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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, November 25, 2010
Volume 26 No. 46
FAIR - Pg. 19Locals win big at Royal Winter Fair PROJECT - Pg. 28 Blyth student developsnew productSPORTS- Pg. 9Wingham Ironmen beatGoderich twice over weekendPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:C e l e b r a t i n g 25 YearsTheCitizen1985-2010
2011 Blyth Festival season
to pay homage to Canada
Fire coverage
causes Auburn to
consider rezoning
Santa Claus is coming
Nighty night
Two-year-old Livia Grubb will have no trouble sleeping now after picking up a new pillow on
Saturday at St. John’s Anglican Church’s annual bazaar. The event also had lunch, desserts
and a bake sale. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Petitions and community
restructuring were all potential
options that were discussed at a
“state of the union” address
regarding the Auburn fire situation
on Monday night.
Community members Jacqui
Laporte and Jim Schneider spoke to
over 20 people at the Auburn
Memorial Hall, bringing them up to
speed as to what they have been
doing on the village’s behalf, and
what was upcoming for the situation
in the near future.
When viewing both situations –
the portion of Auburn in Central
Huron and the portion of Auburn in
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
(ACW) – Laporte reported that both
councils were waiting on a response
from North Huron Fire Chief John
Black.
In Central Huron, Black was
scheduled to appear at this month’s
committee of the whole meeting on
Tuesday, but had to cancel. He is
now scheduled to appear at the
December meeting of the committee
of the whole.
This appearance was part of the
original agreement reached between
North Huron and Central Huron
earlier this year, where Central
Huron requested a more detailed
budget that North Huron had
originally been presenting.
While Central Huron councillors
are in possession of the budget,
Laporte says, Black will appear to
explain the budget further and
answer any questions the councillors
may have.
In ACW, the story is similar.
Council has presented a scenario to
North Huron, Laporte says, and they
are waiting on a response.
Currently, she says, the proposal
from ACW is that the township
would pay per call, which Laporte
reports, after speaking with Black,
isn’t feasible due to budgetting
concerns. A budget has to be
prepared in advance and funds need
to be counted on in advance.
However, North Huron will now
report back to ACW and
negotiations will continue.
Laporte also stated that there were
considerable delays due to the
election process.
Because many of the area councils
were constrained by the “lame duck”
period, their hands were tied in
terms of the size of projects they
could approve and the decisions they
could make.
Laporte said that she has appeared
at two ACW council meetings and
she has had a one-on-one meeting
with Black and that now people in
the village have to play the waiting
game.
One of the requests of Black from
Central Huron was to break down
his budget further. Council wished
for him to break the North Huron
Fire Department’s budget down
between the Wingham and Blyth
Fire Halls and they also wanted to
see how much of the costs went
towards actual fire coverage and
training and how much of the costs
went towards medical first response.
Black will speak on those topics
when he appears at Central Huron in
December. However, Laporte says
that neither of those breakdowns has
happened, but with justification that
she found “reasonable”.
Laporte says Black explained that
he is responsible for running the
North Huron Fire Department and
that there is no longer division
between the Wingham and Blyth
crews.
She said, however, that it didn’t
The Blyth Festival is presenting
another compelling season of
homegrown Canadian theatre. The
2011 season pays homage to
Canada – past and present – and
explores ideas of the Canadian
identity in a sometimes reverent and
sometimes playful way.
“The Blyth Festival is housed in
Blyth Memorial Hall, which is
always forefront in my mind,” says
Artistic Director Eric Coates. “It is a
community space, but the original
intention of the building is to serve
as the village cenotaph. It is
important for us to pay tribute to
both uses in the artistic choices that
we make each year.” The 2011
summer season will run from June
21 to August 27, 2011 and features
four productions on the main stage –
two of them world premiers.
The first is the world premiere of
Hometown (June 21 - Aug. 7) by
Jean Mar Dalpé, Mieko Ouchi,
Mansel Robinson, Martha Ross,
Peter Smith and Des Walsh. Where
is your hometown? Is it the prairie
village where you learned to ride a
bicycle or is it a condo by the ocean?
Is it the town where you played
hockey for 10 years or is it the city
where you watched your favourite
team for 30 years? The Festival
asked six writers from across
Canada to answer the question: is
hometown a place or is it a state of
mind? Through memory, stories and
song, this dynamic group of artists
shines a light on Canada’s
hometowns from coast to coast.
The second show is Vimy (June 29
- Aug. 6) by Vern Thiessen. On April
9, 1917 more than 15,000 Canadian
men went over the top to storm
Vimy Ridge. Despite blinding sleet,
snow, heavy enemy fire, and
the endless quagmire of mud,
Canadian troops took the ridge and
held fast. Many believe that Canada
was truly born on this day. In a field
hospital, four soldiers reflect on
their lives before, during and after
the battle of Vimy Ridge. A young
nurse from Shubenacadie, Nova
Scotia guides them through the
aftermath of grief and fear as they
look to the future in a changed
world. Vimy earned the 2009 Carol
Bolt Award for playwright Vern
Thiessen.
The third is Rope’s End (July 27 -
Aug. 27) by Douglas Bowie. Toby
Boone is a 40-something loser,
living in a rundown apartment,
unlucky at love and everything else.
Just as he reaches his rope’s end,
Toby stumbles across a photo of his
long lost love – and the written
promise that they would one day
reunite. The only problem is that 31
years have gone by. In Toby’s
hopelessly romantic fantasy life, the
reunion is a cinch but in reality, it’s
a trifle more complicated.
The season’s fourth play, and
second world premier is Early
August (Aug. 3 - Aug. 27) by Kate
Lynch. In the women’s dressing
room of a small Canadian theatre in
a small Canadian village, three
actresses battle their inner demons
along with the practical problems of
living in the country: an infestation
of possums, an amorous veterinarian
and the quest for a decent
Chardonnay. And just to complicate
matters, they are all vying for the
attention of Albert, a handsome
young actor with a heart of gold.
Enter Teddy, the assistant stage
manager. She’s calm, she’s smart,
she’s tough and she’s going to whip
these slackers into shape if it’s the
last thing she does. Early August is a
loveletter to summer theatre and a
comedy for those who always
wondered what really happens
Old St. Nick is making his way to
Brussels this weekend for the annual
Santa Claus Parade on Saturday,
Nov. 27.
Starting at 5 p.m. the parade will
snake its way through the town with
surprise floats for spectators and
organizers alike, given that no
registration or pre-recognition is
needed for the parade. The parade
will end at the Brussels, Morris and
Grey Community Centre (BMGCC).
Following tradition, the parade’s
ending will mark the beginning of
family fun at the BMGCC, as
snacks, treats, face-painting, skating
and entertainment will be available
for the whole family.
Deb Seili, an organizer for the
event, also stated that there will be a
new feature – a colouring contest for
children.
“The children can bring their
colouring contest entries to the
arena,” she said. “Prizes will be
chosen throughout the evening.”
The annual turkey draw will also
be held at the BMGCC.
For more information about the
Santa Claus Parade, call Seili at 519-
887-6289.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
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