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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-07-28, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2011. Writer criticizes councillor North Huron Food Share needs summer help THE EDITOR, Mr. Vodden has very successfully proven my point with his response in the July 21 issue of The Citizen. The point of my letter in the July 14 issue of The Citizen was to ultimately point out that the approach taken by Vodden and others was pointless and a wasted effort that should have been directed where it belonged: at the Avon Maitland District School board (AMDSB), your trustee (for not participating on your behalf) and then the Ministry of Education and finally at your MPP who you so generously elected to represent you. Wasting time directing your efforts at the NH Council has accomplished nothing. You have failed to convince the other councillors to support you. The school is still closing. It is being built in North Huron and not Morris- Turnberry despite your best efforts to sidetrack that. And still I have not heard one note of concern about the children and the effect positive or negative, that this will have on them. You remind me of the fellow who smelled smoke but did nothing, felt the heat of the flames and did nothing, saw the flames rising up and decided that perhaps there was something wrong so he should look into it. Grasping his encyclopedia he looked up smoke and it said “usually accompanied by fire”. So then he looked up heat and it said “usually as a result of fire”. So then he looked up flames and it said “a visual indication of fire”. By now the fire had destroyed his home and so gazing at the ruins of his burned out house he picked up the phone and called the people who make the fire hydrants to complain that they should compensate him for his house burning down. Lesson, if your house is burning down don’t just sit there, call the people who can put out the fire. As far as personal comments against Vodden, I in fact never even mentioned his name. I do however appreciate the eight times he mentioned my name in his letter. My being insensitive was also the topic of a 15-minute speech that Vodden requested to make to council after reading the letter to the editor I wrote regarding Mr. Ralph Campbell’s comment at the Committee of the Whole meeting regarding the use of pieces of wood to solve the ATV problem. He stated that he did not hear the comment in committee despite his “state of the art hearing aids and fresh batteries” because I was insensitive to his needs and did not speak up loud enough for him to hear. I guess he just forgot that I was not the one he did not hear. Campbell was the one who made the comment not me. But of course he had no criticism for Campbell and neither did anyone else on council step up and say that such comments were out of line in the chambers and best kept in the barn. This was similar to the 45-minute speech he subjected council to last November when he called council and staff insensitive in regard to their handling of his smoking THE EDITOR, “Summertime and the living is easy” is the opening line from a musical written over 75 years ago by George Gershwin for the musical Porgy and Bess. For many people this may well be the story and we at the North Huron Community Food Share hope that as many people as possible are enjoying the summer. However for many of our clients, it is just another season to struggle through wondering if they will have enough food for their family and hoping that the Food Share will be able to supplement any shortfall that may arise. At our year-end annual meeting in June, it was noted that our client base has remained almost constant from the previous year with 2,725 clients needing our assistance over the past year. While to us this is good news as the year before saw an over 30 per cent increase, it is still too many people needing food. When you realize our clients can only access the Food Share once a month, it works out to almost 230 people each month needing help. We are so thankful for the ongoing support from everyone throughout the year, however we find in the summer months, our stocks really start to take a beating. Schools are out, service clubs don’t often meet, churches are on summer schedules and a lot of people are away on holidays. But for our clients, hunger goes on. In addition to the large amount of non-perishable items we received from the general public over the last year, we also accessed the Food Distribution Centre in Exeter a total of 13 times. We were also able to take part in the “Farm to Food Banks” program this year that was sponsored by the Clinton Credit Union for all food banks in Huron County. This entitled us to pork, apples, beef and fresh milk. We also distributed 100 turkeys at Christmas as well as 100 $20 vouchers at Easter. The Food Share has been fortunate to have many monetary donations made over the last year. Sometimes it is just more convenient to give money than food, knowing we have ongoing expenses. However, it should be noted that most of our cash donations are spent on food at our local stores in Wingham, Brussels, Blyth, Lucknow and Teeswater. In the past 12 months, we purchased almost $35,000 in food to supplement the food donations we received. It is also worth noting that all our volunteers on our board of directors as well as our people who help on Wednesdays are non-paid volunteers. One of our directors, Dawn Ladouceur also started collecting fresh fruits and vegetables on Tuesdays to hand out on Wednesday mornings during the summer months to supplement the food allowance our clients receive. If you have any extra vegetables, etc. please (if possible) bring them to the Food Share on Wednesday mornings or contact me at 519-357-4833 and I will pass the message on to Dawn about donations. We are also excited that the Aug. 12 “Cruise Night” at the Howick Community Centre has been designated as “food bank night”. The organizers of the cruise night are asking everyone who comes out on Aug. 12 to bring some “non- perishable” food items. They intend to stuff a truck or the food share. Please come out, see many classic vehicles and make a donation to the Food Share. We need your ongoing help to keep our shelves stocked, whether it be by donating food items or monetary donations. If there is anyway we can be of assistance, you can contact our operations manager Joyce Johnston at the Food Share, 519-357-2277, extension 4, or contact me, Gordon Kaster at 519- 357-4833. The Board of Directors of the Food Share consists of Bob Raper, Dawn Ladouceur, Doreen Wintemute, Gordon Kaster, Joyce Johnston, Julian Paziewski, Maribeth Dixon, Raymond Wright, Rozalynn Schlosser, Stephanie Towton and Wayne Beamer. I’m sure some, if not all of these names are familiar. Do not hesitate to contact any one of them if you can be of assistance to help us restock our shelves. Summer is a fun, busy time for everyone, but take a moment to remember those not so fortunate. Remember – hunger knows no age limit! Thank you, Gord Kaster, Chairperson of the North Huron Community Food Share. THE EDITOR, Janis and Brock Vodden are truly a Blyth treasure! Recently, I met with Janis to review some history about the Sims and McElroy families before leaving on a trip to Ireland and Scotland. Both Janis and Brock have the ability to garner all kinds of historical data and unknown details about family connections and relish their discoveries. One just needs to mention a name and before long, all kinds of detailed information have been uncovered. They are generous with their time and resources in following up on requests, leads and questions from people around the world. They welcome the challenge to take hastily written notes and faded pictures and ferret out further information. I applaud and thank them for the work they continue to do to ensure that the history of Blyth and its residents past and present will be preserved for future generations. Linda (Sims) Rafuse Burlington. Letters to the Editor NOTICE OF NOMINATION FOR OFFICE MUNICIPAL BY-ELECTION 2011 NOTICE is hereby given to the Municipal Electors of the Ward of Brussels, Municipality of Huron East that Nominations will be received for the following office: One (1) Councillor - representing Brussels Ward (The Councillor will complete the term of Council ending December 1st, 2014) Nominations may be made by completing and filing in the office of the Clerk, 72 Main Street South, Seaforth, Ontario N0K 1W0 nominations on the prescribed form. Such nomination papers must be accompanied by the prescribed nomination filing fee of $100. The filing fee is payable in cash, certified cheque or money order. A nomination must be signed by the candidate and may be filed in person or by an agent during regular business hours 9:00 am to 5:00 pm up to August 18th, 2011 and on ‘Nomination Day’ August 19th, 2011 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. No person who proposes to be a candidate may solicit or accept contributions for election purposes; or incur expenses, until that person’s nomination has been filed. A nomination must be certified by the Clerk, or designate, before such person becomes a certified candidate for the office for which they are nominated. Electors are hereby given notice that if a greater number of candidates are certified than are required to fill the said office; an election will be held. Voting Day will be Monday, October 3rd, 2011. Dated this 27th day of July, 2011 Brad Knight, CAO/Clerk Municipal Office, 72 Main Street, South Seaforth, Ontario. N0K 1W0 519-527-0160 MUNICIPAL BY-ELECTION – 2011 VOTER’S LIST for the MUNICIPALITY OF HURON EAST The Voter’s List for the 2011 Municipal By-Election, for the Municipality of Huron East, has been prepared as required under the Municipal Elections Act and is available for inspection from the 3rd day of August, 2011 at the Municipal Office for the Municipality of Huron East, at 72 Main Street South, Seaforth, during normal office hours. Electors should examine the list to ensure that their names and relevant information are correctly shown. Applications for inclusions, additions or corrections to or deletions from the list may be made by an elector completing and filing a form obtained at the office of the Clerk during normal office hours. Revision to the Voter’s list by electors will commence at 9:00 am on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2011 and the last day for filing application by an elector on their own behalf concerning inclusion, additions, corrections or deletions is Monday, October 3rd, 2011 at 8:00 pm. Brad Knight CAO/Clerk Municipality of Huron East MUNICIPALITY OF HURON EAST SUMMER WATERING RESTRICTIONS Because of high water demands on our water systems during the summer months and in an effort to promote “good water conservation practices”, we request all residents in the communities of BRUCEFIELD, BRUSSELS, EGMONDVILLE, SEAFORTH and VANASTRAto refrain from excessive outdoor water usage (watering of lawns, etc.) We also request that outdoor watering take place as follows: • Even numbered houses water on Even numbered days • Odd numbered houses water on Odd numbered days • Evening and early morning watering from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Native praises Voddens Continued on page 21