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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, December 16, 2010
Volume 26 No. 49
LANDFILL - Pg. 26 Councillor wants todump tipping fee FUNDRAISER - Pg. 27 Local group raises moneyfor Downs SyndromeSPORTS- Pg. 8Local Atoms play in Silver Stick TournamentPublications 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
Suspect claims to have gun in JR’s smash and grab
Getting in the spirit
Things are tough all over these days and that was never more true than last week at the
Brussels Public School Christmas concert when Santa Claus was faced with the harsh
realities of high fuel costs and a trip around the world he had to make. Santa, however, let
himself get talked into appearing as a celebrity guest on a reality game show in an attempt to
raise some money for the big holiday trip around the world. Helping to convince Santa to
volunteer for the show were, from left: Devin Bridge, Seth Snyder and Joe Jacklin. (Shawn
Loughlin photo)
Vincent unopposed
for Warden’s chair
JR’s Gas Bar in Brussels was the
target of a robbery at 8:30 p.m. on
Dec. 8.
According to police reports, the
suspect, Donald Weber, age 44 of
Howick, took advantage of a gas bar
attendant helping another customer
to try and steal goods.
A JR’s Gas Bar employee
explained that a lost woman came
into the restaurant needing to use the
washroom and directions to Sarnia.
Once the employee guided the
woman to the washroom, she came
back to see Weber behind the
counter holding several items.
The employee said that the suspect
had brake oil, engine oil, several
tubes of Chapstick and a cordless
handset.
When Weber was caught by the
employee behind the counter with
the stolen goods, he attempted to
escape. The employee attempted to
hold the door, but was over-powered.
The suspect then ran north on
Turnberry Street, chased by a patron
of the restaurant, who returned some
time later and stated that the man
claimed to have a gun. During the
suspect’s attempt to flee, the
employee called 911.
The suspect returned to the store
empty-handed, according to the
employee, and then attempted to get
transport with passing drivers. All
the vehicles he approached turned
him away despite him claiming to
have a gun.
Soon after, Huron OPP officers
and members of the OPP Emergency
Response team arrived in Brussels,
cordoned off the area and, thanks to
phone calls from residents about a
trespasser in their backyard,
captured Weber.
According to the employee, the
police were not able to find any of
the items Weber stands accused of
stealing on the suspect.
“He said that he had a gun, but he
didn’t have one when the police took
him,” the employee said.
As a result of the events, Weber is
now facing one count of Theft under
$5,000. He will answer to his charge
in the Ontario Court of Justice in
Goderich on February 7.
North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent
officially took the office of Huron
County Warden on Dec. 8, running
unopposed for the position at Huron
County Council’s inaugural meeting.
Shortly after being acclaimed to
the position of North Huron Reeve,
Vincent declared his intent to seek
the position at a session of Huron
County Council.
At the time, he said he felt he was
ready to “take his turn” at the
position, announcing his intent at the
Oct. 6 meeting of Huron County
Council.
No one had declared their intent to
run against Vincent in the weeks
leading up to the Dec. 8 council
meeting and when nominations were
requested, the only councillor who
spoke was Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh Reeve Ben Van
Diepenbeek, who nominated Vincent
for the position.
Van Diepenbeek cited his
experiences with Vincent as a
member of several agriculturally-
focused organizations, as well as his
work chairing Committee of the
Whole meetings as reasons why
Vincent would make a great Warden
for Huron County.
“He understands the integrity of
the position and he has a great pride
in the people of Huron County,” Van
Diepenbeek said.
After receiving the Chain of
Office, his new nameplate and his
Warden’s pin, Vincent was clearly
emotional when thanking his fellow
Huron County Councillors. Vincent
choked back tears as he described
the honour and privilege he felt in
sitting at the head of council.
He cited a discussion he had with
Bluewater’s Bill Dowson, who is a
former Huron County Warden, who
had told him that no matter how
many council meetings or
committees he had been in charge of,
finally sitting in the Warden’s chair
would be like nothing he had ever
experienced. He told Dowson he was
right.
“This is a position of honour and
trust,” Vincent said at the meeting.
“Thank you for putting your faith in
me by bestowing this honour on
me.”
Vincent went on to say that he was
very proud of the citizens of Huron
County, calling them the county’s
greatest resource.
Vincent then called up North
Huron Deputy-Reeve David Riach to
address Huron County Council after
the election. Riach said it was an
honour to have a representative from
North Huron as Huron County
Warden.
In an interview last week, Vincent
said that the key going forward for
Huron County is to embrace the
entrepreneurial spirit of many Huron
County residents to promote
business within the county.
“We’ve spent a lot of time trying to
bring people in to build a plant in
Huron County,” he said. “I think we
need to develop some small-scale
plants in Huron County by Huron
County people. We need to be
willing to invest in our jobs, that way
the profits would stay here too.”
Vincent said that while bringing
industry to Huron County isn’t a bad
thing, if it’s a company whose
headquarters are located elsewhere,
too often profits made in Huron
County are spent elsewhere. Under
his concept, profits would be made
and spent in Huron County, all while
employing Huron County residents.
“Some people may think I’m off
Huron East Councillor Alvin
McLellan will serve as a liaison and
representative of Huron East
Council on Grey Central Public
School’s Environmental Learning
Grounds Committee following a
decision at the Dec. 7 inaugural
meeting of council.
Adding the position to the
municipality’s list of boards and
committees was raised by McLellan
earlier this year, as he had been
attending all of the meetings, since
the group’s inception.
McLellan said he felt council
should be represented, as Grey
Central may soon be Huron East’s
only school in the northern end of
the municipality.
The aim of the group, McLellan
said, is to raise the profile of the
Learning Grounds and to keep it
maintained and perhaps kick start its
usage. The group was formed right
around the time of the
Accommodation Review Committee
(ARC) decision to keep the school.
The hope, McLellan says, is that
the group can help the Learning
Grounds become more than it has
been in the past.
The group meets approximately
once a month.
Councillors agreed, as Brussels
Councillor David Blaney said, “We
have to do anything possible to keep
[the school] there.”
“We have to do anything we can to
save what we’ve still got.”
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 25
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
McLellan is rep for Grounds
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen