HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-12-19, Page 1Special Christmas
issue Friday
Showtime
Area schools prepare
for Christmas concerts
See page 5
New Warden
County’s 123rd
Warden named
See page 8
Festival faces
$75,000
deficit
Blyth Festival’s most successful
season ever at the box office turned
into its biggest deficit ever when
the financial report for the season
was presented at the annual meet
ing of the blyth Centre for the Arts
Thursday night.
The Festival attracted 47,000
people during the summer season,
averaging 72.67 per cent paid
attendance for every performance.
It brought an increase in box office
revenues of nearly $93,000 but
reduced government grants and
unexpected expenses left the or
ganization with an accumulated
deficit of $74,892 at the year end on
Oct. 31. The deficit on the summer
operations was $64,227 after trans
fers of funds from other funds
including the “production stabiliz
ation fund'' which includes money
put away for emergency situations
from past years when there wrere
surpluses.
The season featured the largest
productions ever mounted at the
Festival, productions that generally
brought favourable reviews from
both local and national critics.
Advisory Board Member Ross
Procter pointed out that the in
crease in the production costs of
plays totalled $186,000 (up to
$872,142 from $686,094 in 1988).
Don Mc-Caffery, treasurer of the
Centre for the Arts said these large
productions had been budgeted
for, but he said reductions in
government grants from both the
Continued on page 23
Blyth Council
wants more
info before
zoning change
Blyth village council Wednesday
night decided to take no action on a
request for a zoning change to
return north-end property to an
agricultural designation pending
more information from the landow
ners.
Council was responding to a
request from Stephen and David
Webster that the eight acres of
their farm that is within the village
limits be redesignated from resi
dential to agricultural. The Web-
sters had presented a letter from
their lawyer John Schenk which
said the future of the farm is
endangered by the inability of the
family to get a building permit to
expand its dairy barn because the
farm cannot meet the requirements
of the “Code of Practice" which
regulates how close farm buildings
can be built to residential areas.
Under the code of practice, a dairy
barn of the Websters’ size, cannot
be built or expanded if it is 1033
feet off the nearest land zoned for
residential use. Stephen Webster
said that if the eight acres of the
Webster farm that is currently
zoned residential (but has always
been used for farming) w ere desig
nated as agricultural land, the
family w'ould be able to comply
with the distance requirements.
But Reeve Albert Wasson said
he wasn’t sure that it was the
zoning problem that had been
Continued on page 22
VOL. 5 NO 51
serving Brussels, oiyin, Auourn, aeigrave, ttnei,
Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1989.50 CENTS
Christmas magic
This year's early descent of winter may not please many people with heating bills but it has added a
touch of Christmas magic to the landscape. Although construction at Bly th's Memorial Hall has left
an ugly scar, snow and the Christmas decoration lend a fairland quality.
Ethel baby
dies in fall
An 11-month-old Ethel boy is
dead as the result of a head injury
sustained after a fall that occurred
at his home on December 11.
According to spokesperson from
the Wingham OPP, Christopher
Bateman of Mill St. Ethel was
home with his father, Rob Nose
worthy when he apparently fell
from a couch and struck his head.
Mr. Noseworthy called for an
ambulance and the boy was rushed
to Listowel Memorial Hospital at 7
pm. He was transferred to Victoria
Hospital in London where he
remained on life support system,
until the following day when they
were disconnected. He died the
same day.
The official cause of death,
according to a police report, is
cerebral edema caused by severe
head trauma.
The infant’s mother Glenda
Bateman was working at the time
of the accident.
Following a police investigation
the death has been concluded to be
accidental.
Auburn fire almost
got out of hand
The Blyth and District Fire
Department was called to an
Auburn-area house Wednesday
night to extinguish a chimney fire
that had spread into the attic of the
home.
Firemen were called about 9:30
p.m. to the home of Ross Daer, on
County Rd. 25, two miles east of
Auburn. Flames were shooting
from the chimney as firemen
arrived and, more ominously,
smoke was pouring from the attic.
Fire Chief Paul Josling said that
about $1,000 damage was done to
the house (mostly to one room) as
firemen had to rip out part of a
ceiling and walls to get at the fire in
the attic.
Christmas issue
Friday
There will be one more issue of
The Citizen in the decade.
A special Christmas issue of The
Citizen will go out Friday morning
to area homes. There will be no
issue between Christmas and New
Year’s as our staff takes holidays.
The Brussels office is closed until
December 28.
The Blyth office will be open
Tuesday and Wednesday, Decem
ber 19 and 20, then closed until
December 28.