HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-05-21, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2009. PAGE 7.The Belgrave WI Hall has foundsomeone to love it.
Artist and CEO of a freelance and
ghost writing service, Trish
MacQueen took ownership of the
property on Friday and is excited to
be bringing her talent, her career and
her personal life together under one
roof.
The hall has been a community
meeting place for over 120 years,
having originally been the Foresters
Hall. Faced with maintaining the
aging hall in recent years, the local
Women’s Institute decided to put it
on the market some time ago.
MacQueen, who has been living in
Goderich had been looking for a
place to meet her needs and
happened to notice the realtor’s sign
on an excursion through Belgrave
with her life partner Jerry Johnston.
After having the sale stalled
because of a number of regulatory
issues, MacQueen was thrilled to be
moving in last weekend. “I’ve been
looking for a place where I could
incorporate everything into one
spot,” said MacQueen, adding that
she hadn’t been able to paint for a
few years as she didn’t have a studio
to work in.
MacQueen intends to keep an
open floor plan in the main part of
the hall for her living and dining
area, as well as for her business. An
internationally-known artist
MacQueen will also have her studio
at the front of the building. “I will
open it a couple of times a year for
people to come and see my art and
what’s been done to the hall.”
Changes will be minimal, said
MacQueen, who plans to refinish the
floor, paint and make some
alterations in the kitchen. One of the
two washrooms will become ashower and the stage will betransformed into a bedroom. The WI sign on the exterior of thebuilding will be coming down, but
MacQueen has asked the branch to
provide a book with a history of the
hall. “They left me the piano and we
will put the sign above it with the
history, so people can stop in and
read it if they choose.
And stopping by is something
MacQueen hopes the community
will feel free to do. Born in Seaforth
and raised for a time in Brussels,
where she still has relatives, the
former Trish White, said that the hall
is going to be about family and
friends.
“We have a theme. There will be
books that I have written on display.
There will be my paintings, but there
will also be things by my family. I
want people to come and look at
these things, to stop for a coffee or to
enjoy some baking. Community is
family and I believe in giving
something back.”
WI member Dorothy Coultes is
relieved to see this piece of village
history getting a new start. “We’re
pleased to see someone extend the
life of the Hall. And Trish seems to
be someone who’s going to be a part
of life here. I think she’ll be a great
mix for the community and I hope
the residents welcome her.”
A new future begins for Belgrave WI Hall
Details of a new 911 service that
will help notify residents in the case
of an emergency were explained to
Morris-Turnberry councillors at the
May 5 meeting.
David Lew, Huron County
emergency services manager, Gary
Wood, emergency co-ordinator and
Jason Dodds, 911 co-ordinator,
demonstrated for councillors the
value of the Prism 911 system
which the county has purchased
from the City of Quinte West.
Lew explained that in the case of
needing to warn people in part of the
municipality of the need to boil their
water, the new system will identify
all homes that need to be notified,
then start calling people by
telephone with the warning, at a rate
of 600-700 per hour. People press a
number to acknowledge they
received the message or press
another one for further information.
The system prepares a report for
emergency officials of who has and
who hasn’t been contacted.
When the Municipality of
Bluewater had a boil-water advisory
it cost them nearly $6,000 to reach
people with the warning, including
people going door-to-door, Lew
said. The Prism 911 system would
do that for about $100.
The system can also be used if
there is a fire involving dangerous
chemicals or a chemical spill. Once
the nature of the threat is known, the
system will identify the size of the
area that needs to be evacuated, then
it starts calling people with a
message to evacuate.
In the case of a police lockdown of
a residence, police can identify the
size of the area around the house
which they are concerned about,
then phone calls are made
automatically to residents to warn
them to stay in their homes.
The county is hoping to have the
$85,000 system in place by
November but there’s still much
work to be done.
Dodds said 911 numbers and
phone numbers must be corrected
and verified. Work in Bayfield,
alone, revealed 50 errors. Wireless
and voice-over-internet technologies
have blurred the boundaries between
one telephone company and the next,
he said, complicating the job.
Before the system goes into place
the county is hoping municipalities
will help them make local residents
aware of it, Lew said. Municipalities
may include information in tax
mailing to residents. As well
information will be sent home with
students through the schools. There
will be an interactive element on the
system website.
“One of our concerns is what
telephone number people want to be
called at,” said Lew, noting people
might want to receive notification of
an emergency through land line, cell
phone or voice-over-internet. They
might also want to be called at more
than one number. All this
information must be collected and
will require the co-operation of
residents, he said.
Lew stressed there is no cost to the
municipality for this service and
taxpayers have already paid for it
through their county taxes.
Huron is just the second
municipality to purchase the system
but Middlesex, Lambton, Oxford
and Bruce have expressed interest
and the OPP is also looking at it,
Lew said.
Moving in
Trish MacQueen is the new owner of the Belgrave Women’s Institute Hall. She, and her
partner Jerry Johnston have moved in and MacQueen intends to incorporate her business and
her art studio under the same roof as well. (Bonnie Gropp photo)
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