The Citizen, 2019-05-02, Page 1CitizenTh
e
$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, May 2, 2019
Volume 35 No. 18
EMERGENCY - Pg. 10
‘The Citizen’ presents
annual emergency guide
PROTEST - Pg. 20
Over 300 take to Blyth’s
main street in protest
CRITICISM - Pg. 3
NDP Education Critic hears
concerns at Clinton meeting
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:
Stewardship, flood prevention cuts concern MVCA
Madill rugby team reclaims Dinning Cup
While many have flagged the
provincial government’s plan due to
reduced funding for flood control
and prevention projects, Maitland
Valley Conservation Authority
(MVCA) General Manager Phil
Beard says that the biggest change is
the removal of stewardship projects
from conservation authorities’ (CAs)
primary responsibilities.
Beard explained that CAs are now
to focus on natural hazard protection
and management, which
encompasses Maitland
Conservation’s flood and erosion
safety services; conservation and
management of conservation
authority land and drinking water
source protection. That means that
CAs can only levy member
municipalities for those mandatory
services and that the rest of the
services it provides will only
continue if municipalities decide to
fund them.
Beard explained that the original
founding of the conservation
authorities was a partnership with a
focus on projects like stewardship,
so the move away from it was
surprising.
“It’s change, that’s for sure,” he
said. “The foundation for the CAs
and province was a partnership. The
government used to pay 85 per cent,
but now it’s like three to five per
cent, and the municipalities could
rightfully ask if that’s a fair
partnership.”
He said that, with municipal costs
rising, the ability to tackle projects is
already difficult, but now those
challenges will be made
significantly more difficult,
especially with reduced funding to
the municipalities in general.
“We’re all creatures of the
province,” Beard said.
For an organization that has had
the same level of provincial funding
for more than 20 years, the Maitland
Valley Conservation Authority is
already running a fairly bare-bones
operation, Beard said, and he’s
concerned that may get worse.
Drinking Water Source Protection,
for example, was funded 100 per
cent by the province, and cost the
MVCA $200,000 to $300,000.
Beard said he isn’t sure if the
province will continue to fund that
initiative under the new government.
Beard feels that the changes are a
reaction to the CAs in larger city
centres, pointing to the difference
between CAs in Toronto and places
like Huron County.
“Toronto’s [conservation
authority] budget is over $125
million with 18 programs,” he said.
“Our budget is $3 million.”
Beard said he feels, based on
information provided by Minister of
the Environment, Conservation and
Parks Rod Phillips and Huron-Bruce
MPP Lisa Thompson, that these
changes are aimed at reducing the
cost of the urban CAs, but the rural
and northern CAs are being hurt by
those changes.
Thompson and Phillips provided
After taking a trip to the west
coast last year, the Matthew Dinning
Memorial Cup made its way back to
Wingham during the 13th annual
tournament last week.
The tournament is held in honour
of Corporal Dinning who was killed
in action in Gumbad, Afghanistan
on April 22, 2006, 13 years to the
day before this year’s tournament
was held. Last year, a team from
Earl Marriott Secondary School,
visiting from British Columbia,
captured the cup.
F.E. Madill School’s Junior Boys
rugby team posted a 19-0 victory
over St. Michael’s Catholic
Secondary School from Stratford to
clinch the trophy in a very rough
game which saw four yellow cards
and one red card handed out.
The score doesn’t tell the whole
story of the match as, after earning
their first points early, the Madill
team spent most of the rest of the
first half fighting yards away from
their own goal line, barely escaping
the half with the lead.
“It was exciting for sure,” coach
Lee Ann McDonald said. “We’re
happy to have the trophy back in
Wingham.”
She said that sentiment is shared
by Lincoln and Laurie Dinning,
Matthew’s parents.
The win was Madill’s third of the
day as they topped Saugeen District
Secondary School in the first match
of the tournament 10-7, then beat
Kitchener Collegiate Institute’s
(KCI) ‘A’ squad 10-0.
KCI, in the school’s first
appearance at the tournament, had
split their players in half to form two
On Friday night, the Huron Arts
and Heritage Network (HAHN)
handed out its 10th annual Huron
County Cultural Awards, with
IceCulture of Hensall eventually
taking the top spot.
This year’s awards were different
than those of previous years. For
HAHN’s 10th anniversary, members
encouraged Huron County residents
to vote for their favourite winner
from the previous nine years and
HAHN would then celebrate the top
10 vote-getters at the awards
evening. Approximately 300 people
voted for the awards.
The awards were handed out at the
Goderich Legion on Friday night
and many of them went to Blyth-
based artists and groups.
Citizen founder and Blyth Festival
co-founder Keith Roulston finished
in 10th place for his numerous
contributions to the Huron County
arts and culture community.
In speaking with The Citizen,
Roulston said he was surprised to be
among the 10 contributors honoured
Friday night thanks to his work with
founding The Citizen.
Roulston said he took his time in
addressing those in attendance to
IceCulture tops HAHN awards
A rock and a hard place
F.E. Madill Secondary School’s Junior Boys rugby team
captured the Matthew Dinning Memorial Cup last
Wednesday. Last year, Madill lost the championship to Earl
Marriott Secondary School from British Columbia but this
year, when facing St. Michael’s Catholic Secondary School
in Stratford, Madill posted a convincing 19-0 win to claim the cup.
Above, during that final match, Joel Nesbitt, centre, pushes
through the St. Michael’s defensive line with the help of teammate
Colton Beaven, despite the efforts of the St. Michael’s defence.
(Denny Scott photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 12
Continued on page 2
Continued on page 12
By Denny Scott
The Citizen