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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-10-29, Page 12Kids Care, based out of Brussels Public School, will be participating in Halloween for Hunger once again this year. Kids Care will be collecting food item donations from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 31 throughout the village. If Brussels residents would like to donate, but they know they will not be home, they have two options that will ensure their donation is collected. The first option would be to drop their donations off at the Brussels Legion between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. that day, or they can leave items outside of their home labeled “For Kids Care.” Need has reached critical levels at local food banks. With the recession affecting hundreds of thousands of jobs in Canada, the need is greater than ever, with donations dropping to one of the lowest points in recent memory. For more information, call Shannon McGavin at Brussels Public School at 519-887-9361. After over a year of planning, the new floor for the Belgrave Community Centre is ready to be poured, largely thanks to the Belgrave Kinsmen. Significant work has taken place since the beginning of October, including the removal of the boards and the existing floor being removed. The new floor is also expected to have been poured by today (Oct. 29). The Kinsmen held a meeting last week where two donations, made towards the arena floor project, were officially accepted. The first donation was from the municipality of Morris-Turnberry in the amount of $20,000 and the second was from the Wingham branch of the Libro Financial Group, as part of its Community Investment Fund, in the amount of $10,000. This, however, all came after the Kinsmen received word that they would receive over 65 per cent of the funding through a Recreation and Infrastructure grant. Since then, the Kinsmen have worked hand-in-hand with the Belgrave Community Centre Board in order to get this project moving. Kinsmen member and project chairperson Chris Michie says that once he received word that the project would receive funding, he began dealing closely with both the Twp. of North Huron and Morris- Turnberry, eventually receiving direct funding from Morris- Turnberry. The whole project, which began last spring, however, came about because the Kinsmen felt the Belgrave Community Centre was too important to the community to fall by the wayside, something they thought was happening within North Huron. “The big reason we took this on was because [the Belgrave Kinsmen] had fixed up everything else in Belgrave and it didn’t look like North Huron had any interest in fixing [the floor],” he said. Soon after that decision was made, the Kinsmen had officially taken the project over. Throughout the past year and a half, however, Michie says the club had to endure minimal red tape, finding the path to a new floor in Belgrave to not be an insurmountable one. Because the Belgrave Community Centre is a municipal building, Michie says there weren’t any permit applications, they just had to check in with the building inspector and once the project was cleared, the Kinsmen were ready to work. And work they have, with the project getting to its current stage entirely on volunteer time. While it was the Kinsmen who did all of the running around during the application and consulting stages of the project, since Oct. 9, it has been the Kinsmen with the help of donated labour and equipment that have got the project to where it is today. Michie expects the entire project to be completed by mid-November, with a Dec. 1 target to begin building the arena’s new ice. Despite the arena’s new foundation, the ice will remain the same, true to its roots, and will remain all natural. With the floor being poured this week, Michie says the next step will be the outside curb portion of thefloor, which will be raised slightlyfrom the floor and will serve assomewhat of a foundation for theboards, when they are ready to beinstalled, which should be approximately Nov. 10-12, Michie says.Before the renovations began,Michie said the floor was a hazard tothose who used the centre.“Kids weren’t safe playing rollerhockey, rollerblading and even dances were dangerous, with the floor making walking around whenit was sort of dark tough,” he said.“We just hope that once this is done,people will get a lot more use out ofit and there will be chances for a lotof different uses too with the new floor.” PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009. Kids Care at Halloween Floored Morris-Turnberry mayor Dorothy Kelly, right, paid the Belgrave Kinsmen a visit last week to contribute $20,000 to the new arena floor project the Kinsmen undertook years ago and are in the process of implementing. Accepting the cheque on behalf of the Kinsmen were president Darryl Marks, left, and project chairperson Chris Michie, centre. (Vicky Bremner photo) They’re ready to pour it on in Belgrave By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron County Your complete shopping centre Our Huron County Christmas Gift Guide proves you don’t have to travel to city shopping centres and brave the hassle of crowded stores and hectic traffic. You can get the variety and selection right here with just a short drive. The items in the guide, are just a small sampling of what our shops and stores offer. You can get it all in Huron County. As a special incentive we have added our Special Christmas Offer... Buy 3 ads and you’ll get the 4th same size ad FREE! SAVE 25% 519-523-4792 or fax 519-523-9140 email - norhuron@scsinternet.com Deadline is November 13th Call Ken or Lori today and let’s keep the dollars at home this Christmas The Citizen Includes process colour Sale runs November 19, 26, December 3, 10 & 17