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Cookin'
Andy Toll, left, and Cole Stewart were tending the fires for the Midget hockey
team dinner at the Blyth fairgrounds on Thursday night. The dining event was
well planned for the many campers on site for the annual Huron Pioneer
Thresher Reunion which officially kicked off on Friday. (Vicky Bremner photo)
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PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2002.
County council closes libraries
By Keith Roulston
Citizen publisher
After much debate
Thursday. Huron County
council approved closing
libraries in Auburn, Bluevale,
Gorrie. Fordwich and
Centralia.
The motion, approved 14-4
iii a recorded vote, means
delegations from the Huron
County Library Board will
visit the councils of all the
affected municipalities to
seek approval from that level
for the closures. Under
provincial regulations, in
order to close the last library
in a municipality there must
be approval of the local
municipality as well as the
county and library board.
Chief Librarian Beth Ross
said she had already
contacted all municipalities
involved to set up meetings.
Central Huron Councillor
Carol Mitchell said she
couldn't support the motion
because the consultations
didn't come before the vote to
close the libraries. There were
huge cost implications, she
said.
Alt -municipalities except
Goderich and Exeter, where
new facilities are under
construction, could face costs
of renovating and enlarging
libraries under the options the
library board has adopted
from the the library's
strategic plan prepared by Jim
Morgenstern of dmA
Planning and Management
By Keith Roulston
Citizen publisher
Huron County will be
advertising for two people to
fill the shoes of former Clerk-
Administrator Lynn Murray,
councillors decided Thurs-
day.
Separating the job of the
chief administrative officer
(CAO) and the clerk had been
recommended in the study by
consultant Hugh Thomas that
preceded Murray's departure
last spring.
The working group set up
to study the hiring of the
replacement further polled 10
nearby municipalities, said
Gary Davidson, director of
Continued from page 1
section has expanded to the
point where art and
photography will now have
its own display area to
accommodate the number of
entrants.
The field crop competition
has been a feature of the fair
for most of its 141 years. As
usual area farmers will be
competing in the grain, forage
crops and field crops section
as they display the products
of their land.
For fair visitors that find
baking and canning a
mystery, or something they
just don't have the time for,
the Tuesday night "Best of
Fair s auction will provide the
Services. The plan calls for
the remaining town and
village libraries to be
upgraded once the five
smaller level three libraries
are closed.
But North Huron
Councillor Doug Layton was
concerned about the cost
implications of this proposal,
noting his municipality would
have to upgrade both
the Blyth and Wingham
libraries.
Ross sympathized with
Layton's concern saying there
had been a debate at the
library board of what
direction they should take.
The consultant simply
recommended improvements
to libraries without studying
the implications on
municipalities with more than
one library.
As well, if the trend
continues with people
bypassing level two libraries
like Blyth and Brussels to go
to larger, better-equipped
level one libraries, they might
need to be closed down the
line.
"The consultant was iffy
about the expansion of level
two libraries," Ross said.
If these were closed in the
future, level one libraries like
Wingham would need. to be
expanded even more.
"Which crystal ball do you
choose (to look in)?" she said.
The discussion of whether
the consultation should take
before or after the county
voted for closure took up a
planning and development, a
member of the group. Eight
of the 10 had separated the
two positions.
The committee didn't make
a recommendation as to
which way the county should
go though the consensus was
to split the jobs, he said.
Huron East Councillor
Bernie MacLellan moved to
hire a clerk, and CAO and to
advertise for an engineer to
replace Sandra Lawson who
left that job in May.
The motion was appro-
ved.
At the same meeting,
council introduced Richard
Hulley who will become the
county's new human
opportunity to take home
some real Huron County
home cooking.
Local auctioneer Kevin
McArter will be on hand once
again to entertain the crowd
as he auctions off the best of
the best from the baking and
canning section.
Before the auction several
local performers will be on
hand to entertain the opening
night audience, including the
step dancing of the Dixie
Clicks.
A chance to take home
some prize-winning food
seems appropriate, as the
theme of this year's fair is
A Taste of the Coun-
try.
good portion of the council's
time.
"You're putting the cart
before the horse," said
Mitchell in calling for
consultations first before the
county committed to one
direction.
Rob Morley, South Huron
councillor, complained that
there are no additional costs
for the county in closing the
libraries and upgrading other,
all the new costs will be
borne by the local
municipalities.
-"I also want to khow what
will happen for North Huron
when they have to expand
two libraries," he said.
But Joe Hogan, South
Huron councjIlor and
member of the library board
wondered what stance
library board delegates would
take if they visited lower-tier
councils without a clear plan
for closures set out by the
county. A tour of library
facilities last year showed
most needed to be improved,
he said.
But Paul Klopp, councillor
for Bluewater, said
councillors are always upset
with the province when it
announces a policy and then
has consultations so the
county shouldn't get involved
in the same kind of tactics.
Morley proposed a new
motion that would support the
choosing of the option to
close the libraries but that the
final approval wouldn't be
made until after
resources officer beginning
Sept. 16. The hiring of an
executive to oversee
personnel issues was also
recommended in the Thomas
report. Previously such
matters had also been carried
out by the clerk-
administrator.
Donor
wall
planned
for arena
Continued from page 1
on a donor wall at the arena
entrance.
Anyone wanting tickets, or
to volunteer to help at the
auction, donate to the auction
or the arena fund can do so by
calling Fran Cook, 523-9040;
Diane Ferguson, 523-4563;
Linda Stewart, 523-4840 or
Doug Walker, 357-3555.
Giving credit to the
committee for the
"tremendous amount of hard
work" that has gone to this
project, Elliott adds,
"Something like this doesn't
just happen. It takes planning
and hard work."
"It also shows when a
community puts its mind to
something great things can be
achieved."
consultations.
"What 1 see is a lot of
backsliding and waffling,"
countered Deb Shewfelt of
Goderich. "What I hear is that
nobody wants to make a
decision. You really have to
be supportive of the library
board."
In the end councillors
clearly were, with their 14-4
vote.
Arts get own display area
County to hire
separate CAO, clerk