The Citizen, 2002-01-16, Page 1Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002
Sign of the season
The weather has not been co-operative for snowmobilers in some areas as the recent thaws
have made the trails unsafe. Bruce Howson of the Blyth Snowtravellers said at least six inches
of snow will be needed to make the trails usable. In Brussels, the heavier snowfall at
Christmas may have helped as trails in that area were still in fair condition. (David Blaney photo)
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B The Citizen
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Volume 18 No. 2
People hear
of community
policing
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen editor
A modest but enthusiastic group,
which included a number of youths,
turned out to a meeting at the
Brussels Country Inn last week to
learn about Community Oriented
Policing.
A Community Policing Committee
(CPC) has existed in the north Huron
area for severaLyears. It was
comprised of municipal and
volunteer representatives from
Howick, Turnberry, Morris, East
Wawanosh, Blyth, Brussels and
Grey.
However, with the amalgamation
of Brussels and Grey to Seaforth,
McKillop and Tuckersmith into the
new Municipality of Huron East, a
contract was signed with the Ontario
Provincial Police. This means that
Huron East now has dedicated staff
serving the area exclusively.
Robin Dunbar, a member of the
Huron Fast police services board,
who served on the north Huron CPC
said, "with dedicated staff it makes
no sense for Huron East to be on a
committee with Howick." Thus the
meeting was the first step in
establishing a policing committee for
the new municipality.
The community policing
committee, or community oriented
policing is not to be confused with
the Citizens on Patrol or the police
services board, said Dunbar. The
patrols are civilian volunteers who
drive through Brussels (Blyth and
Bluevale also have them) and report
any suspicious activity to police. The
police services board are municipal
appointees that work directly with the
dedicated staff.
While the CPC helped to establish
the mobile watch patrols, the former
is like a liaison tween the
community andpol!.:e. ii is a way of
getting people involved," said
Dunbar. "The police want to know •
where they should be spending their
time."
A second meeting, open to the
public, to consider more formally the
formation of a Huron East committee
has been set for Wednesday, Jan. 23
at 7:30 p.m. at the Brussels Library.
By David Blaney
Citizen staff
Relations between the Huron East
council and the Avon Maitland
District School Board don't appear
to be headed for firmer ground
anytime soon. The latest point of
contention arose over busing for a
Walton-area student.
HElizabdth Smith appeared before
council at their last meeting of 2001
with a request to have McDonald
Line, between Moncrief Rd. and
Walton Rd., removed from the no-
winter maintenance list. Although
Smith lives on Walton Rd. the school
bus route as designated by the board
uses the section of McDonald Line
t' It is not maintained in the winter.
r ,uest was necessitated by
we tact that Smith has chosen, to
send her four-and-a-half-year-old
daughter to Grey Central School
rather than Seaforth Public. Smith
lives in the Seaforth catchment area
but chose Grey Central because the
bus ride was shorter and did not
require a transfer en route. Previous
to making the decision, Smith had
been informed by the board that as a
cross-border student her daughter
was not automatically guaranteed
pick up at her door. .
Smith said that the board had
originally refused to pick her
daughter up at their drive but had
relented after a bus driver had
resigned over the issue. Currently
they have agreed to pick the child up
at her drive only so long as the
McDonald Line is being maintained
between the concession roads.
Smith noted she was not the only
parent in the area who had chosen to
send her child to Grey and that
others were being offered full bus
service. Although some of those
were former Walton School students
given the right to choose when that
school closed, other new residents
have their children picked up at their.
lanes according to Smith.
After a lengthy discussion at the
December meeting council passed a
motion requesting the board consider
implementing a new and apparently
shorter route suggested by John
Gillis, the driver who quit in protest
over the issue.
Grey Ward Councillor Alvin
McLellan seemed to express the
mood of the council when he said,
"We need more people there (the
- board) that care about kids - not bean
counters."
Council's first meeting of 2002
saw the issue returned to the table by
Grey ward Councillor Graeme
MacDonald. MacDonald, who has
been actively attempting to help
Smith, reported that the new year
had not seen the problem resolved.
The advent of snow over the
Christmas holidays meant Smith was
required to take her daughter to the
Walton drop-off location. Bus
problems on the child's first return
trip of the new year meant that Smith
was left waiting with her other two
small children for well over half an
hour.
Smith informed Councillor
MacDonald she was astonished to
discover that after dropping off the
children the driver proceeded down
the Walton Rd. past the Smith home.
The discussion within council
about whether to take further action
Continued on page 20
75 Cents (70c + 5c GST)
Club
closes
trails
The recent thaw has left some area
snowmobilers without their favourite
local trails. Bruce Howson the trail
co-ordinator for the Snowtravellers
said that Blyth-area trails are closed
due to the poor conditions caused by
the lack of snow cover and the thaw.
"We need six to 12 inches of
snow" he said. He went on to warn
that water crossings are dangerous
right now with thin ice and open
water. He commented, "We need
some cold weather to firm things
up."
Howson said that there had only
been about seven days of acceptable
conditions. The best days had
occurred in the period around
Christmas and New Years. During
that time numerous travellers had
been in the area from the London-
Chatham area as well as from
Michigan.
Larry Rose, who grooms Brussels-
area trails with the B-W Trailblazers
indicated the problems were not sc
severe in the Brussels area. He said
that he had not been out grooming in
a few days but he felt the drifting
snow in the area was helping.
He said that the area trails were
covered with a "pretty good" base
and he intended to be out this week
doing more grooming. Overall he
thought things weren't bad.
In reference to the thaw he said
"We do have one problem area -
Devil's Elbow (an area just south-
west of Brussels) is still pretty wet.'
Rose indicated this usually swampy
area would benefit from some
freezing weather.
.Howson indicated that the number
of trail permits sold was about the
same as last year. He also said that he
thought the suppliers of sleds and
gear were getting along reasonably
well. "The ones that are suffering are
the restaurants and hotels." Howson
said.
indicated a difference of opinion
between Mayor Lin Steffler and
MacDonald. Sterner commented.
"We have no authority to tell the
school board how to manage then
transportation."
MacDonald indicated that besides
the responsibility he felt towards his
constituents, the amount of money
that the board raised on local tax
bills gave council some rights tc
comment on the boards operations.
Steffler countered, "We have done
what we are required to do.
Sometimes no is an answer - even it
it is not the answer we want."
During the discussion MacDonald
mentioned that he had phoned board
Chair Colleen Schenk who, he said.
was sympathetic. However, she
indicated to him that up to the time
the councillor contacted her, she had
not received the council's letter.
Later in the week MacDonald
contacted Dennis Harris who is
responsible for busing at the board
and a meeting was held on Friday.
MacDonald said afterwards that the
situation had not yet been resolved
but he was seeking more information
H. East councillor fights busing issue