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The Citizen, 2004-03-11, Page 1WELp OME 10 4;B<EirVIE-1 , ESTABliSHED77 0 18 • , • e Drama at its best Area high school students were proving their acting abilities on March 5, during rehearsals for the Sears Drama Festival that night at Memorial Hall in Blyth. Justine King and Melissa Ninaber, foreground, along with other students from F. E. Madill, performed a true story entitled Murder Pattern by Herman Voaden, under the direction of the English teacher Christine Lacey. (Elyse DeBruyn photo) Clerks send message to MPP I NORTH HURON PUBLISHING COMPANY INC. Inside this week Pg. 3 Pg. 6 Pg. 7 Pg. 8 Scout leader gets recognition BIG idea unveiled at public meeting 'County to consider debenturing Locals on championship team -a' pa Couple celebrate L 60th anniversary e Citizen Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Volume 20 No. 10 Thursday, March 11, 2004 $1 (93c + 7c GST) Big week in Blyth for drama students Over 200 secondary school students from across the region were in Blyth last week for the annual Sears Drama Festival. The event began in Toronto in 1946 and has become one of the biggest student festivals in the world. Among its alumni are Sonja Smits and David Cronenberg. Eleven schools participated in this past week's area contest, among them F.E. Madill in Wingham. Listowel District Secondary School, Goderich District Collegiate Institute and St. Anne's Catholic Separate School in Clinton. Goderich teacher David Armour said students who couldn't commute were housed at the Blyth arena. The Festival began Wednesday. Students were involved in workshops and technical rehearsals during the four days. The performances began on Wednesday night with three shows, including Simon's Wife by the LDSS students. St. Anne's performed their show This is a play on Thursday, while Madill's Murder Pattern was Friday night. Goderich presented Lysistrata on Saturday night. The technical rehearsals and workshops went on throughout the four days. The adjudicator was Ron Dodson, a curriculum co-ordinator for the board and a drama teacher of 30 years. He is also a past president of Drama and Dance in Education. "He is very well-known in theatre and education circles," said Armour. Taking the top prizes were Central Elgin, Elmira and Goderich. They move on to the regional contest in Burlington. Madill received an award of merit for an ensemble performance. By Andrea Hruska Special* The Citizen Clerks and treasurers from around Huron County are initiating a "strength in numbers" approach when it comes to helping the Government of Ontario understand what will ease "financial burdens faced by municipalities today". According to Jack McLachlan, Huron East clerk-administrator, the Huron County Clerks and Treasurers Association "didn't want to just sit back. This is a new government and we wanted to voice what we think municipalities need." - The HCCTA has been compiling a list of recommendations aimed at improving such areas as policies and financial assistance. In a presentation to Huron Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell, the organization has outlined eight main areas of concern, ranging from the problematic "10-5- 5-capping" used in tax assessments to water quality legislation. Brad Knight, Huron East treasurer cited the OPP contract as an example of concern. "Our policing contracts are going up, this year by 10 per cent. A component of the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) is set up to assist with policing costs but it is not measured accordingly." Another worrisome area, according to Knight, is the funding for water upgrades municipalities receive through the Ontario government's OSTAR program. "As it sits now, Huron East has spent approximately $1:4 million on upgrades to our three water systems and based on what we were told, we would receive two thirds of the twitting for these capital upgrades from the OSTAR program." With a new government in place, there is some concern over whether or not these arrangements will be honoured. • "In some areas, water rates have doubled. If people think it is bad now, imagine the movement of rates to get payback within 10 years" without the funding, said Knight. In the presentation, the group brings attention to another area of concern with respect to water. According to McLachlan, the Ministry of the Environment has legislation telling municipalities to bring water systems up to standards to receive an operatational "certificate of approval", only to have a six-month wait before any response is given. "In some cases we have had to put in temporary equipment until the C of A is approved." McLachlan explained that this translates into quite an expense for ratepayers. The HCCTA is hopeful that MPP Carol Mitchell will carry these recommendations with her to Ottawa in the near future. Warmth, rainfall have rivers on rise By Bonnie Gropp Citizen editor The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) issued a flood advisory to watershed municipalities after heavy rain Friday caused a drastic rise in water levels. Jayne Thompson of MVCA said that while the water levels were "extremely high" they are dropping steadily. "They peaked on Friday night to Saturday and now are working through the system." Thompson noted however, that the MVCA will continue to keep a close eye on the issue for the next few weeks as there is still a fair amount of snow pack left, particularly in the wooded areas. With the thaw last week it is hoped that the watercourses will now have enough room for the next round of melting. "Before the rain on Friday conditions were perfect. Across the watershed most of the gorund was unfrozen so a lot of the initial snowmelt was not running off." "We are confident that this will now work through the system so there is the capacity to meet the next melt." The conservation authorities monitor spring water conditions and try to predict the ultimate height and the peak. There are three codes, flood safety, flood advisory and flood warning. Any risk and the affected municipality is contacted. "In Friday's case, that was all of them," said Thompson. Municipalities in the watershed have a flood emergency co-ordinator who distributes information to staff and decides how to proceed, said Thompson. "Each has a flood contingency plan with key phone numbers to call. They know the areas prone to flooding and watch these closely in the event people living in the area need to be warned to evacuate. This does not happen until a warning." The risk of flooding is not the only concern raised by swollen riverbanks and melting ice. "We are cautioning parents and snowmobilers to be really careful around any watercourses. The ice is thin, and as anyone can see, the water is flowing very fast and it's really cold. We are just wa everyone to stay away from an watercourses."