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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-07-12, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012. PAGE 9. Huron East to spend $200,000 on Vanastra centre Huron East Council decided that nearly $200,000 will be spent on the Vanastra Recreation Centre forrepairs.A joint report came to council out of the minutes of the Vanastra Recreation Committee’s monthly meeting in June featuring a detailedreport on the centre’s needs.John Hill, Huron East’s newly- hired building and property maintenance co-ordinator, prepared the report and outlined the areas ofimportance in the centre. Council agreed that the pool area needed to be looked after before anything else could be considered. The future of the rest of the building,council said, is still up in the air.Council has yet to decide how they wish to proceed, whether they want to keep the “hall” portion of the centre as a hall that may be rented out for events, or changed into a gym. The gym could include several items, such as a climbing wall, which is one of the suggestions that has been made over the course of the process. For preliminary repairs, Hill settled on approximately $192,000 which would take place over the next two months. Tuckersmith Councillor Les Falconer said it was time to put some money into Vanastra. He said council had recently committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the renovation of the Brussels Library and nearly $150,000 for the purchase of the former Brussels Public School, so it was time Vanastra saw some municipal money. Mayor Bernie MacLellan said he would like to see council give the Vanastra community some time to raise some funds for the project. He said if money was raised at the actual centre, funds could be collected by the actual users of the facility, many of whom come from outside of Huron East, he said. The decision was made to utilize $100,000 out of Tuckersmith’s pre- amalgamation reserves and that Huron East would pay the rest. Councillors said the future of the hall would be thoroughly discussed at a later meeting of council. By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen They’re maniacs, maniacs on the floor Determined to make their final day at Blyth Public School memorable, students and staff performed a flash mob on the school yard dancing up a storm and striking a pose for this picture. The group will be split between the campuses of Maitland River Elementary School and Hullett Central Public School next year as Blyth’s door closed forever on the last day of school in June. (Denny Scott photo) Chip and a Putt – By Bruce Skinn This past week the Wingham Golf and Curling Club held its annual children’s golf clinic. The 50 kids endured extreme heat and muggy playing conditions while learning some fundamentals as well as golf etiquette. Special thanks to all the volunteers who once again made the golf camp a huge success. On Wednesday, July 4 25 golfers enjoyed senior men’s morning. Ken Mathers took home first place with Brian Skinn finishing second and Bill Brown ending up in third. Skinn also won the closest to the pin award with Don Bone sinking the longest putt. Steve Nixon shot 39 to claim low gross. The Thursday night men had 65 golfers hit the links on a hot muggy evening. Dave Gamble was as hot as the weather shooting an even par superb round of 35. Gamble also took home a closest to the pin prize as well as longest putt. Other winners were Don Edgar for longest drive and Brett Martin closest to the pin with Bill Quipp, Jamie Chester and Paul Deitz claiming longest putt awards. The hidden score winners were Mark Gibson, Russ Taylor and Bill Deans. Friday night the club served up close to 800 of their large tasty chicken wings on their monthly wing night. Next Tuesday, July 17 the ladies are holding an Italian fun night at the club. The ladies will be having a nine-hole scramble before joining for supper in the dining lounge. Anyone interested should contact the pro shop to sign up asap. On Wednesday, July 18 the girls have invited Don Bone to instruct them for a putting and chipping clinic. Anyone interested again contact the pro shop. #3 And We Try Harder Recent circulation figures for the 8 paid circulation newspapers serving Huron County show The Citizen has the 3rd highest circulation. The Citizen Proudly Community-Owned Since 1985 While discussion regarding charges that could be levied against wind turbine developers in North Huron have been placed on the back burner pending research by township staff, a very different message came out of the discussion regarding another renewable energy technology: roof-mounted solar rigs. “I’ve been told that solar panels are a danger for firefighters,” Councillor Brock Vodden said. “Our firefighters are being directed to not go into a barn with solar panels, I imagine the same would be stated for an apartment building like the one in Blyth that has panels.” Chief Building Official Dave Black said that the roof structure on any building with solar panels should be able to withstand the load because they have to be cleared before the installation. “I know there have been a lot of discussions regarding safety, but I haven’t received any hard information about it,” he said. “I haven’t been told not to issue a permit.” Acting Fire Chief Keith Hodgkinson stated that he would not risk anything he didn’t need to. “I won’t risk a firefighter going into any situation like that, especially for a burning barn,” he said. “The weight is a concern, but we’re really concerned about the electrical problems. We don’t know if those things are active or if there might be a danger because of them.” Hodgkinson said that the North Huron Fire Department will go to fires with panels but beyond that, there’s a lot to be evaluated. “There will have to be serious repercussions or dire circumstances for us to go into or be around a building with solar panels on its roof,” he said. Vodden said the issue will need to be dealt with very soon. Summer Blow - Out Furniture Sale! 2 FLOORS OF SAVINGS IN EVERY DEPARTMENT... Sofas, Recliners, Chairs, Occasional Tables, Matresses and Bedroom Suites. FINE FURNITURE & FLOOR COVERINGS 71 Albert St., Clinton 519-482-9505 SALE CONTINUES!! Solar panels present danger during fires RR#1 39843 LONDESBORO RD., LONDESBOROUGH PHONE/FAX 519-523-9781 • HANGING BASKETS • ANNUALS • PERENNIALS • TREES • SHRUBS The Perfect Gift... LOADABLE GIFT CARDS Open 7 Days Monday - Saturday 8 am - 6 pm; Sunday 9 am - 4 pm LOCATED 500 YARDS WEST OF LONDESBOROUGH ON CTY. RD. 15 20% off Perennials, trees and shrubs Buy one Hanging Basket get one FREE All Annuals 1/2 Price