HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-03-01, Page 1INSIDE
THIS WEEK:
ESTC - Pg. 9
Deputy -Chief says work
needed at Blyth ESTC
BRIDAL - Pg. 11
The Citizen' presents its
annual wedding guide
FARM - Pg. 27
Local MP, MPP hear
agricultural concerns
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Volume 34 No. 9
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Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, March 1, 2018
Mudslinging
Thanks to inches of rain, warmer temperatures and a lot of foot traffic over the course of the
day, the Blyth Lions Club's annual snow volleyball tournament quickly descended into an event
of muddy proportions. Ten teams took to the courts on Saturday to have some fun and put their
volleyball skills to the test, all in the name of late local hockey players John Bokhout and Blake
Hesselwood, for whom the tournament is named. (Hannah Dickie photo)
$1.6 million cut from
Huron East budget
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Huron East staff has been able to
work its magic on the municipality's
budget, turning a large deficit into a
small surplus before presenting
council with the first draft last week.
At council's Feb. 20 meeting,
Treasurer Paula Michiels presented
council with the first draft of the
municipality's budget, which
included a proposed six per cent
increase to the general municipal tax
levy.
The increase would bring an
additional $245,000 into the
municipality through taxation over
last year's levels. Michiels told
councillors that the increase would
work to negate the loss of Ontario
Municipal Partnership Fund
(OMPF) money which, when
factored in with an increase in
Ontario Community Infrastructure
Fund, totals $147,500, as well as
pressures associated with
inflationary wage increases and the
increase to the minimum wage
through Bill 148.
Michiels told council that the first
rough draft of the budget she
compiled included a $1.5 million
shortfall. Quickly, however, through
a number of departmental cuts, that
red figure moved into the black, as
staff was able to find nearly $1.6
million in cuts. This turned a $1.5
million hole in the budget into a
surplus position of approximately
$72,000.
Nearly all of the cuts came from
the Public Works Department, with
several road reconstructions, a new
grader and gravel and dust control
maintenance proposed to be cut. The
only item to be cut that wasn't from
that department was the installation
of a glycol loop system at the
Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre.
This small surplus will be coupled
with a year-end surplus from 2017
that sat at nearly $76,000 at the time
of the meeting. Michiels, however,
cautioned councillors from counting
on that number, saying that by her
estimations, it would most certainly
shrink by the time she would be able
to complete year-end accounting for
2017.
Michiels said that all departments
were instructed to bring in their
budgets at 2017 levels, with the
exception of the municipality's
community centres, which have
been allotted some flexibility.
She said that the base levies for
community centres in Brussels,
Seaforth and Vanastra have all
increased by four per cent. In
addition, all three centres have also
been provided with special levies to
help further reduce their deficits. In
2018, the Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre will receive
$28,839 through this special levy,
while the Seaforth and District
Community Centre will receive
$20,442 and the Vanastra Recreation
Centre will be given $22,429. The
levies are presented in this year's
budget at the same level they were
the previous year.
The Brussels centre is then
projected to end 2018 with a deficit
of $77,087. This comes after
Continued on page 8
Blyth native earns bronze in PyeongChang Olympics
1-
O
CANADA
Dream come true
Justin Peters, a Blyth native and alumni of the Blyth Minor
Hockey Association, raised the Canadian flag on Saturday
morning as his team won bronze in the Olympic men's
hockey competition. He says it was the experience of a
lifetime to represent his country. (courtesyphoto)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Blyth native Justin Peters is now
back home after 26 hours of travel
with an Olympic bronze medal
around his neck.
Peters and the rest of the Canadian
men's hockey team lost a
heartbreaking game to Germany in
the semifinals, setting up a bronze -
medal game against the Czech
Republic, a team that had beaten
them in the round-robin stage.
The Canadians, however, were
determined to come home with
medals around their necks and won
the bronze handily, by a score of 6-
4. A team comprised of Olympic
athletes from Russia beat the
Germans in the final to win the gold.
The Citizen last touched base with
the Peters family last week, just
ahead of the team's quarterfinal
game against Finland In the first
period, starting goalie Ben Scrivens
was hit hard by a Finnish player and
would eventually have to be
removed from the game. This paved
the way for Peters, the team's third
goalie, to dress and make his way to
the bench for the first time in the
tournament, backing up second -
string goalie Kevin Poulin.
"[Scrivens] would have to come
out of the game, so I immediately
headed to the locker room to start to
get dressed," Peters said in a
Tuesday morning e-mail to The
Citizen. "So, there I was for the third
period on the bench in the back-up
role. We squeaked out a nail -biter 1-
0 to move onto the semifinals "
Peters said that the schedule was
pretty busy for the members of the
team during competition, so despite
several members of his family
making the trip — his parents Jeff and
Janice, his father-in-law Harold,
brother-in-law Mark and Mark's
girlfriend Krysten — he wasn't able
to spend much time with them.
When he was able to see his loved
ones, however, it was special.
"I managed to meet up with my
parents for dinner at a Korean
barbecue spot. We were also able to
meet at the Canada house for a
poutine and a burger," Peters said.
"[The team was] able to watch the
third period and overtime of the
women's hockey gold medal game
[between Canada and the U.S.]. We
practised on the practise sheet,
which was part of the same building,
during the first two periods, quickly
changed and headed up to take in the
rest"
Ahead of the semifinal game
against Germany, Peters said it was
an absolute honour to wear the
Canadian jersey, backing up Poulin
in such an important game in
Canadian hockey history.
"I was again on the bench in the
back-up role for [the semifinal game
against Germany]. To be able to put
on the Canadian Olympic jersey was
an absolute dream," Peters said.
Peters said that the Germans came
out firing in that game, the
Canadians couldn't get anything
going and were unable to overcome
Continued on page 32