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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-06-18, Page 1Having raised over $40,000 already for the Children’s Health Foundation, organizers of the third annual Ainsleigh Bontaine Memorial Golf Tournament and Auction are gearing up for another successful event. Ainsleigh, who drowned in 2006, five days before her third birthday, is the daughter of the former Heidi Scrimgeour of Blyth and her husband Gerry Bontaine. Her uncle Brent Scrimgeour organized the first tournament the following year in her honour. That year and the next the event sold out. The tournament this year, he said, actually over sold, with 168 golfers, rather than 160, set to hit the Woodland Links golf course on Sunday, June 28. The day begins with Pillers serving sausage on a bun for the participants prior to the 10 a.m. shotgun start. With so many on the course at the same time, golfers are assigned a hole to begin and standby for the signal, Scrimgeour explained. Present for the rounds of golf will be representatives from Hole in One Canada. “They will have someone standing by the four par three holes. If someone gets a hole in one they win prizes.” People are welcome to come out and watch the sport, while taking in the silent auction that opens at 11 a.m. The afternoon winds up with a roast beef dinner at the clubhouse. “It will be at approximately 5 p.m.,” said Scrimgeour. “The exact time will depend on how the golf games go.” Tickets are still available for the dinner at a cost of $25. “We have fed over 300 each year,” said Scrimgeour. As the day pays tribute to a special little girl, kids are especially welcome at the event, he noted. “We have a craft centre, sponsored by Blyth Montessori School.We have an air castle too, and nothing says family fun more than a bunch of kids bouncing around having a great time.” Kids also eat free. “We bring in New Orleans Pizza,” said Scrimgeour. The treat for adults is the fact that anyone purchasing a ticket is automatically entered into a draw for a one-night stay for two at the Benmiller Inn, with breakfast included, valued at approximately $260 said Scrimgeour. Also on the day’s agenda is the live auction with auctioneer Burt Lobb and emcee Scott Pettigrew. Among the many items are an autographed NHL alumni jersey, Bell Canadian open tickets, a Memorial Cup championship Windsor Spitfire stick and another overnight stay for two at Benmiller. “If anyone is interested in sponsorship or donating there is still time and it would be greatly appreciated,” said Scrimgeour. “The event is a great day. We know things are difficult right now with the economy but at the end of the day kids still get sick so we appreciate everyone’s support. Woodland Links golf course is on Hwy. 8, west of Clinton. Two weeks before trustees were scheduled to vote on closing two elementary schools and moving students into two remaining facilities, the future of education in central/northeast Huron County changed significantly with the announcement of $8.8 million in new-construction funding for the Avon Maitland District School Board. “It’s good news because this is going to make so many things possible,” commented board chair Jenny Versteeg, following a news conference hosted by Huron-Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell on Tuesday, June 9 at the board’s Seaforth headquarters. The money represents a positive response to the board’s application to the provincial Education Ministry’s recently-redesigned Local Priorities program. Local Priorities expands on the scope of the former Prohibitive to Repair program, through which the Avon Maitland and Huron-Perth Catholic boards have recently secured funding for new buildings in Listowel, Clinton and St. Marys. According to Avon Maitland business superintendent Janet Baird- Jackson, the exact grade format, student capacity, and location of the new northeast Huron elementary school won’t be finalized until trustees vote on a staff recommendation on Tuesday, June 23. And that staff recommendation is now being rewritten to reflect last week’s funding announcement. A pre-existing recommendation was submitted two months ago following a public consultation process and other information- gathering by Avon Maitland staff. It called for relocation of the area’s Grades 7 and 8 students into Wingham’s F.E. Madill Secondary School, along with the closure of Turnberry Central Public School and Blyth Public School. Wingham Public School and East Wawanosh Public School would receive additional kindergarten-to- Grade 6 students, under the pre- existing recommendation. Baird-Jackson says the Local Priorities funding places certain limitations on plans for the new school. Most importantly, it is contingent on the board tackling the ongoing (and only predicted to get worse) problem of empty student spaces in its buildings. She says that’s why, in spite of strong public opposition to relocating Grades 7 and 8s into a secondary school setting, staff will recommend the construction of a new K-6 school. As in the previous recommendation, Grades 7 and 8s would attend F.E. Madill. She also confirmed the new recommendation will be for a single building, intended to replace all four above-named elementary schools. “We made an application for 515 students,” Baird-Jackson explained. “So far, I haven’t seen any confirmation from the Ministry. All we have is (MPP Mitchell’s) announcement. But I think there’s an understanding that you have to build at a certain size to be able to provide all the things people want to see for their children’s education.” The business superintendent could not, however, specify the location of the new proposal. “It makes sense, given the level of funding we’ve received, to tear down and rebuild on one of the existing sites,” she said. Pressed about the properties currently occupied by the four affected schools, she admitted there are space restrictions at both Blyth and Wingham public schools. That leaves either Turnberry or East Wawanosh as the most likely new- construction locations. Asked about timelines for tendering and construction, Baird- Jackson stressed that “the Ministry expectation is that they want this acted upon very quickly.” She speculated that government officials might want the new school operational for September, 2011, and “given that it takes a year to 18 months (to build a new school), then we really need to get on this.” She was unconditional, though, in her gratitude for receiving the grant announcement ahead of the June 23 decision. “We were extremely pleased, especially given the economic situation we’re in,” Baird- Jackson said. CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, June 18, 2009 Volume 25 No. 24SPORTS- Pg. 8Soccer teams postvictories ENTERTAINMENT - Pg. 19 A fun time to be had atStratford’s ‘Fair’GOOD WORKS - Pg. 2Local cancer survivorscontinue the fightPublications 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: Golfers set to hit links for tourney Solemn service Members of the Blyth Legion and its Auxiliary are led into Blyth Union Cemetery by piper Gil Garratt for the annual decoration day service this past Sunday. Leading the service was pastor Les Cook, Legion padre. (Vicky Bremner photo) Funds change education story By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen By Bonnie Gropp The Citizen One of the biggest problems currently facing Huron East will be discussed and clarified next week with a public meeting in Seaforth on June 18. An expert on the potential adverse effects of wind turbines as well as several members of the Ripley and Shelburne communities will be on hand to share their insight at the Seaforth Community Centre Thursday (tonight) at 8 p.m. A group, set up in protest of a proposed wind project in the St. Columban area, dubbed Huron East Against Turbines (HEAT), arranged the meeting. The group has appeared at three Huron East council meetings, the last one with a lawyer and the matter has also been discussed at the Huron County council level. The goal, member Robert Tetu says, is to garner support for the group and educate the public. “At the first public information meeting, held by the developers, there was no information and no opportunity for feedback. There was just a layout of the project,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of support from the community and we want to further educate the public, because there is a lot of conflicting information out there.” While studies have been conducted on the safety of wind turbines and the acceptable setback distances, Tetu says, those studies were conducted by the Wind Energy Association and cannot necessarily be trusted. What the group has learned through research is there are a multitude of reported negative health effects, the worsening of existing symptoms as well as depreciation of property and lost revenues. However, the technology is new and there hasn’t been time for research on the long-term effects. Tetu says leading European Turbine talk tonight By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 7