Clinton News Record, 2015-07-15, Page 5Wednesday, July 15, 2015 • News Record 5
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letters to the editor
Residents asked to help welcome visitors for Celtic Roots Festival
To the Editor:
The Celtic Roots Festival is
fast approaching.
The festival is one of the
largest events in Goderich
each summer, attracting more
than 10,000 people. As a
result, accommodations,
including campgrounds,
hotels and bed and break-
fasts,
reakfasts, fill up quickly leaving
many last minute visitors
without a place to stay.
Tourism Goderich is once
again offering a solution and
we are asking the citizens of
Goderich and area for their
help. If anyone has ever won-
dered what it would be like to
run a bed and breakfast, this
is their opportunity.
Anyone wishing to offer
bed and breakfast
accommodation during the
Celtic College, August 4 to
August 8, and/or on the
weekend of the Celtic Festi-
val, August 8 to August 10, is
asked to come to the Tourist
Information Centre, at the
corner of Hamilton and Vic-
toria Streets (by the Dutch
Fountain) as soon as possible
and we will coordinate over-
flow bed and breakfast
accommodation. When they
speak to us, they should be
prepared to give us informa-
tion about what they have to
offer and rates. Our travel
counsellors will be happy to
assist them with this.
So as not to offend estab-
lished tourism operators, we
will attempt to help fill the
existing accommodations
first, but we need to be
informed when they are full.
Our sources indicate that
many are full already. We will
then refer visitors to our Celtic
Bed and Breakfast Program.
This can onlybe accom-
plished if everyone works
together. For more informa-
tion about the Celtic Bed and
Breakfast Program, please call
us at 519-524-6600.
Let's welcome our visitors
to Goderich during the
Celtic Roots Festival, in fact
all year long, and let them
know that we are not only
Canada's Prettiest Town, but
also the most hospitable.
Thank you,
James Cox
Economic Development/
Tourism Coordinator
From the archives
15 Years Ago...
• The public was asked to help pre-
vented vandalism in Clinton. Vandal-
ism had been occurring to the planters
around town and theft of ribbons
donated by the CBIA. Local residents
were keeping on eye on town through
the Citizens On Patrol program.
• Well owners in Clinton attended a
water quality seminar in light of the
Walkerton E. coli contamination. The
workshop was conducted by the Huron
County Health Unit to answer any
questions that well owners had and to
build a better relationship between
owners and the unit. Out of 3,400 water
samples taken 40 per cent contained
bacteria. The owners were told that it
was their responsibility to conduct reg-
ular well maintenance to keep
minerals, algae and deposits from
affecting water quality.
• A bill regulating agricultural prac-
tices, including nutrient management,
was introduced to the public. The pro-
posal, introduced by Ernie Hardemen,
then minister of agriculture, food and
rural affairs, asked Ontario's livestock
and cash crop farms to use environ-
mentally safe practices.
• The Clinton Lions Club raised
$1,000 at its annual golf tournament.
The money was donated to the Clinton
Public Hospital to be used for equip-
ment at the new ambulatory care
project.
25 Years Ago...
• Bayfield boasted "the best beach in
10 years" said John Graham, municipal
roads superintendent at the time. The
South Pier Beach was not used because
of cool and wet weather. The lakeside
had the largest beachfront that Bayfield
had seen in years, about 100 by 400 feet.
• The Mid -Huron Landfill Site Board
had received a written version of Clin-
ton council's complaints over the way
the board was operating. Town coun-
cilors had been accused of withholding
their approval of a board landfill agree-
ment amendment until their concerns
were dealt with. Four days after the
landfill meeting the board representa-
tives convinced council to sign the
amendment.
• The Blyth Festival opened a new
art gallery. James Roy, founding artis-
tic director, said that when the festival
began it was with the idea of present-
ing both theatre arts and visual arts.
• "It's really, I think, what I and a lot
of other people hung onto over the
years. These things are not frivolous.
It is a very important business," Roy
said.
35 Years Ago...
• High winds and what may have
been a mini -twister swept through
the area, knocking down hundreds of
trees and blacking out power to a
wide area of Huron and Perth Coun-
ties. A farm just north of Brucefield
was the worst hit. The twister was
blamed for sucking off the roof of a 50
by 50 food barn, completely wrecking
it and flipping over a boat and trailer.
• Excavation of the north side of the
100 -year-old Clinton town hall
revealed that the building was sup-
ported only by wooden planks instead
of a solid footing.
Bringing the world to Huron and Perth
Laura Broadley
Clinton News Record
The Avon Maitland Dis-
trict School Board is looking
for host families for its
homestay program.
The program offers stu-
dents from all over the world
the opportunity to experi-
ence Huron and Perth. They
will be living with an area
family, going to school and
experiencing what Canada
has to offer.
Most students in the
homestay program are from
Brazil but Shirley Lynch, area
homestay coordinator, said it
attracts students from all
over the world. Students can
stay anywhere from two
weeks to a year.
There are two students
from Spain and five students
from Brazil placed with fam-
ilies in Clinton. They will be
attending Central Huron
Secondary School in the fall.
Lynch wants to stress that
for the duration of the home -
stay the student is treated as
a family member and not a
guest.
For Mary and Joe Ryan,
who will be hosting their
second student this year, the
idea to do it came from their
daughter-in-law.
The Ryans wanted to show
their country to someone
who had never experienced
it before. Seeing their own
country through someone
else's eyes was a "beautiful
experience; said Joe.
The student they hosted
last year made a great
impression. She was willing
to try anything and became a
part of their family.
They didn't realize how
positively the experience
would impact their lives and
now wish they had been
doing it for years.
Lynch encourages families
to apply, saying that the
experience is invaluable.
"The friendships you make
during the homestay are
irreplaceable. You know
you're making a difference
in their lives. You experience
their culture," said Lynch.
Each school has a homes-
tay coordinator who will be
the student and family
support. The coordinator
will visit the student once a
month at the school and
every other month they will
visit the host family. All stu-
dents are supplied with
medical insurance should
any issues arise.
The coordinators also
plan trips to Toronto and
Niagara Falls but families
are encouraged to take
their students wherever
they want to explore the
country.
Some of the main
requirements to become a
host family are:
Student must have a pri-
vate bedroom with a
window.
There must be one mil-
lion dollars liability insur-
ance as a part of your home
insurance policy.
Everyone in the home
over the age of 18 must
have a police check done.
Applications can be
found online at https//
yourschools.formstack.
com/forms/
avon_maitland_ho st_fami-
lies
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