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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-05-24, Page 1The CitizenVolume 23 No. 21 Thursday, May 24, 2007 $1.25 ($1.18 + 7c GST)Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Inside this week Pg. 6 Pg. 8 Pg. 9 Pg. 18 Pg. 19 Torch Run comes through Blyth Soccer teams continue play Hot time expected at Belgrave Auburn WI turns 85 Country talent comes to Blyth As a result of a meeting between Grey and Brussels councillors, a meeting is set for May 29 at 7:30 p.m. to bring the fate of the Brussels Library to the public. The meeting will take place at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. Allan Avis Architects Inc. prepared a report, outlining three options to be brought to the people of Brussels. However, by the time the clerk- administrator’s report came to council on May 15, one of the three options had been nixed from the list. “We have two options. It’s a lot of money that we’re spending and we want to make sure that we spend it right. Will we satisfy everybody? No. But we want to make sure that it’s spent the way the public wants it spent,” says Huron East mayor Joe Seili. “Yes, we’re elected to make decisions, but there are times when you need input and at our level, this is the only way of getting input from the public.” The first option for the Library is an addition to the west side of the existing Carnegie Library building, enlarging the existing main floor level to accommodate the library and providing more basement space for additional development. The first option is the same one proposed in the original 2005 study. Another option is to build a new library. It would be built on the newly expanded property that extends over to Elizabeth Street. The new library would be a one-storey building with grade level access. With this option the existing Carnegie building would then be freed up for other uses. The option no longer in the running, was to construct a grade level addition to the west side of the building allowing for grade level access to the addition. This would, however, create a split-level library. Clerk-administrator Jack McLachlan said the reasoning behind such a quick meeting was to have the thoughts of the ratepayers by the next council meeting. Because there’s a fifth Tuesday in May, this meeting can take place before council’s next meeting where they can discuss the meeting’s results. The previous meeting on the fate of the Brussels Library was very well-attended. “I hope a lot of people will come. I hope so, because it helps us to make the decision,” Seili said. “There are differences. Renovating the old will cost more money, but it’s their tax dollars, so it’s a chance for people to have a say in how their tax dollars are spent.” Library meeting set for May 29 It didn't take long, but the weather that thrashed through southern Ontario last week left its mark on Huron County in a hurry. When Tuesday, May 15 gave way to night, Huron County and most of southern Ontario was hit by heavy rains and wind, and in some areas, it is circulating that tornadoes touched down. Orville Storey is sure of it. Although he has no meteorological evidence to back it up, he has a different kind of evidence; a destroyed barn garage and large tree limbs strewn around his property. He said it only lasted three or four minutes, but by the time it was through, Storey’s property, south of Winthrop, was not the way he left it and a lot of homes throughout Huron and Perth Counties were left without power. “We were on the porch here, but it was raining so hard that we couldn’t see a thing out the window. Tree limbs came down near the window, so that didn’t help any, but it was raining so hard that we couldn’t see out the window at all,” he said. “It came up on us so suddenly that we didn’t even realize what was going on. The barn was blown right down, three or four trees and one great big tree were all blown over. We’ll need a new roof on the house because some of the limbs landed on the roof. As far as I’m concerned it was a tornado, but I think that’s what they’re calling it.” According to the Hydro One website, there were well over 1,500 homes without power in and around Huron County. And while Blyth never lost power, Brussels, Walton and Ethel weren’t so lucky. The lights went out in homes and businesses alike Tuesday shortly after 6 p.m. The power was not quick to return, causing major problems in Brussels. Brussels Variety had to pack all of their ice cream into a car and take it to Wingham, using their supplier’s freezer until power was restored which happened just before 2:15 p.m. Wednesday. In most places. While much of Brussels was back in business by Wednesday afternoon, Brussels Foodland was granted partial power and didn’t have full power until early Thursday (May 17) morning. “We lost a bunch of meat and ice cream. We didn’t even get full power back until Thursday morning, 7:30 a.m.,” Brittany Benniger of Brussels Foodland said. “We didn’t have our freezers working, we had to rent a freezer trailer, but as far as I know, we should be reimbursed for these losses. We have a pretty good insurance plan.” J.R.’s also experienced high losses. Although power was restored to the restaurant and gas bar by 3 p.m. on May 16, owner Shahzad Ahmed estimates his losses from Tuesday night to Wednesday afternoon at around $2,000, $5- 6,000 if he factors in fuel sales. Now, however, everything is back to normal. The day after Brussels Foodland got full power back, they assured shoppers that they were fully- stocked on most items. Storey, however, has no plans to rebuild his barn any time soon. He says he may build one eventually, but he isn’t sure. Humanitarian, activist and living piece of history, Kim Phuc is stopping in to Auburn to share her story with the people of Huron County. Phuc may be better known to people visually, rather than by name. Phuc is the subject of the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph from Vietnam that changed the way the world looked at warfare. An explosion is the background, while Phuc treads naked down the middle of the street, her flesh afire with napalm. Phuc is now in her 40s, living in Ontario and has become a rather high-profile philanthropist in the fight against children being affected by war. She will be on hand at Huron Chapel in Auburn on May 26 at 7:30 p.m. to talk about her life before the picture and after the picture. After the photograph, taken by Associated Press photographer Huyong Cong Nick Ut, Phuc went through years of painful burn therapy, coming back louder than ever in the fight against children casualties, both mental and physical. Phuc started the Phuc Foundation in 1997, a charitable organization whose funds go to assisting children affected by war, in Chicago and then brought the foundation to her new home, Canada, in 2000. The Foundation’s mission, as stated on its website, is to help the wounds suffered by innocent children and restore hope and happiness to their lives by providing much-needed medical and psychological assistance. The recipient of the 2004 Order of Ontario, Phuc has received numerous honorary doctorates at various Canadian universities, was the 1997 UNESCO Goodwill ambassador for peace and the subject of a Canadian documentary, Kim’s Nature’s nasty nature A sudden storm ripped through the area last week leaving some areas without power for 20 hours, uprooting trees and causing extensive damage to buildings. Orville Storey’s property, south of Winthrop was hard hit with a shed destroyed and large trees torn from the ground. Friends and neighbours were on hand Wednesday to help clean up the mess. (Shawn Loughlin photo) Mother Nature turns ugly By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Former MPP Paul Klopp has been elected to lead the Huron-Bruce NDP into the next provincial election. A closely-fought contest was held Thursday night in Goderich between well-known local activist Stephen Webster of Blyth and Paul Klopp, former Huron MPP from Zurich. Both candidates delivered impassioned speeches. In the end Klopp emerged the victor with Webster pledging his support and moving that the room make the choice unanimous. Klopp demonstrated that he will be an MPP who puts the people of Huron-Bruce first by making a strong commitment to roll back the 23 per cent raise Liberals and Conservatives gifted themselves before Christmas. “This pay raise is obscene when Ontario’s poorest paid workers have been told they need to wait several years just to make a $10 minimum wage and when so many farmers are having to take off-farm jobs just to pay the bills. I commit to working to roll back this Liberal and Conservative scheme to reward themselves when they have not By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Klopp wins NDP nomination Kim Phuc to speak in Auburn By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 11 Continued on page 6