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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-01-24, Page 1The CitizenVolume 24 No. 4 Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008 $1.25 ($1.19 + 6c GST)Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Inside this week Pg. 6 Pg. 7 Pg. 8 Pg. 11 Pg. 20 Rural Response a rural response Ag Society presents awards Local broomball teams in tourney Beef producers get uplifting message Brussels clinic open house a success Grey firefighters responded to a barn blaze just west of the Huron/Perth boundary on Newry Road early on the morning of Jan. 16. Fire chief Calvin Semple said they are not certain yet what started the fire which began in the older portion of the barn. A passing motorist noticed the blaze and alerted the property owner, Bruno Lichtensteiger around 5 a.m., said Semple. Brussels firefighters were called in to assist with drawing water, while Atwood’s department also helped at the scene. Construction equipment from Ryan’s Construction was also brought in. Firefighters were able to save the larger portion of the barn, Semple said. Unfortunately an unknown number of pigs were lost as a result of the fire. Damage was also done to two Harvestore silos, each about half full with corn. “Those will be a costly repair,” said Semple. The chief estimates the damage at close to $500,000. Grey barn burns Shutting it down Shawn Walker of the highways department placed a barricade at the north edge of Blyth on Sunday afternoon, closing the road to traffic. Snowsqualls blew into the area in the truest sense of the word targetting some areas more than others. While this road was closed due to blowing and drifting snow causing poor visibility and slippery conditions, and Wingham was virtually blocked, just a short distance west of Blyth, residents reported no significant snowfall. (Vicky Bremner photo) Demolition began last week on the Brussels Country Inn, but the land beneath it may find itself a key player in another story, that of the Brussels Library The building’s owner, Dave Rapson, after several years of courting the property to potential buyers, found that the land under the hotel was worth more empty than it was in its current state and decided to bring the building down. After gutting the existing hotel due to several problems stemming from water damage due to a broken roof drain, Rapson made the final decision to take the building down when he recently discovered five new leaks in the roof. And with a void where a large piece of Brussels history used to reside, another historical decision has come to the minds of several citizens. A petition, organized by economic development manager for the Huron Business Development Corporation, Paul Nichol and his wife Kathy, suggests a possible land swap. The swap would see Rapson offer up the newly-leveled Brussels Inn property as a site for the new library in exchange for the current site of the new library just west of the Carnegie building. This would result in one of the largest investments in the village’s recent history being on the main street, not tucked behind it. Nichol can find only logic in the decision that would take giant steps towards revitalizing the village’s main street. “People here are quite concerned about detracting from the main street. Time and time again we talk about how many good things there are in Brussels, the recreation, the sports, the service clubs. But the thing people keep coming back to is the state of that main street,” Nichol said. “So, the first time we’re going to make a major investment; this is a $600,000 building, in our community; we’re not going to do it on the main street?” Rapson says that this community group has written and circulated this petition without his knowledge and he has had just the briefest of discussions with Huron East staff on the matter. The issue has not been formally proposed to council yet, and the earliest it will be able to be tabled is at the Feb. 5 meeting. Rapson met briefly with Huron East treasurer Brad Knight last week as he stopped in to pick up the demolition permit. “I’m not going to stand in the way of progress,” Rapson said. “But on the other hand, I have a business here, and I want to recoup something.” Councillor David Blaney, who has championed the library since the topic first came up, says he’d like to see the new library on the main street. “I think if it’s possible, putting the library facing our main street would be a very good thing. It would help to revitalize the downtown and it would prevent us from having another vacant spot in the main commercial district,” Blaney said. “I’ll be bringing the issue to council, but I can’t say what council will do with it. Council will see the petition, it will be circulated to all the councillors and they will have to make a decision as to whether that is the route they want to take or not. I can’t say what their answer will be. I think there are very good reasons why the library facing the main street should be considered.” With the Brussels Library having sparked debate since legislation deemed the library inaccessible, this proposition could be viewed by council as yet another battle in a war that has taken far too long. Measures are already well underway to have the existing Carnegie library protected under historical designation, a bylaw that should be at council by early February, says Blaney. This swap would see the new library go up next door to the existing Carnegie building. “You have to understand that the horse has kind of left the barn as far as Huron East council is concerned,” Nichol said. “They’ve struggled to get this far and they finally knew what direction to take and now here’s someone trying to confuse things on them. The only way to get the horse back in the barn is a petition. Period.” There are hopes that the change in circumstance might prove significant enough to put the brakes on the project. “I think council is going to be quite willing to look at the change in circumstance and see if it can be accommodated,” Blaney said. Rapson has said that he is open to discussion about a land swap, as a businessman, he will have a nose for which deal is the best fit for him as well as the community. Petitions have been placed in most of the businesses on the main street where they should remain until the matter is expected to be brought to council. As for the future of the Brussels Library, Blaney says that a public meeting should be called soon to discuss possible floor plans for the new library, wherever it may be. “There will certainly be another meeting so the people can see what the building might look like,” Blaney said. “It won’t be an extra meeting to address this issue. The next meeting will be the one we always intended to have so that the local ratepayers can see what the building should look like before we plan to build it.” Last week the Belgrave Community Centre Board held a public meeting to dispel some rumours that were circulating and to put some new procedures in place that will put control back in the hands of the board. With rumours circulating regarding the cost to rent the Belgrave Community Centre and that North Huron council was attempting to take control out of the hands of board, the public meeting was held to try and ease concerns. Reeve Neil Vincent, who is also a member of the board spoke on behalf of the council, saying that he would like to see things continue to operate as they are. “One thing I will say on behalf of all of council is that I would like to see the building used as much as possible. If we can come up with any plan that meets the care and control requirements that our insurance company is asking for as well as what the community wants, that would be perfect,” Vincent said in a later interview. Vincent said that some concerns were raised over a party that took place at the community centre where no rental agreement was signed. North Huron’s insurance company caught wind of this and told the municipality to tighten up the security at the community centre. “Council does not want to disrupt the community board at all. We want the community board to run the centre. If we ran it, it would just add to municipal expenses,” Vincent said. “If we can meet those care and control requirements, we are very happy to let the Belgrave community centre board keep running it. It was never the intention of council to take the control away.” After insurance insisted that North Huron step in until security could be Demolition sparks Brussels petition By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen By Bonnie Gropp The Citizen Meeting clarifies issues By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 6