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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-08-26, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, August 26, 2010 Volume 26 No. 33REVIEW- Pg. 19Stratford’s ‘The Tempest’appeals to all the senses LANDFILL - Pg. 20NH residents concernedabout potential changesFESTIVAL- Pg. 18Blyth Festival Young Companyworks on ‘Alligator Tears’Publications Mail Agreement No. 4005014 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK: Councillor Brock Vodden is throwing his hat in the political ring with his announcement that he will be filing his running papers for The Municipality of North Huron council sometime this week. In an e-mail to The Citizen, Vodden stated that he will be running for the position of Blyth Ward Councillor because he feels that Blyth’s future is one to look forward to. “I am more optimistic about Blyth’s future than I have ever been,” Vodden said. “Despite the impending loss of our school, Blyth has once again shown its resilience by coming up with fresh ideas, and the realization that we can build upon assets that we already possess.” Vodden goes on to state that he believes the next few years will include many economic development projects that will benefit all of North Huron. Vodden’s vision is for an improved Blyth as part of an improved North Huron and improved co-ordination and communication of local businesses are a way to achieve that. “Many local businesses are keen on establishing a Business Improvement Area (BIA),” Vodden said. “That is a very positive move. We hope that Wingham businesses will come together for better coordination and mutual support [as well].” North Huron has, since Vodden became a councillor, helped to establish funds for the expansion of the Emergency Services Training Centre and the proposed addition of annual events to the Blyth Campground, resulting in increased tourism dollars. “In addition to [these advancements] I will be pushing for the engagement of a consulting firm to look at our campground and Memorial Hall in order to help us come up with a comprehensive strategy for making full use of these unique assets in a manner that provides the greatest sustainable benefit,” Vodden said. Using existing assets to their full, sustainable potential is also an important matter for Vodden, who states that the Centre for the Arts needs to be utilized in the off- season. “I will be a strong supporter for the Blyth Centre for the Arts becoming a place for artists from all media to work, learn, develop ideas, experiment, create and collaborate. This will occur outside of th summer festival season when our amazing facilities are not in full use,” Vodden said. “I expect that we will earn the nickname ‘Banff East’.” Vodden went on to speak of the school property, and how its future uses need to be considered. “It is difficult to think about the dead space that will occur in our midst when the door of Blyth Public School closes forever,” he said. “But think about it we must. I am sure that Wingham and East Wawanosh residents feel the same way about Councillors from Ashfield- Colborne-Wawanosh Township have found a potentially inexpensive alternative to Huron County’s proposed mandatory septic inspection program. Based on information originally brought forward by council-hopeful and Ashfield resident Roger Watt, council conversed with Tiny Township, which is located near Georgian Bay. Tiny Township enforces a mandatory septic inspection that has had a drastic effect on systems and on the beaches of the area, and, at $80 per inspection, they charge less than a third of what of Huron County is planning to charge. Representatives from ACW, including Watt, went and toured the township before coming back to report their findings to the entirety of ACW council. Aside from documents provided to council, Watt provided correspondence that summarized the group’s findings. Councillor Barry Millian was impressed. “I went there thinking that there would be problems or that there would be holes in the system, but there weren’t,” he said. The price reduction, according to Watt, is primarily due to the practice of delegation. Instead of paying an engineer to work throughout their testing season, an engineer is paid to train two students from related fields who work as co-op students. “[A trained engineer] does the initial training and the students then write the two provincial tests to obtain certification as septic inspectors,” Watt explains in his correspondence. “The students are paid $16 per hour, plus $0.49 per kilometre.” The removal of the engineer keeps the costs of the program down, according to Watt, Councillor Marilyn Miltenburg and Millian, who constituted the group that travelled to Tiny Township. If there is a follow-up required, then the engineer is brought back in, but all follow-up costs are charged to the landowner. Tiny Township is a mostly- lakefront community, according to Watt’s report, and has no sewer systems. The township has 9,000 septic systems, and, during the township’s first round of testing, approximately 3,000 required replacement of the septic tank and septic bed. The effect of the program and the replacements is easy to notice though, according to Watt. “Before [Tiny Township] started the program, they routinely had 10 to 20 times per year in which they had to close the beaches because of high levels of pollutants,” Watt wrote. “Now, [the closures happen] less than twice a year. They haven’t had any in 2010.” Watt states that this indicates the success of the program as the lessened downtime for the beach proves that septic systems are contributing far less to lakeshore pollution. Tiny Township also reported that, since the program’s inception, they see few reports of water quality problems in dug wells. Like the $320-plus program being proposed by the Huron County Health Unit, a pump-out is required and is considered an additional cost. In Tiny Township, however, the pump-out is done by one of three approved waste haulers, who will provide the landowner with a inspection check list to be provided to the inspectors. Council decided that the information should be brought to the Huron County Health Unit to evaluate the options available and present the information before taking it to Huron County Council. Councillor Carl Sloetjes stated that he wished to make a motion to remove ACW’s “support in principle” of the Huron County Health Unit’s proposed plan until they could get an answer as to the differences in price and whether Tiny Township’s model could be used by the county. Sloetjes also said that, if this was like a building or service that the township or the county tendered out, there would be no question about which program they would choose. “If we brought this to tender, we would see that two companies are offering the same service, but one is offering the service for a third of the price,” he said. “We would go with the Tiny Township model if that were the case.” Miltenburg stated that she thinks ACW to bring septic alternative to Health Unit Vodden to run in North Huron Where you guys heading? A little conversation in Auburn at the village’s car and bike show on Saturday had Matthew Kerr, left, and Jacob Bjerg, right, chatting with Emma Kerr before the trio hit the road. The event raised money for the Auburn Playground Committee. (Vicky Bremner photo) By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 3 By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 15