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Home My WebLink AboutLucknow Sentinel, 2009-07-08, Page 14Page 14 - Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, July 8, 2009 48 Coming 8vonts July Worship Schedule Lucknow Presbyterian Churches July 12 -Presbyterians at UMW Chtwoh 10 am July 19 - South Kinloss 10 a.m. July 26 - South Kinloss 10 a.m. -service led by Camp Kintail Staff, lunch to follow LUCKNOW DISTRICT COMMUNITY CENTRE • Main HaII• Kitchen Facilities MeetingRoom Available Seats 80 FOR INFO OR BOOKINGS CALL McDonagh Insurance 519-528-3423 Things are tough for housing in Huron County BY CHERYL HEATH Clinton News - Record Staff Things are tough all over. That was the word from social services . director Dave Overboe June 17, during Huron County's 't - tee -of -the -whole session. In releasing stats on. Ontario Works' recipients, subsi- dized housing wait- ing lists and related issues, Overboe reports all numbers are up. Though only three new cases were added to the Ontario Works' roll for the past month, Overboe says : that figure could be more of an :uidtca tion of available ( seasonal employ- ment rather than the :halt to a steadi- ly increasing case- load. "The recovery from that 504 (col- lecting OW) may take awhile .... a small growth is still a growth," he says. Barb Hall, hous- ing -services man- ager, repents there is a 20.15 per cent increase in demand for subsidized= housing in the county as the wait- ing list now stands at 232 people. "We're :going to see those numbers spike," she says. Hall also repons that county -run housing arrears now stand at 2.96 per cent, up from the usual 2 per cent. She adds that the current : heard times .can also be credited for the number of landlord and tenant board hearings under way. Indeed, says Hall, the tribu- nal is so busy it has increased the num- ber of days it sits in order to • meet the demand. noun. Ben Van Diepenbeek (Ashfield- Colborne- Wawanosh) won- dered whether there was any assistance available to those in private housing that can't make ends meet. Hall notes there is a rent -bank pro- gram but it can only be accessed once every two years. Plus, there are a number of cri- teria : that roust be met in order to for it. Coun. John Grace (Goderich) chn will get a lot worse before there is an. economic turn -around. - He advised - administrators to 'work : together so the county is pre:- pared re-pared to. meet the need created by plant :closures. Grace suggests the county should perhaps consider socking more money away for social services "and less in roads: because of the situ- ation we're in." Used up It's gone. That • was the good , flews` deliv- ered by social serv- ices director Dave Overboe in relation to the $126,000 allocated via the provincial govern- ment to assist lower-income fam- ilies to purchase homes. In all, $125,910 of the allotted funds were used to help out new homeowners. Overboe adds another wave of funding is antici- pated. Congrats . It was an event so large and in .charge that it left the little Hicrori -Kiel ()SS IMPORTANT NOTICE: CLEAR BAG CLARIFICATION All of the following items are acceptable in a clear garbage bag with bag tag as curbside side garbage pick up items: • Individual -sized yogurt containers • plastic bedding plant containers • plastic or Styrofoam clam shells (used by grocery stores for packaging muffins, berries; cookies and by restaurants for take out food) • Styrofoam meat trays take out coffee cups plastic items without a recycle symbol plastic fining of pet food bags (paper part goes in blue box) • plastic food storage bags (i.e. Ziploc/Glad freezer and sandwich bags, clear vegetable baggies) plastic envelope windows (removed from envelope; paper is recyclable) A visual display of the above items can be viewed at the Lucknow Works shed at 518 Hamilton Street and the Lucknow branch of the Bruce County Library at 526 Campbell Street. Plastic bags (i.e. grocery, milk, bread bags) must be collected separately from acceptable curbside blue box and garbage items. A collection bin is currently available at,. the Lucknow Works shed at 518 Hamilton Street. Hazardous waste items can be disposed of during the County of Bruce's Household Hazardous Waste events. These items include: • batteries • fluorescent light bulbs •. paint, solvents • oils • pesticides, chemicals • over the counter and prescription medicines In 2009, the County will be hosting events at ten locations including the Bruce County Highways garage at 545 Ludgard Street in Lucknow on July 1 lth from 1:00 p.m. — 3:00 p.m. Huron - Kin ass 1 Ou(.�en Str(!(►I. 1'.O. lio\ 1.10, Ripley, ON NO(, 21 O 19- ;O-; i7i5 Imrontwpoi hut (m((!lmr).(a • ww\w.htlr(,t1Litii(),.,..( ()all delight. That was the word delivered by social -services director Dave Overboe on the popularity of the Touch the Truck lit- eracy promotion held in Ho mesville on June 13. The festivities, designed to encour- age boys: to read, *eluded. a display of a large .variety of trucks and road equipment ori loan from Lavis Contracting Ltd. the community p "It was a: roaring success," he says "We had paren saying, 'we sho . be paying for this. In paying kudos to Evy McDonagh and 'Stift for. ,org izing the:, event Overboe says; was just fantastic to the kids," h says. "We saw shaking they - we so excited by. s . t. ing the :trucks.. Hitting the roof • One councillor' price -cutting meas ure is another's eye sore. Indeed, • Coun Bill Siemon (Huron East) found some strong :opposition to his to install a weather- tight ribbed -steel roof on the county's Homes for the Aged rather than purchase the pricier steel -shake variety. Coun. Bernie MacLellan (Huron East) says it is important to house seniors in an.attrac- tive facility and not something that resembles a barn, which Was a senti- ment echoed by Coun. Bert Dykstra (Central Huron). The COW ulti- mately endorsed a resolution • to choose Mid Huron Roofing as the con- tractor for a partial roof restoration, valued at. $43,875, Clinton, while Morgan Roofing was chosen for the $10,319 project at Huronlea in Brussels. Councillors spent some debating the first motion given the contractor was asking for 50' per cent of the project's cost up front, but the COW accepted the bid with the proviso that the, shingles are kept on site. is and an ; .r t to e ds.:. Were see- s . ones shaking with at Huronview in Changes A promised-fo six-month revie for : the county' new committee structure rolled.. into one change. At the suggestion of administration, board-of-healt meetings, some: times renowned f running ova schedule, will now be held on a -sep: rate day at th Huron Coun Health Unit. In endorsing - th change, Coun Bernie . MacLellan (Huron -East) said 'I still think th public- is getting bigger bang for th buck," in reference o two full -da. committee -of -the whole session rather than the .pas method of having various committees comprised of coun- cllorsmeeting on different days each month. Coun. Jim Dietrich (South uron) notes he ould prefer to see e warden chairing e COWS rather an individual hainmen. Sandwich out Perhaps a sand- ich? Coun. . Neil Rintoul's (Ashfield- olborne- Wawanosh) request o bring sandwich - s into committee - f -the -whole meet- ings was met with e proverbial ound of chirping r w s out on h. M_. M► er vv a- e County e e a e ` v s t d h 1 a f b 1 s c J 1 b c t H w th th c w c t e 0 th s In making the suggestion, Rintoul says by providing a snack, committee meetings could continue along at a speedier pace as opposed ` to break- ing an hour for lunch. Rintoul adds the ratepayers he's talked to "don't care" if the county provides lunches for councillors. Chief . . y Administrative Officer ...Larry Adams noted such a move would require a two-thirds vote , of council to revisit: the issue since county coun- cil recently elimi- nated its $15,000 annual lunch budg-: et. No one bit at the chance to reopen thediscussiim. Later, Coun. Dave Johnston (Bluewa#er) expressed frustra- .tion when the the 2 COW an past designated 1.. o'clock lunchtime In announcing he was leaving due to health concerns Johnston says ' the county should stick to: its decisions. COW chairman Bill Dowson (Bluewater) ` notes . he asked council- lors several times if they wanted to break for lunch but the majority of them suggested continuing on since the agenda was almost- done. As it tood, however, a pecial council meeting was 'set for, he afternoon to eal , with some ousekeeping ssues. in need of ddressing. The COW broke or lunch at 12:30 ut not before rais- ng the ire of a mattering of coun- illors including oseph Seili (Huron East), who original - y asked for; the cost reakdown of ounty-covered crickets. lunches. ,