HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-08-04, Page 1See page 6 See page 19
itizen
The North Huron
Vol 9 No.31 Wednesday, August 4 1993
600 OST included
Crops begin to fall
The local area has seen several days of hot weather which has made it ideal for taking off
crops. Many farmers are beginning to harvest wheat and barley fieldS as well as a second
cutting of hay.
Business
Brussels business
changes hands,
location too
See page 2
History remembered
McGowan family
members recall days of
McGowan Settlement
Review
`Old Man's Band' plays
sweet music to theatre
reviewer's ear
Blyth taxes to increase
3.14% as council adopts
1993 budget cuts
At a special budget meeting on
July 28, Blyth councillors approved
a budget proposal that would
increase the overall public school
taxes by 3.14% and the separate
school by 1.44%.
The village share of 2.11'% of the
overall hike is needed to raise
$257,036.
This means that on an average
assessment of $78,000, taxes for
the public school supporter would
increase from last year's figure of
$1,566.47 to $1,615.64. The sepa-
rate school taxes on the same
assessment would increase from of
$1,622.24 to $1,645.67.
Council will pass the by-law at
its next meeting.
Included in the budget is continu-
ation of the Morris St. construction.
The total cost for this project and
additional road work has been set at
$119,742. However grant money
will cover 50 percent of this figure.
Budget talks also centred around
ways to meet the demands of the
Social Contract.
The original plan had been for
municipalities to cut $10,000 from
their budget through salaries. After
averaging all municipal employees'
salaries it was decided that only
those over $30,000 would be
affected.
However the Association of
Muncipalities of Ontario (AMO)
voiced its objections to the provin-
cial government that this would not
work in rural centres due to the
minimal number of people in that
wage bracket.
According to Blyth Clerk-Trea-
surer Helen Grubb the Ministry of
Municipal Affairs sent a calculation
form to the rural Ontario munici-
palities to determine what their
share should be using figures from
the 1992 financial return.
Ms Grubb says, Blyth's share was
determined to be $4,992.37, which
will be whittled from the budget
through a reduction in part-time
staffing at the clerk's office (an
annual savings of $1,900) and by
having the landfill site open only
on Saturdays, which will save
Blyth $2,500.
As well, there has been an addi-
tional savings this year of over
$3,000 due to the hiring of summer
students to fill in for a regular
employee currently on Worker's
Compensation.
Following the meeting with
council, Ms Grubb said she
informed the Ministry of council's
plans for cutbacks and was told
they were acceptable.
"The province has recognized
that in rural Ontario there are provi-
sions that the municipalities will
have to do rather than making cuts
through salaries," says Ms Grubb.
"If we rolled back the salaries of
the three village employees who
make over $30,000 it wouldn't even
meet half of the proposed amount."
Robin Dunbar an assistant with
MPP Paul Klopp's office says that
originally the province had intend-
ed for the cuts to be compensation
driven, but realized that wouldn't
work in rural areas. "The approach
now is for an overall cost reduction
for the municipal sector. This can
be worked out by the municipalities
to make the program work for
themselves."
Whatever plan a municipality
decides on must be posted for the
employees to see, Mr. Dunbar said.
They in turn have 10 days to object.
Following that it is sent to the
province and will have to be fol-
lowed for three years.
Recycling situation 'a disgrace', Blyth clerk says
The joint meeting of Blyth and
Hullett Council on July 27, was
again presented with recycling
information by Gary Kay, a mem-
ber of the Minister of the Environ-
ment in London.
One man has been charged and
two others are awaiting charges fol-
lowing a string of break-ins early
Friday morning at area variety
stores.
The burglars were foiled in an
attempt to steal cigarettes at Brus-
sels Variety after they forced the
front door open about 3:30 a.m..
The cigarettes in the store were
locked inside a steel cage, bolted
into concrete so the thieves gave up
their efforts.
They had more success at Sam's
General Store in Wroxeter about
4:15 a.m. They broke a window in
the front door, unlocked the door
Since accepting the request by
Turnberry Twp. to accept their
household waste, the Blyth-Hullett
landfill site committee has been
informed by the ministry, on ways
to properly maintain the site as well
and once inside stole 50 cartons of
cigarettes and some T-shirts.
During the same night Mino's
Mini Meat Market in Gorrie was
also burglarized. The thieves pried
open the front door and stole 30
cartons of cigarettes.
Friday night Grand Bend O.P.P.
pulled over a car that had been
spotted in Wroxeter near the time
of the break-in. Two men in the car
face charges of possession of stolen
property. Subsequently, police exe-
cuted a search warrant on the home
of Mark Keddy of Seaforth and he
has been charged with possession
of stolen property.
as ways to not significantly
decrease the life of the site.
The implementation of a good
recycling program is essential, says
Blyth Clerk-Treasurer Helen
Grubb.
"At present, the state of recycling
in Blyth is a disgrace," she says.
With the use of a few simple meth-
ods, the household waste going into
the landfill could be reduced by one
third to one half. This alone would
cut the costs for covering the site.
In addition, if each home in Blyth
had less garbage to put out on the
curb because of recycling glass,
plastics and paper, pick-ups could
possibly be reduced to once or
twice per month, says Ms Grubb.
This would therefore cut the costs
paid to the contractor who does the
curbside-pickup.
She says the easiest and most
cost efficient method would be to
install collection bins at central
spots for easy drop off and to place
garbage in clear bags so the con-
tractor could separate the recy-
clables at the landfill site.
By reducing what goes into the
landfill from Blyth and Hullett, the
addition of Turnberry household
waste would not be a problem, she
says. This would also allow the
$50,000 paid by Turnberry, for the
service, to be put away and used for
The Maitland Valley
Conservation Authority (MVCA) is
inviting the public to make
nominations for the Authority's
1993 Conservation Awards. The
awards are designed to recognize
the efforts of conservationists in
protecting or improving the
environment.
"The health of the environment,
including soil and water resources,
is important to everyone" noted
George Wicke, MVCA chair. "The
conservation authority would like
to recognize the important work
future maintenance costs.
Ms Grubb says by co-operating
completely with a recycling pro-
gram and agreeing to the site being
opened only on Saturdays, the com-
munity will go a long way towards
maintaining their site and cutting
costs for council.
that individuals and groups are
doing, that often goes unnoticed."
An award could be presented for
any of a number of activities that
conserve the environment. Included
are tree planting, preserving or
restoring wetlands, forest
management, conservation farming
practices, education, and recycling,
to name a few. This is the fifth year
the awards have been presented.
For more information or to
nominate an individual or group,
contact the Maitland Valley
Continued on page 2
3 men apprehended following
break-ins across north Huron MVCA invites nominations
for conservation awards