HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-12-21, Page 1Licence delay closes Stockyards indefinitely
Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel,
Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships.
VOL. 4 NO. 51 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1988.45 CENTS
The Little Drummer Boy plays for the Christ Child in a Christmas
performance of “Something to Ring About” by the Grade 3 class at Hullett
with parents and friends last week as children celebrated Christmas by
performing their annual Christmas concerts. [For more pictures from all area
Central School in Londesboro Wednesday night. Area schools were filled schools see the special Christmas section beginning page 11.]
ayfield Reeve elected Huron Warden
Dave Johnston, Reeve of Bayfield
was named Warden of Huron
County Dec. 13 after defeating
Marie Hicknell, Reeve of McKillop
in a two-way race for the position.
The 51-year-old Bayfield busi
nessman won the post by a 20-12
margin. He had been elected Reeve
of Bayfield in 1983. He had spent five
years in the navy and 15 years on a
Toronto-area police force before
moving to Bayfield.
The Tuesday session was the
inaugural meeting of the new county
councilwithseveral new faces on
hand for their first taste of county
government. The only item on the
agenda was the elections of the
warden aird the appointment of a
striking committee. Wednesday the
council met again for the report of
the striking committee and the
appointment of the councillors to
various committees.
Members of the committees are:
(first named is chairman): Road,
Lionel Wilder, Hay; Doug Fraser,
Morris; Harry Worsell, Goderich;
Allan Gibson, Ashfield; J. Coleman,
Dep. Reeve, Stanley.
Huronview: Brian McBurney,
Turnberry; Gordon Workman, Brus
sels; Tom Tomes, Stephen; H.
Armstrong, Stanley.
Agriculture and property: Grant
Stirling, Goderich Twp.; Gerry
Prout, Usborne; Marie Hicknell,
McKillop; M. Keys, Dep. Reeve,
Hay.
Planning and Development: Cecil
Cranston, West Wawanosh; Jim
Robinson, Hensail; G. G. Baker,
Dep. Reeve, Stephen; Tom Cunn
ingham, Hullett.
Social Services: Bill Mickle, Exe
ter; Albert Wasson, Blyth; Bee
Cooke, Clinton; George Cantelon,
Tuckersmith.
Huron County Pioneer Museum:
Robert Fisher, Zurich; Leona Arm
strong. Grey; N. Fairies, Howick;
Lossy Fuller, Dep. Reeve, Exeter.
Executive: Dave Johnston, War
den; Bill Bennett, Seaforth; Cecil
Cranston, West Wawanosh; John
Doherty, Dep. Reeve, Goderich;
Continued on page 6 WARDEN DAVE JOHNSTON
The former Brussels Stockyards
closed its doors to business again on
December 14, with no clear indica
tion of when it will be back in
operation.
“We were hoping to be able to
hold a sale on December 30, but that
seems pretty unlikely now, ’ ’said
Gordon (Harry) Brindley of Dungan
non on Monday. Mr. Brindley
submitted the winning tender to
purchase the facility from the
creditors’ trustee in bankruptcy
after former owners Klaus and
Kristin Henschel fled the country,
apparently attempting to take the
receipts of the regular October 21
livestock sale with them.
Mr. Brindley said that the live
stock facility sale closed on Decem
ber 14 as planned, but says he does
not yet have the Livestock Dealer’s
Licence necessary to operate the
facility because of “problems” in
communication with the OMAF’s
Beef Financial Protection Branch,
which issues the licence.
‘ ‘I have all the paperwork (requir
ed) ready to go, but so far I haven’t
been able to pin (the FPB) down on
whatkind of abond we’ll have topost
in order to get the license,’’ Mr.
Brindley told The Citizen on Mon
day.
He indicated that he had been
expecting to have to post a bond ‘ ‘ in
the neighbourhood of half a million
dollars,” and was prepared to do so.
But he said that the FPB had recently
hinted that the required bond could
be substantially higher, “closer to
one million dollars.” He added that
the situation had become the classic
‘which-came-first-the-chicken-or-
the-egg’ routine, with himself un
able to proceed with the license
application without knowing what
kind of abond the FPB will call for,
while the FPB says it cannot proceed
without knowing what Mr. Brind
ley’s assets are.
“I guess you could say we are in
the process of applying for the
licence,” Mr. Brindley said, adding
thathepla nned to calltheLPBon
Tuesday to offer to post the sales
facilities, for which he paid $465,000
as collateral.
“If they won’t accept that, I guess
we’re back to square one,” he said.
But Dr. John Henry, Director of
the OMAF’s Livestock Protection
Branch and Cattle Commissioner for
the LPB, told The Citizen Monday
that his branch had not named a
bond figure to Mr. Brindley, since
the branch could not proceed until it
had Mr. Brindley’s actual applica
tion in front of it.
However, Dr. Henry did say that
one of the forms necessary for the
Livestock Dealer’s Licence applica
tion requires security equal to the
average weekly volume of sales
handled by the sales facility, ‘ ‘which
in the case of Brussels Stockyards, is
in excess of $1 million per week. He
said that the security posted could be
in the form of a bond, a letter of credit
from a financial institution, or in the
form of the company’s fixed assets.
“If Mr. Brindley has a company
with assets of, say, $2 million which
wants toback the sales barn facility, I
think it would be very likely that (the
FPB) would approve the licence,”
Dr. Henry explained.
Mr. Brindley confirms that the
figures that the FPB required
depend upon the average weekly
Continued on page 6