The Citizen, 2019-01-03, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019. PAGE 9.
North Huron Council began its
annual budget process, with staff at
first proposing a tax increase of
nearly 15 per cent to cover increased
spending and reduced funding from
upper-tier levels of government.
Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces,
Better Jobs Act, was already
beginning to impact local
businesses, through both staff
reductions and increased prices
being passed down to customers.
Some business owners said
they didn’t want to have to raise
prices, knowing it would affect
their customer base, but that
increased salaries and increased
costs from suppliers might make it
unavoidable.
Blyth native Justin Peters, an
alumnus of the Blyth Minor Hockey
system, was one of three goalies
named to the Canadian men’s
hockey team destined for the Winter
Olympics in South Korea.
Peters was joined by Ben
Scrivens, formerly of the Toronto
Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings,
and Kevin Poulin of the Austrian
Hockey League.
Peters had been playing in
Germany for the season and said that
representing his country would be
the proudest moment of his hockey
career.
In light of skyrocketing farm
property values, the Huron County
Federation of Agriculture was
asking Huron County Council to
adjust its farm tax rate to ease the
burden on farmers.
Representative Rob Vanden
Hengel suggested a subtle, gradual
increase to ease the sudden burden
on farmers. However, many
councillors weren’t in favour of his
proposal, because it meant other tax
classes, like residential and
commercial property owners, would
have to pick up the slack in the face
of a ratio shift at the county level.
Blyth native Orie Falconer was on
the cusp of becoming a well-known
name in the video gaming industry
when Way of the Passive Fist was
released in the coming weeks.
Falconer produced the music for
the game and had put many hours
into its production. It would be
released on all major gaming
platforms in the weeks to come.
At the second of two public
meetings on the matter, members of
the public demonstrated clear
support for retaining the Wingham
Police Service.
Council was mulling three options
in regards to policing in North
Huron: eliminating the Wingham
Police Service and employing the
OPP to serve the entire municipality,
expanding the Wingham Police
Service to cover the entire
municipality or to maintain the
status quo of split-level service
between the municipality’s three
wards.
Working in the face of the
announcement that the Blyth branch
of the CIBC would be closing later
in the year, several concerned
citizens created a petition to keep the
bank in the village.
Dorothy Cummings was formally
installed as the new president of the
Brussels Agricultural Society, taking
over from Matt Cardiff, who was the
youngest president in the
organization’s history.
In anticipation of its Wing Night at
the Boot project, the Blyth Festival
and specifically its Artistic Director
Gil Garratt were looking for historic
stories about the fabled bar and
restaurant, asking members of the
public to come forward and share
theirs to be included in the
production that coming summer.
Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa
Thompson honoured 40 constituents
with Remarkable Citizen Awards.
Locals receiving awards included
Grant Sparling, Matt Townsend,
Gerry Wheeler, Jamie McCallum,
Yvonne Kitchen and Shirley
Dinsmore, among others.
Paul Josling, the late Blyth fire
chief and co-founder of the Dave
Mounsey Memorial Fund, was to be
honoured with a special defibrillator
donation by the fund at the year’s
Run Around The Square in
Goderich.
The Brussels Leo Club celebrated
its fifth anniversary with a special
event held at the Brussels Four
Winds Barn, marking a number of
achievements over that time.
Nearly 40 attended the inaugural
meeting of Sing Sing Sing at the
Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre, a community
choral group that brought together
residents and local musicians to
spend time together through song.
Grant Sparling, vice-president and
general manager of Blyth Cowbell
Brewing Company, was honoured
with a Rural Ontario Leaders Award
from Minister of Agriculture, Food
and Rural Affairs Jeff Leal.
Sparling’s award was one of five
handed out that night.
Blyth native Justin Peters was on
the bench in the back-up goalie role
as the Canadian men’s hockey team
cruised to a bronze medal with a
victory over the Czech Republic.
Peters said it was truly a dream
come true to earn an Olympic medal
as a member of a Canadian hockey
team.
The 2017 International Plowing
Match (IPM) committee held a
special wrap-up meeting in Blyth
Blyth’s Peters chosen for Olympic team as 2018 begins
Volleyball, easy on the snow
The Blyth Lions Club held its annual snow volleyball tournament in late February, 2018,
although it was soon clear it would be more of a mud volleyball tournament. (File photo)
Career-defining
Blyth’s Justin Peters was a member of the Canadian men’s
hockey team that won Olympic bronze in South Korea with
a final defeat of the Czech Republic in February. (File photo)
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January
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