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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-05-05, Page 1Wingham hospital 1999 Home hosts health W & Garden care forum section See page 7 See page 11 Blyth Festival welcomes new marketing director See page 31 Brussels library benefits from several initiatives Vol. 15 No. 18 Wednesday, May 5, 1999 7oe + 5eGST?50 A desperately needed shower Overgrown trees and tinder-dry conditions led to a blaze, Monday afternoon at the farm of Arnold Egli, Lot 10, Cone. 10 of Morris Twp. Egli speculated that young trees which had grown too close to power lines smoldered and burned, sending sparks into dry leaves nestled in the crotch of a neighbouring large tree. The tree was set ablaze and the Blyth firefighters were called in to douse it. Embers had also begun to drop to the ground, burning the grass. Once Ontario Hydro arrived, the power was shut down and the small trees removed. With little rain this spring, conditions are still very dry and fires can spread quickly. Blyth Deputy Fire Chief Bill Burkholder said people shouldn't be burning anything, not even in a barrel unless they are standing by with a water hose. The Blyth department alone has attended two or three grass fires already this year, at least two months earlier than the problem usually arises. By Bonnie Gropp Citizen staff If all goes as expected, Brussels will be a leader in rural library con­ nectivity for the area. This was the message delivered by County Librarian Beth Ross, to Brussels council at its regular meet­ ing, May 3. After visiting the library with councillors to look at how best to accommodate four new computers, Ross told them of five initiatives underway which affect lhe Brussels branch. The first is the Community Access Project which arrived at the library in July, 1997. Brussels was one of six in Huron County to receive funding from Industry Canada that year in this federal ini­ tiative to provide public access to the internet in rural and remote Canadian communities. Ross said that over 300 people have used the internet at the vil­ lage's library since the beginning and 122 have received internet training in Brussels. Brussels will also benefit from a bequest through lhe estate of a for­ mer Morris Twp. resident Susannah Lattimer. Both Blyth and Brussels will receive computers for refer­ ence use. The Canada Employment Centre in Listowel has invited the county library to form a partnership pro­ viding access to employment infor­ mation from the Brussels, Fordwich and Wingham libraries. The information consists of books, a computer and access to the inter­ net. The total value is $10,000 in Brussels over three years. Bill Gates, owner of Microsoft and his wife are giving $200 mil­ lion to North American public libraries which serve low income communities. Ross said that Brus­ sels, Hensall and Wingham arc eli­ gible, based on identification on a poverty threshold issued by the National Council of Welfare. This grant will cover the pur­ chase of a standalone computer with a laser printer, Microsoft soft­ ware and connectivity to the inter­ net, for a total value of $8,600. Brussels will also benefit from Network 2000 Virtual Library Pro­ ject, a provincial initiative to elec­ tronically connect all Ontario public libraries by the year 2000. Funding, said Ross, has been received to provide high-speed con­ nection to the internet from the Library headquarters. "The library sites for lhe internet have been very successful. It was a neat fit," said Ross, adding that access to the internet is a giant leap forward for rural libraries. "We no longer have to go to big cities for research." While preparing the Brussels library for the new computers pre­ sents some physical challenges, most notably wiring, Ross also noted that lhe facility has the space. "Brussels has the largest village library in the county," she said. It was suggested that the one room on the easterly side of the building could be opened by tear­ ing down a portion of the wall. Estimates will be obtained. While no funding will come for the facility from the county, Ross said that there is some money tagged for site set-up which might be available for Brussels. Bulls exec sells franchise Blyth budget has small increase The Brussels Bulls executive has decided to sell the Jr. C franchise and rights to the carded players, to hockey interests in Goderich. The 1998/99 season was the worst in the Bulls' 14-year history, but as low as it was, the upcoming year looked very promising, said President Mark Pennington. "When our general manager left in December to manage at the Jr. B level we had to call on our GM from the previous two years to step in, and with the help of an assistant were able to finish the year. The player development staff made decisions near year’s end that were not in the best interests of the Brussels Bulls or the Western Jr. C league, but were in the best interest of the players involved, which is Continued on page 8 By Janice Becker Citizen staff Blyth councillors approved a budget for 1999 which included an increase in the lax rale. Fortunately for all properly own­ ers, the increase will amount to just 30 cents on a $100,000 assessment. With numbers trimmed in several areas, the expected revenues for the year were dropped to $554,746 from $580,563 for 1998. The actual revenues for last year were $593,476. One of the largest decreases is lhe Community Reinvestment Fund which fell from $113,000 in 1998 to just $88,000 for this year. A boost on the revenue side came from a $13,000 infusion from lhe province’s Special Circumstances Fund. On the expenses side of lhe state­ ment, council expects to balance lhe budget with $554,746 in costs, down from actual expenditures of $575,574 last year. Expenses of $580,663 had been budgeted. Cost culling will come in lhe amount spent on councillors' con­ ventions and mileage charges, administration salaries, legal expenses, drains,‘sidewalks, ball diamond materials and services, Memorial Hall materials and ser­ vices and cultural and historical grants. Most of these values were brought down closer to last year’s numbers. Along with the many reductions, costs are expected to increase for computer equipment, capital road costs, garbage and recycling and tree purchases. The village bought trees io replace those removed due to poor condition or interference with hydro lines. 6,000 electors set as target for amalgamation proposals The target for restructured municipalities should be 6,000 eli­ gible voters, Huron County’s strategic planning committee has decided. In a vole at its April 27 meeting lhe commillce accepted lhe 6,000 target. Il also suggested that each county council represenlalive should represent 3,000 eligible vot­ ers. The committee also set Sept. 1 as lhe target for receiving local restructuring proposals, after which county council will put forward a restructuring proposal for the whole county. Until the Sept. 1 date, county council will not consider any restructuring proposals. Council also formalized lhe deci­ sion not to allow boundary adjust­ ments except by mutual agreement.