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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-05-21, Page 1Sports I Good Works I Entertainment Blyth Tykes get season off to good start with victory over Vanastra See page 8 Ethel girl leaves in June to begin mission work in China See page 14 Cast of ‘Booze Days in a Dry County’ busy researching See page 23 Man injured by explosion The first long weekend of the year got off to a poor start for one Kitchener man when a propane explosion rocked his trailer, Friday afternoon. Jim Wilson, a camper at Family Paradise Campgrounds, McKillop Twp. was trying to light a propane­ fired appliance, in his trailer, when it exploded, said Blyth Fire Chief Paul Josling. Wilson was taken to Seaforth Community Hospital by ambulance with bums to his hands, arms and face. He was listed in stable condi­ tion Friday evening, said Josling. Further information was not avail­ able at press time. The trailer received extensive damage, said Josling, probably between $3,000 and $4,000. Though the Blyth and Area Fire Department attended the 4 p.m. call, their assistance was not need­ ed as the ambulance had already arrived. Prov. slashes arts budget The cuts are getting deeper and cultural organizations are begin­ ning to bleed. In a story in last wcck'sCitizen Huron MPP Helen Johns said "the funding level to the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) would be main­ tained." However, later that week Blyth Festival received word that the government had cut a further 16.5 per cent from the OAC bud­ get. The cuts bring the total reduc­ tions for the Festival to 46 per cent in the last two and a half years, said Artistic Director Janet Amos. The Festival has already absorbed $30,000 in cuts and expect this reduction to trim anoth­ er $10,000, said Keith Roulston, president of the board of directors. To absorb the funding cuts, the theatre will cut back its production of new Canadian plays, eliminate all special activities such as Cross­ roads Drama Festival, drama work­ AMO says let’s get on to new reality Neither drizzle, nor chill, nor warm outerwear can keep the avid golfer off the course when spring arrives. Though the Victoria Day weekend may have been a disappointing one weather-wise, some golf enthusiasts have waited too long to play to wait any longer. Unfortunately, this is not the case with everyone, as area golf courses report that the unseasonable spring has definitely been a deterrent. A spokesperson from the Wingham Golf and Curling Club says that while membership purchases have been "decent", many seniors are reluctant to brave the elements and the green fee play is down as well. However, on the few nice days this year, the course has been packed, so people are anxious to play, he says, and therefore anticipates a good year if the real spring ever arrives. By Bonnie Gropp Citizen staff Off the roller coaster and on to the new reality. This was the hope expressed to the Association of Municipal Clerk-Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO) Zone 2 meeting in Brus­ sels, May 15, by Pat Vanini, a poli­ cy analyst with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). Hosted by the Village of Brussels and Morris and Grey Twps., 135 AMCTO members also heard from Ministry of Municipal Affairs rep­ resentatives. Vanini cautioned clerks that try­ ing to do a financial impact analy­ sis for refinancing of services, based on some of the Mega-Week announcements, is going to be a frustrating exercise to this point as there are still many figures coming from the province, with regards to shifts in funding. "There are a lot of unknowns," Vanini said. To assist municipalities with these unknowns, AMO has formed a transition team to negotiate with the province. Regarding the farm tax rebate, for example, Vanini said last week, that it has never been AMO's intent to remove it from the property lax base. She said that AMO's transition team, in discus­ sions with the province, spoke first to "large ticket items" to get the province to move. She spoke of the shops for children and youths and increase ticket prices, said Amos. Roulston said to raise ticket prices, even by $1, will affect atten­ dance. He also questioned whether the government considered the impact of saving $40,000 in spend­ ing on the Blyth Festival when the theatre alone contributes more than $90,000 to government coffers without considering the repercus­ sions on village businesses which rely on theatre-goers. Amos said Premier Mike Harris "is moving too quickly in his attempt to reduce the deficit. This process is undermining not only the arts, but universal health care, pub­ lic education, social services and local government." "He should look to the future costs of physical neglect, igno­ rance, crime and community decay, which will be the immediate result of his policies," Amos said. province's $500 million contingen­ cy fund that could offset other costs for municipalities, due to funding changes to services. "We are still pressing the government for impact to find out if that contingency fund is going to be enough and how it will affect other issues." One clerk expressed her feeling that the needs of rural Ontario have not been addressed in the same manner as those of urban centres. "The transition team needs to look at things to help rural Ontario. But I'm not sure we can do that now. The province has made their changes." A spokesperson from the Min­ istry of Municipal Affairs said the "package is what the province expects to implement," but for dis­ tribution the government expects a lot of input. Vanini added, "The government likes to appear like it's listening and sometimes actually does. That's the wild card." Vanini said the government did listen, to a degree, to concerns over the shift in funding for social ser­ vices. Grey Clerk-Treasurer Brad Knight explained, following the meeting, that the province has backed off to an 80/20 split rather than the 50/50 originally proposed. Also, municipalties will no longer be saddled with long-term care Continued on page 7