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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2012-09-27, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, September 27, 2012 Volume 28 No. 38 PARTNERSHIP - Pg. 21North Huron unsure ofpartnership with M-T FIRE - Pg. 24 Morris-Turnberry to sendout questionnaireFALLFAIR- Pg. 6Pictures from the 151stBrussels Fall FairPublications Mail Agreement No. 4005014 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK: The Blyth Public School found a potential anonymous buyer after an auction sale for the surplus property on Sept. 20. The school, which was closed as a result of an accommodation review process at the end of last year, was one of three schools to be auctioned off last week in the Avon Maitland District School Board. Zurich and Usborne Central Public Schools were also on the auction block, though the Usborne site wasn’t sold during the auction. The reserve bid of $210,000 for Blyth Public School was not met at the auction, though local bidders did go as high as $100,000. The eventual winner of the site wishes to remain anonymous and bid through a proxy at the site. A deal was later brokered with the school board after the 4 p.m. auction for the purchase price of $210,000. The bids Morris-Turnberry councillors began the process of restructuring council for the 2014 municipal election by voting to abolish the ward system and reduce the number of councillors by two. Both decisions, taken at the Sept. 18 meeting of council, require holding of a public meeting prior to the passing a bylaw to actually change the council structure. Both bylaws must be in place for Dec. 2013 in order to apply to the 2014 municipal election. Councillors tackled the size of council first. “We’re one of the larger councils with fewer electors,” said Mayor Paul Gowing, citing a report comparing Morris-Turnberry to nine other municipalities. He also pointed to the report which said the cost of running council in Morris-Turnberry is $33.35 per capita population of the municipality, $16.90 above the median of the 10 municipalities Deputy-Mayor Jason Breckenridge noted that it would require serious candidates to take on councillor positions with fewer people to share the workload. But Councillor Jamie McCallum was concerned about having council too small. “If a couple of councillors are away [from a five-person council] there could be three people running the council,” he warned. Gowing said that under such a circumstance council would likely defer decisions on serious issues until more councillors were present. In a recorded vote, Gowing, Breckenridge and councillors John Smuck, David Baker and Neil Warwick supported reducing the council to four councillors plus the mayor. McCallum and Councillor Jamie Heffer opposed the motion. On the dissolution of the ward system, Gowing reiterated his strong support for the idea. “From what I’ve witnessed in my time it would be so beneficial to dissolve the ward system,” he said. “It would really become an amalgamated municipality.” Gowing said he felt the councillors who were involved in amalgamation had considered the ward system a short-term solution that would be dealt with once the amalgamation was complete. Breckenridge said the one negative comment he’d heard about With attendance and submissions down compared to previous years, President of the Brussels Agricultural Society Nicole Noble says it was still a great two days celebrating the Brussels way of life. “It was good,” Noble said. “I was very happy that the weather turned around and co-operated for us.” Noble said the level of participation from North Woods Elementary School (formerly Grey Central Public School) was incredible, but unfortunately, that was where student participation ended. “It made a big difference not having the Grade 7 and 8 students at the fair,” she said. “Attendance was down significantly.” Noble said she tried not to be discouraged, but that it was disheartening to have the society’s request turned down by F.E. Madill Secondary School. “F.E. Madill denied our request [to allow students at the fair],” she said. “It’s tough because so much of the fair is based on student participation.” Noble, however, was encouraged very early on by the participation of North Woods, saying that the schoolwork portion of the show and the parade were made much richer for the school’s presence. “We got great, great support from North Woods Elementary,” Noble said. “They were on board from the get-go.” Noble said that other submissions were also down, from categories like baking to various agricultural submissions as well. “I think everyone was still a little tired from Homecoming,” Noble joked, “but it was a busy year for a lot of people. I know a lot of our local exhibitors have cut back this year.” Noble said the fair’s opening night, Sept. 18 was a good night for attendance, but that there were some parts of the evening that were also not well attended. The annual dog show only had three entries, meaning that prizes could not be awarded in all categories. The celebrity cake decorating competition, however, was being held for the first time and it was a big hit, Noble said. “It was a huge success,” she said, “and it raised $485 for the Brussels Library build fund.” Noble said the event was very interactive and it drew people in on Tuesday night. The celebrity cake decorators were Huron East Mayor and Huron County Warden Bernie MacLellan, Brussels Fire Department Chief Murray McArter, Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador Meagan Dolmage, CNE Ambassador Linda Slits, first vice- president of the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies Robert Hargrave and Huron East Economic Development Officer Jan Hawley, whose cake fetched the highest donation of the night. Noble, however, was impressed with MacLellan’s skills. “Bernie’s cake was unbelievable,” Noble said. “We were joking, asking him if he had a side business doing cakes.” On Wednesday, Noble said, the stunt magic show, which was performed in the morning and then again in the afternoon, was a big hit, entertaining both children and adults. The magician, Noble said, was a great find, coming from Toronto for the fair. One area of growth, Noble said, was the 4-H portion of the show, saying that the fair’s barns were “full” all day for the sheep and beef shows and that portion of the show continues to grow year after year. “That’s certainly a good sign for 4- H,” she said. As far as her time as president is concerned, in her Monday interview with The Citizen, Noble said she was still a little worn out, but happy with how the show went overall. Noble, who is pregnant, said that she wasn’t able to get around the Morris-Turnberry begins the restructuring process Attendance, submissions down at Fall Fair School sold to anonymous bidder Make it pretty A new addition this year, the celebrity cake decorating contest was a big hit with audiences at the 151st Brussels Fall Fair. Huron County Warden and Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan, left, was one of the most surprising contestants constructing a “beautiful” cake that left people wondering how much experience he really had. Alongside MacLellan was Ambassador Meagan Dolmage and Brussels Fire Chief Murray McArter who all made their fans proud. The contest fetched nearly $500 for the Brussels Library Build Fund. For more pictures from the fair, visit The Citizen’s website at www.northhuron.on.ca (Shawn Loughlin photo) By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 24 Continued on page 11By Keith Roulston The Citizen Continued on page 10