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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, May 16, 2019
Volume 35 No. 20
PARKING - Pg. 6
Council requests report
on Brussels parking
MARKET - Pg. 13
Blyth Outdoor Market to
succeed Artisan Market
RETIREMENT - Pg. 2
Huron County native retires
from life as national biathlete
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:
Health care downloading concerns county
Hutton
Heights
may cost
$5.4 mil.
The downloading of health care
services from the provincial
government to Huron County has a
number of councillors concerned,
though right now they have to play
the waiting game.
Huron East Mayor Bernie
MacLellan discussed the issue at
Huron East Council’s May 7
meeting. It was also raised by
Central Huron Deputy-Mayor Dave
Jewitt at the May 8 meeting of
Huron County Council.
MacLellan told Huron East
Council that while many details are
still unknown, the provincial
government’s health care
downloading will cost the Huron
County Health Unit nearly $625,000
this year alone with further costs
surely to follow.
In the provincial budget, Premier
Doug Ford and his government are
attempting to save $200 million per
year by amalgamating local boards
of health. However, the move has
come under fire by several mayors
of Ontario’s biggest cities as simply
shifting the cost burden to municipal
taxpayers, as well as the blame if
services are eventually cut.
According to The Hamilton
Spectator, by 2021 the province’s
contribution to newly-amalgamated
health boards representing more
than one million people will drop
from 75 per cent to 60 per cent,
while boards representing fewer
than one million people would only
drop to a 70 per cent provincial
contribution.
While the Ministry of Health and
Long-Term Care has said that the
changes will modernize and
streamline the role of public health
units, critics have said it’s a clear-cut
case of downloading and, when
municipalities can’t pick up the
funding slack, services will have to
be cut.
At Huron County Council’s May 8
meeting, Jewitt said that those at the
Huron County Health Unit, which is
set to amalgamate with the Perth
District Health Unit effective Jan. 1,
2020, are still waiting on further
details about how this downloading,
and potential further cuts, will affect
health care in the community.
Last week, North Huron Council
took the first steps towards either
developing, or making available for
development, land owned by North
Huron in Hutton Heights, just south
of Wingham.
After more than 10 years of
owning the property and not acting
on it, North Huron Council wants to
push forward with development of
the land to increase the
municipality’s tax base.
Council enlisted Huron County
staff and engineering firm B.M.
Ross to proceed with the project.
and an initial review and
recommendations were presented
during council’s May 6 meeting by
Bruce Potter of B.M. Ross.
The land in question is a 35-acre
lot, 15.5 acres of which are zoned
for future development. Seven acres
zoned open space and nine acres are
zoned natural environment. The lot
is located at the corners of Lloyd
and Crawford Streets.
Potter explained that the water for
the property will need to be run
under the flood plain, extending
from the intersections of County
Roads 4 and 86, while the
sanitary sewer will be run up Lloyd
Street to the municipality’s current
wastewater system, just west of
Hutton Heights.
Potter then walked council
through the process of creating the
draft plan approval for the site,
which includes satisfying all
agencies like the Ministry of Natural
Resources, the Huron County
Health Unit and the Maitland Valley
Conservation Authority. The process
will also require creating
engineering documents and then
signing or registering a subdivision
agreement, either by having North
Huron sign an agreement with itself
or with a subsequent purchaser.
He then presented forecasted costs
for the property based on an 80-unit
subdivision, which is on the low
side of the between 72 and 118
possible lots that could be created.
Potter also explained that other
properties not owned by North
Huron would benefit from running
the water and sewer lines which
could result in 35 more residential
units being created in the
subdivision.
Startup costs for the project
include $155,000 for the land, which
was already paid by North Huron,
Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company
has been honoured for its efforts
with its Doc Perdue’s Bobcat beer,
winning a silver medal at this year’s
Canadian Brewing Awards.
The awards, which were held this
year at the Westin Harbour Castle in
Toronto, honoured Canadian
brewing innovation and excellence
on May 2-4 with representation
from over 700 craft breweries from
every province and territory in
Canada.
Dozens of breweries and their
beers were awarded in categories
determined by style of beer. Doc’s
Perdue’s Bobcat, a west coast red
ale, was honoured with a silver
medal in the North American-style
amber/red ale category, coming up
just short of Red Line IPA from
Torque Brewing Inc. in Manitoba.
This is the second time Cowbell’s
Doc Perdue’s Bobcat has been
honoured in the North American-
style amber/red ale category,
winning silver in 2017, Cowbell’s
first full year producing beer.
For a full list of winners, visit
canadianbrewingawards.com.
Cowbell honoured nationally
A new addition?
As Meeting Place Organic Farm near St. Augustine held its
annual spring open house on Saturday, there was no
doubt that some who attended fell in love with the animals
they met along the way. Here, Ashley Irwin of Lucknow
and little Eva Sparks get up close and personal with a goat at the
well-known farm, though one of the young women certainly
seems to be a little more interested in the livestock meeting than
the other. (Mark Nonkes photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 11
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen