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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2004-04-08, Page 1Thursday, April 8, 2004 $1 (93c + 7c GST) Under suspicion John Exel of McCutcheon Motors in Brussels stands by the police caution tape surrounding a burned pick-up located behind the business. Huron OPP are investigating. The blaze, which started sometime after 12:30 a.m. March 30, was discovered by Exel when he arrived later that morning. It had gone undetected and fortunately burned itself out without causing any damage to neighbouring homes. The business, which was a mere four feet from the truck, was saved by a cement wall. (Bonnie Gropp photo) County okays increase of 9.3% Inside this week Pg. 3 Pg. 9 Blyth Minor Hockey presents awards Salute to winter sports begins P 2 ironmen in OHA g. '1 final Piece of Belgrave Pg, history ends n County to tender for rg. LL bridge, culvert work Volume 20 No. 14 NORTH HURON PUBJ.SHING COMPANY INC e Citizen Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County OPP investigate truck fires in Brussels By Bonnie Gropp Citizen editor - Huron OPP are investigating two cases of arson which occurred in Brussels last week. Police were notified at 8 a.m. March 30 regarding a fire at McCutcheon Motors on Turnberry Street. A 1990 Chevrolet full-size pickup had burned sometime after 12:30 a.m. According to Brussels fire chief Murray McArter no one noticed the fire. It eventually burned itself out, but not before causing damage to the wall and windows of the business, which was located a mere four feet from the truck. The intensity of the heat cracked the windows. "The only thing that saved (the building) is the fact that the walls are concrete and steel," said John Exel of McCutcheon's. The truck sustained damage to the front end and interior. As well the , front tires were burned off. That night, at 11:15 p.m. firefighters responded to a call at Kurtis Smith Excavating Inc. on Industrial Park. Upon arrival they found a white one-ton dump truck ablaze. In this case, the cab area and engine compartment of the truck were destroyed. The OPP are making enquiries to determine if the lire was electrical or set. Neither vehicle had been running that day. OPP Sr. Const. Don Shropshall said there is no doubt that the two fires were set. Police are asking anyone with information to come forward. Call the OPP or Crimestoppers at 1-800- 222-8477. Surprise bill confuses budget By Keith Roulston Citizen publisher Just as Huron County councillors struggled to reduce their budget they received a surprise $355,000 bill from the Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services. The bill covers costs for the Ontario Drug Benefit retroactive to January 2002. The ministry had billed the county monthly based on its estimated costs but actual costs showed they had badly underestimated. During 2002, for instance, the county • had paid $82,764_ but the actual costs were $372,000, leaving a bill of $289,251. John MacKinnon, social service administrator, explained to councillors at their April 1 meeting that during the downloading process from the province, the county became responsible for the drug benefit costs plus 20 'per cent of disability program costs in return for the province taking over part of the costs in the Ontario Works program. But the province didn't anticipate counties like Huron could drop the number of cases on Ontario Works as well as they did. At the same time the number of people on disability programs continues to increase. It's meant the county's share of social services cost has increased. "We're doing such a good job on Ontario Works that they're "penalizing us," suggested Goderich councillor Deb Shewfelt. Dave Urlin, Bluewater councillor, said there are six or seven counties in the same predicament, including Perth. "The (ministry officials) were very apologetic about it," MacKinnon added. "They're going to work with us on how we're going to pay it back." The new bill came on top of calculations the county had already made on money owing forthe drug program, bringing the total to $729,000. "We've had three different figures in eight or nine months," MacKinnon said. He said the county has asked for a month- by-month accounting of the program so it can be sure these figures are final before paying. The earlier estimates had already been included in the budget but councillors had to scramble to add the additional $355,000 figure to the already-expensive budget. "I feel like a dog that's been kicked," complained John Bezaire, councillor for Central Huron. "Maybe like a dog, we should bite back." East Huron councillor Joe Seili argued that the government wants thing runs on a business-like basis but no business would try to go back two years to -collect extra money Continued on page 6 By Keith Roulston Citizen publisher After weeks of detailed debate, Huron County councillors Thursday approved a 2004 budget that will see a 9.3 per cent tax intrease. The increase will mean an additional $50 in taxes on a house assessed at $100,000 for county purposes, not including any local .municipal and school board increases. Councillors had started out with a 54 per cent increase in 'the initial budget presented by staff. Council had only whittled the increase down to 32 per cent before deciding to take $2.9 million from operating reserves to bring the bill down to a single- digit increase. In taking the money from the general operating reserve, council is left with only $264,216 left in the fund. County treasurer David Carey warned this amount would only cover 1.4 days of the county's operating expenses in case of emergency. "From what I've seen this is a very, very risky thing to do," said Carey. He warned that council must work to rebuild the reserve in the future. Asked by South Huron councillor Rob Morley if the Ministry of Municipal Affairs had a recommended level of operating reserves, Carey said there was no such number, but the-county's policy was to have 15 per cent of annual expenditures in reserve for unforeseen emergencies. Ken Oke, South Huron councillor, said he felt this was a special case this year. The taxpayer is already being hit with an increase in assessment and now must face a tax increase on top of the increased assessment, he said. "Reserves are for a rainy day," Oke said. "It's not raining, it's pouring." Carey agreed the unusually large budget increase this year could be termed an emergency. But Goderich councillor Deb Shewfelt said that while the general reserve was being depleted, this budget does add money to designated reserves for things like winter road maintenance. "We might be robbing from Peter but we are also topping up Paul," Shewfelt argued. Carey agreed that council can, by passing a bylaw, transfer those reserves if needed. Dave Urlin, past warden and South Huron councillor, noted that in case of emergency, the county does have a $4 million line of credit for borrowing from a bank. Paul Klopp, councillor for Bluewater, warned councillors that with the depletion of reserves they By Elyse DeBruyn Citizen staff It was a night to remember for Justin Peters as he scored his first goal in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL.) What makes this particularly noteworthy is that Peters, 17, son of Jeff and Janice Peters of Blyth, is goalie for St. Mike's Majors in Toronto. During game-seven of the Eastern Conference quarter-final series against the Sudbury Wolves on March 30, he scored the final goal were going to have to be firm in sticking with their budget. "If anyone comes in with a wonderful idea we don't have any money (for them) unless it's in the budget," he warned. "And even if there is money in the budget, we don't have to spend it." Joe Seili, councillor East Huron said that even .after the budget is passed, he'll continue to press for cuts. He said he'd be making a motion at the next meeting that expenditures like extra money for opening libraries on Sunday not be spent. If lakeshore Municipalities want their libraries open Sundays they should find the extra money, he said. Councillor Jim Fergusson of Bluewater also, wanted cuts. "I'm still concerned with the level of spending," he said. "I can't see asking residents of the county year after year to sustain this level." Fergusson was one of five councillors to vote against the Continued on page 6 ending the game 5-2 for the Majors. With three minutes left in the third period, the Wolves pulled their goalie and dumped the puck into the Majors end. Peters caught it and shot it down the ice scoring an empty-net goal with 2:38 seconds left in the game. "It was a whole body rush, I started shaking a little bit," said Peters who finished with 22 saves. "I didn't believe it at first." He is the first goalie to score in an OHL playoff game since former Detroit Jr. Red Wings' Fred Brathwaites in 1993. Peters scores from net