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148 Goderich St. W,
Seaforth
Phone
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Fax
519.527.2669
800.352.3963
519.527.2588
Visit www.inpsyt.com
for more information.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
$1.25 includes GST
In brief
Seaforth
man
charged
with
possession
of stolen
property
An 18 -year-old
Seaforth man was
charged with possession
of stolen property An
Feb. 15.
Huron OPP were
contacted about an
abandoned black
Chrysler Sebring stuck in
a snowbank behind a
business on Huron Road
in Central Huron.
The car had been
stolen from the parking
lot of a Tim Horton's in
St. Thomas during the
morning of Jan. 31.
Huron OPP say
documentation inside the
vehicle led to the suspect
in Seaforth, who had also
called the business over
the stuck car.
The man was charged
with possession of
stolen property obtained
by crime valued at over
$5,000.
He was scheduled to
attend court in Goderich
on Feb. 21.
Vehicle stolen
from Huron East
garage
A car taken from a
Molesworth garage
sometime during the
spring or summer of last
year was reported stolen
to Huron OPP on Feb. 1.
The vehicle was being
stored at the garage and
the garage owner told
police he thought the
car's owner had picked
up his car.
When the car owner
showed up looking for
his car in February, it
was found to be missing.
The missing car is a
maroon 1989 Chrysler
Dynasty.
Anyone with related
information is asked to
call the Huron OPP or
Crime Stoppers.
Seaforth woman loses
licence for 12 hours
A 65 -year-old Huron
East woman was issued a
12 -hour driver's licence
suspension after blowing
a warn on an alcotest
during a Ride program in
Seaforth on Feb. 19.
A gray Dodge Caravan
was stoPPed at 10:45
p.m. on Market Street
and the driver was found
to have alcohol on her
breath
Priest begins
six month stay
at local
churches
SPS places
second at
regional
tournament
page 10
Susan Hundertmark photo
One hill of a climb
Hannah Garrick, 8, Heather Kelly, 6, Jordan Coyne, 11 and Chuck Garrick, 5, make their
way up a tobogganing hill in Egmondville during last Friday's snow day.
Council aiming for five
per cent budget increase
By Susan Hundertmark
Expositor Editor
Huron East council is aiming for a four
to five per cent increase on its 2005
budget.
Facing a starting point of a 20
per cent tax increase at its Feb. 15
meeting, councillors debated
whether or not ratepayers can
afford a proposed new firetruck for
the Brussels fire department and a
new road grader this year.
"How necessary is the grader this
year?" asked Grey Coun. Mark
Beaven, who' added that Brussels
firefighters have told him they can
wait another year for a new firetruck.
But, Mayor Joe Seili said he is against
postponing equipment purchases and
would rather see some public works or
roads projects pared down.
"We'll treat everybody fair and
everybody gets a little bit done but a
couple of projects can wait," he said.
Seili added that the Brussels' fire
department's 1953 truck, which is the
back-up truck for a' 1982 truck, "should be
in a museum."
"The last time they had to get parts, they
went to the auto body shop. I'm not going
to tell a ratepayer that your road has no
potholes but you're going to cook (be
killed by a fire) in your house," he said.
Public Works Coordinator John Forrest
told council that equipment will have to be
replaced "at some point."
"We were going to do it last year but we
didn't," he said.
Some council members suggested using
reserves to meet the budget's target
increase of five per cent and still be able to
buy the necessary equipment.
Deputy -Mayor Bernie
MacLellan suggested taking
$400,000 of the $600,000 needed
for a new grader and a new
firetruck out of reserves.
"Then, next year, we build
the reserves back up," he said.
Deputy -Clerk Brad
Knight said it was up to council
to decide if they're comfortable
taking money out of the reserves.
"The big ticket items (the
new equipment) will have to come out or
we have to bring the money out of
reserves," he said.
Seili pointed out that council is spending
$100,000 on arenas in Seaforth and
Brussels that won't be on next year's
budget. As well, by spending that
$100,000, the arenas' deficits will also be
gone for next year's budget.
"We'll have $200,000 right there to put
back in the reserves," he said.
Seaforth Coun. Joe Steffler agreed that
money could be taktn out of the reserves if
council tries "to be frugal this year and
puts the money back."
McKillop Coun. Ferg Kelly said he
doesn't want to see Huron East's budget
increase for 2005 go any higher than four
per cent.
"Our rural people are beginning to
suffer. There has to be a limit," he said.
Huron East
allows local
farmers to
delay taxes
By Susan Hundertmark
Expositor Editor
Huron East council is
delaying all farmland
taxation until September in
hopes that local farmers will
be able to use the savings to
put their
crops in the
ground this
spring.
At its Feb.
15 meeting,
council voted
to delay taxes
on Huron
East
farmland,
leaving an
estimated
$836,940 in
the local farm
economy
until the fall.
"We were trying to figure
out a way to help our
farmers," said Mayor Joe
Seili. "We can see the
problems they're having
every day when we drive up
and down the roads of the
municipality and this is a
way to show we're
listening."
Seili said he and Huron
East's administrators have
been trying to find a way to
support the farm economy
and came up with the idea of
delaying taxes, despite a
cost to the municipality of
$19,000 in lost investment
income.
The $19,000 (or .8 per
cent of the general levy) was
calculated using last year's
figures from bond fund
investments of five per cent.
Deputy -Mayor Bernie
MacLellan said that farmers
will still be expected to pay
their residential taxes but by
delaying the farm portion of
their taxes, he hoped "they'll
be able to
have their
crops off by
the time they
have to pay
their taxes."
Deputy -
Clerk Brad
Knight said
22 per cent of
the properties
in Huron East
will be
affected by
the farm tax
delay.
"We hope other people
will pick up on this," said
Seili, referring to other
municipalities and to the
province.
Huron County Federation
of Agriculture president
Nick Whyte said during a
phone interview that the
move to delay muncipal
farm taxes until fall should
be helpful to Huron East
farmers.
"It is a very helpful move,
and thoughtful and
considerate. Hopefully cash
will be more readily
available to farmers in the
fall," he said.
"I would encourage every
municipality io follow their
lead," said Whyte.
-1161111F-
'We were
trying to
figure out a
way to help
our farmers,' --
Huron East
Mayor Joe Seib
Huron farmers
hope to fill
11 buses for
March 2 rally
By Suaan Hundertmark
'Expositor Editor
The Huron County Federation of Agriculture is planning to
send 11 buses full of local farmers to a Queens Park protest
on March 2.
"The phones are starting to ring and we hope to have a
farmer in each of the seats in 11 buses that day," says HFA
president Nick Whyte.
The "Ontario Farmers' One Voice" protest is being
organized by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
Whyte says farmers from all commodity groups are
encouraged to attend but notes that those raising ruminants
(beef cattle, dairy cattle and sheep) are most affected by the
U.S. border closure.
As well, he expects grain and oil seed farmers, who are
facing 25 -year lows in corn, wheat and soy bean prices
despite input costs at 2005 prices, will also be attending the
protest.
"The current prices are putting a tremendous strain on
them," he says.
Buses will leave Wednesday, March 2 at 6:30 a.m. from
Vincents Farm Equipment in Seaforth, Hydes Farm
Equipment in Hensall and Wescast arena complex in
Wingham.
"The One Voice Match" is called the first of its kind in a
recent press release by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture,
where so many of Ontario's agriculture sectors and other
general farm organizations are working with the OFA to call
attention to the crises currently being faced by farmers across
See QUEEN'S, Page 2