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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-06-01, Page 9Wednesday, June 1, 2016 • News Record 9 Get to know your local town councillor Justine Alkema Clinton News Record This column will run for the next seven weeks and will feature a different local coun- cillor each week. This week's interview was with Mayor Jim Ginn. Where did you grow up? I live on the farm that I grew up on; I've been in this area my whole life. I bought my father's farm from him. I have beef cows now, though it was a dairy operation when I bought it from my father. I milked cows until my kids grew up, and at that point I switched over. When and how did your interest in municipal politics originate? My father was the reeve of Goderich Township at one point. He was involved with politics, so I've had interest in politics all my life because of that. When I was milking cows, I didn't have time to [join council], but when I sold those cows, I had time to serve on council. My grandfather and great-grandfather were also reeves in the townships. I'm the fourth generation, so it's kind of unusual to have that happen. What's your favourite thing about the position? I think what I like best about it is that you get first hand information. It's not rumor or gossip; you get the facts and you know exactly what's going on. And I find it Bayfield residents meet to talk community centre Justine Alkema Clinton News Record Saturday, May 25 at 10:30 a.m. marked the first of many commu- nity meetings put on by the Bay- field Facility Initiative Team (BFIT). This team is comprised of around 18 people from various community groups who are brain- storming on how to proceed if the municipality decides not to con- tinue funding the community cen- tre. They are mainly considering building a new facility or repairing the existing one. The meeting emphasized that they are in the very beginning stages of their planning. After a short present ation, they opened up the floor to public questions and comments, of which there were quite a few. Answers were vague at this point, since they are in the very prelimi- nary stages of planning. Information from council regard- ing the future of recreation will come out at some point this year, but the committee won't really know if their work is necessary until that point. One citizen asked if they are "put- ting the cart before the horse", to which the panel replied that they believe it is crucial to be prepared. They said it would be terrible if council backs out and they don't have any ideas of what to do. "This is my own opinion, but I think it's quite obvious where the discussions [in council] have taken us which is that we don't have any money set aside, so who is going to either repair this facility or replace it?" said panel member Bill Whet- stone. "There is no money whatso- ever allotted [...] they know [the facility] is almost at the end of its life." One comment was that with some reengineering, the building can last for many more years. Another person was concerned about Bluewater council choosing not to fix the facility because they know a group of citizens is already trying to do that themselves. In this case, the worry is that money for recreation will leave town and go to fixing the Zurich and Hensall facilities. One citizen said that many municipalities are going through this dilemma, and it would be a good idea to see what other com- munities have done when they were in this position. One person was wondering where the arena would be built. Some people asked about funding. The panel acknowledged and agreed with all these comments, and they said these are all the things they are considering. Generally, after much discussion, people seemed to be quite on board with the project despite all the dif- ferent questions and concerns. Peo- ple agreed that this is an important conversation to be having. Bayfield is a community that is growing quickly, and people agreed that having a community centre is important to serve the growing population. if it's local, it's here clintonnewsrecord.com really interesting. It's such a broad spectrum of issues you get to deal with. It's quite a switch from milking cows when you do the same thing every day. It's a challenging job, but it can be very reward- ing as well. What's the most challenging thing about the position? I think the most challenging thing is the financial side of it. Our funding from the prov- ince keeps getting cut and our costs keep going up. You want to move the municipality for- ward with economic develop- ment and keep the roads in good shape, and it seems there's less and less funds we have to work with. Extra info: Mayor Ginn has served on council for around 12 years. He was a councillor for a three year term and then for a four year term. After that, he served as mayor for a four year term and is into his sec- ond term as mayor. Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn 10th annual Londesborough and district Lions duck race"' Contributed photo On May 22, 500 rubber ducks swam down a river near Londesborough for the annual Londesborough and district Lions duck race. In this photo, Lion Shane Taylor and Lion Dan Gilbert are rustling the ducks down the river. The first place winner, Helen Hummel of Londesborough, won $500. The second place winner, Stephen Radford of Londesborough, won $200. The third place winner, Julie Wright of Londesborough, won $100. The lame duck award for coming last place went to Bud Chamney of Auburn for $20. r THE BLUFFS AT HURON A Parkbridge Community jill Lakeside community living at its best. MOVE IN SUMMER 2016 Don't miss another spectacular sunset. $17FROM THE 0,000s REGISTER FOR UPDATES: www.TheBluffsAtHuron.com Par ridge Your bridge to smarter living CaII for an appointment today! 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