The Citizen, 2009-11-05, Page 1Two Blyth men, one whose roots
in the community run deep, the other
relatively new to the village, will be
filling the two vacancies on North
Huron council.
Following interviews with five
candidates at the Monday night
meeting, council in a closed session
decided upon Brock Vodden and
Dave Riach.
Vodden told councillors that he
saw amalgamation as one of the
biggest issues facing the township as
people still didn’t feel that it was
working. While he wouldn’t go so far
as to say he was someone who felt it
was working, Vodden said it was a
reality and that hadn’t yet been
readily accepted by the ratepayers.
He described himself as someone
“who understands the community
and has a deep commitment to the
values of the community.”
Riach, whose résumé arrived after
the deadline but had been
postmarked before so he was
contacted to be interviewed, moved
to Blyth a few years ago, and
operates a business on main street.
He spoke about economic
development in the community and
offered some ideas about getting the
two business areas, Blyth and
Wingham, working together.
Council also interviewed John Roe
from Blyth, Ray Hallahan from East
Wawanosh and Jim Woodley from
RR5, Wingham.
Reeve Neil Vincent thanked the
men for their interest, saying council
appreciated the time they had taken
to attend the interviews.
In making their selection, he said,
“We tried to look at the ones that
would best represent Blyth but were
passionate about the whole
community.”
The new councillors will be sworn
in at the next meeting.
Councillors chosen
All in a day’s work
Brussels arena manager Murray McArter finds a convenient place to rest after lugging out the
toilets from the washrooms at the community centre. Work began last week on the accessibility
and washroom upgrades. (Bonnie Gropp photo)
With the autumn leaves falling,
Blyth Festival artistic director Eric
Coates has announced his 2010
summer season, featuring three new
plays and an old favourite.
In looking at the possibility of a
theme threading through the season,
Coates said two have the connection
of the parent/child relationships,
while there is a strong bi-lateral
message between two others.
“But if there is one thing that ties
this season together,” said Coates, “is
that it’s really local. The new plays all
reference Huron County without any
notion that’s referencing anything
else.”
Opening the season is a new play
by Governor-General nominee and
Grand Bend resident Paul Ciufo, who
began working “full out” on a murder
mystery about a year ago, said
Coates. A first reading was done the
end of August and Coates said he
knew it was going to be “a really
attractive play for us to open our
season.”
A Killing Snow, is the kind of
summer theatre audiences crave, he
said, adding it satisfies what seems to
be a “morbid” need to be frightened.
“But the reason this one is especially
suited to us is it also deals with the
most Canadian of all things — the
weather.”
The story takes place as four people
travelling through a Huron County
snowstorm seek lodging at a
farmhouse inhabited by a retired
Latin teacher, with whom, the
strangers all co-incidentally have a
connection. “That’s another Huron
County reality. Where everybody
knows everybody and his dog.”
The teacher is not well-liked by any
of the others and he in turn harbours
no nice feelings for them. “One by
one they begin to die,” said Coates.
“It’s very chilling.”
But of course, not without some
laughs too. “There’s a young pig
farmer and every time stuff threatens
to get too dark he does something
goofy.”
The second play brings back a
favourite from the Festival’s “glory
days of the 80s” said Coates.
Bordertown Cafe by Kelly Rebar was
one of the ones considered last year
by Coates, along with Mail Order
Bride. “I had heard about it, never
seen it, but read it and loved it.”
Bringing back past shows is a show
of respect for Coates. “We really want
to make sure we’re not doing only
new work all the time. There are great
Canadian plays that deserve to be
seen again and it’s gratifying now that
we have enough in our own repertoire
to bring back.”
First at Blyth in 1987, then
remounted in 1988, Bordertown Cafe
was directed by then artistic director
Katherine Kaszaz, who is returning
for the 2010 production.
What appeals to Coates about the
play is its “clear characters.
Bordertown Cafe is very strongly
focused on the relationship between
parents and children. I suspect part of
it too is my role as the parent of
teenagers. And even though I have a
great relationship with my daughters,
I find myself from time to time in one
of those arguments that is going to
come to no conclusion. This play
captures that.”
The story is about a teenage boy
torn between the glamour of moving
to the U.S. with his somewhat
“dangerous” father or staying in
Canada.
Next to hit the stage will be Gary
Kirkham’s Pearl Gidley. As
playwright in residence at Blyth in
2000, Kirkham spent time with local
historians Jan and Brock Vodden.
“They told him a story of Pearl
Gidley, a Blyth woman who was
betrothed to a young man and on the
wedding day he disappears without
A message on the website of the
Avon Maitland District School Board
states the board “will be taking every
possible measure to avoid closing a
school” as a result of an outbreak of
the H1N1 influenza virus.
The potential health threat also is
currently afforded high profile on the
website of the Huron-Perth Catholic
District School Board, with
prominent links to information from
the Perth District Health Unit and
Huron County Health Unit.
An open letter to parents was
issued Thursday, Oct. 29, in co-
operation between both boards and
the health units. “We are aware of the
increasing rates of illness in our
community and we are continuing to
work with the health units on how to
minimize the spread of infection,”
the letter states.
However, judging from the rest of
the letter – as well as a report
delivered to trustees last week by top
Avon Maitland administrator Chuck
Reid – actions in this region’s
schools have so far been limited to
monitoring the situation.
Speaking at a regular board
meeting Tuesday, Oct. 27, the
director of education said the first of
what will now become regular
reports – as requested by the two
health units – was to be submitted
Thursday, Oct. 29.
That report detailed the absence
rates due to illness at the board’s
schools, and highlighted when a
particular school outstripped a
predetermined 10 per cent absence
threshold.
Reid was careful to note that not all
absences due to illness can be blamed
on H1N1 or even the seasonal variant
of influenza. He also explained that,
from one day to the next as a flu bug
works its way into a school, absence
rates can fluctuate considerably.
He agreed, however, that
absenteeism can be a valuable tool in
monitoring the H1N1 pandemic’s
progress.
Included in the Oct. 29 report were
the following details: on Oct. 23,
there were five Avon Maitland
elementary schools above the 10 per
cent absence rate.
Three days later, 15 elementary
schools and five high schools met the
threshold. However, just one day
later, that number dipped to
seven.
The Oct. 29 open letter added to
this information: it stated that, on
Oct. 28, 18 elementary schools and
one secondary school – across both
school boards – recorded at least 10
per cent of students absent due to
illness.
“We will be reporting these
numbers daily on the (Avon
Maitland) board website at
www.yourschools.ca ,” the letter
states.
Another message on the Avon
Maitland website explains that a
decision to close a school would
come on the advice of a Medical
Officer of Health, and “would be
made only in extreme situations
where it would be effective in
slowing the spread of infection (or) if
a school facility was needed to assist
the health units in providing medical
or civil support services during a
large scale outbreak.”
Boards working
with health units
CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009
Volume 25 No. 43EDUCATION- Pg. 10Grey community attendsinformation meeting COMMUNITY - Pg. 24 Brussels residents havetheir say SPORTS - Pg. 8Local hockey teams postvictoriesPublications 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:
Coates announces season
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
Continued on page 7