HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-03-14, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019.
Letter to the Editor
Burkholder asks council to consider moving hall
THE EDITOR,
To the New Council of North
Huron and the Residents of Blyth
and surrounding area:
Due to the vision of one man and
the countless hours of work of many
firefighters and chiefs who came
before, Blyth was again put on the
map not only for its leather mills and
theatre but for one of the most
enviable fire hall/training centres in
Ontario. That man/fire chief was
John Black, who died way too young
to be able to fully complete that
vision. David Sparling was willing
to step up and carry on that vision as
chief. The centre was becoming a
renowned training facility across the
country under his care and guidance
and those of the firefighters and it
would have continued to grow and
prosper financially.
But, North Huron Council chose to
shut down any growth of the centre
and instead hired two individuals
who had absolutely no experience;
one as chief and the other to look
after the centre. That ended in the
revolt of the firefighters for good
reason, as they could stand no more.
Council said they understood, but
what did they do next, sell the centre
right out from under the firefighters.
The lack of respect by the previous
council to the Fire Department of
North Huron’s Blyth Station and our
community was disturbing,
irresponsible and appalling, to say
the least. I have no idea how they
sleep at night.
We cannot turn back the clock and
undo the tremendous and irreparable
damage that has been done to this
community by the previous council,
but the new council can choose to be
more responsible, smarter and wiser
than the last one.
That means I would like to see
council give members of the Fire
Department of Huron Huron’s Blyth
station full input into the new fire
hall. They are the ones with the
experience and know their
profession. A fire hall is not just for
trucks and training, but can be an
emergency building for our residents
in times of crisis or threat in our
community.
Council does not know and does
not have the expertise in this area at
all and thinking they do is not only
reckless, but irresponsible and it
could create problems that cannot be
rectified, like council already
thinking they could build the fire hall
on a baseball diamond or at the far
end of Blyth on a dead end street,
thankfully they were voted out by
the people of Blyth.
The choice to build the fire hall in
the north end of Blyth is not a wise
choice either for many reasons:
• The firefighters have to drive
through main street all the way up
the hill to get to the fire hall.
• The firefighters then have to get
the trucks and drive back down the
hill and all through main street to go
south of the village, east of the
village, west of the village.
• They would only have to drive
through the main street once if the
call was to the north of the village if
the fire hall was at the south end of
the village.
You may think, “well, what is the
big deal?” It is a big deal, A huge big
deal.
Right now, I see the firefighters
using the side streets to get to the fire
hall. With it being on the south end
of town, they can get to the trucks
and on the road providing quick
response to save your life or home
within minutes. The streets are wider
and there are fewer vehicles or
people.
Our main street here in Blyth is
one of, if not the only narrowest
street in a Huron County village,
causing many near misses of open
doors when getting out of your
vehicle, vehicles meeting each other
and pedestrians crossing the road,
which already causes safety issues
and concerns.
In the months when theatre is on, it
would be a nightmare to try and get
to the fire hall at the north end of
town when people are standing
along the side of the road to cross
and those standing on the road
taking their time getting to the
theatre.
One trip up and back from the
proposed fire hall in the north end of
town to go three ways out of this
town in the south is too much time
when minutes, even seconds count in
a car accident when someone is
trapped, or a fire when people cannot
get out. Don’t think an accident or
fire cannot happen to you or your
loved one? It can and does happen as
many of you know through having
these life experiences.
I believe putting extra stress on the
firefighters going this extra long
distance to get to the fire hall to do
their job is absolutely not needed
and is ridiculous on the part of
council to even expect it.
The north end of Blyth up the hill
heading out of town also presents the
most hazardous entry out onto the
highway when the weather is stormy
and visibility is compromised.
Numerous accidents in this area
prove my point. This is another
needless concern for the firefighters
to worry about before they even get
to the call.
And, of course, when the
firefighters have their two-day
breakfast on the Thresher Reunion
weekend, the Threshers are not
going to truck all through town and
up the hill bringing people on those
people movers. Again, another
safety issue – a breakfast they have
traditionally held that weekend for
over 30 years.
So, as I listened to the reeve talk at
the swearing in of new members and
the year of service awards recently, I
heard him say several times about
working together as a team. As in
community and council?
Our community already had a
state-of-the-art fire hall and training
centre that could be used in time of
disaster and in a perfect location.
I would like to see the firefighters
have no less than what they had
before, to not only honour and
respect them as firefighters and the
invaluable work they do, but also to
honour and respect the people of our
community who live, work and play
here; for the safety of the
firefighters, as well as our own.
Choose to do what is right.
I am asking council to reconsider
some properties at the south end of
Blyth on Blyth Road for the fire hall.
Keep your property at the north
end for the Public Works
Department, or resell it and consider
some properties at the south end of
Blyth on Blyth Road for the fire hall,
and possibly the public works.
I am also asking for the support of
each and every resident of Blyth and
surrounding area in support of my
wish that the Fire Department North
Huron’s new Blyth fire hall be built
in the south end of the village on
Blyth Road and that our firefighters
be granted full input of the design of
the new fire hall.
Your signature of support in
signing a petition stating this would
be appreciated. I have placed them at
the Queens Bakery and Ultramar in
Blyth.
Thank you,
Brenda J. Burkholder.
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Continued from page 7
more of a sobering effect. The
Lenten season is not a joyous
season. We try to give up something
that we like for the Lenten season.
We want to be generous to someone
we do not know. Be kind to a
stranger.
Sandra told a story of a young girl
going to a retirement home and
asking the people three things that
they wanted. One was chocolate pie
and another was sausage. The girl
raised the money to get the things
the seniors wanted. This made the
residents very happy to see things
that they wished for come true.
In the Gospel lesson, Jesus
wrestled with the idea of which way
His ministry will go. It tells of how
well Jesus handled the temptations
of the devil. The search team of both
Brussels and Blyth will have
decisions to make in the coming
months and we pray that their
decisions will be the right ones for
both churches and not make a hasty
decision because we have been
without a minister for so long. We
trust in God and He will help us
make the right decisions. God be
with us on this our journey.
The hymn, “Jesus Tempted in the
Desert” was sung. The offering was
received followed by the offertory
response, “We Give Thee But Thine
Own,” the offertory prayer, the
prayers for the people, silent prayers
and repeating the Lord’s Prayer. The
last hymn, “To Show by Touch and
Word” was followed by the
commissioning and benediction and
the singing of “Threefold Amen.”
Everyone was invited for coffee
and fellowship.
Cable leads Blyth church service
On the hunt
The newly-formed Huron and Area Search and Rescue (HASAR) group held its first training
session on Saturday, welcoming 60 members to the Hullett Marsh Conservation Area between
Blyth and Clinton. The group is a non-profit organization that will help search for missing
people or stolen property in Huron, South Bruce, Perth and Lambton Counties. Above, Steve
Buschell of Lucknow reads a compass. (Mark Nonkes photo)