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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-01-25, Page 1The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) is hosting the annual Snowfest celebration on Jan. 28 at the Wawanosh Nature Centre. The event runs from 1 - 4 p.m. Although the snow has been slow to arrive conditions currently look good for the event. Visitors are invited to bring their cross-country skis or snowshoes and hit the trails. Trail maps will be available in the Nature Centre. If you don’t have snowshoes you can rent a pair for just $2.50. “Each year we get a lot of inquiries from people asking if they can rent snowshoes for an afternoon,” reports Esther Buck, community education technician with the MVCA. “Most weekends our showshoes are booked by community groups so we developed Snowfest as a time when families can come and try snowshoeing.” Conservation authority staff will be on hand to fit snowshoes and provide a short introductory lesson. Snowshoes are available for ages four and over. “The great thing about snowshoeing is that it’s so simple. If you can walk you can snowshoe,” says Buck. Coffee and hot chocolate will be available in the Nature Centre throughout the afternoon. For further information, or to check on snow conditions, con- tact the MVCA at 519-335- 3557. To reach Wawanosh travel north on County Rd. 4 and turn west on Nature Centre Road. The CitizenVolume 23 No. 4 Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007 $1.25 ($1.18 + 7c GST)Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Inside this week Pg. 6 Pg. 9 Pg. 10 Pg. 12 Pg. 19 Ag Society presents awards Local team wins tournament gold Grey Fire Dep’t. gets defibrilator OCA to consider name change Rita MacNeil comes to Blyth The Huron County beef producers, at their meeting Jan. 17 heard about an organization in Germany that has been in Brussels inspecting animals’ conditions. At the producers’ annual meeting in Brussels, Jim Paterson from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) mentioned a few websites and organizations that cattlemen should be aware of. Animals’Angels out of Germany is an organization that is constantly inspecting and taking action on behalf of animals’ best interests. Although Animals’ Angels are situated in Germany, their reach has extended thoroughly world-wide. Their website contains over 10 pages of stories from Canada with a handful of inspections in Brussels, with satisfying results. The other organizations mentioned were the Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals as well as PETA. Paterson said there was a PETA cell at the University of Guelph that was breaking into area barns to take videos of the animals. Paterson also spoke about how the beef producers’ animals should be cared for during transportation. Paterson said that he likes to see the CFIA as a buffer between the production side of things and the welfare side. Paterson spoke about transporting animals in unfit quarters, however, he also stated that cattlemen tend to be more traditional with their methods of transportation. The slideshow that Paterson went through contained several gruesome pictures of extreme cases of injured animals and poor transportation conditions. The slideshow also contained several definitions so that the association knew the difference between certain classifications of animals. These definitions included compromised animal, unfit animal and a non-ambulatory animal, also known as a ‘downer.’ The last thing Paterson said went along with the talk Londesborough- area beef producer Kittie MacGregor gave on the market access program (MAP) insisting that all members should be tagging their cattle and making sure they have their paperwork in order. Although there were concerns voiced about animals showing up to their farms untagged, Paterson insisted that all animals need to be tagged now. Paterson says that this system is the wave of the future and that it can make the whole identification process rapid and paperless. These precautions are necessary said Paterson, because he knows that no one likes seeing a CFIA car in their driveway. Producers learn of ‘Angels’ A platform built on snow Conservative MPPs (from left) Grey-Bruce-Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdoch, Parry Sound- Muskoka MPP Norm Miller and Oak Ridges MPP Frank Klees didn’t let the snow dumped on Brussels last Friday affect their walkabout around the downtown. They wanted to see the state of business and economy in Huron and that’s what they did, even if the weather didn’t co- operate. (Shawn Loughlin photo) Three Conservative MPPs swung by Brussels last Friday for a walkabout followed by a discussion on the state business and economy of Huron County. Bill Murdoch, MPP of Grey- Bruce-Owen Sound, Frank Klees, MPP of Oak Ridges and Norm Miller, MPP of Parry Sound- Muskoka were on hand to listen to the businessowners of Brussels and give some feedback about their position on the matters discussed. In addition to the three MPPs, several local political faces were in attendance. Mayor Dorothy Kelly, deputy- mayor Jim Nelemans and councillors Lynn Hoy and Mark Beaven of Morris-Turnberry, councillor David Blaney of Huron East, who is oversees the Centre’s business development, councillor Pamela Stanley of Central Huron, Lisa Thompson president of the Huron Bruce Provincial PC Association and the Centre’s manager, Joan van der Meer were all in Brussels for this discussion. Despite the blizzard-like conditions, the walking tour of Brussels went ahead as scheduled, showing the MPPs the state of many of the businesses in Brussels through the boarded up buildings in the village. After the 45-minute tour concluded, everyone settled into the board room at the Centre for Applied Renewable Energy and the MPPs had a chance to press the flesh and listen to what the residents of Brussels had to say. One thing that the politicians and the citizens could agree on was that they were unhappy with the current government and the treatment rural Ontario has received from it. Klees broached the topic first and Murdoch and Miller agreed, saying that the current government has split the province into factions. “The province is essentially split into two Ontarios: Rural and urban,” Klees said, adding that having one Ontario should be the objective. “That should be the objective that drives our policy.” Another point that was brought up by the MPPs was the lack of new Canadians in rural Ontario. Immigration to rural Ontario would help to build economy Klees said, so why is it that so many new Canadians stay in Toronto, he asked. When Blaney was given the chance to speak, he told two stories about entrepreneurs in the area and wanted to show everyone how you can make a big difference with a small operation. This was something that many of the citizens seemed to agree with, that they didn’t want the world from the government, they just wanted some help to get on their feet so they can work again. “We don’t want huge handouts, we just want a spark,” Thompson said. She insists that a catalyst in the community would go a long way to boosting the economy up to where it should be. Stanley listed many accolades that have been accomplished locally by the Huron Business Development Corporation as well as several other organizations working towards building an economy in rural Ontario. One comment that was voiced by a local businessowner was that jobs should be available locally for the children to be able to grow up and work where they grew up, and to have chances to make it other than by leaving. Klees ended the discussion by pointing down to his notepad, on which he had been taking notes the whole meeting, and saying that the ideas brought up were very good and very real and that the would take them back with him to caucus. Murdoch insisted that there should be change and reminded everyone in the room that this was an election year. Conservative MPPs look at rural business in Brussels By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen MVCA celebrates winter with Snowfest