level. Both ACW representatives, Ben Van Diepenbeek and Neil Rintoul have to declare conflicts of interest on any matter pertaining to wind turbines, leaving no one from the municipality to speak on behalf of the matter. At the Nov. 6 meeting, she told councillors that she will be able to see her turbine through her home’s picture windows and the view doesn’t offend her nearly as much as the “climate change, ice caps melting, global warming and wild weather patterns” she has also seen through her window. “No one has asked my opinion,” she said of the issue. She told councillors that no one at the county level has asked for her opinion on turbines, but that her opinion has been considered by ACW, her lower-tier municipality. She said that despite ACW Council generally acting against wind turbines, her voice has been heard, and represented, at the lower tier, which is more than she can say for the county. She said that with over 90 lease- holders in the municipality, it’s clear that the entire municipality is not an “unwilling host” to wind turbines, so such a sweeping declaration would be inappropriate. “Global warming is a problem. You can ignore that fact, but it’s a fact,” she said. Councillor Deb Shewfelt of Goderich agreed, saying that there are at least 300 or 400 lease-holders throughout the county and it would be unfair to declare the county an unwilling host. He said it is an issue that should be handled at the lower- tier level. Warden George Robertson thanked Miltenburg for her presentation, saying that with her passion and public speaking abilities, she should consider running for council. Council was set to consider a recommendation to label the county an “unwilling host” to wind turbines at its committee of the whole meeting on Nov. 13. Jewitt to support ‘unwilling host’ statement Central Huron Council is directing its sole voting representative at Huron County Council to cast a ballot supporting a proposed county- wide “unwilling host” designation against industrial wind turbine projects. At the behest of Councillor Alex Westerhout, council found itself debating the merits of how Huron County Council will vote on an upcoming “unwilling host” designation resolution at its Nov. 5 meeting. The resolution was put forward after Deputy-Mayor Dave Jewitt told council at an earlier meeting that he was not yet sure how to vote given his belief it is important to vote in the best interests of the county at the county council table. Mayor Jim Ginn cannot vote on the issue at either the municipal or county level as he has declared a conflict of interest. In contrast, Westerhout had argued at a past session the vote should be an easy one, given Central Huron has already designated itself as an unwilling host to wind turbine projects. Councillor Alison Lobb said it is unfortunate municipal leaders who support wind turbine projects are not permitted to speak in favour of the projects, but Westerhout noted only those with a pecuniary interest cannot. Councillor Burkhard Metzger suggested the reason so many municipal leaders have signed leases is developers were “quite smart” in their strategy to get municipal officials to sign early on in the process. Metzger added he is still awaiting the day when a single person without a lease comes forward to support wind turbine projects. While Lobb suggested supporters are intimidated by anti-wind development groups, Jewitt said his concern is that if the county passes the resolution, it would be in the “untenable” position of saying no to turbine projects when there are already some operating within its borders. Jewitt said it was relatively simple to support the resolution in Central Huron because there are not any large-scale projects in the municipality. Jewitt added there would “no teeth” to the designation because it would be unenforceable. Westerhout said the lack of authority on the matter is one reason why Jewitt should support the “unwilling host” designation. “You say there is no teeth so what is the harm in passing it?” asked Westerhout. Councillor Brian Barnim said the county already has a resolution on the books asking for a moratorium on more projects until health studies are completed, while Metzger noted it is important for the county council to let its views be known as there are new rules in place for turbine projects. Lobb said that though she has personally chosen not to sign a wind lease, she wonders whether the doom-and-gloom predictions on turbine projects are an overreaction similar to the ones expressed 25 years ago when hydro towers were built. “Now they are twinning them (the towers) and no one is saying a word,” added Lobb. In a recorded vote, requested by Lobb, council voted five to one in favour of directing Jewitt to vote in favour of an unwilling host designation at the county level with Lobb voting against the direction and Councillors Metzger, Westerhout, Barnim, Jewitt and Dan Colquhoun supporting the direction. Ginn abstained from voting and Councillor Marg Anderson was absent. Continued from page 10 charged for missing smoke detectors. Marshall explained the municipality would likely require 500 smoke detectors to place or replace as necessary and it would cost approximately $1,850 to cover the expenses. Rick Elliott of Elliott- Nixon Insurance in Blyth, however, offered to pay $1,000 to the project to offset costs, meaning the municipality would only need $850. Marshall said that, beyond the protection offered and the assistance of the Fire Department of North Huron, the program has other benefits. “It’s nice to see myself working with North Huron firefighters,” he said. “It definitely adds more credibility when they show up with their red truck instead of me in my Volkswagen Golf.” Mayor Paul Gowing also said it would be nice for the firefighters to get to know the part of the municipality they cover and get to know the people there. “This is a very positive step,” he said. Working with Egan will also be a positive development, according to Marshall, who said it would be nice to have another person to discuss plans and ideas with and to learn from and teach. He said, being a one-man operation, he would definitely appreciate the opportunity to have someone else to mull over matters with. As part of the agreement, Marshall will also be working to educate school children in North Huron, which is where many Morris- Turnberry children now go to school, an aspect of his job that he says he misses doing. Continued from page 23 Councillor Les Falconer, who said he doesn’t like to participate in conversation when HEAT is at the meeting, because he has been repeatedly “shot down” and interrupted by Ryan during discussions. Falconer, however, told Ryan that he feels he was elected to represent all of the people in Huron East and if landowners have signed leases with wind turbine companies, then it’s clear the entire municipality is not an unwilling host of turbines. Deputy-Mayor Joe Steffler also scolded Ryan saying he didn’t think it was very professional for Ryan to “publically disrespect” MacLellan as he was at the meeting. “I don’t like to comment when you’re here either,” Steffler told Ryan, saying that discussions with HEAT simply turn into a “yelling match”. “Bernie has led us fantastically,” Steffler said, “and I support Brad [Knight] and the administration 100 per cent” to which Ryan responded by telling councillors they were “neglecting their duties.” No action was taken by council as a result of the discussion. Councillors prefer not to deal with HEAT due to disrespect ACW resident feelsunrepresented due to pecuniary interests By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Answers to Crossword on Page 6 REPRINTS OF PHOTOS taken by Citizen photographers are available to purchase. ALL ARE IN COLOUR 4x6 - $4.00 5x7 - $5.00 8x10 - $8.00 Phone to order ~ 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 By Cheryl Heath Special to The Citizen Gowing says fire partnership with NH ‘a very positive step’ Get information on Huron County attractions on the Stops Along The Way section of our website www.northhuron.on.ca