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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-08-23, Page 1Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Volume 16 No. 33 Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2000 75 Cents (70c + 5c gst) Inside this week Pg-3 Pg-6 Pg-10 Pg-18 Pg-19 North Huron board keeps planning Senior inspires peers to keep active Brewers win playoff tournament Festival crew takes firearms course Local youths enjoy collective experience C. Smith to run for trustee The first candidate for a seat on the Avon Maitland District School Board in the next term has stepped forward. Charles Smith, the Seaforth resident who was instrumental in the fight to keep Seaforth District High School open, tiled his papers Friday morning. Smith will vie for a trusteeship for Central Huron, the school board district which includes Blyth, Clinton. Seaforth Bayfield and the Twps. of Hullett. McKillop, Stanley and Tuckersmith. “I first got involved in 1998. in the middle of great turmoil,” said Smith in a phone interview Monday. “I have gone back and thought about why I got involved in the first place, what was going so wrong at the time.” Smith said his focus will continue to be the connection developed between communities and their schools as he is determined to find an alternative to closing schools as finances continue to be trimmed. He said he has still not been convinced closing schools is the answer. “Schools belong to the communities and the community belongs to them. There is a bond.” In a press release issued after the announcement. Smith stated he was a supporter of good education and a promoter of community-involved schools. "Each community school is a client of the board's central administration and management and should be treated as such,” he said. “It is the real role of the board's central staff to function as a resource equally for each school under its wing. It is the real role of the board to serve those schools, to serve the students, to serve the parents, to serve the teachers, to serve the ratepayers and to serve the communities.” Smith said it is the trustee's duty to “protect community schools and to promote ties between schools and their communities.” He added that he would not support any initiative to close community schools because "community- focussed schools are the best schools.” Guarding the rubble OPP officers were on duty throughout the early morning hours Sunday and continue to keep an eye on the crime scene at the Lee farm in Grey Twp. A shed used for storage went up in flames mid-way through a weekend full of motocross racing. The fire is being considered suspicious and the Ontario Fire Marshall's office was to arrive Monday to assist in the investigation. The OPP have identified suspects. Young people seen fleeing before fire It was flames, rather than motorcycles which ripped through the air at the Lee farm in Grey Twp. early Sunday morning. Following a very successful four days of motocross events at the TransCan National Championship, property owner Chris Lee said fire broke out in a steel-sided bam used for storage at about 1:30 a m., Aug 20. The Grey Twp. Fire Department was called to the scene. The Blyth department responded with an extra tanker truck. Lee said he was amazed at the speed with which men from the Grey department were at the farm. “It seemed like just 10 minutes.” Water from a tanker on location normally used to wet down the motocross track was used to keep the flames from propane tanks until the fire department arrived, said Lee. Grey Twp. Fire Chief Gary Earl said the firefighters were on the scene until noon Sunday and returned later m the day to douse a hot spot. The fire is being treated as a crime scene and the Ontario Fire Marshall's office has been called in to assist in the investigation of the cause. Some young people were seen leaving the building just prior to it erupting in flames, said Lee. There were several witnesses and the OPP has identified suspects. The barn was used to store straw and a bit of equipment, said Lee. “We are glad no one was hurt or that there was no wind to blow the fire into the trailers.” The Brussels Minor Hockey Steekle to seek re-election Nick Whyte, president of the Huron-Bruce (Federal) Liberal Association, confirmed that the Huron-Bruce Liberal Association has received approval to hold its nomination meeting for the next federal general election. “Our association has been growing in leaps and bounds over the past several months. With this, I think that it is fitting that we are among the first 20 Liberal ridings in Canada to confirm that date of our nomination meeting. In short, we are moving into full election readiness mode. When the next election is called, we will be prepared,” Whyte said. volunteers will be feeling the loss as well. The group had agreed to sort recycleables this year as a fundraiser. Four days and many hours of work went up in smoke when the bam, used to store the recycleable materials, was lost. ATVs used to collect garbage, owned by members of minor hockey were also destroyed. The dollar value of the loss of the The nomination meeting is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion in Lucknow. Although voting is reserved for Association members only, the proceedings are open to the general public. “In speaking with various members of our association, we are pleased with the performance offered by our past candidate, the current Member of Parliament, Paul Steekle. Mr. Steekle has officially notified the party and the association of his intention to seek the nomination and, at this point. I have not been informed of any bam is estimated,at $60,000. Volunteers from minor hockey, the Brussels Optimists and the Walton community were given credit for stepping up to keep the racing on track Sunday and Monday. Sounding somewhat weary from the weekend’s events, Lee said this championship had been the best yet until the Sunday morning fire. “I credit all those who helped us carry-on.” challengers,”Whyte said. Steekle said, "I expect that the next federal election is not imminent however. I want to be ready whenever the call comes.” “The past few years as the federal Member of Parliament for Huron- Bruce have been hectic, but they have also been rewarding. Despite significant national progress, there is still work to be done and I look forward to being a part of the team that will be charged with the task. I intend to ask the people of Huron- Bruce to renew their trust in me as their MP. a process that will begin with the local Liberal nomination.”