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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