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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, January 19, 2012
Volume 28 No. 3
BYLAW - Pg. 16New animal controlbylaw approved LIVESTOCK - Pg. 19 Brussels Livestockwelcomes new ownersANNUAL- Pg. 6Beef Producers holdannual meeting in BrusselsPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Local couple resumes trip after Italian disaster
North Huron
commits to appeal
Prepare the battlements!
Students in the Grade 4/5 class at East Wawanosh Public School took fort building to a whole
new level. Described as a real group effort, nearly a dozen children came together, formed a
hierarchy under “the master council” and proceeded to build a fort that, before succumbing to
the jealous hands and feet of older students, was nearly five feet tall. Shown are, from left,
Jaida Ruff-Robertson, Tyson Michie, Hayden Robinson, Aaron Zister, Julia Beaven and Grace
Caldwell attempting to rebuild their fort to its former glory. (Denny Scott photo)
Alan and Laurie Willits, a couple
from RR1 Wingham, are now safe
and travelling again after the cruise
ship they were on ran aground
killing at least six people in the
process.
The Costa Concordia, an Italian
cruise ship operated by Costa
Crociere which is owned by Carnival
Cruise Lines, ran into an area of
water populated with reefs and rocks
just off the eastern coast of Giglio
Island on Friday, Jan. 13. After
running aground, the ship flipped on
its side, causing a 50 metre expanse
of the ship’s hull to be ripped open.
At last count 11 people have been
confirmed dead due to the incident
and just under 30 people are still
missing as the search continues.
Alan and Laurie’s daughter Jory,
20, said she spoke to her parents on
Friday and heard from them that
they were safe before she knew the
extent of the crash.
“I didn’t know how bad the crash
was until I found out they were
safe,” she said in an interview with
The Citizen on Monday. “I was glad
to hear that they were ok.”
Jory said that her parents were
fortunate enough to get off the ship
safely.
“They were able to get on a
lifeboat and get off the ship but they
met others who didn’t,” she said.
“They met a couple from Calgary
that had to swim to the shore.”
Jory said that her parents, after a
brief layover in Rome, continued
their trip despite losing everything
on the boat.
“They lost all their things but their
passports are being replaced,” she
said. “They’re continuing on their
trip by train, stopping at a few of the
places they had planned to stop at.”
The trip won’t be the one they had
envisioned, according to Jory, who
said that they were going to miss
several of the ports because of the
time lost due to the crash.
“They were going to be on the
boat for seven days and visit a
different port each day,” she said.
“They’ve lost the time and some of
those ports now.”
Willits said that her parents have
been on cruises before but usually
travel the Caribbean. This was their
first time on a European cruise.
She was also reported in The
Kitchener-Waterloo Record as
saying that the experience likely
wouldn’t sour the couple on cruises.
“My dad’s an adventurist and
[Saturday] night... I said, ‘Just look
at it like an adventure because you
can’t do anything else.”
Jory stated that the couple plans on
keeping with their trip itinerary as
best as they can and returning on
Saturday, their original return date.
The ship, which was believed to
have been carrying more than 4,000
crew and guests, 12 of whom were
from Canada, ran aground due to
what is being called operator error.
Several news sources are reporting
that the ship’s Captain Francesco
Schettino decided to alter from the
pre-programmed course resulting in
the ship travelling much closer to
Giglio and the “Le Scole” reef area
that is safe. The deviation from
course resulted in the crash.
When any Costa ship deviates
from its pre-programmed course
Howick Mayor Art Versteeg, an
outspoken critic of Huron County’s
mandatory septic inspection plan,
has put Huron County Council on
notice of his intention to oppose the
plan.
At the Jan. 11 Committee of the
Whole meeting Versteeg reported to
his fellow councillors that he had
been in touch with the Ministry of
Municipal Affairs and Housing
regarding the mandatory septic plan
that was approved last summer.
“The county doesn’t have the
authority to impose such a policy,”
Versteeg said. “I do intend on
bringing this issue back for
reconsideration.”
Versteeg didn’t elaborate much,
but said that because Howick is so
far from the shoreline and has
historically had little to no problems
with area septic systems, he felt it
was unfair to have the program
imposed on such a compliant
municipality.
“There are some issues,” he said
about the current incarnation of the
plan.
Bluewater’s Bill Dowson
endorsed Versteeg’s comments,
saying that the program would make
a lot of people upgrade who don’t
have the funds to do so.
Dowson has said that he is against
the program in its current state. He
said he believes in the intention of
the program, but without a form of
government assistance for people
who have to make costly upgrades to
their septic systems, he cannot
support it.
“I’m totally behind what you want
to do,” Dowson said to Versteeg.
“There is a lot of work we have to do
with it. I support it, I always have,
but not until there is government
assistance.”
Councillors at North Huron
believe that representation at the
county level is important and have
pledged not only their moral support
but $2,000 to aid Central Huron and
Huron East in their appeal efforts.
North Huron Council received a
letter from Central Huron requesting
support and Reeve Neil Vincent
stated that it likely meant both
financial and moral support of the
appeal of Justice Kelly-Anne
Gorman’s decision on the
composition of Huron County
Council last year.
North Huron Council discussed
the proposition of helping with the
appeal and found that most of them
supported it.
Vincent stated that if councillors
wanted to assist the township, they
could set a ceiling on how high their
contributions would be.
“I know, in having discussed this
issue, that other municipalities have
set an upset point in their
contributions,” he said. “It is
possible to make a small
contribution to the cause.”
Councillor Brock Vodden stated
he would definitely support this.
“In principle I strongly support
this appeal,” he said. “I think we
need more representation, not less,
at the county level. I think we
should offer moral support and I’m
comfortable offering assistance up
to $2,000.”
Councillor Ray Hallahan
supported Vodden’s suggestion
stating that North Huron needs to
“keep their numbers up and be
recognized.”
Councillor Bernie Bailey
supported the bid to appeal the
ruling, but wasn’t comfortable
attaching a dollar amount to it.
“They’re going forward on this
with or without us,” he said. “We
should keep our money in our
pocket. Every extra expense we
incur makes it harder to negotiate
the budget.”
Bailey also stated that, before the
next municipal election, the issue
will be dealt with and that, even if
the appeal is successful, it could be
short-lived.
“Should they appeal this decision
and win, they will, in a year, change
the composition of council properly
anyway,” he said.
Vodden stated that he believed the
appellants had a good chance to be
successful.
“I think the way the appeal has
been handled shows that there is a
good chance of it going through,” he
said. “The original judge [Gorman]
wasn’t the appropriate judge to
handle the issue and the case didn’t
go well. There’s a good chance of a
possible win.”
Vincent stated that, in discussions
with members of both sides, he
found that he shared the same
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 10
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Septic plan returns to county
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 10