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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-11-17, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2011. Council’s patience thinning with REACH Brussels Youth Centre now up and running Waste collection call concerns Central Huron A place to chill Sue Haskins, right, and co-op student Steph Wilhelm are providing Brussels and area youth with a place to relax and an ear to listen with the Youth For Christ (YFC) Brussels Youth Centre found in the basement of the Brussels Mennonite Fellowship. (Denny Scott photo) Concern swept through the Nov. 7 meeting of Central Huron Council when Councillor Burkhard Metzger relayed a call about waste management he had received from a ratepayer. Metzger said he had telephone correspondence with a resident of Central Huron’s lakeshore region with concerns that Waste Management would be terminating its pick-up services in that area as of the end of the year. Metzger reported that after a follow-up call, the resident stated that he was told soon all of Central Huron would follow, with Waste Management pulling out of all Central Huron routes handled by Chamney Sanitation before it was bought out by Waste Management. At press time reports were unverified. Both Metzger and Central Huron Chief Administrative Officer Kevin McLlwain were attempting to get an answer from someone at Waste Management as to the validity of these reports. If true, the change would not affect Clinton, but it would affect the outlying areas of Central Huron including Londesborough and Auburn. While councillors are waiting for a report back as to whether this is true or not, the investigation has already begun into alternatives, as the municipality has not provided garbage collection for years. Councillors asked staff to arrange a meeting with Bluewater Recycling Association President Francis Veilleux on the possibility of co- collection throughout the municipality. Councillor Brian Barnim, however, says he remembers the first time council received such a report and shot it down immediately due to the cost. “We’re going to have a problem on our hands if they shut it down,” Metzger said. Barnim tried to keep the issue in perspective, saying that if Waste Management was simply pulling out of the lakeshore portion of Central Huron, that decision would be affecting approximately 25 homes. If the decision was made, however, to pull out of Central Huron, it would be affecting far more people. “Well, keep council informed on what you find out,” Mayor Jim Ginn said to Metzger, who said he would follow up on the resident’s claims. “Because if it’s true, we’ll have to look at co-collection very seriously and very quickly.” Councillors stated that co- collection from the Bluewater Recycling Association wouldn’t be the only option and that there are two private garbage haulers who may want to upgrade so they could handle the business. “They might look at this as an opportunity,” said Councillor Alison Lobb. Councillor Alex Westerhout, however, said that because the Bluewater Recycling Association already has trucks running through Central Huron, it seems having them pick up both would be the most viable option. “I think we really need to look at this co-collection thing,” Westerhout said. McLlwain is currently investigating the waste management situation in Central Huron and will be bringing forward a report as soon as he hears anything new. Patience among some Central Huron councillors with the Regional Equine and Agricultural Centre of Huron (REACH) is continuing to grow thin with the absence of a current business plan. Discussion began at the Nov. 7 council meeting when a motion was approved to release the agreed-upon funds to REACH for the months of August and September. The agreement had been reached earlier this year, but council decided it would only release funds on a monthly or a bi-monthly basis in conjunction with regular meetings with the heads of REACH. Deputy-Mayor Dave Jewitt said he was a little concerned about the long-term sustainability of REACH. He said it was his understanding that much of the REACH future business plan was hedged on government funding for a new show barn. The funding, however, was Brussels and area youth have a unique place to hang out, meet new friends and find someone to talk to with the Youth For Christ (YFC) Brussels Youth Centre in the basement of the Brussels Mennonite Fellowship. Run by Susan Haskins after being established by Adam and Melissa Shepski, the organization exists to help youth meet each other and find themselves. “We’re a faith-based organization,” Haskins said. “Our motto is that we see the hope and potential in every young person.” YFC is responsible for youth centres around the world, according to Haskins, and the one in Brussels came about after Adam had been working in Wingham at their centre and came to Brussels to try and work there. His work in Brussels lasted three years before he left, starting in 2006 and ending in 2009. For a time there wasn’t a youth centre, Haskins explained, because part of working for YFC is raising your own salary. “I was hired last November,” she said. “My first task was to raise funds for my position and then fill a Christmas wishlist for the centre.” The centre, which spans the entirety of the Fellowship’s basement, includes rooms for video games, computers, table-top games like pool and foosball and space foryouth to just relax. While it is in the basement of the Brussels Mennonite Fellowship, the centre is an interdenominational location that is open to youth. “We hang out and have a fun, crazy silliness time,” Haskins said. “It’s a drop-in centre, not a place to come and follow a specific schedule. There is no program.” The centre is open to youth from Grades 6-8 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and for the older crowd, Grade 9-12 on Saturday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. Currently Wednesday night usually hosts between 10 and 20 participants and the Saturday night session brings in between four and eight participants. “The small numbers are great in that they help me and the youth build one on one relationships, but we’re always looking for more.” The centre offers a quiet place for kids to do homework on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and will soon be hosting a Bible study for youth on Thursday nights. “We’re looking to find where kids are at in their faith and help them find where they can go,” Haskins said. “We’re interested in three stories; their’s, God’s and mine and where the three of them meet.” During the week Haskins also works at the Student Success Room at F.E. Madill Secondary School or the Co-operative Opportunities Providing Education (COPE) office in Wingham which is associatedwith the school. “My job is basically to be there and help,” Haskins said. “Whether that is having someone to walk with, or have coffee with, or someone to tutor, I try and help kids and show them they can get, or keep, their life on track.” Haskins found herself in need of guidance like that in her youth. Growing up outside of Blyth, she found that she had strife in her life she needed to deal with and she felt lost. Her mother brought her to the Brussels Mennonite Fellowship where she was guided by the members of the church and wants to provide that opportunity for other youth. She now lives in Brussels with her two children; Michael and Celena who are in Grade 5 at Brussels Public School and Grade 9 at F.E. Madill Secondary School, respectively. Steph Wilhelm, a co-op student from Listowel District Secondary School is also helping at the centre and initially got involved through work with Adam and Melissa Shepski. This year the centre has another Christmas wishlist and is seeking a large television or projector and a Nintendo Wii or an XBox 360 with a Kinect. For more information call 519- 531-1149, email susannah.h@ swoyfc.com or follow the Brussels Youth Centre on Facebook. By Denny ScottThe Citizen By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 18 WANT TO ADD YOU CELL PHONE LISTING? If you would like your cell number listed in our listings we can add it if you give us the information and pay a $5 service fee in advance at either our Blyth of Brussels offices. The Citizen is now planning its 2012-2013 Telephone Book. Is your number correct in the recently delivered Bell Canada phone book? Do you have a new listing since that book was compiled? If so, please let us know so we can make our phone book as complete and useful as possible. Call 519-523-4792. Have We Got Your Number?