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Home My WebLink AboutClinton News Record, 2015-03-18, Page 7Wednesday, March 18, 2015 • News Record 7 Huron County examines Stats Canada Local groups kick off data to understand business numbers World Water Day with second rain barrel blitz Over last five years, the number of businesses operating in county has grown nine per cent County staff has been studying Stats Canada data to understand the trends in the number of businesses operating within Huron County. As useful indicators of eco- nomic activity, tracking these trends can assist economic developers in decision making. This analysis follows a report published by the Four County Labour Market Planning Board in Octo- ber titled "Solving the Skills Gap: Where Do We Start?" "We wanted to examine the broader context sur- rounding the number of businesses operating in comparisons of these data Huron County and under- offer more useful measures stand the story behind the of economic activity for headline statistics that Huron County. drew media attention a "A ten per cent drop in few months ago" said the number of businesses Scott Tousaw, Director of operating in the county Planning and Develop- between 2013 and 2014 was ment. "What we found was preceded by an 18 per cent a lot of variability in the rise the year before," said data, which makes year- Tousaw. "However, when over -year comparisons compared over a five year problematic." period the data show a The data used to generate moderate trend of increas- business numbers come ing numbers totaling nine from the Canadian Busi- per cent." ness Report published by Staff found that much of Stats Canada. At the com- the variability in the num- mittee meeting on March bers relates to changes in 1 lth, staff advised County agricultural operations and Council that longer term to the number of registered businesses with no employ- ees. Another possible cause of annual fluctuation is that some small busi- nesses might not earn the minimum income thresh- old set by Stats Canada to be included in the data for a given year. Staff noted that a limitation of this measure is that a business with no employees counts as one, while a business with 500 employees also counts as one. The Planning and Devel- opment Department advises County Council on matters relating to land use planning, economic devel- opment and the environ- ment. The Department's mission is to plan with the community for a healthy, viable and sustainable future. Community Notification System completes March verification call -out Huron Ready, the Coun- ty's Community Notifica- tion System, conducted a verification call -out the week of March 2, 2015. This test allowed registered par- ticipants to confirm the accuracy of their contact information so they can be reached during an emer- gency situation. "Over time the phone numbers for individuals, homes and businesses change, so it's important to verify them periodically," another call -out in the late said David Lew, Huron summer of 2015. County Chief of Emergency "Huron Ready is our best Services. "If you are not method for alerting our signed up you will not communities about an receive a call:' emergency and we encour- Currently, 14,686 partici- age everyone to sign up," pants are registered with added Lew. Huron Ready, and close to County staff noted sev- one third of them verified eral comments from partic- their information during ipants about poor voice the March call -out. Huron quality during the verifica- Ready will attempt to reach tion process, which is an only those whose informa- area that will be targeted tion was not verified during for improvement. However, PARK THEATRE �on�r: -�• C.DLERICF� ETD `324 7811 *OR MOVIE INFORMATION., �w ww.m€.vielinks.cla ,.: � 1- U P-2 5-3438 LONDESBOROUGH MINOR BALL REGISTRATION Londesborough Township Shed Thursday March 26th, 6-8 p.m. Saturday March 28th, 10-1 p.11. Contacts: II Jenn Janet 519-523-4869 (Home) 519-523-4399 (Work) 519-482-9915 www.londesboroughminorbaseball.shutterfly.com staff would like the public to be aware that, in the event of a notification, the message will be recorded by a person and will not use the text -to -speech voice. Registration to partici- pate in the Huron Ready program is free and can be completed in a few minutes by calling toll free 1-888- 524-8394 ext. 3711 or by completing the online form at www.huroncounty.ca/ huronready. clintonnewsrecord°com Coil• r ■f Clinton and central huron ANNUAL GENERAL MEETIN MIX & a INGLE Tuesday April 14, 2015 at 6:15pm at Central Huron Fire Hall Beverages and snacks will be served. Please see www.cchbia.ca for more details or contact us at clinton.centralhuronbia@gmail.com Vanastra Recreation Centre is one of two locations hosting effort to conserve rain water If you missed the chance to buy a rain barrel last year, now is your chance. Two local community groups are using the momentum from last year's sales success and are hosting another rain bar- rel blitz, according to organizers. The kick-off of the blitz coincides with World Water Day. This is a good reminder how local people can use rain barrels to save money, conserve rain water, and protect local water quality by capturing water runoff, said Hope Brock, Healthy Water- sheds Technician with Ausa- ble Bayfield Conservation. Getting more rain barrels in the area is one of the ideas from a community advisory committee in the Main Bay- field Watershed Plan. "One of the challenges we noted in the planning process is stormwater runoff, which can carry pollutants with it," said Ainslie Willock, a com- munity member of the advi- sory committee. The Thames Road-Elim- ville Community Park and Vanastra Recreation Centre are the two groups hosting this effort to conserve rain water and protect water quality. Rain barrels must be pre -ordered and you can order online at rainbarrel. ca/TRECommunitypark (for Thames Road-Elimville Community Park) or Rain- Barrel.ca/VRC (for Vanastra Recreation Centre). You may also call 519-235-4593 to inquire about the Thames Road-Elimville sale, or 519-482-3544 for informa- tion about the Vanastra Rec- reation Centre sale. Pick-up of pre -ordered rain barrels will take place in Exeter and Vanastra (depending on which group you order from) on Saturday, May 9 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The rain barrels cost $50 each. Net proceeds from the Truckload Rain Barrel sales will support the community group from which you pur- chase them: Thames Road- Elimville Community Park or Vanastra Recreation Centre. Buyers have a choice of col- ours and each rain barrel comes equipped with all the parts you need to set it up. Downspout diverters, dis- pensing hoses, and rain bar- rel stands are also available at an additional cost. Rain barrels capture and store rainwater collected from a building's roof through downspouts. This water is diverted from storm - water systems. Diverting water also helps reduce the pollutants and the speed of water entering local rivers and streams. Reducing the speed of water reduces its ability to cause erosion. Col- lected rainwater can then be used for watering lawns and gardens, and washing cars. This can save you money on your municipal water bill, stress on your well, and stress on stormwater infrastructure. International World Water Day is March 22, 2014. This is CONTINUED > PAGE 8 Happy 8061314thclay 8G613M o-vw Come and wish )1Mary Gibbings a Happy Birthday on March 28th 2-4 p.m. at the Clinton Main Street nited Church Auditorium