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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2004-05-27, Page 1e Citizen 'l'Ari:"!Pt()MK110; 41/ BlY1+1' ESTAISI)SHEL) 1877 ! Serving the cgmLn„y_nitiglpf 13lythpnapr,ps§glA and,northern Huron County NET NORTH HUPON PUBLISHING COMPANY INC. Inside this week Pg. 2 Pg. 6 Pg. 8 Pg, 14 Pg. 21 Lodge gets special award Students walk for United Way Local teams see action The high price of formai Brussels Cadet receives award .. .•.• .. • • Volume 20 No. 21 Thursday, May 27, 2004 Barn burner Blyth firefighters responded to a barn fire in Morris on Saturday evening. With assistance from Wingham the firefighters worked to keep the blaze from spreading to several nearby buildings. (Vicky Bremner OA Day care, recreation still big issue for Huron E. By Dale Newman Special to The Citizen Huron East council started off the May 18 regular meeting off with a long discussion on how recreation and day care should be funded. Everyone agreed that Huron East should own all the facilities. It was also stated that the arenas require revenues of $1.000 per day to break even. The Vanastra Day Care Centre is only used by half of Huron East residents with the remainder of the users coming from outside the municipality. It is currently running at a $10,000 deficit. Councillor Joe Steffler proposed using money from the reserves to get the Seaforth Arena up to standard. He said, "Nobody planned for the future when it came to capital repairs." Councillor David Blaney suggested council should determine what services are required and what services are not and what Huron East can afford. He stated that the arena is there to service the community not the individual. - Mayor Joe Seili questioned council on why they carry a deficit for the arenas but not for the Vanastra Day Care Centre. Presently the recreation boards and the Vanastra Day Care Centre are preparing a report for council on what they feel are operating costs and what should be capital costs. Council made no decision on any different way of funding these facilities. They will discuss the funding issues after the reports are in. By Elyse DeBruyn Citizen staff The certain, yet unsteady increase of gas prices started about a month ago, but some local businesses and public services say it is too early to tell what effects this will have for them. Const. Don Shropshall with the Huron OPP, said OPP cruisers do a considerable amouiit of driving and although gas prices have gone up, driving won't go down. "Cruisers are on the roads about 24 hours . a day with two 12-hour shifts each. They (the cruisers) usually use about a tank of gas a day," said Shropshall. Shropshall said since the budget was just announced in April. they "haven't thought about" the amount of money In the budget to cover such an increase in cost. Dennis Harris, transportation manager with the Avon Maitland District School Board said the rising cost of fuel will be addressed in the contract for the 2004-2005 schOol year. "At this point the grants have' not been sent out, so it's really premature to make a comment. There is no confirmation at this point," said Harris regarding the amount of money the board has for bus transportation. He said the grants will be out later this week and each year "the contract speaks to the kilometre rate" and the 2004-2005 rate will be set for "next year" in the contract. He said diesel increase is noticeable, but fuel increase is noticeable everywhere. "We have to pick up the students. Every year the (bus) routes are looked at to be the best or efficient route as possible," said Harris. Paul Josling, chief building inspector for Huron East, said he uses his own vehicle to make necessary tours around the municipality and although he receives mileage for the gas he uses while working, the increase in cost will affect him as well as the municipality. "I'll have to pay out more for gas, but then somewhere, someone will have to pay me for the gas. I'll just have to keep closer tabs on it (the mileage)," said Josling. He said he fills up his vehicle every two to three days. depending on how much he has to drive, but he can't cut. back on the amount of tours he has to take. "Most of my driving I have to do. I might have to change my routes and take a more direct way now, but I can't cut back on my tours," said Josling. He said the effects of high gas prices hasn't hit him just yet. "It hasn't been up long enough to hit really hard, but it will hit hard I can tell. It will create some hardships I'm sure," said Josling. Jim Jutzi, owner of Brussels Transport Ltd., said although diesel prices have gone up too, it's "not as high as it has been in the past." He said on Feb. 24 last year, the diesel price was 76 cents a litre, but (as of May 21) the cost. was 64 cents a litre. "I try not to worry too much, but if it (the cost of fuel) gets back up again, I will probably start. It's always a concern when the cost of fuel rises," said Jutzi. Shropshall said, "It's too early to tell" if the police board should start to get worried about the increase in gas expense. Jutzi said he hasn't made cutbacks on any truck runs yet. "We have to do the runs no matter what. The rise in fuel cost is noticeable, but not that noticeable," said Jutzi. Barn burns Firefighters from Blyth and Wingham were kept busy Saturday evening battling a blaze that could have proven much more costly than it did. Blyth chief Paul Josling said, firefighters responded to a call at 8:10 p.m. A vacant barn, on property owned by Lloyd Michie at Lot 7, Conc. 6 of Morris, had caught fire. It was fully involved by the time the trucks arrived, and firefighters worked to cover the exposures. While the barn was a total loss there was no damage to a house., shed and hay storage, which were, said Josling, "very close" to the blazing barn. The houSe was occupied by a renter. The estimate of damage was unknown at press time. It is believed the barn was struck by lightning. Sunday night, a Drummond Street resident had a close call after falling asleep while cooking. Josling said firefighters responded at 7:45 p.m. A pot had been left on the stove and. the homeowner awakened to smoke. Damage was limited to the kitchen cabinets. Josling estimates the damage at $3,000-$4,000. "The main thing here is he did not have a smoke alarm. He does now. But had he had one then, he might have woken up a little sooner. Fortunately, it wasn't any worse than it was," said Josling. By Elyse DeBruyn Citizen staff Last year, around mid-July, a large population of mosquitoes thrived around Brussels, causing a big nuisance to citizens and this year the Huron County Health Unit has offered some tips on how citizens should protect themselves from West Nile virus. John Forrest, Huron East's public works co-ordinator and a member of the Huron County Health Unit's West Nile virus (WNv) advisory committee, said he has "no idea what to expect" for this season's mosquito population. He said the health unit has hired university students to trap mosquitoes and sample mosquito larva around Huron County to determine if WNv is present in the county. - Although mosquitoes can be annoying and make people want to stay indoors, Forrest said the health unit's goal is to protect citizens from WNv, not destroy the mosquito population. "We can't stop it (WNv) or we'd have to kill all the mosquitoes. People can kill them on their property, but we don't want to kiuk. Continued on page 7 Bug Some businesses, public services battles impacted by rising gas prices begin