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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-05-29, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2008. Thanks to a $33,700 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) the new Western Ontario Athletic Association (WOAA) building in Wingham will become accessible to everyone. The money will pay for a lift, ramp and automatic doors to improve access to the building. Carol Mitchell, MPP for Huron- Bruce, who was present for the grant presentation Thursday, May 22, said, “It is important all buildings become accessible. We understand there are financial barriers.” Joe Steffler, OTF representative, said,“Keeping our young people active and in the community is what our government and Trillium are all about.” The OTF is a provincial agency that supports the growth and vitality of communities in Ontario. The OTF works to strengthen the volunteer sector through investments in community based initiatives. Dave Black, WOAA president, said “I’d like to thank the Trillium Foundation for accepting our application.” He said the grant will make the building accessible to the community. The ramp is already installed and the WOAA are waiting for the lift to be installed. Mitchell also said to WOAA staff, “I want to thank you for all the work you do with young people and the young at heart.” She then added, “We recognize the Trillium Foundation is doing a great job.” A grand opening for the WOAA building was to be held in May but after a flood that damaged the basement on March 3, the event was post-poned. The flood damaged over half the 150 trophies that were in the basement. The building was insured. WOAA moved into the new facility in November for its 65th anniversary. The building was built through a $350,000 capital cost collection campaign and through locals and businesses volunteering hours to build the facility. Mitchell also said at the grant presentation, “That money will go into making the building barrier free.” The final bridge for the year for the Auxiliary to the Wingham District Hospital was held Monday evening, May 12 at the Masonic Hall, Wingham. Shirley Kaufman, Auxiliary president welcomed players from Belgrave, Brussels, Lucknow, Teeswater, Kincardine and Wingham. The proceeds from the bridge parties provide equipment for the betterment of the patients at the Wingham District Hos- pital. The evening commenced with dessert and beverage provided and served by auxiliary members. After an evening of bridge, convenors Marie Phillips awarded the prizes for the year and gave out the many door prizes donated by Auxiliary members. Results were: high aggregate for the year, Ann Hawkins, Wingham, 17,930; high single for the year, Mabel Wheeler, Braemar Retirement Home, 4,930; high score for the evening, Marlene Leedham, Wingham, 4,750. County seeks public input on sustainability Views differ on first response WOAA gets $33,700 Trillium grant for accessibility The time has come to reviewHuron County’s official plan for asustainable Huron, and the decision- makers are asking for your help. Several brainstorming sessions took place last week in Seaforth, Goderich and Exeter where representatives from the county’s planning department presented members of the public with the four questions they hope to have answered to help shape their plan. On May 20, Carol Leeming presented the questions to Huron East council. She asked the councillors what they liked about their community and other communities, what they hoped for in the future, what needed to be done to arrive at that destination and what they as individuals can do to help.The same four questions wereposed to citizens who came out tothe Huron County Museum on May21, then later that week in Exeter.The questions come formed on a postage-paid postcard, so citizens can mail their answers in later if they so choose. These sessions have been happening over the last few weeks with a diverse collection of people, from councils to service groups to individual walk-in citizens. In Goderich, Claire Dodds, who chaired the meeting, said it was important to get a firm cross-section of the community, saying that not everyone in the community is willing to spend a weeknight at the museum to give their input to the county. The meeting, however, did see approximately 30 people come through its doors. The meetings are part of acommunity-wide initiative to raiseawareness and develop actions toreduce the county’s vulnerabilityand enhance community capacity inthe face of many factors. The county is required by law to update its plan every five years, and while it doesn’t have to go into the public for help, it has chosen to this year. Leeming says the goal is to find a perfect balance between the environment, the economy and society and culture. When those three factors meet in the middle, Leeming says sustainability will be achieved. There are several ways that this can be achieved. In the slideshow that has been given all over the county, there are seven ways the county hopes to achieve its goals. The first is political will, then its shared vision, backcasting, pickingthe low-hanging fruit (aiming forattainable goals), democraticprocess, broad involvement and oncein place, keeping it going.While the broad meetings in each community, Seaforth, Wingham, Goderich and then Exeter, all broke citizens off into groups to brainstorm, Leeming asked council directly for its answers. There were many reasons councillors raised as to why they thought Huron County was a great place to live, including its safety and community spirit, but several councillors were concerned that the county has not been breaking new ground. While they adopt policies that make sense for the Huron County way of life, there are few initiatives that are originating in Huron County, councillors said from their political standpoint. There was also talk aboutimproving the environment andimproving education. Clerk-administrator Jack McLachlanechoed what several councillors hadsaid about building code restrictions, saying that perhaps the county might consider loosening them up to encourage more construction in the area. The planning department has been working on this research since January and will continue its work until June. By the end of June, they hope to report back with their findings and spend July to December putting together a sustainable action plan to update the official plan. Dodds said that the community involvement aspect of the project is far from over and once the planning department has put together its ideas, it will be coming back to the public for more input. Continued from page 1 but “if you’ve got a well-written fire protection agreement” it would still have some say. But Nelemans said fire protection is different than tendering for some other service. If Morris-Turnberry was not happy with what North Huron wanted to charge under a fire protection agreement, they couldn’t very well go to someone else for a cheaper quote, he said. Councillor Mark Beaven, who has been urging the amalgamation of the Wingham and Blyth departments, questioned Scott if that could be done quickly, so that change and the boundary changes could be undertaken at the same time. Beaven also said he didn’t like to see ratepayers in the three different areas offered different levels of service with Brussels and Blyth both offering first response medical emergency coverage while Wingham does not. He urged Wingham to offer the service. Gaunt said when this issue was first discussed, several employers in Wingham said they would forbid their employees to be members of the fire department if it meant they were called out on extra calls for medical emergencies. Josling said the medical service actually helped attract firefighters for the Blyth department because they felt more involved with the additional work. There’s a waiting list to join the Blyth department, he said. Zimmerman set the agenda for action to be followed for the next steps, offering to meet with the fire chiefs and municipal officials to look at how the changes will affect the fire boards. Once the fire boundaries are set up, Huron East will have to work out the costs it will charge. For councillors, “you need to know what you want from Brussels” (in terms of the level of service), he said. Final bridge night for Auxiliary NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING CONCERNING A PROPOSED NEW COMPREHENSIVE ZONING BY-LAW TAKE NOTICE that Council of the Township of North Huron will hold a public meeting on Monday, June 23, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Township of North Huron municipal office (274 Josephine St., Wingham) to consider a proposed new Comprehensive Zoning By-law under section 34 of the Planning Act, R.O.S. 1990, as amended. This proposed new Comprehensive Zoning By-Law repeals and replaces the Comprehensive Zoning By-Laws for: Township of East Wawanosh (10-1987), Town of Wingham (2197- 1992), and the Village of Blyth (17-1991). ANY PERSON may attend the public meeting and/or make written or verbal representation either in support or in opposition to the proposed zoning by-law. IF a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the Township of North Huron before the by-law is passed, the person or public body is not entitled to appeal the decision of the Township of North Huron to the Ontario Municipal Board. IF a person or public body does not make an oral submission at a public meeting or make written submissions to the Township of North Huron before the by-law is passed, the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Municipal Board unless, in the opinion of the Board, there are reasonable grounds to add the person or public body. If you wish to be notified of the adoption of the proposed Comprehensive Zoning By-Law, you must make a written request to the Township of North Huron at the address below. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION and copies of the proposed Comprehensive Zoning By-law are available during regular office hours at the Township of North Huron, Municipal Office 519-357-3550, and the Huron County Planning and Development Department 519-524- 8394 Ext. 3, and on the Township of North Huron Website at www.northhuron.ca Dated at the Township of North Huron This 16th day of May, 2008 Kriss Snell, CAO/Clerk Township of North Huron Box 90 Wingham, Ontario N0G 2W0 519-357-3550 Purpose and Effect: The proposed new Comprehensive Zoning By-Law for the Township of North Huron consists of text and maps that apply to all the lands in the Township. It would repeal and replace the current Zoning By-Laws for the 3 wards in the Township of North Huron. This Comprehensive Zoning By-Law implements the Official Plan which was adopted on December 20, 2004 by the Township of North Huron. The Comprehensive Zoning By-Law consists of Definitions, General Provisions and Zone sections that list the Permitted Uses, Accessory Uses, Permitted Structures and Zone Regulations for that zone. A new zone has been created called Agriculture-Commercial Scale Wind Energy Facility (AG2), which sets provisions for new wind energy development. In addition, adjacent lands are being identified around existing Natural Environment areas. These lands will be subject to review of development proposals by the Conservation Authority. AFFECTING THE TOWNSHIP OF NORTH HURON Township of North Huron Council & Committee Meeting Schedule June 2 Regular Council Meeting 7:30 p.m. - Council Chambers June 10 Belgrave Community Centre Board 7:00 p.m. - Belgrave Community Centre June 11 Blyth Arena Advisory Committee 7:00 p.m. - Blyth Arena June 16 Committee of the Whole 7:00 p.m. - Blyth Community Centre June 17 North Huron Police Services Board 7:00 p.m. - Police Station Board Room June 19 Blyth District Fire Board 7:00 p.m. - Blyth Fire Hall June 23 Public Meeting - Zoning By-law 7:00 p.m. - Council Chambers Regular Council Meeting 7:30 p.m. - Council Chambers All Council and Committee Meetings are open to the Public. Kriss Snell CAO/Clerk Township of North Huron 274 Josephine Street Wingham, ON. www.northhuron.ca Phone 519-357-3550 By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen By Dominik Kurek Wingham Advance Times