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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, May 30, 2019
Volume 35 No. 22
FUNDING - Pg. 16
Minister of Education brings
mental health funding
PRESIDENT - Pg. 17
Former Blyth, Brussels
minister makes history
ACCESSIBILITY - Pg. 3
Sawchuk lauds local progress for
‘National AccessAbility Week’
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:
North Huron seeks support on LeVan Airport
Crossing
coming
to Blyth
The Richard W. LeVan Airport
needs to have support from Huron
County and Morris-Turnberry,
according to North Huron Reeve
Bernie Bailey if the facility is going
to continue to exist.
Bailey, during North Huron
Township’s May 21 meeting,
proposed a motion to meet with
Morris-Turnberry and Huron County
representatives to discuss the future
of the site.
“As I’ve stated for many years, it’s
$100,000 a year to run the [LeVan
Airport],” he said.
Bailey provided a history lesson
on the site, stating that Wingham had
paid $350,000 to run services to the
site, and that the property provides
no tax benefits as it is in Morris-
Turnberry.
He said that the farmland around
the airport may bring in $60,000
annually to the municipality, but that
means the airport still costs the
municipality $40,000 above that.
Councillor Chris Palmer asked if
Bailey had discussed the issue with
Morris-Turnberry representatives,
and Bailey said no.
Bailey said his understanding was
that Mayor Jamie Heffer would “get
up and walk out of the meeting” if
Bailey suggested cost-sharing for
the facility.
“Jamie confirmed that,” Bailey
said. “I understand, though. Why
would they want to [start to] pay for
something they aren’t [currently]
paying for? There’s no hard feelings,
and not a personal side to this at all.”
Bailey did say that he has put the
issue on Huron County Council’s
radar, and that the Goderich airport,
located in Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh Township, is in a similar
situation.
“I’m going to say that we can sit
down with the county and
Goderich,” he said. “I can work with
anyone, but they have to be willing
to talk.”
Bailey went on to say that
provincial cuts are making sites like
the airport less feasible, noting that
“[Premier Doug] Ford is not being
nice to any of us.”
Councillor Paul Heffer said he
wanted to be briefed on the airport
because, as a new councillor, he still
had questions about it. He didn’t feel
comfortable going into discussions
without more information.
With that in mind, council
approved Bailey’s motion,
requesting a meeting between
Morris-Turnberry, Huron County
Council and North Huron
representatives.
Blyth could have a downtown
pedestrian crossing as early as
October, however there are still a lot
of questions Huron County staff
have to answer before that happens.
During North Huron Council’s
May 21 meeting, Mike Hausser,
Manager of Public Works for Huron
County, said that $140,000 had been
approved in Huron County’s budget
this year to implement a pedestrian
crosswalk in Blyth similar to those
found in Clinton.
Hausser explained that the county
would be seeking feedback in the
coming months after an engineering
review of downtown traffic was
completed last year.
The work was completed as part
of a plan to address possible
crossings in Huron Park,
Londesborough, Blyth and Seaforth,
and a draft report was presented to
Huron County Council in March.
Hausser walked North Huron
Council through the different kinds
of crossings available. For Blyth,
one of two were being considered: a
pedestrian crossing at the
intersection of Queen and Dinsley
Streets and, after discussing that
plan with North Huron staff, a mid-
block crossing near the former Blyth
branch of the Canadian Imperial
Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
Regardless of the location,
Hausser said that the crossing would
include bump-outs, potentially
The Blyth Repository of History’s
used book sale will take over Blyth
Memorial Hall this weekend,
starting Friday night.
Running 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on
Friday, May 31, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on
June 1 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June
2, the sale is the spiritual successor
to the annual book sale previously
held by the Blyth Festival.
The proceeds will go to support
the Blyth Repository of History,
assembled by Brock and the late
Janis Vodden. While the Voddens
previously housed the repository,
which includes historical notes on
local families and events going back
past the founding of Blyth, it has
recently been moved to 405 Queen
Street, the home of North Huron
Publishing and The Citizen.
A recently-formed board which
includes Vodden, is now in charge of
the collection and the fundraiser will
help further the goals of that board,
including housing the materials and
making them available for the
public.
Donations of used books will still
be accepted through May 30 at
Blyth Memorial Hall from 9 a.m. to
8 p.m.
For more information, call
repository board member and The
Citizen Publisher Deb Sholdice at
519-523-4792.
Used book sale begins Friday
Singin’ in the rain
Dozens of IG Wealth Management Walks for Alzheimer’s
were held across Ontario on Saturday and some were
dryer and sunnier than others. Locally, there were walks in
Goderich, Clinton and Wingham, above. With the
relentless, pouring rain on Saturday, some walkers opted to
stay indoors, while others braved the wet weather, opened their
umbrellas and headed outdoors. In Wingham, the walk began at
the Maitland River Community Church and branched out into the
community from there. Leading the walk was the Wingham walk’s
honorary family team, Holger’s Heroes. (Quinn Talbot photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 11
By Denny Scott
The Citizen