The Citizen, 2005-03-10, Page 1Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Volume 21 No. 10 Thursday, March 10, 2005 $1 (93c + 7c GST)
NH
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Inside this week
Pg-3 Blyth speaker
advances
Pg. 6 Blyth Legion makes
donations
Pg-13 Bravo to Hullett
Central PS!
Pg-16 Brussels darters
off to provinicials
Pg-24 Local to represent
Canadian Quakers
HE council
considers
firetruck
, By Mark Nonkes
Special to The Citizen
After serious debate at the March
1 council meeting, the Brussels Fire
Department was granted
preliminary approval for a new
firetruck in the 2005 Huron East
budget.
In a revised draft budget, council
agreed for $230,000 to be taken
from reserves to pay for the truck.
However. Grey ward councillor
Mark Beaven said he felt very
uncomfortable with approving the
new truck when council was still
Leg up
It must have been a harrowing ride for these girls as they participated in the Taxicab game
during an improv workshop at the Sears Drama Festival last week. Hundreds of students
converged in Blyth to be adjudicated on their one-act plays in the hopes of advancing to the
next level. Advancing to the next level were Goderich District Collegiate Institute’s production
The Revenger’s Tragedy and Stratford Central’s Antigone. In addition to tech rehearsals and
performances the students also took part in a variety of workshops. (CappyOnn photo)
carrying a deficit from last year.
With council confirming their
commitment to a new grader.
Beaven asked Huron East
councillors to consider one major
equipment purchase a year.
"Last year it was the raise truck,
this year it's the grader, next year
it's the firetruck." suggested Sharon
McClure. McKillop ward
councillor, in agreement with
Beaven's sentiments.
However. Huron East mayor Joe
Seili told council the purchase
couldn't wait. Currently, the
Brussels Fire Department has two
trucks, one from the 1980s and
another from the 1950s. With the
purchase of a new firetruck, the
1950 model will be put into
retirement.
Seili reminded Beaven that he
"fought tooth and nail” for the
purchase of a new firetruck in Grey
ward when they asked for a new
vehicle.
"I don't disagree with the need,”
Beaven replied.
Seili added he would take
$10,000 oui of every ward from the
road construction budget before
cutting the firetruck.
Eventually, Beaven was
convinced and council staff was
instructed to prepare the official
2005 budget with the firetruck
included.
Councillors no to 18% tax hike
By Keith Roulston
Citizen publisher
At the request of county
councillors, senior Huron County
administrators will be bringing
budget recommendations to the
March 15 meeting of the committee
of the whole that would mean an 18
per cent increase in the county levy
but some councillors have already
indicated that increase is too high.
Goderich councillor Deb Shewfelt
started the debate at the March
meeting of county council noting
that at the same time as council is
concerned about an income crisis on
the farm, they’re contemplating an
18 per cent increase in county taxes.
“I think we’re talking out both
sides of our mouths,” said Shewfelt.
“1 think this (18 per cent) is too
high.”
Central Huron councillor John
Bezaire said the increase would also
be too high for small business,
seniors and people with low
incomes.
"We have to look at the
circumstances of the people,” said
Jim Ferguson, councillor for
Bluewater.
East Huron councillor Joe Seili
made a motion to have the stuff
come up with pioposals for a nine
per cent rate increase.
But county treasurer David Carey
pointed out that there are
uncontrollable costs in the budget
that would require an increase 14.25
per cent even without discretionary
spending.
“If you want nine percent we need
to know what programs you want to
cut,” he said.
Bezaire agreed that it will be up to
council to decide how to get the tax
increase down. To get to a nine per
cent increase might mean staff cuts
and service cuts. “We as a council
have to decide what will be the
consequences of budget choices.”
South Huron councillor Rob
Morley pointed out that earlier in the
meeting he had voted against
funding for the clean water program,
a program that would help people
make environmental improvements
to their properties from fencing
cattle out of streams to capping old
wells, but councillors had approved
it anyway. He suggested a member
of the public would be mystified
looking at council approving new
programs while complaining about
the size of the tax increase.
“Maybe we should all go home
and take a long hard look in the
mirror,” Morley said.
Dorothy Kelly, councillor for
Morris-Turnberry said if the county
Continued on page 7
County farmers rally
Close to 300 Huron County
farmers and agricultural suppliers
joined 8,000 of their counterparts at
the Queen’s Park March 2 rally.
Seven buses departed from Huron
County in an effort to convince the
provincial Liberal Government that
Ontario agriculture needs their
support.
Organizers of the ‘One Voice
March’ are “so grateful to Ontario
farmers for coming out in such
strong numbers,” says Ron Bonnett,
president of the Ontario Federation
of Agriculture “Their presence
reinforces the message farm leaders
in Ontario have been taking to
government for so long.”
During the rally, representatives of
various commodity groups, general
farm organizations and individual
farmers related the realities facing
farmers across the province.
Continued on page 18
Hospital
alliance
under
attack
By Mark Nonkes
Special to The Citizen
Murmurs of a hospital partnership
breakdown could be heard at the
Huron East council meet-ing March
1.
Several councillors and noted
community members voiced a
common hostility towards the four-
hospital governing partnership,
comprised of Stratford, St. Marys.
Clinton and Seaforth hospitals.
The criticism followed a
presentation by a committee which
created a focus group that put a
gauge on community attitudes
towards the Seaforth Hospital.
The group, led by retired doctor
Ken Rodney, polled more than 200
Huron East households to find out
the percentage of people using the
hospital in the'municipality and the
services they valued most.
The survey concluded that 77 per
cent of Huron East residents used
the Seaforth hospital and the
community ranked emergency
services as the most vital role the
hospital plays.
“The community doesn’t want any
compromise with the emergency
department,”
council.
Dr.Rodney told
Other hospital services were
ranked as important or very
important by an overwhelming
majority of respondents.
Officially, Dr. Rodney said the
project is to be used as a bridge to
the Local Advisory Committee
(LAC) to better understand the
needs of the community and their
expectations with the Seaforth
Hospital.
The LAC was set up make
recommendations and give specific
input from a Seaforth hospital point
of view to the governing partnership
body, when the four-hospitals
formed their alliance more than two
years ago.
However, other project committee
members said Seaforth was getting
shafted when it comes to the LAC
and the four-hospital alliance.
Maureen Spittai, a former nurse
and committee member of the focus
group, claimed the LAC was not
able to do their job effectively.
“Nobody has any power except
the alliance,” she said, adding that
the governing board just tells
Seaforth hospital what to do and
before they know it, it’s gone.
“There’s a severe lack of
communication between the
community and the alliance,” said
former Huron East mayor Lin
Steffler, who also was involved on
the focus group committee.
To protect the hospital a service
needs to be provided that can’t be
found in any other health care
facility in the local vicinity, Stettler
told council.
“We need a reason for this hospital
Continued on page 2