The Citizen, 2010-03-11, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2010. PAGE 7.
Blyth barrister
Sharla M. Haney opened up her law office, out of her home
at 345 Queen St. on the weekend and is ready to provide
assistance with real estate and will law. (Denny Scott photo)
Sharla M. Haney is here to helpBlyth and area residents with theirlegal issues.
The bilingual barrister, solicitor
and notary public opened up shop on
the March 6 weekend from her home
at 345 Queen Street.
Haney, who has extensive
experience in strata law both as an
articler and litigator, graduated from
York University with an honours
degree in English and minor in
French before pursuing her law
career at the University of British
Columbia [UBC]
“I graduated after three years
[from UBC], and then articled in
Nanaimo for CD Wilson and
Associates, a company that focused
on strata law,” she said. “Then I was
called to the bar in 2000, and
continued working for the same
company.”
In B.C., stratas are the equivalentof condos, and Haney’s companyfocused on consulting for strata(condo) boards, as well as suing forstratas that were incorrectly built.
“In the 1970s, a lot of stratas were
built in rain forest areas,” she said.
“And they were built with wooden
frames, and improperly sealed, so,
now, a lot of those buildings are
rotting from the inside, and [CD
Wilson and Associates] focused on
making contractors and companies
pay for the damages.”
After her experiences in B.C., she
moved back to Ontario, and was
called to the bar here in 2004.
“After that, I kept working for CD
Wilson over the internet, writing
letters for them and articling, but it
was difficult, with the time
difference,” she said. “But I made it
work for two years until [her
son] Nathan came along [in
2006].”
After Nathan was born, Haneydecided to take care of him, andcontinued to do so until now.“I feel I’m ready to work formyself now, and I don’t need to givehalf of my earnings to another
company,” she said. “I can work
part-time until Nathan is in school
full-time,” she said.
While most of her-hands on
experience has had her in real estate,
she has also handled some will and
estate issues, and corporate issues,
and will be offering those services in
her office.
Originally from Elmira, Haney
moved to the Blyth area three-and-a-
half years ago with her husband
Scott LaFlamme and newborn
son Nathan as LaFlamme
found work with a local company,
Findlay Mechanical, as a gas
fitter.
Haney, aside from being a lawyer,
was one of the top 5 franchises of the
Student Works Painting Corporation
in Western Canada, which shebelieves really helped her develop astrong work ethic.“[The franchiser] handled all theadministrative ends, which made me“pound the pavement” to set up
contracts,” she said. “It’s a great
experience for anyone in business.
Haney’s experiences so far have
made her very happy with the choice
their family made in moving to
Blyth.“I’m really looking forward toworking with the people of Blyth.It’s a real community,” she said. “We’ve just been amazed by how the people are here,
we haven’t met a lot, but the ones
we have, our neighbours, have
just been overwhelming in their
support and welcoming us to the
area.”
Huron East council began its
budget deliberations at its March 2
meeting with tough choices to make
regarding deficits, road work and a
potential tax rate increase.
To initiate discussion, treasurer
Brad Knight installed an eight per
cent tax increase, which was meant
to compensate for the amount of
Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund
(OMPF) funding the municipality
has lost in 2010.
Councillors were told the amount
of OMPF funding the municipality
receives annually would decrease
this year by 7.8 per cent, or
$153,500.
In addition to that loss, Knight said
the municipality was beginning this
year’s budget deliberations with a
$127,770 general deficit, which
would have to be covered.
Deputy-mayor Bernie MacLellan
said he felt it was time for a tax
increase in the municipality, pointing
out that if the general tax levy were
to be raised by eight per cent and
compared to other tax rates in Huron
County in 2009, the municipality
would still hold a central position,
even before the increased 2010
tax rates of the other municipalities.
Councillor David Blaney
commended MacLellan for facing
what he called “the ugly truth.”
MacLellan said that there are
certain things Huron East has
committed to doing in 2010,
including several road repairs.
“There are 15 roads on this list,”
MacLellan said. “Either we start
going back to gravel roads or we
raise the money to start fixing them.”
MacLellan also said the position
the municipality finds itself in
should lead to a different way of
thinking in the roads department.
“I think the urban areas should get
asphalt and the rural areas can live
with tar and chip,” he said.
In addition to the daunting road
repairs the municipality is facing,
Knight also presented deficits for the
Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre, the Huron East
Health Centre and the Brussels
Cemetery in addition to the general
deficit of nearly $130,000.
Knight did assure council,
however, that the Brussels, Morris
and Grey Community Centre and the
Huron East Health Centre were
coming into 2010 with deficits that
should not be a concern to
councillors.
Knight said the deficit at the
Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre is due largely to
accessibility upgrades, which will
be picked up by service clubs and
the municipality, leaving a
more manageable $21,000 deficit.
The Huron East Health Centre,
similarly, should meet most of its
debts and should come into
2010 with a $16,000 operating
surplus.
The Brussels Cemetery, however,
is operating with a deficit of nearly
$80,000. Knight says the cemetery is
the responsibility of the municipality
and ultimately, it is up to council to
continue to monitor its performance
on an annual basis.
Blaney suggested that the
cemetery cannot pay a debt of nearly
$80,000 itself and that council
should consider wiping the slate
clean, covering the deficit and
allowing the cemetery to begin anew.
Knight said that many of the
practices at the cemetery have been
tightened and it only lost just over
$6,000 last year.
Knight has maintained a firm
stance that any “problems” at the
cemetery should continue to be dealt
with in-house.
“The budgets have been cut,”
Knight said. “You’ve got a dedicated
group of volunteers there and you
wouldn’t want to upset them.”
Budget deliberations will continue
at Huron East council’s March 16
meeting.
By Denny ScottThe CitizenLawyer opens new office from her Blyth home
Budget process begins in HE
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
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At Blyth Public School this week,
the Grade 6, 7 and 8 classes went to
Talisman ski resort. They all had a
blast. We would like to thank Ms
Badham and Mrs. Armstrong for
organizing this event.
In language the Grade 2/3s are
writing a special journal on an
“Olympic Memory”. They are also
beginning to look at Report Writing
elements and how to do research on
a topic. In math the Grade 2s are
looking at different ways to add two-
digit numbers and the Grade 3s are
learning how to use addition and
skip counting strategies to multiply.
In Social Studies/Art the Grade 2s
and 3s are investigating the origin
and purpose of the Inukshuk and
relating it to the Winter Olympics.
Also the Grade 3s are learning about
how the Native People helped early
settlers adapt to the environment and
use natural resources.
JKs had great fun with storybook
“Llama, Llama Red Pajama” and
came to school in pajamas. This
experience set them up for making a
great connection to the story. They
continue to have fun with the next
story “Llama, Llama Mad at Mama”
SK students are preparing to work
on reports. Their first reports will
discuss Canadian animals.
The Grade 7/8 class has been
discussing whether the Canadian
anthem is sexist. They don’t think
so. They want it left exactly as it is.
The class is also preparing for their
great Canadian Confederation
debate. In math they are starting
fractions.
On Tuesday the Grade 6, 7 and 8
students were planning to participate
in the Blyth School’s Science Fair.
Science Fair on the way
The Blyth PS Bear Paw