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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-04-15, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, April 15, 2010 Volume 26 No. 15COYOTES- Pg. 7Huron County doublescoyote compensation FIRE - Pg. 15 Fire coverage issuediscussed by councilsSPORTS- Pg. 8Blyth-Brussels Bantam Girlsreach provincial quarterfinalsPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 PAP Registration No. 09244 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK: Declaring their intent to seek funding from the provincial Education Ministry for a new Kindergarten-to-Grade 8 school in North Perth, administrators of the Avon Maitland District School Board have recommended closing elementary schools in Ethel, Listowel and Gowanstown. Listowel Eastdale and Elma Township Public School in Atwood, which were also included in a review of the Huron East/North Perth (HENP) area, would remain open but would see an influx of new students in keeping with proposed boundary and program changes. A three-classroom addition is proposed for the Listowel school, and there’s a possibility that one portable classroom will be required at Elma Township at some point. Brussels Public School would be expanded with a four-classroom addition and converted to a K-6 facility, with Grades 7-8 students attending the soon-to-be- implemented senior elementary campus of F.E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham. And students attending Brussels from Morris Township would relocate to the to- be-constructed new K-6 school adjacent to Madill on the outskirts of Wingham. The recommendations were received by trustees at a regular meeting Tuesday, April 13. Following a two-month period during which the public is invited to make delegations to the board, a Local councils seeking the cheapest fire coverage could cause a dramatic increase in fire insurance rates for residents on the fringes of Central-Huron and Ashfield- Colborne-Wawanosh. ACW’s recent decision to have the ACW sections of Auburn and the surrounding area covered by Lucknow and Central Huron could move many of the residences of the built up area in a fire-coverage no- man’s land, according to local insurance managers and brokerages. Recent changes considered by Central Huron could have dire ramifications for individuals south of Blyth Road, as they would be covered by Central Huron’s fire station, changing them from what insurance professionals consider a semi-protected service area to what they consider a non-protected service area. This means that homes that can hear Blyth’s fire trucks when they leave the station could be looking at paying 240 per cent of their current fire insurance coverage, while businesses, like Baintons Limited, or Sparling's Propane could be looking at paying 300 per cent of their current fire insurance coverage. Richard Elliott, a partner at Elliott Nixon Insurance Brokers in Blyth, said that the decisions being made by the two councils will have far- reaching implications. “[The decisions] are talking about significant exposure to life and property,” he said. “Everything from Londsborough Road north in Central Huron will be looking at rate changes and longer response times.” Elliott said that the area affected, according to his understanding of Central Huron’s proposed coverage, will range from Auburn in the west as far as Bandon Line, east of Blyth. “Outside of that, it will be Seaforth covering the area, which could cause more rate increases,” he said. Jim Mulhern, a partner at Lyons and Mulhern Insurance Brokers, explained that fire insurance is broken into three bands for most companies. “First you have highly protected, which is, basically, in town. You have to be within 1,000 feet (approximately 300 metres) of a fire hydrant,” he said. “Then there is semi-protected, which, depending on the insurance provider, could be between eight and 15 kilometres. Lastly, there is the non-protected, which is outside the semi-protected band. You might as well be living in a bush in Northern Ontario then.” Some homes in Auburn will be pushed into the non-protected band with the changing of their fire- protection provider, as insurance rates are dictated by the distance to the first-call receiver, not the closest fire hall. Elliott said that there are some serious oversights being made as well by the councils. “Property owners have to be properly advised of any material change in their fire protection,” he said. “It can void contracts with their insurers and leave them without protection.” The differences among the three bands are expensive with major insurance providers, according to calculations Mulhern provided. For a $200,000 dwelling in Blyth, which has its own fire service, with contents and liability, a homeowner would be looking at $988 annually before discounts with Economic Mutual, a top-ten country-wide insurance provider out of Kitchener. That same building, outside a 300 metre [approximately 1,000 foot] radius from a fire hydrant, or outside of the immediate fire service area, but within 13 km (approximately eight miles) would be looking at a 76 per cent increase to $1,747. That same building in the non- protected band, which some residents in Auburn will now become a part of, would cost $2,401 annually, an increase of 143 per cent more than a dwelling in Blyth, and a 72 per cent increase over what their current rates would be. While Mulhern said these numbers are for one company in one circumstance, the percentages would most likely be similar across the board. Mulhern said that farm mutuals are the best bet for anyone living outside of a town with its own fire service, as they specialize in properties that exist on the fringes of municipalities. Using the same $200,000 example house and insurance choices, a farm mutual would have a high-protection home at $600, a semi-protected home at $793 (an approximate 32 per cent increase), and a non- protected home at $905 (a 66 per cent increase over a protected home, and a 13 per cent increase over a semi-protected home). This means that homes in the affected areas could be looking at anywhere from a 13 to 72 per cent increase in their annual fire premiums. Commercial buildings are on a judgement basis, according to Mulhern, but an out-of-the-book Hullett, Auburn insurance rates could skyrocket Board staff recommends Brussels expansion New life? New life may have been breathed into Brussels Public School Tuesday night with the Avon Maitland District School Board staff recommending that it not only stay open as a Kindergarten to Grade 6 school, but be expanded by four classrooms. (Aislinn Bremner photo) By Stew Slater The Citizen Continued on page 22 By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 15