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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1992-06-17, Page 1News_________I________Sports________I Entertainment MP Murray Cardiff presents lawn bowling club with New Horizons grant See page 2 Brussels Tigers just keep on winning See page7 Puff 'rt' Blow Boys opens Blyth Festival's 18th season See page 23 Blyth budget raises taxes by 3.91 percent Vol. 8 No. 24 Wednesday, June 17,1992 60 cents Reid exhibition opening The Honourable Henry N.R. Jackman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario was present for the Blyth Festival Art Gallery's opening of the George Agnew Reid exhibition in the Bainton Gallery Friday evening. To the right is Blyth Festival's board of Director's president, Gayle Waters. MP gets penitentiary submission BY LARRY CARDIFF "To sell Huron County as a whole" was the main topic of con cern al the Clinton Town Hall, Thursday, June 11, as municipali ties gathered together to review the draft county submission for a new medium security penitentiary. With the information gathered, Development Department Senior Planner Scott Tousaw said he hoped it would "change the percep tion of Huron County and ensure it as part of the Ontario link." Mr. Tousaw stated that we must assure the Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) that Huron County is capable of overcoming any travel barriers, that it has the necessary resources and facilities. "Above all, we must convince them of our will ingness to support the proposal," he said. Proximity to the home communi ty of the majority of offenders and the availability of economical and frequent commercial transportation systems are among the criteria for the medium security penitentiary. Other items in the community selection criteria include availabili ty of health care services, substance abuse treatment centres, education facilities, specialized on-site ser vices, and emergency response capabilities. Special emphasis will also be given to the overall cost of the land. There appeared to be some mis understanding and concern amongst various municipality rep resentatives over the importance of providing pre-selected sites. In reponse to these concerns, Mr. Tousaw said, "We can not at this time choose one site from all the land available when we don't know what they want." "If Huron County doesn't make the first cut, it will not be because of lack of specific sites, but because it doesn't meet the other macro factors," Mr. Tousaw said. "We can, however, suggest a vari ety of areas in Huron County that are available." Proposed site locations are in the Brussels area, the Wingham area, South Clinton, South Goderich, the Seaforth area, and at Huron Park. Blyth Festival part ofTVO series The Blyth Festival will be fea tured on a four-part TV Ontario and the Ontario Arts Council television series Putting on the Arts, which begins Thursday, June 18. The series is designed to help staff and volunteer board members run suc cessful performing arts organiza tions. Actor Don Harron, a veteran community theatre performer and board member, guides viewers through the four key areas of art management. Each half-hour pro gram features two case studies that illustrate how an arts group has dealt with a key issue successfully. Other profiles are on Toronto's Community acceptance will be important for the choosing of a site for the new penitentiary, and once again Mr. Tousaw emphasized the importance of letters of support from local clubs, organizations and churches in each municipality. Mr. Tousaw said, that thus far he had not heard of any municipal opposition to Huron County's sub mission for the new medium secu rity penitentiary. The submission will be finalized this week, delivered to M.P. Mur ray Cardiffs office, who will per sonally present it to the CSC for consideration. Submissions for consideration by the CSC must be in by June 30. Danny Grossman Dance Company, Sudbury Northern Lights — Festi val Boreal, Nepean's Centrepointe Theatre Volunteer Company, Collingwood's Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts, the Wind sor Symphony, the Markham The atre and Niagara-on-the-Lake's Theatre Beyond Words. Putting on the Arts audience includes the 40,000 Ontarians directly involved in the arts as pre senters or producers of music, the atre and dance performances, though it will appeal to the general public as it explores the scope and richness of Ontario's performing arts from travelling puppeteers to community folk festivals. Blyth residents can expect an average overall increase of 3.19 percent in the mill rate as the result of a budget passed by council at its June 10 meeting. It was not without some hesita tion that the budget passed, but with no money in reserves, and a deficit from last year of $3,460, councillors were left with few options. Councillor John Elliott ques tioned why, if there was an increased assessment of $9 million and a reduction in expenditures from $733,779 last year to $533,318 this year, the mill rate couldn't at least be held. Clerk Helen Grubb explained that a lot of the project money needed last year was not raised by tax dollars so more has to be raised by the village this year. In 1991 $213,934 was to be raised by taxes, while this year's budget shows a total of $248,317 to be raised. Also, without the reserves to pull in on the revenue side, she said, a large part must come from taxes. TO’s Winged Wheels in Rutabaga parade Believe it or not but orders for Blyth Rutabaga Festival cookbooks are coming from as far away as Montreal. The Montreal Gazette and Toronto Sun did a feature story on the Village of Blyth's upcoming festival and information requests are pouring in. If you've passed by the Christ mas and Country store window in Blyth, you've seen Betsy the cow (borrowed from owner John Rut ledge) proudly displayed, advertis ing the upcoming Betsy Bingo contest. For only $3.00 you can purchase a ticket (2 tickets for $5.00) and possibly win $1000.00 if Betsy deposits her belongings on your lucky square. Blyth Rutabaga Festival organizers are keeping secret the celebrity cow's where abouts. In addition to the first prize, there will be four prizes of $100.00 each. Watch the store windows in Blyth this week for rutabaga deco O clair de la lune... Astronomy lovers might have had the luck to see a lunar eclipse around 11:30 p.m. Sunday night. Unfortunately the eclipse couldn't be seen for long as the clouds eventually moved in and blocked the later part of the show. Councillor Elliott asked what the $9,500 set aside for office renova tions and equipment represented and was told it was for a burglar system, fax, work station, filing system and a postage metre. These are all tentative and; Councillor Steve Sparling said, will each be evaluated on its own merits before purchased. "There is then the possibility of reserves at the end of this year as that amount may not be spent, which is something we are hoping for," said Reeve Dave Lee. "As long as this isn't carved in stone," said Councillor Elliot." "Not a chance," Councillor Spar ling responded, adding that any fur ther cuts could result in problems over the long-term. Looking at the limited options they had, council lors had made prudent reductions, he said, but any further cuts would just prolong the inevitable. "This budget is just a framework. Each of us would like to hold the line, but I don't believe we can this year," he said rations. Windows will be judged on Tuesday, June 23 and awards will be given to the most creative mer chant displays. One of the highlights of the parade promises to be the Metro Toronto Police Department's Winged Wheels. Their squadron of 25 motorcycles will perform their precision drills on the main street of Blyth just after the 11:00 am parade on Saturday, June 27. If you're entering a float or anything that moves with a rutabaga theme, contact Parade Organizer, Bruce Papple at 523-4322. More volun teers are needed to help on the day of the parade. Blyth Rutabaga Festival sou venirs are on sale all week long with tickets to the pork chop supper held on Saturday, June 27 available from the Blyth Festival Box Office and Elliott Insurance. Tickets are $8.00 for adults and children 12 and under $4.00.