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The Citizen, 2004-07-22, Page 1Thursday, July 22, 2004 Vacation at school These three local youths performed a skit to help to kick off the opening ceremonies of the annual SonGames Vacation Bible School in Blyth on Monday morning at the Blyth Christian Reformed Church. The church was full of eager children (with their parents) who happily sang songs, watched music performances and skits by their classmates before starting their classes: (Elyse DeBruyn photo) Festival set to celebrate NORTH HURON PUBLISHING COMPANY INC tnside this week Grey firefighters give to Kids n„, g Feeding a picky r -7 pre-schooler Pg Pg. 1.41 Play revisits 1 0 woman's journey 10 'Salt-Water Moon' . 17 makes it 3 for 3 po In A retrospective on zp„. hi%) Bluevale e Citizen Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Volume 20 No. 29 3 remain on ballot By Bonnie Gropp Citizen editor With the deadline for withdrawing nominations gone by, campaigning for the by-election to choose a councillor for Blyth can-begin. However. the race is not what it used to be. At the Monday night meeting of 'North Huron council, clerk- administrator John Stewart stated that by the 4 p.m. deadline, July 19, only three of the original seven candidates remained. "I'm disappointed. Certainly people have the right to withdraw, but the reason council decided to hold an election was because there were so many candidates." Following the resignation of councillor Ralph DeVries due to business reasons, council made the decision to choose a replacement from interested parties rather than spend money on a by-election. However, when seven nominees spoke at a public meeting early in June, council felt that with so much interest being shown, the citizens of Blyh should have the opportunity to choose. Monday, Doug Scrimgeour, Gerald Kerr, George Reinink and John Crony n had withdrawn, leaving Helen Grubb, Edgar Daer and Dave Pattison on the ballot. The election will be held Aug. 30 with the advance poll Aug. 21. Both will be at the Blyth Community Centre. Office closed Due to staff holidays, there will be no issue of The Citizen for the week. of Aug. 5. Anyone wishing to advertise an event for that week, should therefore, do so in the July 29 issue. The Brussels office will be closed from July 26 at 2 p.m. until Aug. 9 at 10 a.m. The Blyth office will be closed trom July 28 at 5 p.m. until Aug. 9 at 9 a.m. In celebration of the Blyth Festival's 30th anniversary, a full day of -activities is planned for Sunday, July 25. Beginning at 2 p.m., the 50-voice Blyth Festival singers will present Maritime Connections, an afternoon of great Canadian music with special guests Anne Lederman and Juanita Wilkins. Fiddler, Lederman, will perform some special songs with the choir and Wilkins, a local musician who has been playing clubs, dances and special events, as well as a very successful concert at the theatre last fall, will perform a few solo numbers. The Blyth Festival Singers, who joined the Blyth Centre for the Arts 24 years ago, have maintained a high By Elyse DeBruyn Citizen staff To beautify Auburn for its upcoming 150th celebration, a community-wide contest will end this weekend and the decision of who has the most improved landscaping will no longer be a mystery. The contest is organized by the Auburn Horticultural Society and the winner will be announced on standard of choral singing and have established a loyal audience. They traditionally perform a variety of music and are currently under the direction of Robert Blackwell. Following the concert, at 4:30 p.m., family fun is' planned for all during the birthday party to be hosted by Huron Insurance Managers Group. Puppeteer Marian Doucette invites those not old enough to read this to .bring along their favourite grownup to build a marotte— a medieval rod puppet to be used as a puppet or a mask. Children will also enjoy chalk- drawing and face-painting activities. Businesses from the Blyth community have generously donated materials including leather and July 24. Society president Maxine Seers, said the decision won't be made based on the most beautiful house, but by the way the homeowner has improved it. "The winners (first, second and third) are the ones that have improved by fixing their landscaping and making their home more beautiful for the town's 150th celebration," said Seers. Two unknown judges from Blyth sheepskins from Bainton's and The Old Mill. Recreated will be some of the characters that have been seen on the Blyth Festival stage over the past 30 years. There will also be a special backstage tour at 4:30 p.m. with Festival staff. From 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. Fred Hakkers from Tasty Treats will serve barbecued beef on a bun with summer salads. Net proceeds realized from the barbecue will be donated to the Emergency Services Training Centre. The birthday cake will be served by the Blyth Festival board members. The evening will culminate with a Continued on page 10 have been roaming the streets of Auburn since the spring trying to make the difficult decision. Seers said winners will receive cash prizes donated by the Horticultural Society and the Auburn 150th committee. She said the idea for the beautification project came from a Society member who thought it would be an easy way to ask people to do a little extra this year in honour of the village's birthday. $1 (93c + 7c GST) Vandals strike again By Elyse DeBruyn Citizen staff Vandals strike again in Blyth, but this time it seems they got caught. At the Monday night meeting of North Huron council, clerk- administrator John Stewart said that police had informed him an arrest had been made. As well, the names of the accomplices were known. In the early morning hours of July 14, unknown vandals hit Queen Street in Blyth causing damage to Luann's Country Flowers and Gifts, Radford Fuels and a number of planters throughout the village. Luann Taylor of Luann's Country Flowers and Gifts, said the culprits did a considerable amount of damage to the awning above her store window and overturned the plants decorating the front of the building. "It looks like they swung from the bars that extend the awning, causing it to bend," said Taylor. She said the police came to her house last Wednesday morning, informing her about the damages. Unfortunately, she said there aren't any local businesses that can repair awnings, so a company in London travelled to Blyth to give Taylor a quote of up to $3,000 - $4,000. Just down the street the vandals continued their destructive manner at Radford Fuels. Owner Doug Scrimgeour said he arrived Wednesday morning to find that the culprits had wrecked a brick planter near the building, threw a stone or brick through the glass of the gas pump and upset the park bench in front of the building. Scrimgeour said he phoned the police after discovering the damage, but they had already been informed as a neighbour had phoned in saying he had heard glass breaking at the gas pumps between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. He estimates the damages to be around $500. "Citizens have to help out police if we are going to eliminate this problem. People need to be involved," said Scrimgeour. He suggested that if people see someone causing damage to private or community-owned property, to report it immediately. Auburn dresses up for 150th Seers said citizens were not approached individually about the contest. Instead a letter was put in every residential mailbox as well as being mentioned in the Auburn news, asking people to participate. She said she has noticed property improvements throughout the town. "I've noticed people's flowerbeds are bigger and prettier and people are cutting lawns that were never cat*, before. It's a general face-lifting for the town," said Seers.