HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-02-01, Page 1INSIDE
THIS WEEK:
TELEVISION - Pg. 9
Rediscovering Canada to
launch pilot project locally
EXECUTIVE - Pg. 17
Cummings takes over
Ag. Society presidency
MISSION - Pg. 19
Local woman returns
from Uganda mission
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4Citizen
Volume 34 No. 5
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Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, February 1, 2018
Hockey Night in Canada
The Blyth Brussels Midget Local League Crusaders were in
action on Canada's most beloved evening: Saturday night,
Hockey Night in Canada. They took on their rivals from the
north: the Listowel Cyclones. The locals, however, found
themselves on the wrong end of a hard-fought, high -
scoring affair that ended 5-4 at the Brussels, Morris and
Grey Community Centre. Meanwhile, throughout the community
there was an Initiation hockey tournament in Blyth, followed by
some broomball. There was also a special Huron Centenaires
game in Seaforth which raised money for causes associated with
Rebecca Kipfer-Pryce and Tanner Steffler, both fallen youths from
the Seaforth area. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Society
donates
to BMG
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
The Brussels Agricultural Society
is in a position to donate $2,000 to
the Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre for capital
improvements thanks to its
involvement with the International
Plowing Match (IPM) last
September.
At the society's annual meeting
Friday night at the community
centre, Outgoing President Matt
Cardiff said that since the society
was technically a committee of the
1PM, it has been given $2,000 from
the IPM to donate to a charity of its
choice.
Cardiff also said that the society is
in a unique position, similar to that
of Huron County 4-H, in that while
the society was an IPM committee,
it is also a charity itself.
Monique Baan, who is a member
of both Huron County 4-H and the
Agricultural Society, but who has
also been involved with the IPM,
said that if the organization wanted
to donate the money to itself, that
would be acceptable.
However, this flew in the face of a
discussion that took place earlier in
the meeting where member Don
Chesher said he was concerned with
just how much money the society
had in its accounts.
Secretary/Treasurer Brian
Continued on page 15
Locals create petition to keep CIBC in Blyth
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
In response to the announcement
that the Canadian Imperial Bank of
Commerce (CIBC) Branch will
close later this year, a group of
concerned citizens has started a
petition urging the corporation to
change its mind.
The group, simply called
Concerned Citizens, is spearheaded
by Patty and Irene Kellins and
Sharlene Bolen. Members have
placed petitions at local businesses
hoping to find enough support to
have CIBC change its mind.
"The petitions will be located at a
number of businesses including the
Post Office, Stitches with a Twist,
the Village Barber, the Queens
Bakery and North Huron
Publishing," Irene explained.
The petition, citing the closure set
for Sept. 20, will be presented at the
public meeting being hosted by
CIBC on April 19. The branch is
identified as the only financial
institution in Blyth and the petition
asks citizens to explain how they
will be impacted by the closure of
the branch to "urge CIBC to
reconsider the closure of the Blyth
CIBC branch 07852."
"We're not looking to make things
difficult for the bank," Patty
explained. "We want to focus on
how this will affect the community.
We want this decision to change and
to go away gently."
Irene said that the best case
scenario is that the bank won't close,
but she would also consider the
closure being pushed back several
years a win.
The branch is very important to
Blyth, Irene explained, because of
the thriving downtown core and
business growth at the edges of the
community. Without a local bank,
businesses will need to look outside
of the community for everything
from weekly deposits to getting
change for registers.
"If you need to run out and get
money from the bank, and you're a
business owner, that means you're
closed for at least 40 minutes, there
and back," Irene said.
"With no public transportation,
this is a huge concern," Patty said,
with Irene adding that anyone who
doesn't have their own vehicle
having to pay twice as much for
taxis.
Another problem is the hours of
nearby CIBC branches.
Both the Brussels and Wingham
CIBC Branches, the latter of which
will be the "home" location for
accounts set up at the Blyth branch,
are open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
which isn't ideal for businesses
which are opened similar, or longer,
hours.
Aside from the petition, Irene said
the group wants people to contact
CIBC's customer service and
express their concerns.
Both Patty and Irene were
confused by the choice made by
CIBC's corporate leaders to close
the branch, especially with the
growth that Blyth is experiencing.
Among the commercial boom
happening at the south end of the
Continued on page 8
Festival seeks `Boot' stories
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil
Garratt is on the hunt for the
community's best stories about the
fabled Blyth Inn for this season's
collective creation, Wing Night at
The Boot.
Similar to the creation of The
Pigeon King last year, the writing of
the play relies heavily on personal
accounts and tales from those who
have lived through the situation.
With Wing Night at The Boot,
Garratt says that just about anyone
who's visited Blyth in the last 140
years has spent at least some time at
the bar and he's looking for any and
all stories that might go into the new
Blyth Festival play.
Garratt said that every time he or
Associate Artistic Director Severn
Thompson has spoken to someone
about their time at the establishment,
it has "opened a window" to another
story that they need to chase down.
The wealth of information, he said,
has been overwhelming, but those
who are working on the play are
eager to keep hearing more stories.
One story the creators have
Continued on page 19