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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, July 14, 2011
Volume 27 No. 28
FALL FAIR - Pg. 15Brussels United Churchto sell pennants for fair OLYMPIA - Pg. 24 Ice resurfacer approved forBMG Community CentreCLINIC- Pg. 6Awards introduced forblood donor clinicPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Seili resigns council seat
Seaforth welcomes
two new doctors
Fatality at Walton track
It takes all kinds (of dogs)
The Bluewater Kennel Club’s annual dog show returned to the Blyth Campgrounds on July 5,
6 and 7. Competitors from all over brought dogs of every colour, shape and size to try and be
named the best in breed or bring home first place in one of the many competitions. (Denny Scott
photo)
Longtime municipal politician Joe
Seili, who spent eight years as
mayor of Huron East, resigned from
his position as a Brussels Ward
councillor at the July 5 council
meeting.
His announcement caught several
councillors and staff members off
guard shortly after the Tuesday night
meeting began.
Seili’s verbal resignation was
shortly followed by a written
resignation later in the week and an
official announcement by Huron
East Mayor Bernie MacLellan on
July 7.
Seili said his life as a municipal
representative had become too much
and that it was negatively impacting
his personal and professional life.
In a later interview, Seili said he
had been considering the move for
about a month leading up to his
announcement. While there were
personal factors, Seili said much of
his decision had to do with the
amount of control being taken from
municipal councils year after year.
Specifically Seili listed the
Provincial Policy Statement and the
Green Energy Act, both of which
have taken planning decisions out
of the hands of municipal councils
and have put them under the
jurisdiction of the Provincial
Government.
Over the last several years, Seili
has also made his frustration with
the Avon Maitland District School
Board no secret. Starting with the
decision to close schools along the
Hwy. 4 corridor up to the decision to
close Brussels Public School, Seili
has said numerous times that the
board is putting rural Ontario and
municipal councils in an impossible
position.
“The school board has no respect
for small municipalities,” Seili said.
“Our powers are being taken away.”
In addition to those governing
bodies, Seili also said a local
opposition group, Huron East
Against Turbines (HEAT) which
made its first appearance at a council
meeting several years ago, has made
governing an entire municipality
even more difficult.
“It didn’t matter what we did, we
couldn’t satisfy HEAT,” Seili said.
“And as the mayor said on Tuesday,
being an elected representative
shouldn’t cost you money and it was
starting to take money out of my
pocket.”
Seili would not elaborate on the
issues occurring as a result of his
public service, but said it was time to
step away from the world of
municipal politics.
Seili made an announcement late
last year that he would not seek the
mayor position in Huron East for a
third term, but then decided to run as
a councillor in Brussels. He and
Councillor David Blaney beat out
incumbent councillor Frank Stretton
for the two positions in 2010.
“I’m glad I did it,” he said. “I just
feel sorry for the ratepayers who
supported me that I can’t complete
the term.”
Seili says he wishes council luck
and that the remaining councillors
will have their hands full with the
slate of issues coming up for Huron
East in the next few years.
“It’s going to be tough for them to
get everything done that they’ve
A 44-year-old Kitchener man lost
his life at the Walton Raceway on the
weekend when authorities say he
lost control of his bike and hit a tree.
Peter Zandersons, by all accounts
an experienced racer, lost control of
his dirt bike at the Walton track and
struck a tree on July 9 around noon.
Despite wearing a helmet and
protective gear, the rider was
declared dead on the scene by Huron
County EMS and OPP.
Witnesses stated that Zandersons
hit a bump at the top of a hill and
inadvertently accelerated
downwards off the track and into a
tree.
Zandersons raced in the veteran
class. The accident, however,
happened during a practice run.
The track was closed on Saturday,
July 9 for investigation but re-
opened Sunday morning.
Walton Raceway owner and
operator Chris Lee stated that his
family’s thoughts and prayers are
with Zandersons’ family.
This is the first fatality that has
occurred at the track in its 40-year
history. The current track layout has
been in use for more than five years.
Donations to the Humane Society
or the Children’s Wish Foundation
are welcomed by the Zandersons
family.
Visitation for Zandersons will be
held at the Henry Walser Funeral
Home in Kitchener from 12 p.m. to
12:45 p.m. on July 14.
At a press conference on July 7,
Huron East Mayor Bernie
MacLellan officially announced the
impending arrival of two new family
doctors in Seaforth.
The husband and wife team of Dr.
Andrezej and Dr. Agnes Kluz are
currently in Saskatchewan packing
for the move to the area and will
hopefully begin seeing patients as
early as August.
The announcement was made at
the Huron East municipal office in
Seaforth last Thursday afternoon
with many members of Huron East
Council, the Huron Community
Family Health Team and the Huron
Perth Healthcare Alliance in
attendance.
Gwen Devereaux, physician
recruitment lead, said the Seaforth
area met all the needs for the two
doctors, who wanted to be within an
hour’s drive of Kitchener, where the
couple have family living.
Devereaux said the process began
at the beginning of the year when the
Kluzes contacted Huron East about a
possible practice in the area. From
there, Devereaux said there were
several visits where the doctors were
shown the area, brought to suppers
and given tours of the healthcare
facilities in Huron East.
She says there was a real effort on
behalf of Seaforth’s existing doctors
to make the Kluzes feel at home and
welcome in the community and that
they played a big part in the
recruitment of these doctors.
Agnes, Devereaux says, plans to
have a full-time family practice, but
she also has an interest in palliative
care and geriatric medicine, while
Andrezej has a keen interest in the
emergency department. Both fields
of interest, Devereaux says, fit
perfectly into Huron East’s needs.
While the attraction of two new
doctors to the area is extraordinary
news, Huron Community Family
Health Team Executive Director
Barb Major-McEwan says this still
leaves the area technically
underserviced by one doctor. She
says, however, that bringing two new
doctors to the area is a huge step
forward for Huron East healthcare.
The accomplishment was also
praised by Huron Perth Healthcare
Alliance CEO Andrew Williams,
who was in Seaforth for the
announcement.
“Recruitment right now is
extremely competitive,” Williams
said. “I think the new doctors will fit
in well with the culture and
community in Huron East.”
Major-McEwan said as a result of
the two new doctors between 1,500
and 2,000 more patients in the area
could have a family doctor.
To become a patient with the one
of the Kluzes, Major-McEwan said
orphan patients should register with
Healthcare Connect, if they haven’t
already, by calling 1-800-445-1822.
Upon registering, Major-McEwan
said, the two doctors can be listed as
the patient’s preference, although
there isn’t necessarily a guarantee.
Enrollment clinics will also be
held at a later date and they will be
advertised in local newspapers,
Major-McEwan said.
The recruitment of the doctors was
a joint effort on behalf of the
Seaforth Community Development
Trust, the Municipality of Huron
East and the Huron Perth Healthcare
Alliance.
The Kluzes currently reside in
Regina and will be moving to the
area in August with their three-year-
old daughter.
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 24