HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-02-24, Page 1CitizenTh
e
$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, February 24, 2011
Volume 27 No. 8SPORTS- Pg. 9Ironmen begin semi-finalseries with Mitchell HAITI - Pg. 10 Locals recount theirmission trip to HaitiENVIRONMENT- Pg. 6New six-part series beginswith David BlaneyPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Brussels Library surveys, meeting coming
County Road 12
to be dedicated
Smiles on skates
Blyth’s Trinity Anglican Church hosted skating on Valentine’s Day, and Blyth Public School
students, from left, Ally Henry, Tiffany Conrad and Jenna McDonald were all smiles as they
skated around the Blyth Community Centre together. The Anglican Church held the party to
help kids get active on Valentine’s Day, to not get all wrapped up in the pagentry of the holiday
and to remember that God can be their Valentine. (Denny Scott photo)
Brussels citizens and users of the
Brussels Library can expect a survey
in the mail very soon where they can
have their say on the future of the
historic structure and the future of a
library in Brussels.
At a strategic planning meeting on
Feb. 19, Huron East councillors
decided that enough had changed
and there was enough interest to
warrant returning to members of the
public to hear what they have to say.
While Brussels Councillor Joe
Seili was not in attendance for the
meeting, he left comments on the
subject of the library with fellow
Brussels Councillor David Blaney,
saying that Huron East “had a public
meeting, they had made the decision,
they got the plans, now it’s time to
build the damn thing”.
Blaney agreed with the absent
councillor, but added that a
downtown location for the library
would be vital to the economic
situation of the village.
“Downtown locations are
absolutely essential to the
maintenence of a viable downtown,”
he said. “If you remove the library,
you’re doing what the school board
did, removing a viable part of the
community from the downtown.”
Grey Councillor Alvin McLellan
agreed, saying that enough has
changed in the years since the last
public meeting to warrant a
subsequent meeting. McLellan even
suggested placing the library in the
Brussels Public School once the
Avon Maitland District School
Board relieves it of its occupancy.
Blaney suggested that as opposed
to a public meeting, which history
has shown, very few people attend,
that mail-outs be sent to users of the
Brussels Library. He said the Huron
County Librarian is not at liberty to
release the names, but they would do
the mail-outs themselves. He said
that the options could be laid out for
the users and they would be free to
express their opinions on the survey,
as opposed to being swayed and
bullied at a public meeting.
Councillor Andy Flowers agreed,
saying that at the last public meeting,
30 people were in attendance and
just five people were vocal about
their opinions.
Grey Councillor Dianne Diehl
expressed concern over the letter
system as well, saying that there was
no guarantee that the municipality
would get enough letters back to
ensure a consensus on the situation.
It was eventually decided that
surveys would be sent to users of the
library, in addition to everyone with
a Brussels address. Deputy-Mayor
Joe Steffler said this would be an
ideal time to do it, as tax bills were
just about to be mailed by the
municipality.
The mail-out will be sent in the
coming weeks and responses will be
collected in preparation for another
public meeting that will be held in
the coming months.
Several councillors said it was
essential to move fast on the
Brussels Library situation. It was the
first issue dealt with on the special
Saturday meeting and the majority
of councillors felt that the issue had
dragged on for too long and that it
was time to make a decision and
stick to it.
Not everyone, however, was keen
on the idea of going to the public.
Seaforth Councillor Bob Fisher
asked his fellow councillors why
they had even been elected if they
were going to go to the public to
make all their decisions for them.
“We’re elected to represent Huron
East as we see fit. Let’s make a
decision amongst ourselves,” he
said. “We can have a public meeting
later to tell the public what we’re
doing.”
Another hot button issue discussed
Pending further approval, County
Road 12 will soon be designated at
Police Memorial Road after a
request from the Huron OPP was
approved by Huron County
Council’s Committee of the Whole
at its Feb. 16 meeting.
The request, which came from
OPP staff sergeant Shawn Johnson
said the renaming of County Road
12 would “ensure the lives and
sacrifices of [officers who lost their
lives in the line of duty] are never
forgotten”.
The three motions associated with
the request were all recommended
unanimously by Huron County
Council.
The first motion was to allow the
new designation, the second was
that Huron County allow the
installation of eight highway
dedication signs with the County
Road 12 allowance and the third was
that Huron County enter into a
50/50 cost-sharing arrangement
with the OPP for the design and
construction of the signs. Huron
County’s share of the signs was said
to be $2,800.
In his letter, Johnson stated that
while the murder of OPP Const. Vu
Pham just under one year ago,
which occurred along County Road
12, may be fresh in the minds of
residents, earlier police officer
fatalities may not be as fresh in their
memories.
His hope, he said, was that a
highway dedication would help to
change that.
Johnson cited the deaths of Const.
Dave Mounsey in November, 2006
and Const. Bruce Crew in
September, 1983 as incidents that
warranted remembrance. Both Crew
and Mounsey died in motor vehicle-
related incidents.
Mounsey’s collision also occurred
on County Road 12.
“The road itself runs north and
south, touching many of our lower
tier municipalities. Its rededication
as Police Memorial Road could
serve as a gentle reminder to a large
portion of our county’s citizenship,”
Johnson’s letter stated. “The
proposed name is intentionally
generic, so as to prevent giving
specific note to one fallen officer
over another. Also, because of the
inherent simplicity, the proposed
memorialization would be sufficient
to pay respect to any similar tragedy
that may occur in Huron County’s
future.”
The motion to accept the
rededication was moved by
Goderich’s Deb Shewfelt who
called the initiative “a great thing”.
“I am sure everyone would agree
that all three of these men lost their
lives in service to the citizens of
Huron County while working to
keep our community safe for us to
live and raise families,” Johnson
said.
The 89th annual World of Prayer
day is being held on March 4 at
several local churches.
The event was originally
organized by women in Canada and
the United states in 1920 and
focuses on praying alongside all
women in the world. This year
prayers will focus on women in The
Republic of Chile.
Services will be held at St.
Ambrose Catholic Church in
Brussels at 2 p.m., while Blyth’s
service will be held at 7 p.m. at
Trinity Anglican Church.
Londesborough United Church
will have their service at 1 p.m.
The event is held at different
churches each year, and many
churches in the area will help out.
The Brussels ceremony is put
together through co-operation by St.
John’s Anglican Church, Brussels
United Church, Walton United
Church, Melville Presbyterian
Church and the Brussels Mennonite
Fellowship.
Blyth’s ceremony will be put on
by Blyth United Church, Living
Water Christian Fellowship, the
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
World Day of Prayer
Continued on page 20
Continued on page 15
By Denny Scott
The Citizen