HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-01-06, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2011.
ACW to focus on turbines in future
Black agrees to forward monthly fire reportsContinued from page 1aforementioned time frame, Blackreports there were 104 callsoriginating from Central Huron, 26per cent of which were First
Response calls. Twelve per cent of
the calls were false alarms and 12
per cent involved structure fires,
adds Black.
As for the financial end of the fire
service, Black says the past year has
been a learning process since
“constant change and re-evaluation
has been required and last year’s
budget was a “best guess.”
In the past year, notes Black, the
North Huron Fire Department has
encountered some unexpected
situations. It has also been
“blindsided” by some costs,
including those costs escalating at
the Emergency Services Training
Centre.
During a question-and-answer
session, Central Huron Reeve James
Ginn questioned whether a fire call
in Londesborough would result infirefighters being called in fromWingham. Black says while that isthe case, council must understandthat the North Huron Fire Service is
considered as one entity so Central
Huron Council’s desire to see costs
broken down and attributed to one of
its two fire stations doesn’t wash.
“We’re treating the whole area as
ours,” says Black, noting
Londesborough is also unique in that
it doesn’t have pressurized water so
tankers must be brought in.
Councillor Marg Anderson, who is
on record with being eager to review
North Huron statistics, says council
has not seen quarterly statements,
nor has it seen monthly reports.
“(We are supposed to see monthly
reports) no later than the 10th day of
each month, is that happening?”
asked Anderson, who says Central
Huron is also supposed to be getting
data quarterly so it can review the
cost of operating the Blyth fire
station.Black says the problem with thatsecond request is the two stations arenot being tracked separately butrather as one cohesive department.
“Our agreement says that is what
we’re going to get,” says Anderson,
noting the point is for council to see
what portion of Central Huron is
being serviced for the approximate
annual fee of $100,000.
“We would have to break out costs
between two former areas,” says
Black.
“If that’s what we asked for, we
should get it,” says Anderson, noting
council also wants to review
firefighter-training costs.
Meanwhile, Councillor Alison
Lobb expressed frustration with the
notion that firefighters are travelling
from as far away as Wingham, when
it would make more sense to have
Clinton-based firefighters
responding to certain calls. The
current practice seems “bizarre,”
adds Lobb, given safety was thenumber one concern of arearesidents who decried a proposal thatcould’ve seen the Central Huron FireService covering the northern
portion of Central Huron.
New councillor Alex Westerhout
agreed that it “makes no sense” that
a structure fire in Londesborough
would be responded to by Wingham-
based firefighters.
“To me, that just doesn’t make any
sense at all,”he said.
Black notes that in the event of a
major event, Central Huron
firefighters, along with firefighters
from other appropriate departments,
would be on the scene.
Central Huron Fire Chief Steve
Cooke, who was at the presentation,
notes North Huron is considered the
first responder for the
Londesborough area, so if the call
involved something like a grass fire,
“that’s a whole different ball of
wax.”
In addressing the First Responseissue, Black notes that while he isnot personally a big fan of havingfirefighters provide it, it issomething that is needed in rural
areas.
“I have seen positive results. For
that reason, I support it because it’s
in the best interest for ratepayers.”
Black agreed to forward monthly
reports to Central Huron Council in
the future, and to further provide
quarterly reports as required.
With the Christmas holidays over
and the new year just begun, many
parents in the village are glad to get
their children back to school and
back to routine. With the exception
of a few children that have been
afflicted with one bug or another, all
of the children in the village boarded
the school buses Monday morning
eager to get back to the grind. Some
lucky parents still had Monday off
in lieu of the holiday on Saturday.
There have been many bugs
circulating over the holidays from
colds to pneumonia to stomach
viruses, even a case or two of strep
throat. There have also been
confirmed cases of Influenza A in
Huron County. Keep an eye on
symptoms if you or a loved one are
ill. If you have questions and are
hesitant to contact your doctor (or
they are on holidays) there are
alternatives. A call to Telehealth
Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 can
provide you with a free, confidential
consultation with a Registered
Nurse. The service provides round-
the-clock access and can help you
decide whether to care for yourself,
make an appointment with your
doctor or go to a hospital emergency
room.
Another alternative is to check out
the Huron County website. The
Health Unit has posted health
information as well as current
updates about relevant issues in the
county. Go to www.huroncounty.ca
and at the top of the page choose
“Living Here”. A menu will pop
down - choose “Health”. From there
you can click on the "Health
Information A - Z” or any of the
topics below that banner for
information.
Don’t take any chances with your
health – if in doubt, contact your
local hospital!
The snow has come back,
although a little more slowly than it
arrived initially. The ground has
frozen now – thankfully – as there
seem to be a few sinkholes forming
on John Street from the construction
before Christmas. The Central
Huron Utilities Department has
advised that they will be around to
fill in these holes this week.
Our sympathies go out to Ralph
and Andy Lubbers and family in the
passing of their daughter and sister
Roely Verburg. Roely passed away
on Christmas Day in Clinton Public
Hospital. She and her husband Tony
have five children and many
grandchildren.
With a bylaw waiting patiently in
the wings and a new policy already
put in place, Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh (ACW) Township
Council has made it apparent that
one of the major focuses of its new
council is wind turbines.
Four of the seven members of
council voted to implement a policy
that outlines what they would like to
see when wind turbines are
developed. Suggestions range from
funds to be set aside to deal with
decommission and deconstruction to
setbacks of more than 2,000 metres
for turbines near clustered
residences.
The remaining three members of
council were unable to vote due to a
conflict of interest.
The bylaw, which is based on one
passed by the township of Arran-
Elderslie last year, will have been
discussed again at council’s first
council meeting of 2011 on Jan. 4.
***
Councillor Barry Millian of ACW
was accused of being in a potential
conflict of interest when discussing
wind turbines.
A ratepayer of ACW claimed that
Millian’s brother was building a
wind turbine, and that he wouldn’t
be able to affect the decision making
process on any legislation related to
wind turbines due to the familial tie.
This would have caused severe
issues in council as Millian would
have been the fourth member of the
seven-member council to have to
claim a conflict of interest, meaning
council could not address the issue.
Millian researched the issue and
discovered that, regardless of his
brother’s intents, he was not in a
conflict of interest scenario.
According to Millian, the rules
that govern conflicts of interest state
that he is only conflicted if one of
the following family members is
involved in an issue; a parent, a child
or a spouse.
***
ACW Council has decided to
bring a Zero Waste Support
movement to their Jan. 4 council
meeting.
Originally suggested by a group of
concerned citizens opposed to the
development of the current Ashfield
landfill site, councillor Roger Watt
researched the waste handling
method, stating that it wasn’t
actually geared towards zero waste
production, but minimal waste
production through creating markets
for what would traditionally be
waste products.
ACW council agreed that the goal
was one they were interested in
pursuing, but believed it to be
beyond the scope of the township.
A bylaw was brought forward to
ACW council that called for the
county to encourage the province to
start considering zero waste
alternatives.
By Koreen
Moss
519-526-1060
kandkmoss@
sympatico.ca
PEOPLE AROUND
AUBURN
NEWS
FROM AUBURN
SAVE
up to
$2850
a year
Off the newsstand price
Newsstand price - $1.25/week
Subscription price - 68¢/week
Yes - I want to save money.
Enclosed is $34.00 for a 1-year subscription
MEETING NOTICE
MUNICIPALITY OF
MORRIS-TURNBERRY
The upcoming Council and Committee meetings for the
Municipality of Morris-Turnberry will be held:
Thursday January 6 at 7:30 p.m. Regular Council Meeting
Tuesday January 11 at 5:30 p.m. Councillor Training *** Time change
Tuesday January 18 at 7:30 p.m. Regular Council Meeting
Tuesday January 25 at 5:30 p.m. Councillor Training
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
ON $6.00 THURSDAYS
Drop into either of our offices any
Thursday with your word classified
(maximum 20 words) and pay only
$6.00 + HST (paid in advance).
That’s $1.00 off regular rates.
The Citizen
BUY? SELL?
TRY CLASSIFIED