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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, September 22, 2011
Volume 27 No. 37
RESULTS - Pg. 13Locals honoured atschool fair FAIR - Pg. 14 Pictures from the finalSchool FairSPORTS- Pg. 8Walton Brewers capturetitle at year-end tourneyPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
CH moves to mayor
Rates frozen for new centre
Brussels to host
Walk of Hope
Great threads
The Blyth Grade 7/8 class pulled out all the stops for their parade entry at the Belgrave, Blyth
and Brussels School fair on Sept. 14 in Belgrave by pulling out all the sports uniforms they
could find to clad themselves in Blyth Public School apparel while carrying their school’s sign
proudly, celebrating what could be their school’s last year. (Denny Scott photo)
In Central Huron the
municipality’s reeve and deputy-
reeve will now go by the titles of
mayor and deputy-mayor.
Thanks to a motion of council at
Central Huron’s Sept. 12 meeting,
Jim Ginn and Dave Jewitt will now
answer to new titles.
The issue was first raised by
Councillor Brian Barnim
immediately after the municipal
election last fall.
Barnim said he found residents not
as responsive to the position of
reeve.
Historically, a reeve would be in
charge of a rural township, while a
mayor would run a town or a city.
Barnim, however, said he found
ratepayers to be confused by the idea
when he was going door-to-door
campaigning. He was asked who
was running for mayor often, he
said, and after explaining that
With the impending opening of a
new community centre in Clinton,
council decided to freeze current
rates for youth activities in use at the
current facility until Jan. 1.
Rates for ice time were scheduled
to rise nearly across the board, which
didn’t sit well with several
councillors who felt there were
unanswered questions. In addition,
several councillors felt it was unfair
to raise rates now for parents who
have already committed to a hockey
season under the current rates.
Councillor Marg Anderson, who
had reviewed the proposed rate
increases earlier that day, made some
phone calls to compare rates to
surrounding arenas and she said she
felt the proposed rates would make it
difficult for Central Huron with
remain competitive.
Anderson used the Blyth and
District Community Centre as an
example, saying that a daytime
rental in Blyth would cost less than
half of what it would cost at the new
centre in Clinton under the proposed
rates.
Chief Administrative Officer
Kevin McLlwain, however, said that
there were other factors to consider.
If the YMCA, who have been
brought in to govern the centre, can
run the billing through their
organization, then, as a charitable
organization, HST will not be
charged. If that happens, McLlwain
said, despite a $10 per hour increase
from current rates, then with no
tax there will be a cheaper rental
under the new rates than current
rates.
The proposed rate increase would
raise ice time prices from $90 to
$100, which McLlwain said, is still
lower than Clinton’s nearest
competition. He said the other two
arenas that comprise the BCH
hockey amalgamation (Bayfield-
Clinton-Hensall) rent ice for $106
and $116 per hour. So under the
proposed rates, McLlwain said,
Clinton would still be cheaper than
its neighbours.
McLlwain said the rate increases
were meant to get Central Huron
closer to full cost recovery for its
community centre, but even the
proposed rates wouldn’t get the
municipality close enough.
McLlwain said in order to get the
community centre to a position
where it would operate on a full cost
recovery basis, ice time would have
to be in the neighbourhood of $150
per hour.
Councillors then asked for a
comparative chart to be presented to
council at its Committee of the
Whole meeting in late September.
Council passed a motion to freeze
current rates associated with any
youth ice sport at the community
centre until Jan. 1 when the new
rates would kick in.
Hall rentals, however, were a
different story as several councillors
felt the proposed increases in that
aspect of the centre were also
excessive.
Anderson, again, had made calls to
compare what it would cost to host a
wedding reception for 300 people at
neighbouring community centres.
She said she came up with several
centres where it would be as cheap
as half the cost of what it would cost
to hold the event in Clinton under
Despite the tragic passing of
Henry Exel in a motor vehicle
collision last year, his dream to have
a Habitat for Humanity home built in
Brussels lives on.
The build began two months ago at
784 Sports Drive and, with
fundraisers both past and future to
help the cause, the Brussels
community has come together to
help build a new home for a family
who has yet to be chosen.
The newest fundraiser is a Walk
for Hope to support the build, which
is being called the Henry Exel
Habitat for Humanity House.
“This was Henry’s project from
the start,” Habitat for Humanity
member Ron Clarkson said. “We’re
completing it in his memory.”
The walk will be held on Saturday,
Oct. 1 starting at the Brussels Ball
Park Pavilion.
Registration will begin at 8:30
a.m. with the event commencing at 9
a.m. and running to 11 a.m.
The walk is approximately five
kilometres.
Pledge sheets are available from
Cinnamon Jim’s, McDonald Home
Hardware, Sholdice Insurance or
from Ron Clarkson at 519-887-
6058.
While the shovel first hit dirt this
the summer, there was quite a bit of
work that had to be done as $30,000
in cash needed to be raised and
$40,000 of gift-in-kind pledges had
to be collected.
Before that, Exel, a former
resident of Brussels and a director
with the Huron branch of Habitat for
Humanity, guided the group in
buying the parcel of land that is
currently being built on.
Habitat for Humanity started as a
faith-based non-profit group in the
United States in 1976. More than 90
countries now participate in it, with
Canada starting its own branch in
1985.
Across Canada there are 72
Habitat for Humanity groups that
have, since 1985, built or refitted
nearly 2,000 homes.
Habitat for Humanity Huron
County was created in 2005 with the
intent of eliminating poverty-level
housing across the county.
Since then, the group has built six
homes in six communities; the first
in Clinton in 2005, one in Wingham
in 2006, one in Hensall in 2007, one
in Goderich in 2008, one in Exeter in
2009 and the most recent in Seaforth
in 2010.
Brussels will be the seventh home
and could mark the turning point for
the group where they could start
building more than one house per
year.
Interest-free mortgages are set up
for the home-owners, and through
them paying them back, the funds
for more builds are made available.
In 2011, more than $25,000 will
be generated by the mortgages on
the previous homes the group has
built, eventually increasing so the
group can continue to deal with the
lack of affordable houses in Huron
County.
The family for the home has yet to
be chosen, and the organization
encourages anyone who believes
they could benefit from the program
to apply until the cut-off date has
been announced.
To apply, visit
www.habitathuroncounty.ca or call
519-612-1612.
Donations of items are always
accepted as, if they can’t be used in
the current build, they can always be
sold at the Habitat for Humanity
Restores in Exeter and Goderich. To
arrange gifts for the Brussels build,
contact John McDonald at
McDonald Home Hardware in
Brussels by calling 519-887-6277 or
e-mail him at john@
mcdonaldhomehardware.com
For financial donations, contact
Keith Mulvey at 519-887-9083 or
kmulvey@ezlink.on.ca
To become a volunteer with the
group, which can include duties such
as clean-up, committee work,
landscaping, and assisting with
meals, contact Sheryl Evans at 519-
395-5908.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 10
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 10