The Citizen, 1998-11-04, Page 6A watchful eye
Though water usage appears to have stabilized, Blyth
PUG Foreman Bill Bromley checks the village's two
pumps twice daily.
Villages not suffering
the water problems
of rural counterparts
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PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1998.
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
While reports of rural residents'
wells going dry continue to filter
in, their urban counterparts appear
to be faring much better.
Though both Blyth and Brussels
had watering restrictions at some
time during this dry summer, con-
ditions now seem to be stabilizing.
The Brussels' ban, which con-
trolled lawn watering times through
much of the summer was lifted at
the most recent PUC meeting, said
Clerk-Treasurer Donna White.
While the gallon usage continues
to be monitored daily, White said
there is no concern at this point.
"We just keep an eye on it."
The situation is similar in Blyth.
When a watering ban was
imposed for two days in July,
Clerk-Treasurer John Stewart said
it was not because of a water short-
age, but because the two pumps
could not keep up with demand.
Under normal conditions, one
pump pulls the water from wells
into a reservoir. If the level of the
reservoir drops below a certain
point, the second pump kicks in to
refill.
With water consumption drop-
ping since August, Stewart said one
pump, though running almost
steady, is able to sustain the reser-
voir. Levels are also checked twice
daily by village staff.
The municipal well systems in
Belgrave are also monitored regu-
larly, said Clerk-Treasurer Winona
Thompson, where there is no con-
cern for those in East Wawanosh.
The wells on the Morris Twp.
side of Belgrave are also fine as
Clerk-Treasurer Nancy Michie
reported no problems.
Residents wise usage has con-
tributed to the safe levels after
months of low rainfall.
Both Stewart and White said they
were very pleased with the
response from residents when the
bans were implemented.
THE EDITOR,
As- a former trustee with the
Huron County Board of Education
it was disheartening for me to
witness blame being laid at the feet
of the Avon-Maitland board for
putting school closures on their'
agenda.
I could understand the rancor and
suspicion of the board's motives if
school closures was a local issue,
but it is not. School boards across
Ontario are wrestling with the same
problem and hundreds of schools
will be closed unless there are
changes to the funding formulae or
locally elected school boards are
given a percentage of your
provincially-collected property tax
so that they can respond to local
needs.
I can understand the anger and
frustration that many of the parents
felt when, despite their best efforts,
the administration seemed bent on
Continued from page 4
council to have the cairn removed
and the plaques from it remounted
in Huronview.
It find it particularly disturbing
that no one dug deeper into why
this cairn was in the middle of a
field and what the plaques
commemorated. There is a
Tuckersmith history book that has
an informative section about the
original County House of Refuge.
Anyone who died there before
1929 was buried there.
It was also a home for unwed
mothers and some of their
unfortunate little ones that did not
survive the ordeals of birthing were
ensuring that the board presented
its potential school closure list. I
can understand their dismay as they
learned the cost of maintaining
most of our existing schools is but
a pittance in relation to the board's
total budget.
What must be clearly understood,
however, is that as employees of
the ministry, the administration is
required, by law, to assist the
trustees in meeting the deadlines
demanded by their ministry.
Many people have been led to
believe that the board has other
options because they may be
receiving more money than last
year. The truth is, it doesn't matter
how much additional funding is
allocated to school boards if it
comes in designated envelopes and
the boards have no say on how the
money can be spent.
What must he understood is that
also buried in that lovely spot.
Our county takes great pains to
remember and preserve the
memories of our ancestors and that
is why I find this whole affair
disturbing. I have great respect for
those who take the time to
represent us at the county level and
I am hoping it was just a matter of
not enough information that led to
this disgraceful act.
As I looked over the names I
noted a William Hamilton listed
and thought that he could have
been a cousin of my great-
grandfather's who had fallen on
hard times. A Henderson could
have been my great-grandmother's
father. He never did recover from
the Avon-Maitland board of
education is a new animal. It can
not, and does not, have the same
relationship with the electors as the
old boards of education. Boards of
education, as we knew them, were
eliminated with the passage of Bill
160 when the government gained
direct access to your property tax
and centralized education decision
making with the province.
It will be interesting to watch
how the government plays this one
out. Will they continue to insist that
it is a bcard problem and not a
provincial problem, confound us
with figures, and thereby solidify
the conditions that will allow them,
because we are so fed up, to
eliminate school boards.
Or will they fix the problem?
Joan Van den Broeck
RR 4, Goderich, Ontario.
his wife's death and after
neighbours took in the children he
spent the rest of his life on an
island in the Goderich harbour. But
his burial site is a mystery. Maybe I
have found him.
More than half the names on that
list are still found in the county
today.
I hope county council refers to
the matter soon and takes steps to
restore the original boundaries of
the cemetery and erect a monument
to these less fortunate souls. I
would expect no more and no less
from Huron County Council.
Signed
Rhea Hamilton-Seeger.
Letters to the editor
Former trustee speaks out
Writer asks for restoration