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The Citizen, 1992-04-08, Page 1Contest News Government Sports Easter colouring fun See page 3 East Wawanosh municipal office gets new home See page 8 Huron County's municipal officers meet in Blyth See page 13 Brussels hockey players honoured at banquet See page 14,15 Taxpayers stuck with handicapped access renovations BY LISA BOONSTOPPEL-POT It looks like local taxpayers will once again be forced to foot the bill CitizenTheNorthHuron Vol. 8 No. 14 Wednesday, April 8,1992 60 cents The lucky ones Blyth volunteer firefighters battled a barn fire for four hours on Friday morning at the Hullett township property of Steve Kochis. Seventy-two sows, six boars and 140 weaners perished in the blaze. Though it is difficult to determine the exact cause of the fire, due to the extent of damage, Blyth Fire Chief Paul Josling says it is believed to have started as a result of rats chewing electrical wires. Brussels council accepts rec. budget Brussels Council voted Monday night to accept the budget of the Brussels, Morris and Grey Recre­ ation Committee, but to recom­ mend money to spend on energy-efficient lighting be put aside for future needs instead. The budget showed $14,000 for capital expenditures for this year: $4000 for a safety valve for the compressor, $4000 for develop­ ment of the recently acquired seven acres behind the arena and $6000 for installation of energy-efficient lighting in the arena. In addition, $4000 was to be set aside in a reserve for future capital expenses. But councillors, led by Mary Stretton, the village's representative for handicapped access renovations since the provincial government has denied a request for funds. on the Recreation Committee, felt the $6000 for new lighting should also be set aside for future capital needs. Councillors recognized that once they had approved the budget it was up to the recreation commit­ tee how the money is spent and it could ignore the village's recom­ mendation. Already Grey Town­ ship council, in approving the budget, had recommended that the $4000 for development of the new property be diverted to the capital reserve. Council asked Bill Aitchison of B&G Electric to speak to them about the proposal for the lighting. He had to deal with the scepticism of councillors such as Reeve Gor­ Local taxpayers have already paid for $800,000 worth of renova­ tions in Huron County schools and don Workman who said of the pro­ posed savings of electricity bills: "I just don't believe that b.s." Pigs die in barn fire Hundreds of pigs perished in a bam fire in Hullett township on Fri­ day, April 3. Blyth Fire Chief Paul Josling said volunteer firefighters were called at 8:04 a.m. to a fire at Lot 22, Cone. 8, owned by Steve Kochis. By the time they arrived, Chief Josling said, the bam was fully involved in flame. It took four hours for the blaze to be completely extinguished. A total this year, could pay for approxi­ mately $75,000 more. The HCBE requested capital grant money to help cover the cost of renovating some schools in its 1991 Capital Expenditure Forecast. The request was denied in a letter sent to the HCBE March 5 from the Ministry of Education's Director of School Business and Finance, J.F. Rees. The letter stated because HCBE placed higher priority on such pro­ jects as roofing and asbestos removal, it was given $300,000 to help cover those costs and won't receive additional funding for pro- Mr. Aitchison presented an ener­ gy analysis that showed that with a Continued on page 12 of 72 sows, six boars and 140 weaners died. The value of the ani­ mals is $27,000, Chief Josling said. He estimates the damage to the property, to be in the neighbour­ hood of $50,000. The cause of the fire can not be positively determined, he said, due to the extent of the damage, but it is believed that it was the result of rats chewing through electrical wires. vision of access to the disabled. But HCBE's Superintendent of Business and Operations, Paul Car­ roll, said disabled accessibility was given high priority in the 1991 CEF. "Accessibility is a high priority and was at the top of the list for consideration under capital grants for handicapped projects," he said. This isn't the first lime the gov­ ernment has refused to allocate any handicapped access funding to HCBE. In fact, it's denied funding numerous times, said Mr. Carroll. That's why local taxes have always covered this cost. So far, all the major renovations have been completed at the board's elementary schools said Mr. Car­ roll. However, four of the board's secondary schools- Central Huron Secondary School, F.E. Madill, Seaforth Secondary School and South Huron Secondary School­ still require extensive renovation. Renovations are currently taking place at South Huron to the tune of $65-75,000 but it still requires another $40,000 in renovations. Mr. Carroll estimates CHSS needs $198,000 worth of renova­ tions; Seaforth approximately $150,000 and F.E. Madill a stag­ gering $250,000. The Ministry of Education stated in its letter consideration would be given to future funding allocation if HCBE gives accessibility funding "a high priority in its 1992 CEF." Huron County MPP, Paul Klopp wrote the HCBE and stated "I can understand your frustration in not being able to provide all the ser­ vices you would like to. However, in view of the economic situation this province is in, we are all being asked to re-evaluate and prioritise our needs." Support, but no money, yet for Festival Blyth councillors could promise no money yet, but did give a very positive response when Blyth Festi­ val officers appeared before council March 31, seeking their annual grant. Festival President Gayle Waters and General Manager Ray Salverda appeared before council and requested a grant of $1,750, the same as the last two years. Ms Waters said that in times of eco­ nomic hardship, the Festival real­ ized the councillors had tough decisions to make but hoped they would be able to give the same level of support as in the past. In her presentation, she pointed out the Festival now generates $1.6 million in the area in direct eco­ nomic activity and $2.1 million when the "ripple" effect it calculat­ ed in and that nation-wide, the Fes­ tival has an impact of $3.8 million. "We all have to admit the theatre does a lot for main street," Reeve Dave Lee said. Referring to past complaints about the difficulty of finding parking on main street dur­ ing theatre season he said "It's nice to have a parking problem in a small town. It means there's some­ thing happening." Councillor John Elliott said it was early in the budgeting process to give a firm answer but "I would certainly think that if the Blyth Continued on page 12