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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-03-25, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25,1992. Ready to go Larry Rice, owner of Brussels Motors, left, hands over the keys to six new trucks to Huron County shop foremean Joe Stettler. Environmental group seeking renewed activity Communication key in development BY RHEA HAMILTON-SEEGER One of the main keys to all the work and future projects of the North Huron Community Develop­ ment Committee is simply commu­ nication. That was the message at the meeting held in Howick on March 19. Paul Nichol, of the Huron Coun­ ty Planning Department presented a condensed sheet of objectives, how to's, current initiatives and potential gaps that face all four development groups in the county. To avoid reinventing the wheel, all the groups need to be kept informed of the other's activities and, where possible, invited to take part. As the different special interest groups in North Huron reported to the meeting held in the Howick township council chambers, one of the main problems is finding out about all the sources of help and assistance available and making that information available to the community. Brian Ireland made that message clear when he spoke to the Agricul­ ture committee. John Currie, reported that in North Huron there are more and more distressed farm­ ers making use of the Queens Bush Rural Ministry. Yet, in the southern area of the county there are very few calls and it could be possible that farmers are not ready for this kind of help. There was a good turnout at the Agriculture meeting earlier in the month and future speakers will cover such topics as stress management. Central Huron is looking into ethanol production and the group there has also advertised for farm families interested in becoming farm vacation spots. “Agriculture is one of the hardest areas to help said Paul Nichol, “since so much is out of our hands. The key word here is flexibility.” Robin Dunbar, Grey township, pointed out that the review of Grey's secondary plan is approach­ ing and that local government will have to make a harder look at land severance policies. Mr. Dunbar said he was a firm supporter of preserv­ ing agriculture through strict land severance policies but it could be that the future of agriculture will be in smaller holdings. It was noted that the same review of industrial areas will have to be looked at carefully. Another way of supporting local industry is to help remove local barriers where possi­ ble to allow for growth and expan­ sion. Areas of concern, or where there could be a gap in supporting local industry, would be cutting through the red tape. There are limitations to what can be done. Helping busi ness people get through the moun tains of paper work would be start. Keeping tabs of local industr and helping with an aid packag when requested are options. Joh Currie commented on a system i Germany where industries facin two months of problems have th bank kick-in with a consulting sei vice to guide the firm back ont more solid ground as opposed t_ prematurely pulling the financial plug. In South Huron a survey of local industry is just being completed and will indicate local concerns in areas of financing, training etc. Pre­ liminary findings are showing that local employers don't know where to turn to for guidance. The need for networking is reflected in the formation of the Huron Employers Group, a loose network of industry members in the county. Recently they became more active and upon reviewing the new labour legislation policies took their concerns to Paul Klopp, MPP for Huron. The Environment committee is holding an open meeting March 25 in the Brussels library. The button battery collection program has had a good response from local mer­ chants and the containers will soon be in the stores for the public to drop their old watch and hearing aid batteries into. . The Economic Development committee has not had a meeting and is frustrated by the lack of information offered in the industrial property listing. Although not com­ plete, what has been seen is not sat­ isfactory said Wray Wilson, Howick township. The education committee is going to circulate a questionnaire to industry business reps to highlight their needs and concerns. The North Huron Community Development group endorsed a study into school drop-outs being co-ordinated by Marlaine Lindsay, an OAC geography student. Ms. Lindsay circulated a sample of the questionnaire which members com­ mented on, offering a few more questions that may indicate in greater detail what causes students to drop out. The form has to be kept short and concise since it is to be filled out in Homeroom and returned before first class. The sur­ vey is part of a geography project. Thirty per cent of Canadian stu­ dents drop out of school. Ms. Lind­ say hopes to leam why there arc so many drop-outs and what are the financial problems with drop-outs such as social costs and loss of labour force that could be trained to I ill gaps in technical positions. Trillium Cable Network, in the Wingham area, taped the Wingham Annual Community Forum and has aired it several times. Denise Wilkins has had several positive comments about the presentation that Donna White made on behalf of the North Huron Community Development Committee that evening. The forum was well attended with about 150 interested citizens hearing about what local groups have done in the past year and what their plans are for the coming year. The Health and Social Services group has come to a standstill since members are busy in the communi­ ty with other projects. Names were suggested as contacts to get the group active again. Members of the tourism business are getting together to share some information at a Brochure Swap and Tourism night April 23 in Ben- miller. The county is releasing a series of tourism brochures high­ lighting various features of the county. Mr. Wilson showed the group an insert he received in some correspondence from the town of Meaford. On one side was a colour photo of cyclists in a shady park setting with a short paragraph on the excellent bicycle trails in the town. On the reverse was the slogan ‘Meaford is open for busi­ ness’ and contact addresses for the economic development department and the municipal office for further inquiries. This illustrates simple yet effective promotion of an area done by local government. There is a Rural Development conference scheduled for October in Goderich which should draw up to 300 people. Local caterers and accommodation will be used and there are plans to offer tours of some of the local businesses or industries. It is international in scope and will show that Huron can be an ideal location for conferences of this size. There is also scheduled an Indus­ try, Science and Technology Info Days, September 15, 16 in Blyth. The first day will serve as an intro­ duction to what is available in ser­ vices and designs and the second day will involve one-on-one con­ sultations. More information will be available later in the summer. Mr. Nichols reported on the out­ come of the information night on HIT AC (Huron Industrial Training Advisory Committee). There is a proposal to redo the boundaries and amalgamate Huron with Middlesex, London, St. Thomas, Oxford and Elgin counties possibly restricting the amount of funding made avail- It could be set that the North Huron Environment Group is hop­ ing to get its second wind al a meeting to be held tonight (March 25) in Brussels Public Library. Brussels Clerk Donna White, who heads the committee said that over Christmas the group, which formed last summer, kind of lost steam and she hopes this meeting will start to get things moving again. Part of the meeting will be to update new people on the group's activities and to determine the number of retailers who will be participating in the button battery collection program. The plan is to collect expended circular batteries for recycling. Mrs. While says that new mem­ bers with new ideas are needed as well as direction for the group that won't cost a lot of money as the able to Huron. It has been suggested that Huron be put in with Perth, Bruce and Grey counties. There is to be a review of the boundary April 7 and everyone, including municipalities, is encouraged to write letters of support for the suggested new change of boundaries to their MPP's and copies to the HIT AC group. Blyth United Continued from page 3. unless each one of us repents of our sins we will all perish spiritually; that is, we will lose eternal life. Jesus also told the parable of the fig tree and how the gardener allowed the tree one more year to produce fruit. Jesus said that.once we repent we must turn from our sins and lead the kind of life God wants us to - thereby producing good, fruit. Even moreso than the gardener, God warns us repeatedly in scripture to repent and turn from our sins. This patience shows his great love and concern for all of us. Rev. Ramirez stressed the impor­ tance of repenting now, today, before it is too late. The service closed with singing of “Come Let Us Sing of a Won­ derful Love.” CHICK DAYS the time to count your chicks before they’re hatched'<M| Order brown or white egg layers, broilers, turkeys, geese & ducks before / jApril 11___ “Chick Pick up Days” M<?y COOP BELGRAVE CO-OP AUBURN CO-OP N ^ 357- 2711 OR 523-4544 5 26-72 62 group is comprised of volunteers. Anyone interested in recycling, environment education and waste reduction is invited to attend. Mrs. While added that a group in Minto township has a membership of over 200 arc therefore have sev­ eral committees comprised for new projects. One of the Minto town­ ship members is moving to Brus­ sels in the spring and Mrs. White feels North Huron is very fortunate that they will likely be gaining her input. Though no guest speaker is scheduled for tonight's meeting Mrs. White hopes in the future to have Joanne Richter, the Co-ordi­ nator of the Huron County Waste Management Committee. UCO to sell ethanol gas UCO Petroleum Inc. (UPI) announced recently that ethanol- blended gasoline will be available at 19 Southwestern Ontario Co-op gas bars starting in May. “This is the first time gasolines blended with ethanol have been made widely available in Ontario for use by the general public,” said UPI Chairman D. G. (Doug) MacKenzie. BLYTH BROOMBALL LEAGUE presents a fun day and evening SATURDAY MARCH 28th, 1992 Allstar and Co-Ed Games ©VE^TOME T©TOM^MEI}O’ Featuring: Seaforth Men vs Blyth Men #1 Teeswater Men vs Blyth Men #2 Seaforth Women vs Blyth Women EVEMWE WELCOME Dance 9 p.m. -1 a.m. MUSIC BY SOUNDPROOF AGE OF MAJORITY ONLY i