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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2008-05-07, Page 22 Times -Advocate Wednesday, May 7, 2008 "Noted" CD concertThursday at Rec Centre By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — "The talent is unreal." So says Zurich singer/songwriter Elizabeth Levesque when describing the "Noted" CD, a pro- ject which showcases the musical skills of 17 Huron County women. Those talents will be on display Thursday night at South Huron Rec Centre as the `Noted CD Launch Concert' will be held at 8 p.m. when the musicians on the CD will perform their respective songs before an expected crowd of 400 people. Thursday's concert will also mark the first time the "Noted" CD will be available for purchase by the public. Levesque, who penned her own song, "Boulder," for the CD, says those who buy the CD will be sur- prised at how professional it is. She credits pro- ducer Louise Fagan for being "top notch," adding the project was lucky to have her. Levesque said Fagan, who lives in London, brought the best out of the performers and set them at ease during the recording process. "I can't say enough good things about her." The "Noted" project was borne out of discus- sions between former Huron United Way execu- tive director Kimberley Payne and Fagan a few years ago. Eventually, it was decided to go ahead with the project, a partnership between the Huron United Way and Heritage and Culture Partnership sponsored by the Mildred Grimes Trust and Huron Economic Development Matters. Six months ago open calls were made requesting Huron County women to submit audition tapes. In addition to learning and experiencing how to work on a professionally -made CD, the women involved in "Noted" spent a weekend at Brentwood on the Beach learning the ins and outs of the recording industry. Workshops included a talk by award-winning singer/songwriter Donna Creighton, who has performed on stage with the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Valdy, Fred Eaglesmith, the Philosopher Kings and Lisa Loeb. Vocalist Jennifer Fagan talked about how to use your voice and hold a microphone. Local musician Emm Gryner, who has played with David Bowie, spoke about her start in the business, while Glen Teeple talked about the recording process. The CD was recorded at Teeple's studio, "The Music Room," in Arkona. Levesque says several of the songs on "Noted" are original compositions and represent a wide variety of styles. She said the way producer Fagan placed the order of the songs on the CD was like an artwork itself. "Really it's perfect," Levesque says of the CD. "It's astounding." "Noted" marked the first time Levesque had recorded and the concert Thursday night will be her first public performance. "Noted" will be for sale at the concert Thursday and will also be available at Ernie King Music and the Huron United Way in Goderich and at The Village Bookshop in Bayfield before being made available in other locations. Levesque said there has been talk of videos and a second CD being recorded. Levesque said she is looking forward to the con- cert and admits she is a little nervous. She said she hopes the project will encourage local musi- cians to stay in the area. "It will be a really good show," she says. In addition to Thursday's show, the "Noted" per- formers are being booked at other venues through- out the summer. Pitch -in impressive Continued from front page is asking council to return an Agency Letter of Approval, indicating their establishment meets the required standards. Council is calling The Royal Canadian Legion with a few questions, like their hours of operation. Pitch -in Day Lucan Biddulph Ward 1 Coun. Paul Hodgins was impressed with the turnout April 26 for Pitch -in Day clean-up. About 30-35 volunteers from the 1st Lucan Scouting and the 1st Lucan Guiding helped out, cleaning up most of Lucan's parks as part of Earth Week. "I think they were more excited this year," says Hodgins, adding, "It's like something they look for- ward to doing." Hodgins also says that although the weather was a little wet, he was pleased to see so many adults join in the clean-up. The volunteers collected a truck full of garbage. A clean-up was also done in Granton the week before. Annual inspections Lucan Biddulph public works manager Steve McAuley told council Monday that Lucan Biddulph received its annual water and sewage inspections. "There were no compliance issues," says McAuley, adding, "There were a few administrative issues." But McAuley says altogether the inspections went well and there are no concerns. REGIONAL WRAP UP Green visit CLINTON — Green party of Canada leader Elizabeth May visited St. Anne's Secondary school April 25 as part of its Sustainable Living sympo- sium. Green stressed the importance of sharing and told the students they have power they can exer- cise by voting. Wind industry growing SEAFORTH — Opportunities are growing in wind energy for industry, members of the Huron County Manufacturers (HMA) were told last week. Speaking to the HMA in Seaforth as part of Earth Day was Stewart Russell from Epcor, who said Huron County has some of the best wind in Ontario, although the industry in the county is in its infancy compared to other countries. Budget passed CLINTON — Central Huron will pass its 2008 budget at its next council meeting after the draft budget was reviewed April 24. General operating costs in the budget will be divided into 32 per cent for protective services, 19 per cent for general administration, 26 per cent for transportation, 17 per cent for facilities and six per cent for environment. SH goes through Drainage Act Continued from front page look at flood control options will move the project ahead, he said. Council passed a motion Monday night to direct a drainage superinten- dent to move forward on a municipal drain petition preliminary report for the affected area. "The municipality wants to construct a 100 -year stormwater diversion pro- ject to redirect runoff away from the Anne Street Drain to the Ausable River," Hardy's report to council states. Hardy spoke of three flood control options council has looked at, ranging in cost from $1.9 million to $3 million. Option one (about $3 million) would see the "construction of an urban stormwater management project within the existing urban area and development lands south of the Ausable River." This option, Hardy said, addresses the flooding problem and also opens up development lands for construction of homes in the south east portion of Exeter. Option two is the most economical, estimated at $1.9 million, and would see "construction of a municipal drain inside the rural lands adjoining the urban area of Exeter." This option would see the project move through the agricultural lands in the east and move to Ironwood Golf Course to the Ausable River. Option three, ranging between $2.3 million and $2.6 million, sees "con- struction of a municipal drain inside the rural lands adjoining the urban area, emptying to an urban stormwa- ter management system extending into the development lands south of the Ausable River." Hardy's report states that this option offers a mutual benefit to the owners of the development lands south of the Ausable. While the municipality has decided to move forward using the Drainage Act process, Hardy said that does not "preclude a preferred agreement between the municipality and the existing landowners." Mayor Ken Oke said the municipali- ty decided to use the Drainage Act to move forward with the flood control project because "we're all out of options." He added Exeter residents want the municipality to do something about the flood problem and the only way to proceed is with a municipal drain petition. He said the municipality has worked on the problem for six or seven years and "we're at the end of our rope." He added South Huron has spent a lot of money trying to reach a deal with landowners in the area and has- n't been able to. Coun. Pete Armstrong, who has worked on the negotiations with the landowners, said the decision to for- ward with the municipal drain petition is a positive step. "I look forward to seeing good things," he said. Armstrong said that the municipality had a personal commitment from the landowners in the eastern end of Exeter that the municipality would be allowed on the land to install a drain if a comprehensive review was done. He said the review has been done and there is the potential to have the land rezoned from agriculture to residen- tial. Deputy Mayor George Robertson, who also worked on the negotiations, said the municipality has done its "due diligence" on the project and held off for a long time before taking the step to move forward with the municipal drain process. He added Exeter resi- dents have shown a lot of patience. Hardy said council is concerned about meeting the needs of the resi- dents. He said the drainage engineer will look at options for the project, talk to the parties involved and come up with appropriate costs to the landowners. Union comments on CanGro closure Continued from front page 14 to negotiate a closure deal and the collective agree- ment was renewed for 18 months. "Which is important because the employees' recall is 18 months...in case a new employer comes into the picture." Regarding the closure deal, Absolom said there is a disagreement over the amount of severance due to what constitutes continuous service. If it can't be resolved, the issue will go to arbitration which Absolom said a potential date isn't known for yet. Under the terms of the closure deal, Absolom said the workers can either put their severance in trust or take weekly installments in which case they have access to health and welfare benefits for six months. Employees who choose to take a lump sum severance will have no access to health and welfare benefits. Regarding Sun Capital Partners which owns CanGro, Absolom said "they're a fmancial company and they don't care about employees. They're out to make a big buck." According to Absolom, benefits under the closure deal include basic health, dental and life insurance as well as Employee Assistance Benefits (EAP). There is also a labour adjustment committee retrain- ing program which will see CanGro contribute $240 per participating employee (40 per cent) and the gov- ernment providing the other 60 per cent. Absolom said the union's position on continuous ser- vice says it should be defined under the Employment Standards Act and CanGro's position is that since some workers were seasonal, their package should be calcu- lated based on the total amount of months worked. Absolom noted that a sister plant in St. Davids near Niagara Falls, which is older than Exeter's plant, is also closing. Although there is still a potential buyer the government is giving farmers in the area $12 mil- lion to burn or remove their trees. "That is a crime," says Absolom. "Our tax money is going to pull out live trees. The frustration with the government is, why aren't they stepping in and giving these plants subsidies?" Without processing capacity in Ontario, Absolom said food will be shipped in from China, "where there are no safety regulations. You don't know what that stuff has been grown in...and you don't know what it has been sprayed with. "If the politicians don't get with it and the people don't react, we'll all be in big trouble. "I used to be proud to live in Ontario, I'm not proud to live here anymore." Absolom said the final round of layoffs will be May 30 and the CanGro people in Exeter have been great. "I have no problem with them. They're compassion- ate. They're in the same boat as our people and they've always been good to deal with. But this Cangro and their Sun Capital...we were led to believe that the plant was sold. That's not a misunderstanding, that's an out and out lie." A call to CanGro vice-president David Hoyle by the Times -Advocate was not returned.