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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-02-17, Page 1Recreation rankles VOL. 4 NO. 7, Hundreds sign telegram for Kevin Some 240 individual names will be signed on a telegram to Brussels-area figure skater Kevin Wheeler at the Calgary Olympics, while a cheque for well over $100 will beforwarded tothe Preston Figure Skating Club in trust for the local athlete and his skating partner. Michelle Menzies of Preston. The names and cash are the result of a two-week campaign to raise enough money to send the telegram to the Senior Pairs skaters prior to their performance as part of the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Calgary on February 28, wishing them u ell and reminding them that as far as their Brussels, Morris and Grey friends are concerned, they are the best in the world. The telegram, sent Monday, reads: ‘ ‘To Kevin and Michelle - In our hearts you won the gold, and the closing ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics will be a wonder­ ful experience for our community as we watch with feelings of great pride and cheer you both on. Best wishes for a great performance, your friends and neighbours in Brussels, Morris and Grey.” The wording is a combination of messages submitted by several persons whopaid $1 or more for the privilege of signing the telegram, which will be signed by all 240 names. Individuals donated a- mounts rangingfrom $1 to$10each to get their names on the lists, which were available at several locations around the village, with some families putting down the name of every individual family member. Sheila Richards of Brussels, who volunteered to call the lengthy telegram in to CN/CP Teleco­ munications, said that as she was listing all the names, the operator said‘*A re these allfromjustthe community? Wow!” Mrs. Richards said that 125 Continued on page 2 Serving Brussels, Bly th, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1988.45 CENTS After postponing their annual Polar Daize Poker Rally once for lack of snow at the end of January, the BrusselsLionsCluh chose Sunday as the only good day most of us can remember to get the long snowmobile run off the ground. Starting off at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre, the trail wound through Geld and forest in Morris and Grey Townships, including this scenic stretch at the Sunshine Conservation Area off Concession 6-7, Morris Twp. councillors Blyth Village Council voted February 9 to seek another meet­ ing with all municipalities support­ ing the Blyth and District Comm­ unity Centre tosee if the recreation agreement can finally be signed. Countil voted to seek a meeting March 14 with all members of the councils of the four townships which use the arena complex, after a discussion in which councillors expressed their frustration with the lack of progress in reaching an agreement. A meeting with all the rural councillors on October 27 of last year had attempted to explain the draft agreement that would see the municipalities share the costs ofthearenain proportion to the number of arena users from each municipality. However confirma­ tion that the townships have agreed to sign the agreement hasn’t been received from any of the councils involved. In the meantime Blyth's council had received a request from Hullett township last month that Blyth pick up an additional 10 per cent of the cost of the arena because of the side benefits of people shopping in the village when they brought their young­ sters to use the arena. East Wawanosh, in a letter received by Blyth council, is now supporting the Hullett position. Councillor William Howson, a member of the Community Centre Board, suggested that the meeting be set up and suggested it should be after the community centre board’s budget had been approved so thattownship officials would see exactly how much they would be expected to pay under the agree­ ment. Reeve Albert Wasson said he didn’t think the council had much alternative but to try for another meeting since things seemed to be stalled but ‘ T’m not suggesting for a moment that we go along with this 10 per cent business.” “Tmafraidl’mlosing patience” Reeve Wasson said. A meeting of all the council had been held, he said, and the other councils apparently had a chance to ask their questions and had those questions answered but now they are coming up with new objections and suggestions. “All we’re doing is beating time. We’re not coming up with anything new.” The Reeve said he had discuss­ ions with other reeves involved and told them Blyth was willing to listen to their concerns “but we’re not real pleased about wasting time, not solving problems and not Continued on page 5 Blyth council supports County tax reform Blyth village council decided to support county-wide tax reassess­ ment w hen it met for its February meeting Feb. 9. Councillor William Howson who had attended a workshop for municipal councils reported from what he had heard and said he felt the county municipalities should choose the “Section 70” proposal for reform rather than the “Section 63”. Neither proposal would change the amount oftaxes paid for municipal purposes because local municipalities are already using market-value assessment. The two new proposals would extend the use of market-value assessment to county and school board taxes. Section 63 would use a complicated factoring method to relate market value assessment back to 1941 property value levels while Section 70 would be a simple system in which straight market values would become the assessed value of the property (and mill rates would drop dramatically). Vandals disrupt Polar The Brussels Lions Club finally got lucky when it chose Sunday as the date for its annual Polar Daize Poker Rally, with relatively clear skies, reasonable temperatures and good depth of fresh powder snow' on fields and trails. But members of the club’s executive were angry over what they called the senseless vandal­ ism which disrupted the runs for a Some of the communities else­ where in the province that had opted for Section 63 were already changing to Section 70, Councillor Howson said. There w as some confusion over number of participants, and which could go a long way towards destroying the good will of Morris and Grey Township farmers who open their land for the annual fundraiser. “Some idiots got out on the trails and turned some of our (direction­ al) signs around or took them out altogether,” Polar Daize commit­ tee chairman Greg Ducharme said just what the change would mean with councillor Bev Elliott worry­ ing that a house in Blyth would be worth a lot more if it was located in a larger centre like Goderich but would pay the same taxes. Coun- Daize rally Monday. “Someoftheguys got lost, and some crossed fields that had been posted as out of bounds to the machines. It could cause serious problems for the future of this event.” He explained that local land­ owners had always been very generous in allowing the snow­ mobiles to use their land, but that Continued on page 2 cillor Howson explained that a house valued at $50,000 would pay the same taxes for county and school purposes in either commun- ity but a $50,000 house in Blyth would likely be a lot more impressive house than a $50,000 in Goderich. Councillor Howson said that one ofthe misconceptionsofthe reform is that taxes will go up in many townships. In a lot of cases, hesaid, taxes on farms will remain the same or even go down. The people who will pay the highest price for the reform, he said, are the people who live on rural residential properties or those in hamlets in some of the townships. “The more I listened,” said Reeve Albert Wasson who heard a Continued on page 10