The Citizen, 2007-07-05, Page 1The CitizenVolume 23 No. 27 Thursday, July 5, 2007 $1.25 ($1.18 + 7c GST)Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Inside this week
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Pg. 23
Boy gets award
from fire marshal
Beaven faces the
bald truth
Ladies golf for
Shelter
Area farm on
virtual tour
‘Eyes of Heaven’
opens season
The Blyth Festival launched its
33rd summer season of new
Canadian theatre with 80
performances being presented from
June 26 to Sept. 15 in Blyth
Memorial Community Hall.
The Eyes of Heaven by Beverley
Cooper is the 101st world première
produced by the theatre and opening
night in Blyth hosted many special
guests and supporters of the theatre.
The Blyth Festival Art Gallery
opened a new art exhibition –
Symbols 3 by Ron Milton that is
featured in the Bainton Gallery until
July 18.
On behalf of the Blyth Festival,
artistic director Eric Coates was
presented with a special award by
Stephen Thompson, president of the
Huron County Federation of
Agriculture in recognition of the
theatre’s contribution to rural life.
“Over the theatre’s history, the
Blyth Festival has staged many
memorable plays about the state of
agriculture in Ontario and great
stories about rural Canada,” said
Thompson. “The award is a photo
by Jennifer Black of a great Huron
County sunrise that will be featured
in the theatre’s lobby this summer.”
Farm stories showcased in Blyth
include Another Season’s Harvest
by Anne Chislett and Keith
Roulston,He Won’t Come in From
the Barn by Ted Johns, and Death of
the Hired Man by Paul Thompson.
Coates welcomed Katherine
Kaszas, artistic director at the Blyth
Festival from 1985 to 1990 as the
guest speaker at the opening night
dinner. She shared her memories
and stories about Blyth and the
contribution Blyth Festival has
made to Canadian theatre.
Master of Ceremonies Bruce
Whitmore, a member of the Blyth
Festival board of directors hosted
the evening with Member of
Festival
launches
33rd
season
With a consultant in place, Huron
County is set to take full advantage
of the province’s $10 million
commitment to expanding
broadband internet.
Brock Vodden of Blyth has been
brought on by the county to
spearhead the project. He will be
physically preparing the application
as well as researching which areas
don’t have broadband and which
areas want broadband.
“I’m going to be writing the
application for both Huron and Perth
Counties and soliciting information
from the people who need
broadband service and working on
identifying the areas without
adequate service at the moment,”
Vodden said.
“We’re under a tight deadline and
we’re looking for people to let us
know if they need or want broadband
service, but don’t have access to it.”
With the announcement of this
project coming just a few weeks ago,
and the deadline for applications
being July 13, not much time can be
wasted, but Vodden says it was set
up that way.
“I had a similar role in a federal
program that went on a few years
ago. So I’m repeating a lot of the
work we did before, but updating it
to accommodate changes that need
to take place,” he said.
“The government has attached
such a tight deadline to this, that
only organizations that have been
through the process before have the
time to get their ducks in a row.”
Paul Nichol, economic
development manager for the Huron
Business Development Corporation,
agrees saying that because of the
previous work done, Huron is in a
great position to benefit from this
funding.
“Huron and Perth Counties went
down this road before in 2003 under
two initiatives; one was federal and
one was provincial. We were
declined on both, but the way the
program is set up now, it’s really
meant to serve the communities that
went through that process,” he said.
“The timeline is so tight, that only
folks, who have done most of their
homework, and I believe most of it
has been done, should stand a good
chance. So from that point of view, I
think we stand a pretty good chance.
The province is looking to fund nine
to 11 projects across Ontario and I
think we have a pretty good chance.”
The program will provide up to $1
million per application to cover up to
one third of the costs, with the other
two thirds being put up by local
investors.
While Huron County has a lot of
its homework done, the application
process won’t be complete without a
thorough cross-section of citizens
volunteering their situations.
Basically, the county needs to know
who needs broadband and who
doesn’t have it.
“The big thing is that we really
need to know what areas of the
county aren’t yet served with
broadband. The local
communications companies are
helping us find out who’s on-line out
there,” Nichol said.
“We know they’re out there, and
my guess is that it’s predominantly
the northern part of the county, the
area that The Citizen serves.”
Vodden will be the main contact
for information from people and he
is asking to be contacted soon in
relation to this application by mail at
Brock Vodden, Box 492, Blyth
Ontario, N0M 1H0 or by e-mail at
hbvodden@ezlink.on.ca.
With the help of the citizens, the
rest of the work has been done, and
Vodden thinks the county is ready
for broadband.
“It’s a pretty complex application,
but we’re pretty well ready for it.”
The dog days of summer are upon
us, and nowhere more so than in
Blyth next week.
Beginning July 10 and running
through until July 12, the Bluewater
Kennel Club’s All Breed Dog
Shows and Obedience Trials will
be held at the Blyth Community
Centre.
Over 100 breeds of dogs are
shown each year at the fairgrounds
during this event. The show began in
1979, and first came to Blyth in
1982. It is now part of a circuit
which continues after the show
here.
Club member Florence Pullen of
the Clinton area, said that while
numbers are down in the
confirmation entries, the obedience
and agility numbers are higher than
last year.
“We were a little concerned
about the American entries
being lower, but it seems it’s
actually the Ontario numbers that
are down,” she said. “With this
being a mid-week show people here
tend to enter the Sarnia show the
weekend before or the show on
the weekend after, and skip this
one.”
The Club is offering something
new this year in Blyth. They will be
holding Rally-O which is a
combination of obedience and
agility.
“It’s become quite popular,” said
Pullen.
In a rally the handlers are
required to follow instructions
posted on signs and the trials are
timed.
The rally is a test for the
Bluewater Club as well, according to
Pullen.
“Only if we meet the requirement
of the Canadian Kennel Club, can
we do a full-fledged sanctioned
match next year.”
The rally will be held on the
Tuesday and Wednesday of the event
following the obedience trials.
The show begins at 9 a.m. on
Tuesday and Wednesday and 8 a.m.
on Thursday. The event runs through
the day.
The rally and obedience shows are
in Shed 3 of the fairgrounds, while
the agility trials are held behind that
building. The confirmation shows
are outside in the ring in front of
Shed 3.
Admission is $2 for adults,
children under 12 are $1, while pre-
schoolers are free.
Gate proceeds go to the Huronia
Branch of the Humane Society.
Raising the flags
What better way to celebrate Canada Day and add a little more red and white for Brussels
Homecoming than with a flag. Majestic WI, family and friends distributed small flags to each
property in Brussels on Saturday. Jack and Kristen Pipe were helping out by adorning some
of the downtown planters. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Consultant continues county’s
quest for broadband internet
Dog
days
in
Blyth
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 23