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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, December 13, 2012
Volume 28 No. 49
RETIREMENT - Pg. 14North Huron’s Campbellretires after 31 years HISTORY - Pg. 15 Editor discusses processbehind history bookCOUNTY- Pg. 10South Huron’s Robertsonnamed 2013 wardenPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Protest
Local students had a day without class on Monday as their teachers protested in front of Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson’s
office in Blyth. The protest is in retaliation to Bill 115, which, among other things, limits their collective bargaining rights. Classes
in the area resumed on Tuesday. (Denny Scott photo)
Morris-Turnberry sets fire deadline
ESTC,
Conestoga
partner
Morris-Turnberry Council is
prepared to give the Municipality of
North Huron until high noon on Jan.
8 to respond to its call for the
creation of a jointly operated fire
services board.
During a plea to fellow councillors
at council’s Dec. 4 session, Mayor
Paul Gowing expressed his
disappointment with North Huron’s
decision to refuse his request to
appear as a delegation on Dec. 3.
“This has been an ongoing saga. I
don’t know where to start,” said
Gowing, noting North Huron’s
contention it wanted to first
complete “ongoing negotiations”
with other partners was confusing
given North Huron’s fire-service
agreements with Central Huron and
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
(ACW) expire in December 2013
and September 2014, respectively.
Meanwhile, North Huron’s
agreement with Morris-Turnberry is
up for renewal in December 2013.
“To our surprise, I’m almost lost
for words, we were refused to be put
on the agenda for last night’s
meeting,” reported Gowing, noting
conversations with Central Huron
and ACW officials reveal no talks
are underway with either side.
Morris-Turnberry is prepared to
offer $1 million, plus pay 50 per cent
of operating costs, for a 50 per cent
ownership of the North Huron Fire
Service of which Morris-Turnberry
is currently assessed for about 30 per
cent of the total cost. Morris-
Turnberry’s second option is for a
fire suppression agreement, with a
levy-based assessment, which will
vary every four years.
Gowing said without ownership,
Morris-Turnberry is not prepared to
pay a share of fire prevention and
capital costs or reserve funds.
“We haven’t been able to talk with
them,” said Gowing, adding he was
also “disappointed” to hear North
Huron fire service budget
deliberations are underway since
Morris-Turnberry should have a
place at the table.
The key now, said Gowing, is
to hold North Huron to the
Jan. 8 deadline.
“This has been in front of them for
a couple of months now,” said
Gowing. “I just find it very difficult
to work with a group that will not
talk with you.”
Councillor David Baker said there
seems to be little option but to abide
by the deadline as presented.
“I guess we’ll say we’re drawing a
line in the sand,” he said.
“We also need to get it out to the
public what we are presenting,” said
Gowing. “Morris-Turnberry has
stepped up to the plate. The only
reason this wouldn’t work is if one
of the parties didn’t want it to work,
and that partner is not Morris-
Turnberry.”
While Councillor John Smuck
agreed Morris-Turnberry has done
its due diligence, Councillor Jamie
Heffer said maybe the public can
help push forward the cause.
“Morris-Turnberry is reaching out
a very long arm to make this whole
process work for the whole
community,” he said. “Maybe the
public can have some influence.”
Heffer also suggested reworking
the original draft press release to
exclude the last paragraph, which
stated Morris-Turnberry Council
will have little choice but to
investigate other fire service options
if North Huron Council chooses to
reject either the partnership or levy-
based agreement.
“We don’t want people to wrongly
presume Morris-Turnberry is going
in another direction,” said Heffer,
whose motion met with council’s
approval. “We’ve got to build this up
in the best light that we can.”
In an interview with The Citizen
As the Christmas season is nearly
upon us, The Citizen will close up
shop for the holidays.
The Citizen’s Brussels office
will be closed from Monday,
Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. to Friday, Dec. 28
at 10 a.m. The Blyth office will
close for the holidays on Wednesday,
Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. and remain
closed until Friday, Dec. 28 at
9 a.m.
Monday, Dec. 17 is the deadline
for the Dec. 20 issue of The Citizen,
the final newspaper of 2012. The
deadlines are 2 p.m. in Brussels and
4 p.m. in Blyth.
The Dec. 20 issue of The Citizen
will be in the mail that day.
There will be no issue of The
Citizen published on Thursday, Dec.
27. The Citizen will return with its
first issue of 2013 on Jan. 3.
The Emergency Services Training
Centre (ESTC) in Blyth is pairing
with Conestoga College to offer
programming for local businesses
and residents.
Starting with a two-day program
on Jan. 24 and 25 that will teach
QuickBooks, a computer accounting
program, the ESTC and Conestoga
are starting to hold workshop-style
training sessions, according to ESTC
Program Co-ordinator Stephanie
Currie.
“They’re calling it Corporate
Training Workforce Development,
and, while it says corporate, it’s open
to anyone who wants to learn the
skills,” Currie said.
The program, which is the first of
many that Currie has looked into,
will be handled through Currie at the
ESTC and she hopes that the
partnership is just beginning.
“There are a number of programs
I’ve highlighted that I’m hoping to
deliver, but none of them have been
secured yet,” she said. “I’ve been in
touch with the Centre for
Employment and Learning and other
organizations to see what different
opportunities small businesses can
use.”
The programs, which can help
develop existing workforces or help
underemployed individuals increase
the skill set, are run by demand
according to Currie, who said that
she will attempt to get any workshop
that she can garner enough interest
for.
“If there are courses people would
like to see delivered that are in
existence, I would love to bring them
here,” she said. “If there’s something
we need to develop, we can look at
that option as well.”
Currie hopes that this is just the
beginning of the partnership for the
Guelph-based college and the ESTC.
“The plan here is to develop this
into something long-term and
develop a partnership,” she said.
“The workshops are something
we’re able to do now while we look
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 7Continued on page 23
Holidays for ‘Citizen’
By Cheryl Heath
Special to The Citizen