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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1983-10-12, Page 3Gam lyt Q aign on t'/' e Memorial Hall CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBBR 12, 1983—PAGE 3 After only a few months of fund raising, the Board of Directors of the Blyth Centre for the Arts has reached the halfway point in its campaign to raise $83,000 for the im- provement of the technical facilities of Blyth Memorial Hall. The overwhelming growth of activity at the hall means that much of the equipment has become inadequate for the volume and quality of productions that are presented there year-round. The growth of music programs at the Centre has created a large demand for a grand piano, and the need for a new lighting system and new stage draperies has been pressing for years. The cost of upgrading the facilities totals $83,000. The Board of the Blyth Centre has now completely retired the debt from the initial building addition and renovation which was completed in 1980. The Board of Direc- tors raised almost. $100,000 towards the total project cost of $320,000 over the past three years. That money came from can- vasses, dinners, raffles and the many generous donations of local residents and organizations. Several or('ani7- tinnc h;-wo m:tri^ generous pace -setting donations to the new upgrading campaign- The Richard Ivey Foundation has donated $5,000, and the London Foundation has contributed $4,000. The Blyth Centre has diverted $10,000 of operating revenue to the project, and the Ministry of Tourism and Recreation has been approached for ?'10,000 under their Community Recreation Centre program. Wintario has underwritten the cost of new stage draperies at $3,000, and the residents of the area have given a resounding "yes" to the idea of a grand piano by donating over $8,000 towards its cost. Two fund-raising events are planned for the coming months to add a few more dollars to the fund. The Medieval Feast, at Memorial Hall on October 22, is a familiar event to Blyth regulars. The tickets, which are $16.50, in- clude prizes, entertainment, dinner and lots of fun. Patrons will get a chance to hear the new grand piano on November 4 at 8:30 p.m. at the Great Grand Piano Gala. Tickets will be $5 for adults and $3 for children, and are available from the Blyth box office. Festival's success story Blyth Memorial Hall, home of the Blyth Summar Festival, was built by the village of Blyth in 1920 as a war memorial to the casualties of the First World War. It was well used by touring and community pro- ductions for many years, and resounded to the sounds of concerts, dramas, variety nights, minstrel shows and the like. The auditorium fell into disuse in the fifties and sixties when television took the place of these popular entertainments, although the basement of the hall was always busy with meetings, dances and weddings. In the early seventies, a controversy arose concerning tthe hall and $50,000 was re- quired to put a new roof on the hall, as the old one was becoming unsafe. One group op- posed putting any more money into an old building and wanted to tear it down. Another group of citizens, headed by Keith Roulston, at that time editor of the local newspaper, and Helen Gowing, a local businesswoman, lobbied to have the hall restored. With the support of the local senior citizens they managed to find a government grant to cover the money needed to pay for the new roof. The Blyth village council con- tributed the rest of the :honey. The roof was not the only task that needed doing. Local citizens spent most of the winter refurbishing the interior of the hall - re -painting, carpeting, and re -finishing the natural pine flooring and -trim which -graced • the hall. In the winter of 1975 Keith Roulston hap- pened to mention his dream of a summer company for the hall to Paul Thompson, ar- tistic director of Theatre Passe Muraille. Mr. Thompson had toured the area many times and had in fact performed The Farm Show in the basement of the hall in 1972. Paul suggested to James Roy, a young director who had grown up in this area, that he take on the project. That was the birth of the Blyth Summer Festival. That year, in 1975, two productions were mounted, The Mousetrap, by Agatha Christie, and an adaptation of Harry Boyle's novel, Mostly in Clover. The Mousetrap had been planned as a sure-fire hit that would be sure to pay the bills while Mostly in Clover was a risk - a new play about the lives of the people in the area. But when the figures were in at the end of the season, it was evi- dent what the audience wanted to see. Most - Weather OCTOBER 1983 1982 4 22 14 19 5 5 17 10 22 4 6 15 8 26 9 7 14 3 20 10 8 15 8 20 6 9 12 2 17 7 10 11 -2,, 18 13 t Rain 30 mm Rain 6mrn ly in Clover had outsold The Mousetrap two tickets to one. Those figures confirmed the belief Of James Roy and the other people behind the theatre that there was a need and a desire for plays about the region. Since 1975, the mandate of the Blyth Summer Festival has been to produce new Canadian plays with particular significance to the region it serves. 1981 marks the seventh season for the Blyth Summer Festival. In that time, it has produced 28 shows of which 21 have been premieres. They have ranged from musicals to drama to comedies to revues, but all have been Canadian and have featured the best in Canadian performers, directors and performers. At the same time, other aspects of the Festival have been expanding. The Festival now offers country suppers, served by local women's groups, to its patrons on Friday and Saturday nights, and has developed a list of guest house accommodation for their convenience. A touring circuit throughout Southwestern Ontario has started to develop as well, for popular productions from the summer season have toured the area in the spring and the fall of the last two years. The theatre has always hosted touring produc- tions in the winter, and in latter year, the winter programme hasex ded to include . a. music, theatre andLctIren'rs ies a-' ' well as art workshops for kids, an active community choir and several special events each winter. The success of the Festival has been mir- rored by the extensive renovation and im- provement of the Blyth Memorial Hall. Over the past five years, over $300,000 has gone into improvements and equipment including air conditioning, better lighting equipment, new dressing rooms and backstage space. The renovations made the opening of the balcony possible, increasing the capacity of the hall to 491. The audiences have given this policy an over whelming vote of support. 2,900 people attended a two-week festival in 1975. In 1980 21,000 people came to four plays in an eight- week season and 1981 saw an expansion of that season to five plays in a nine -week season. By the 1983 season more than 30,000 had discovered the summer festival. Growth in future seasons seems certain. The Blyth Centre for the Arts is well on its way to raising $83,000 for improvement of technical facilities at the Memorial Hall. The upcoming Medieval Feast and Great Grand Piano Gala will help to further finance the project. Fire siren is coming down Clinton council will not have to turn the old fire siren into a Christmas ornament. Councillor Ross Carter's lighthearted suggestion will not be carried out and in- stead the fire siren, situated on top of the town hall, will be removed by an en- terprising individual for the salvage price of the siren. Industrial promotion - Large signs will advertise' Clinton's in- dustrial park and the land for sale. - The fo*n P ` '6,0),840,011(C,,.4 • informedc Aa$ the land for sale will be adve• several newspapers. ' The committee also noted that the to must establish a price per acre for the land. Faye Fear has been hired as secretary for the committee. The committee also noted that they would like to see engineering work done on the storm sewers at the industrial park. They have also suggested that a roadway from Devon to Isaac Street be established. some problems arise. The councillor, who represents council on the rec committee, said that the meeting helped to resolve a communication breakdown and clearly proved that the police are on the job. Mayor Archibald also commended the recreation committe for their presentation. Union Gas increase Union Gas is proposing a rate increase of up to 5.3 per cent. Their request is presently under study by: the Ontario Energy Board and regulations stipulate that all concerned rn inicipblities tnnst 13e, of the roposaj• •, ; m i Union Gas is proposing an average in- crease in their rates of 3.4 per cent on April 1,4984. The increase will range from 1 to 5.3 per cent for residential users. The public is invited to comment and voice any objections to the proposal through the town clerk's office. Police and rec board meet Differences between the Clinton Police and the town recreation committee were resolved recently at a meeting. The two groups met after the rec committee raised some concerns that the community park needed more policing. Councillor Jim Hunter reported that Chief Lloyd Westlake concisely reported why Check the next several pages for great buys for the entire family. Many of Exeter s Main way Stores are bursting with savings for the first ever Harvest of Values Sale this Thurs day Friday and Saturday 2 Mlles South, 1 Mile West of Clinton Exeter's Mainway businesses are proud to have the new Canadian Tire Store as a neighbour. We ex- tend congratulations to Canadian Tire and to Frayne Chev•Olds who hove proven they have con- fidence in the future of downtown Exeter HAILED GRADE APPLES Available et John 14 ,ennh ('havmon / „•rrr R, ' 'u' lm/rrm rmrnl 4 fro resi ill CO i4 By Wilma Oke TUCKERSMITH -- Selecting a municipal landfill site these days is not a simple matter. Government regulations are strictly enforced regarding such re- quirements as suitable location, suitable soil conditions. Another problem is the high price of land and another is meeting the objections of neighbors. The Town of Seaforth and the Townships of Tuckersmith and of McKillop have been planning the purchase of a site and sharing the costs of purchase of land, engineering fees and the maintenance costs on a percentage basis. However it has taken months and many meetings and progress is slow. Tensions are mounting and tempers edgy. At a recent Tuckersmith council session Deputy Reeve William Brown of Egmond- ville surprised his fellow council members when he announced his resignation from the Landfill Committee, as Tuckersmith's representative. He cited three reasons for his resignation. One, a remark made at a Tuckersmith council meeting; on Sept. 6 by Councillor Robert Broadfoot that he was not happy with his township's representa- tion on the committee. The second reason was a remark made by Reeve William Campbell at a Seaforth Council meeting and quoted in the newspaper concerning hurrying up negotiations on the signing of an agreement. The third reason was a remark made by Seaforth Councillor Paul Ross concerning payment of a levy by Seaforth toward the Vanastra Recreation. Mr. Brown said he had been accused of "dickering" over the sale of the land which Mr. Brown denied. s itte Mr. Brown told the press that the members of council can't be taking "cheap shots at each other." He said it is impor- tant that the three council groups of Seaforth, Tuckersmith and McKillop "must get along agreeably". Mr. Brown's resignation from the land- fill committee was accepted by his council with regret. - Reeve Robert Bell asked tor a volunteer to fill the vacancy. When none of the four members of council seemed willing to of- fer – including Reeve Bell, nor Councillors Robert Broadfoot, George Cantelon or John Brownridge, finally Councillor Brownridge of Vanastra agreed and he was appointed. A letter is to be sent to Seaforth Council advising it that it is the desire of the Tuckersmith council that all costs incur- red, including reasonable interest for the Seaforth and Area Landfill Site be includ- ed with the debenture issue at some future date. Council will engage B.M. Ross and Associates of Goderich to bring in a deck survey of Bridge 12 at Concessions 2 and 3, Lots 25 and 26 ( The Flewitt bridge) . An agreement is to be drawn up by the Township council and the Vanastra Lions Club for the operation and maintenance of the park behind the Vanastra Recreation Centre. Clerk Jack McLachlan has been in- structed to prepare a number of bylaws in- cluding new rates for licenses for dogs, the 1984 building permit fee rates, water charges at Brucefield and at Vanastra. Brighten Your Outlook! Perk up your spirits with a new hairdo! PERM SPECIAL ;2500 OnlY Reg. '35.00 October 13th to October 27th SENIOR CITIZEN DAYS! 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