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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, November 3, 2011
Volume 27 No. 43FUNDRAISER- Pg. 14Lions Club organizesfundraiser for resident FESTIVAL - Pg. 23 Blyth Festival announcesits 2012 seasonMADILL- Pg. 7Commencement held atF.E. Madill Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Consulting firm makes Blyth presentation
London Knights
come to Blyth
Braaiinss and beans
“Grandma Faith”, otherwise known as Faith Sebastian, left, held Claire Mitchell’s hand steady
as she reached into different ghoulish body parts including eyeballs, brains and stomach
contents at Brussels Public School Halloween events on Oct. 26. (Denny Scott photo)
Blyth residents and several
members of North Huron Council
and township staff crowded around a
map of Blyth’s main street to try and
shape the future of the village.
Stantec Consulting, a planning
company based in London, was
brought to Blyth by the Blyth Idea
Group (BIG) and North Huron
Council with the intent of planning
the evolution of Blyth’s downtown
core.
Stantec representatives Jim
Vafiades, the landscape architect and
project manager for the Blyth
Streetscape plan and Robin
Campbell, a landscape architect,
were joined by many stakeholders at
the Blyth Festival Art Gallery on
Oct. 26 to discuss what problems
Blyth faces and what resources the
community has to draw upon.
The consulting company had come
to understand what concerns the
public had with the current
streetscape and what kind of projects
would be appreciated.
The group first started discussing
the condition of the downtown core
of Blyth starting with sidewalks.
After being asked to describe the
current sidewalk situation, people
began discussing what is possible
and what is limited with the current
set up.
“The sidewalks are narrow,” local
businessman Rick Elliott stated. “It
prevents events like sidewalk sales.”
Huron County planner Sally
McMullen said that a café with a
seating area on the sidewalk would
do good business with Blyth Festival
Theatre employees, artists and
patrons, but the current sidewalks
don’t lend themselves to it.
While foot traffic was a concern,
both the representatives from
Stantec and the community felt that
bicycles could become an untapped
mode of transportation throughout
the village, provided cyclists stay on
the road.
“Bikes could be dangerous on our
sidewalks,” North Huron Councillor
Brock Vodden said. “Rapid
movement plus the blind store
entrances could result in an
accident.”
Others said that cycling is a valid
form of transportation, and Vafiades
suggested that bike lanes and racks
be considered in their plans.
One of the major concerns
discussed was the saftety and feeling
of security on local streets.
A major issue for the BIG is the
speed which vehicles pass through
the village, especially larger vehicles
like transport trucks, and this
concern was shared by other
community shareholders.
“Volume [of traffic] isn’t really a
problem,” General Manager of the
Blyth Festival Deb Sholdice said.
“People don’t go 50 kilometres an
hour [the posted speed limit].
They go 70 to 80 kilometers an
hour.”
Steven Sparling, a member of the
BIG, stated that pedestrians facing
those speeds is unacceptable and
also stated that cross street entries
are also a concern.
“People park too close to the
intersections and reduce visibility,”
he said.
McMullen stated a similar
problem exists at the intersection of
the Greenway Trail and Queen
Street.
“The trail intersection isn’t
marked and it’s fairly hidden,” she
said.
This led to discussions about
crosswalks, a hot topic throughout
all of Huron County due to recent
collisions.
Vafiades asked if crosswalks were
an issue in the community and
several people spoke to the need of
one, including Vodden, whobrought
the issue up at a recent North Huron
Council meeting.
“There are a lot of people who
walk back and forth between
[Scrimgeour’s Food Market] and the
post office,” he said. “We need a
place for people to cross.”
A big concern for creating
crosswalks, however, is the
destruction of parking spaces,
according to Vafiades. He stated that
by creating enroaching sidewalks, or
bumpouts, that stretch into the street,
it could create shorter distances for
crosswalks and contain parking to
prevent line of sight issues.
“It makes the road seem more
narrow, which slows traffic, and
allows for shorter crosswalks,” he
It’s time to embrace the moonlight
one hour earlier as the cooler
months approach and winter is
around the corner and turn our
clocks back.
The colder weather is already
upon us even dropping a few hints
here and there that winter is well on
its way, meaning that it’s almost
time to fall back.
Daylight savings time will end on
Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 a.m. when
everyone should turn their clocks
back one hour.
The staff at The Citizen hopes
everyone enjoys their extra hour of
sleep Saturday night/Sunday
morning.
The Blyth Brussels Minor Hockey
Association (BBMHA) will be
welcoming some high calibre
hockey to the Blyth and District
Community Centre on Nov. 9.
After having nearly 500 members
of the hockey association travel to
the John Labatt Centre (JLC) to see
the London Knights in action last
week, the Knights are returning the
favour by descending upon Blyth to
practise and sign autographs.
“There will be a full team practice
from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.,”
organizer Brent Scrimgeour said.
“Then they will be signing
autographs from 6 p.m. to 6:30
p.m.”
Scrimgeour said that every player
from the team is scheduled to be
there including ex-Toronto Maple
Leaf tough guy Tie Domi’s son
Max, Jared Knight, a second-round
draft pick for the Boston Bruins,
Scott Harrington, a second-round
draft pick for the Pittsburgh
Penguins and potential member of
the Canadian World Junior team and
local players Matt and Ryan Rupert
from Grand Bend.
Former National Hockey League
player Dale Hunter, who is the
current coach and co-owner of the
Knights, will also be in attendance.
Other coaches will also be there
sharing their expertise with minor
hockey coaches.
The practice will be held as a
fundraiser using donations as an
entry fee. The money will go to
community betterment according to
Scrimgeour.
An auction and barbecue will also
be held to raise money for both the
community and the BBMHA.
“There will be no cost to the
BBMHA at all,” Scrimgeour said.
“We’ve found sponsors for
everything.”
Items donated include sticks
signed by the Knights and the
Kitchener Rangers, a Benmiller Inn
stay with tickets to the Blyth
Festival and one hour of ice time at
the Goderich YMCA with local
high-calibre hockey players Alex
Peters from the Charlotte Checkers,
Anthony Peters from the St. Mary’s
Huskies, Cal O’Reily who was
recently traded to the Phoenix
Coyotes and Ryan O’Reily of the
Colorado Avalanche.
The event was inspired by a
similar one held in Hanover.
“The Hanover Minor Hockey
Association had the Owen Sound
Attack host a similar practice to help
the association raise money for new
jerseys,” Scrimgeour said.
The initial trip to London two
weekends ago and this event are
designed to help new teammates and
families that have been brought
together by the amalgamation of the
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 22
Time to fall back
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 21