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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-03-14, Page 3THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019. PAGE 3. 401 Albert Street, Box 340, Brussels, ON N0G 1H0 Phone: 519-887-6336 ~ Fax: 519-887-6438 email: riversidefuneralhome@hotmail.com www.riversidefuneralhome.ca Nominate someone you know who doesn’t have a subscription to The Citizen but should! Promoting our Community CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, December 13, 2018 Volume 34 No. 49 RESPONSE- Pg. 3 Morris-Turnberry Mayor calls for autonomy CONCERT- Pg. 6 Brussels Ministerial comes together for show FUNDING - Pg. 2 Education Minister in Blyth to hand out grants Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0 INSIDE THIS WEEK: Seaforth’s Fisher elected Huron East Deputy-Mayor 4-H Clubs awarded Seaforth Councillor Bob Fisher isHuron East’s new deputy-mayor, besting two others who put their names forward at the inauguralmeeting of Huron East Council onDec. 4. Fisher, Tuckersmith Councillor Ray Chartrand and Grey CouncillorAlvin McLellan all let their names stand for the municipality’s second- in-command position. This came after Huron East eliminated the at- large deputy-mayor position,reducing the size of council from 12members to 11 just ahead of October’s election. It was Fisher who nominatedChartrand for the position.Chartrand then paid the favour back by nominating Fisher. Former Deputy-Mayor Joe Stefflernominated McLellan for theposition. Fisher told his fellow councillors that he has lived in the community for over 40 years. In addition, he has been a councillor for 12 years andspent nearly 40 years in business, allexperience he felt would aid in being the deputy-mayor. Fisher also listed a number ofprojects he’d like to see undertakenor continued both in Huron East and in Huron County. In Huron East, Fisher said hewanted to see the municipality’scommunity centres better utilized and to promote a harmonious relationship between residents of all of Huron East’s five wards. At the county level, Fisher said hewanted to see a greater focus ontourism, saying that Huron County could easily be the Prince Edward County of southwestern Ontario. Healso said that while the county’saccessibility advisory committee has done a lot of great work, there is still more to be done.Fisher also said that, as someonewho is legally blind, he also hoped that being named deputy-mayor would inspire others with disabilities saying that if they “get [their] ass off the couch and do something” like he has they can accomplish anything.McLellan said that his decades of experience as a councillor and on numerous boards and committeeswould make him an ideal choice forthe deputy-mayor position. He said that being self-employed would ensure that he wouldn’t missany meetings, adding that he hates tomiss any council meetings. He said he had been asked if he The Huron County 4-H Leaders’Association Awards Program wasrecently held at the Seaforth Agriplex, recognizing 4-H members for their efforts throughout the year.COUNTY AWARDS Loretta Higgins won the Murray Cardiff Award for Top All-RoundMember.The Don Pullen Award for highest overall score in the county went to Evy Verschaeve. She also won theDedication Award for dedication tothe club. The Warden’s Novice Award for first year competitive member with the highest score wentto Emily Datema. The Ben Lobb Award for the junior member with the top essay went to Kayla Drennan.Emily Franken won the OntarioPlowmen’s Association Award for outstanding agricultural 4-H member as well as the LongstandingGraduating Member Award. Shealso received her graduation seal. The Citizen-Rural Voice Awards for press reporter book competitionawards went to Dugald McIntosh (first) and Mercedes Prout (second). The Huron County 4-H Leaders’Association Award for clubsecretary book competition were awarded to Emily Bieman (first) and Kayla Drennan (second).The winning team for the countyGo for the Gold Competition was the South Huron Sheep Club Team which consisted of Amanda Bos,Rachel Gras, Grace Hallahan andEvy Verschaeve. The Top Gate Sign Award for the White Christmas The snow was falling on Friday night as Clinton held the final Santa Claus parade of the Huron County season, bringing residents and visitors out to the town to help celebrate the holiday season. One of the main attractions of the parade every year is the Clinton Pipe Band, seen here appealing to the ears of all in attendance. (Nick Vinnicombe photo)Continued on page 12 REALIZE YOUR DREAM IN IT TO WIN IT: brought to you by the Libro Prosperity Fund, Wingham BIA, North Huron Economic Development Committee, Huron County Economic Development and Community Futures Huron. Enter the In It to Win It contest to Win! $10,000 Prize Package. Receive invaluable (mandatory) business training to give you a good foundation in your dream to expand an existing business or establish a new business on Main Street in Wingham. Full details at www.northhuron.ca Contest opens December 12 Applications will be accepted until January 25th, 2019 at 4:30 pmForms are available online or at the Township of North Huron office at 275 Josephine Street in Wingham Email: inittowinit@northhuron.caor call the Project Co-ordinator at 519-441-7629. Continued on page 15 By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Recipient will be announced in the last paper of the month. Riverside Funeral Home will sponsor one new subscription per month. Call, email or fax your submission to Riverside Funeral Home - include person’s name, complete mailing address and your name and number. See the hand of God in all the barbarisms and incivilities of men! (Thomas Watson) “The Almighty has afflicted me!” Ruth 1:21 “The cup which My Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:11 All the injuries and unkind treatments we meet with from others, do not come to us by chance, but are ordained by the all-wise God for our good. Many are like the foolish cur that snarls at the stick, never looking to the hand that swung it. If we looked higher than instruments, our hearts would grow meek and calm. Instruments can no more stir until God gives them a commission--than the axe can cut by itself without a hand. David looked beyond Shimei’s rage: “Let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him!” 2 Samuel 16:11 What wisdom for Christians--to see the hand of God in all the barbarisms and incivilities of men!Job eyed God in his affliction, and that meekened his spirit: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised!” Job 1:21. He does not say, The Chaldeans have taken away--but “The Lord has taken away.” Whoever brings an affliction, it is God who sends it. “God has sovereign right to dispose of us as He pleases. We ought to acquiesce in all that God does with us and to us.” William Carey “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other!” Ecclesiastes 714 “Shall we poor worms give laws to our supreme Lord and Governor, and oblige Him always to bless and favour us, and never to afflict us?” Matthew Poole “What? Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad?” Job 2:10 A Grace Gem Submitted by: Immanuel United Reformed Church, Listowel, ON 519-291-1956 By Mikayla Ansley Kindness is a simple but powerful thing. It can be as small as a smile or a wave, or as big as sponsoring a child. Even if you don’t realize that you are doing it, that can still make someone’s day. Kindness matters more than you think. My name is Mikayla and I have been legally blind since the age of two. I had a rare cancer called bilateral retinoblastoma, which is a cancer that affects both of the eyes. Because of that cancer I had to lose my left eye and lost most of my vision in my right eye. It was this tragedy that taught me the lifeline of kindness. How to be thankful for what I have instead of wanting more. During my cancer journey, my parents had to quit their jobs and be at the hospital with me all the time. I’m so thankful to all the people who held our hands through it all, by donating toys, blankets and money so that this family could stay on our feet. It is because of that experience I am on a mission to change the world with kindness, by helping others through their dark times like they helped me through my cancer. In the past, I have written a letter to the minister of Australia in hopes I would change his decision of not allowing the refugees in to his country. Taking their sanitation, food and water away from the refugee camps so that they would leave his country is intolerable. Hopefully my letter was the smallest bit of a difference, people like that need to change. Also I organized a fundraiser at my school, to buy teddy bears for the orphan and abandoned children in Haiti. Because I believe every child deserves something to hold on to and love. I know that the world needs more of that kindness, to live in peace and friendship, without war or abuse. For everyone to believe they are truly safe and happy. Sometimes life can be tough and you might feel like the whole world is against you, believe me as a stubborn legally blind girl it has happened more than once. If you just keep being kind to one another, it can make yours and everyone’s world brighter. If the whole world was filled with smiles and laughter, everything would be great. One day everyone will believe in their hearts, that kindness really truly matters. Kindness matters: Ansley Huron Group wants heritage plan delayed for study A collection of residents calling themselves the Huron Group spoke to Huron County Council at its March 6 meeting, imploring council to authorize an economic impact study before implementing the Natural Heritage Plan. Brussels-area resident John Schwartzentruber led the presentation, speaking to council on behalf of the dozens of supporters in attendance at the Goderich meeting that day. The Natural Heritage Plan was first raised by the Huron County Planning and Development Department several years ago as a way to incorporate improved mapping around the county. The department has said this mapping is especially important in regards to protecting natural resources like tree cover and wetlands, among others. Some, however, have been concerned that the plan oversteps property rights and they have spoken out against it vigorously. With a stated goal of reaching 30 per cent forest cover across the county, Schwartzentruber said that with the county currently at 16.5 per cent forest cover, the additional 16- 20 per cent would be taken from productive farmland. The county has consistently denied this claim, saying that forest cover will be increased through voluntary stewardship projects and no one will be forced to convert their productive farmland into forest cover. Schwartzentruber said the group is also concerned about buffer zones near natural heritage features on land. Again, however, Director of Planning and Development Sandra Weber said that the buffer zones discussed in the Natural Heritage Plan are “review” zones near natural heritage features, meaning that either Forest Conservation Officer Dave Pullen or the Huron County biologist would review plans for land near those features and ensure plans wouldn’t jeopardize them in any way. She reminded council that the provincial government has suggested a 120-metre buffer around any natural heritage features and provincially-significant wetlands. However, Huron County opted to stick with its existing 50-metre setback. She also told council that the plan is simply a consolidation of numerous environmental practices at the county planning level that are already in place and being used, just with improved accuracy thanks to more current mapping. Schwartzentruber said that he and the group are concerned about the effects the plan could have on assessment value, tax base, revenue and land values. He also said there should be a plan in place to offset a number of consequences that, in his opinion, would occur as a result of the plan, including diminished agricultural production and the spread of invasive species. He said the study should include an estimate of farmland acres that would be lost to the Natural Heritage Plan, an estimate of lost private property value in Huron County, forecasting that it could exceed $1.2 billion. He also suggested that the plan could have an impact on collateral value to lenders, suggesting that while the plan would be looked upon as policy now, it could grow and expand into regulations in the future. Schwartzentruber said he felt the plan would negatively affect agri- business and drastically reduce food production in Ontario’s most productive agricultural region at a time when the world’s population is growing and more food than ever is needed. Huron County Warden Jim Ginn said that while the county’s goal would be to move towards 30 per cent forest cover, growth in that arena would be very slow. He said that it took Huron County 100 years to get from 12 per cent to 16.5 per cent. Maybe, Ginn said, the county will be lucky and get to 20 per cent, which would be a good thing for the county, but that growth would be as a result of private stewardship efforts and not forcing farmers to take prime agricultural land out of production to plant trees. Ginn did suggest, however, that improved wording could likely be employed in the Natural Heritage Plan technical document if targets and methods are unclear and being misinterpreted. Weber reiterated that the planning department has absolutely no intention of taking agricultural land out of production and converting it to natural environment features. Schwartzentruber said he didn’t doubt that the planning department’s intentions may be good now, but how things could potentially change down the road was what really concerned him. He shared a story about a landowner in an Ontario municipality (he didn’t care to share specifics without the person’s permission) who, at one point, had 160 acres of workable land. That was eventually whittled down to 90 acres of workable land after he allowed environmental measures to be taken on his land. Ginn said he would like to know more about the story and that it would be difficult to comment on the specifics without knowing any of the details. Schwartentruber said that regulation like the Natural Heritage Plan doesn’t take “feelings” into consideration and that regulation always trends in the direction of expansion, never contraction, which, again, concerned him greatly. He said that the county is moving in the right direction (citing a presentation by Doug Hocking of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority earlier that morning on the Clean Water Project and various stewardship initiatives in the county) in that environmental stewardship is expanding and forest cover is growing, so it shouldn’t be forced upon farmers. He said it was important for the county not to push farmers any farther. Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Deputy-Reeve Roger Watt said he didn’t think the type of study Schwartzentruber was suggesting was necessary, but that he appreciated his presentation. Several councillors spoke in favour of Watt’s opinion, saying that spending money on a study would be a waste. Council took no official action as a result or Schwartzentruber’s presentation. By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Thrilling The Brussels Skating Club held its year-end performance last week, including a performance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, shown above. From left: Olivia Terpstra, Carlee Smith, Amber Ryan and Ava Rombouts. (Shawn Loughlin photo)