HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-11-24, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2011. PAGE 13. Sustainability open house held in Blyth
A healthier Huron
The Huron County Health Unit recently helped Wingham celebrate the re-opening of
Josephine Street by offering lessons and giveaways for children out of their recently-opened
North Huron office at 288 Josephine Street. The centre is now open for business. Shown are,
from left, Parent Resource specialist Lesley Dickson and Public Health Nurses Tanya Patry
and Laura Smith. (Denny Scott photo)
Area farmers have
concerns over jets
Local school
celebrates 50th
THE EDITOR,
Thousands of bright young minds
and smiling faces have passed
through the doors of Sacred Heart
School in Wingham since 1961, and
we’re trying to bring a few of them
back for a special celebration.
In the 50 years since the school
was blessed and dedicated by
Bishop Cody and Father Frekker,
we’ve lost track of many of the
graduates, former students and even
some former teachers, so we’re
reaching out across Midwestern
Ontario to find as many as
possible.
The school is marking its 50th
anniversary on Sunday, Dec. 4.
There will be an open house at the
school from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to give
former students a chance to roam the
halls, check out the old pictures and
memorabilia and visit with others.
The celebration moves up Carling
Terrace to Sacred Heart Church in
Wingham for the Living Rosary at
1:30 p.m. and then a Mass of
Celebration at 2 p.m. There will be a
reception and a chance to renew
friendships in the church hall
immediately after the mass.
We invite everyone who ever
attended Sacred Heart School in
Wingham over the past 50 years to
join, along with family members,
teachers and former teachers.
Greg McLean, Principal,
Sacred Heart School, Wingham.
The Sustainable Huron Steering
Committee held two public meetings
in Blyth last week, one for area
councillors and another for
concerned residents.
With members of the Huron
County Planning Department at the
Blyth and District Community
Centre, a short presentation prefaced
the open house where residents were
able to peruse the county’s new
proposed projects.
The sustainability study process
has been going on for years, head of
the Huron County Director of
Planning Scott Tousaw explained,
beginning with public meetings and
then eventually Take Action for
Sustainable Huron, a report of
several sustainable concepts with no
implementation included.
The next step presented in Blyth
on Nov. 16, and in Hensall the next
day, was the implementation phase
of the study.
The projects spanned from arts
and culture projects to transportation
strategies and they all attempted to
fit into the category of sustainablity.
To be considered sustainable,
projects would have to take intoaccount the environment, theeconomy and the society and cultureof the area and all meet in the middle
to be sustainable.
Tousaw and several others from
the planning department presented
11 different projects that is being
called a vision for “A community of
generations” that he said is only the
beginning.
Tousaw said that while the 11
projects are available for review
now, sustainability is one of those
projects that will be ongoing.
Projects will be added to the list as
years go on for decades.
For those who were unable to
attend the meeting, but want to
review the plan, it can be found at
www.huroncounty.ca/
sustainablehuron
Questions were raised by those in
attendance, including Lucknow-area
farmers Tony and Fran McQuail,
Blyth resident Greg Sarachman and
former Huron East mayoral
candidate Paul VanderMolen.
VanderMolen said one of the
issues is the declining enrolment
Huron County is facing because of
how farmer-friendly the county has
chosen to be.
He said it’s great that HuronCounty is farmer-friendly, butbecause of the current viability offarming, he said, farms have to be
thousands of acres to make
money, meaning that on an
agricultural block where they
used to be several families, there is
now only one, leading to fewer
families, which leads to fewer
children.
VanderMolen said Huron County
residents are going to have to come
to terms with the fact that there will
only be about four or five schools
throughout the county in a matter of
a few decades because the ‘familyfarm’ is getting so big.VanderMolen also addressedseverances and used Bruce and Grey
Counties as an example. He said that
those counties have begun to be
more liberal with their severances
and the area has thrived because of
it.
On the other hand, Tony McQuail
said that while drastically changing
Huron County’s approach to its land
could yield some successes, it was
important to focus on the county’s
strengths and not railroad them in
the process of change.
“We want to preserve what we’vegot,” McQuail said. “We need to bethinking ahead, while at the sametime preserving what’s still
working.”
Sarachman said that some of the
strategies would be tough to
implement because of the Avon
Maitland District School Board’s
hold on small communities when
deciding to close local schools. He
said that because children will be
sent by bus to school, rather than
walking, it has made economic
development tougher for everyone to
achieve.
THE EDITOR,
Kitchener Area Monthly Meeting
of the Religious Society of Friends
(Quakers) believes that public
policy, as well as the lives of
individuals, should aim to take away
the occasion for war. Therefore, we
oppose the Canadian government's
proposed purchase of 65 F-35 joint-
strike fighter jets. The procurement
of joint-strike aircraft not only fails
to reduce the possibility of armed
conflict, it ties Canadian policy to
future military intervention
overseas, without public discussion
of the ramifications of this major
shift in Canada’s role in world
affairs.
We call upon all political parties to
use the opportunity presented by the
controversies surrounding the
purpose and escalating costs of the
F-35s, the lack of conclusive testing
on the planes, the lack of current
needs analysis of the air force, and
the lack of a competing bid process,
to envision a foreign policy in which
Canada becomes a leader in conflict
reduction.
Karen Melady, Patrick Capper,
Gordon Chiddicks, Jim and Janet
Papple, Tony and Fran McQuail –
on behalf of the Lucknow Area
Worship Group. This Worship
Group holds Quaker Meetings for
Worship in Huron County and is
under the care of Kitchener Area
Monthly Meeting.
In the Nov. 10 issue of The
Citizen a story about the late Willis
Machan of Brussels and a
compilation of his war-time letters
entitled Letters Home appeared.
In addition to Machan’s three
sisters listed in the story (Glenna,
Lois and Jean) Willis also had a
brother named Ralph, who has
since passed away.
The Citizen truly regrets the
omission.
Letters to the Editor
Have We Got
Your Number?
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.
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.
Omission
By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen