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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-07-14, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011. New treasurer in Huron East Writer thinks time for action has passed THE EDITOR, I would like to applaud Steven Sparling on his recent letter to the editor. This is how democracy works and everyone should make note. This is what is missing in this township: an open and intelligent discussion. Sparling made many excellent points in his letter (in the July 7 issue of The Citizen) that I agree with, while at the same time there are points with which I disagree and that is where we have to work together to find the compromise that makes democracy work. I will be very blunt here since Sparling pretty much outlined the problem in the first paragraph. While in an ideal situation there would only be one “community” within North Huron, this is not, and will never be the case. Each of the three communities with North Huron is an individual just like the individuals within a family. However, this is not a family of birth, but one of marriage and as such we chose this marriage and now it is up to us to make it work just like any other union of people. If one within the marriage suffers, everyone suffers. In this case it is felt the loss of the school will cause economic suffering in Blyth while Wingham will, if anything, benefit economically and that council and our elected representatives in Blyth have done nothing to stop it. Sparling is correct on both points. Consider that one of your council members was quite adamant in telling me after the last election that he ran not as a councillor of Blyth, but of North Huron. However, he has made a point of paying lip service to the issue by making motions to send supportive letters to other groups fighting local Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) decisions and making grand 15-minute speeches and writing letters to local newspapers informing everyone that he had made those speeches in support of Mr. Elliott. Your other councillor made a fine effort of remaining quiet on the subject and avoiding being caught where he might actually have to give an opinion. But I must say after hesitating on the rezoning vote he jumped in at the end and voted against it when he had seen that his vote would make no difference and it was going to pass anyway. Hurrah for courage and strength of character I am sure it out there somewhere just not here. In their defence however, I will continue to point out that North Huron does not run the school board, the Province of Ontario does. We must pay for it through our municipal tax collection. You want to change the school board, your chance is coming soon in the next provincial election. Now during this entire issue I have been puzzled by one very large, but invisible, 800 lbs. gorilla I know is in the room somewhere since they are getting paid and their name shows up in the attendance records. Your school board trustee! I thought that was the person that I elected (sorry, allowed to continue to serve through acclamation since they did such a fine job) to look after and keep me informed about school board issues. Not the council who have nothing to do with the day-to- day operations of the school board where your trustee does. That is what they are there for, not North Huron council. This entire matter started many years ago, not last year or the year before, but at least seven years ago. Your trustee was aware of the direction the school board was looking and didn’t make it clear to you. So what did you think? Oh it will never happen. Yes, that is exactly what everyone did and now they are trying to pin the blame on someone else because they were too busy looking the other way and worrying about more important things like themselves. And now since many of the ones whose kids are now gone and out of those schools are having an attack of guilt we are calling it an economic issue and trying to blame it on someone else. Give it up. This is a lost cause and has been for years. I agree that it is not good for Blyth, but all of this whining will not change anything. Mr. Elliott and his $120 Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) appeal has accomplished nothing but cost North Huron (that is you and me in case you forgot) thousands of dollars in staff time and legal fees that were unnecessary to prepare to fight something that was tossed out before it even got to the appeal board. Do not confuse this with the appeals that were filed by Mr. Pike in Wingham since they had some legitimate concerns attached to them. I said at the time of the election that we had to get over this and start looking toward the future. If we had spent as much time discussing alternatives and ways to improve the situation, we would probably have a solution by now and be working towards implementing it. Instead here we are still grumbling and carrying on about something we cannot change. If you have issues with the process that allowed this to happen then I suggest you spend your time trying to change that process so that it does not happen again in the future. Now that is something you can change. At the time of the election I made a point of speaking with someone from the school board, reading what I could find as well as visiting each of the schools involved to speak with staff and including the principal in Blyth to understand the situation. At that time I was told I was the only candidate who had come to speak with any of the staff and in fact to this day I understand I was the only one to visit. All of this rhetoric and I have not heard what I think is the most important point here: what about the children and their quality of education? Where are they in all of this wailing and gnashing of teeth and poor me? We have created a society that has only one concern and that is themselves and not their spouse or children or parents, but what about me? My taxes are too high I want them lowered but I want all the services and conveniences that I deserve and at a lower cost. School board taxes make up a large part of those taxes and the board rightly or wrongly is making decisions to try and control those expenses just like you asked. If you have a concern or disagree with those decisions you should be at the school board meetings expressing your thoughts to those who make the decisions, not at the North Huron Council meetings, where council has nothing to do with these decisions. Oh, sorry I forgot you are not there either. Bill Knott, Blyth. Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan announced the hiring of the municipality’s new treasurer at a press conference on July 7 at the municipal office in Seaforth. Paula Michiels, who has over 11 years of municipal experience, will be stepping in to fill the vacancy left when former treasurer Brad Knight was the successful candidate for the clerk-administrator position. The clerk-administrator position was recently vacated by Jack McLachlan who retired after 34 years in municipal politics. McLachlan agreed to stay on until both positions were filled. Michiels was most recently a senior financial analyst with the County of Oxford. She is expected to start at the beginning of August.Is Now Open For Business 383 Queen Street, Blyth 519-523-9681 Offering a Complete Line of Automotive Parts and Accessories New Stock Arriving Soon! Store Hours Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Sat. 8:00 am - 12:00 noon Help Support Local Business in Your Community We invite you to come visit us soon Calvin, Brad & Amanda McClenaghan The Property Standards By-law 15-2003 for the Township of North Huron contains minimum standards of maintenance and occupancy which all properties should meet. The by-law is to ensure that properties now in good condition in the community will continue to be kept in good repair. The ideal approach is for the municipality to foster a climate of co-operative compliance. Dave Black Chief Building Official By-law Enforcement Officer P.O. Box 90, 274 Josephine Street, Wingham, Ontario N0G 2W0 Phone 519-357-3550 Fax: 519-357-1110 77688 Orchard Line, R.R. 1 Bayfield 519-482-3020 www.te-emfarm.ca Summer Hours effective July 10th Closed Tues.; M., W., T., F., S. 9-6; Sun. 10-5 * Gift Certificates RASPBERRIES! Pick Your Own www.teemfarm.wordpress.com check our blog for updates Super Sales & Lots of Specials on annuals, perennials & nursery stock It’s never too late to plant! Te-Em FarmTe-Em Farm Letters to the Editor Awards initiated for Blyth blood donor clinic THE EDITOR, As the demand for blood increases year over year, Canadian Blood Services is calling on residents of Blyth and surrounding area to help us meet patient needs this summer by “Rally Together to Save Lives”. This year’s blood drive is taking place next week, but with a twist. Summer is typically a challenging time for the blood system because people focus on vacation plans and warm weather activities, while blood donation falls from the top of the mind. However, the need for blood and blood products is great. Local residents can come together and help us to save lives at the next blood donor clinic held at the Blyth District Community Centre at 377 Gypsy Lane, Blyth, on Thursday, July 21 from 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. This year organizer Blyth Masonic Lodge has initiated a “Save a Life” award program which will feature two awards. The first award will go to the outlying community (Walton, Auburn, Belgrave and Londesborough) with the largest participation in the drive. The second award wil go to the local business with the greatest number of participants. These awards will be continued every year the clinic in Blyth can be maintained, says Blyth’s John Elliott, who has been instrumental in bringing a blood donor clinic back to Blyth. To schedule your life-saving appointment call 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283) or visit www.blood.ca for more information. New donors and walk-ins welcome. Did You Know That It Can Take: • 50 units of blood to help someone in a car accident • two units to help someone who needs brain surgery • five units to help someone in cancer treatment • eight units a week to help someone with leukemia • five units to save someone who needs cardiovascular surgery • two to eight units to help someone with internal bleeding • two units for a hip replacement Fifty-two per cent of Canadians say they or a family member have needed blood or blood products for surgery or for medical treatment. Within our existing eligibility rules, it is estimated that one in two Canadians can give blood yet last year, only one in 60 actually did. You can help us close the gap. Let’s rally together to save lives this summer to ensure patients across the country have the blood and blood products in order to support their treatments. Marisa Gatfield Community Development Co-ordinator Canadian Blood Services. By Shawn Loughlin 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