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The Citizen, 2017-01-12, Page 1INSIDE THIS WEEK: SPORTS - Pg. 9 Brussels Curling Club completes draw IPM 2017 - Pg. 10 The Citizen' begins IPM countdown with story series EXCHANGE - Pg. 15 Two local families play host to exchange students Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON NOG 1H0 C1t1Z Volume 33 No. 2 n WELCOME TO BINT H $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, January 12, 2017 Snow's out, sleds out While the wild winter weather may have wreaked havoc on a number of things throughout Huron County, like driving, event planning and school days, one community definitely saw the snow as a positive development: the area's snowmobilers. Here, a group of snowmobilers took to the trails through Blyth over the weekend, taking advantage of significant snowfall and cold temperatures that proved to be perfect conditions to get the sled out. (Vicky Bremner photo) County holds back its CCRC funding By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron County Council is pressing the pause button on funding set aside for the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity (CCRC) in Blyth after the centre failed to meet several county conditions. The county was due to release the first $100,000 installment of its $500,000 grant to Blyth Arts & Cultural Initiative 14/19, but Chief Administrative Officer Brenda Orchard said she couldn't do so without exceeding her authority. Those behind Blyth 14/19 had failed to meet a handful of conditions related to the funding, so in order to release the funds, Orchard said she needed council's authorization. Orchard told councillors at their Jan. 4 meeting that the Blyth -based group has failed to submit a detailed business plan for the CCRC, and failed to secure partnerships that would ensure the centre will be recognized on a national scale. Orchard and members of her staff, however, recommended that the county release the first of five annual $100,000 installments to help Blyth 14/19 meet those conditions, especially considering that Blyth 14/19 had been counting on the funding. "Staff recognize that business decisions have been made by Blyth 14/19 during the course of the year in anticipation of the county's funding and they are relying on the first installment in order to pay for Blyth 14/19 operational costs with respect to management overhead and architectural costs," said Treasurer Michael Blumhagen in his report to council. Council, however, saw it differently, saying that if Blyth 14/19 failed to meet the county's condition, then the money should not be released. Orchard told councillors that she and her staff had been requesting a detailed business plan for the centre, but instead received accounting information for Blyth 14/19, the initiative's umbrella organization. In addition, the partnership condition was crucial she said. If the centre was going to brand itself as national, partnerships with organizations like the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Stratford Festival and the Shaw Festival, to name a few, would be necessary to not only lend legitimacy to the project, but to secure funding on a national scale. Those behind the centre had failed to secure those memorandums of understanding, which was another condition that went unmet. Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan, who is also a member of the Economic Development Board, said that 14/19 Project Manager Peter Smith had attempted to meet with him to iron out these details, but weather and conflicting schedules prevented a meeting. Past -Warden Paul Gowing said that the process of attempting to help the CCRC meet the county's conditions certainly didn't go as well as he or county staff had hoped. He said he had "great concern" with how things had gone and told councillors that he felt the county should be "cautious on how [they] move forward." Several councillors felt that because the county's conditions hadn't been met, that the grant Continued on page 14 Blyth dethroned by Clinton with Church Cup victory By Denny Scott The Citizen The sixth annual Church Cup hockey tournament, organized by Blyth residents, saw Clinton walk away with the fabled trophy last week. The tournament is held annually on the second week of the Christmas holidays for local youth and this year welcomed two new teams to the tournament, Goderich and Fordwich, bringing the total number of teams to six. The tournament took place on Jan. 4 at the Blyth and District Community Centre. The tournament is organized and run by local youth according to Rev. Gary Clark and his partner Kathy Douglas who have been guiding the tournament for the past six years. Clark said this year was a success despite the adverse weather that settled in after the tournament began. "We don't think the weather had any effect," Clark said. "I'm led to believe that hockey players and their parents will drive through any weather to get to a game." Clinton bested Blyth in the final game of the tournament 2-1 after beating Thamesview 5-1. To reach the finals, Blyth worked through the B bracket, losing to Clinton 3-0 in the first game, then playing Wingham and Goderich to come out on top of the bracket to face Clinton again in the final. The tournament is focused on players of all ages having fun with each other, Clark said, and it has found a good niche in Blyth and the surrounding communities. "People have been good about not playing to win, but just playing to have fun," he said. Bryce Glousher, of Blyth, came to Douglas with the idea several years ago and, as Clark explains, that's all it takes is one idea to make a great thing like the tournament come to life. "Kathy sits down the young people who want to plan the event," he said. "The first step is setting a date, then getting information out to local churches and suggesting they Continued on page 8 Morris-Turnberry house fire a total loss By Denny Scott The Citizen Firefighters from several different departments were on scene for a house fire in Morris-Turnberry on Saturday. Brussels Fire Department District Chief Max McLellan explained that the fire, which occurred on Clyde Line just south of Morris Road around 11 p.m. on Jan. 7, required the assistance of Grey Township Fire Department and Fire Department of North Huron assets as, when the Brussels department arrived on scene, the house was fully engulfed. "Everyone was out and safe, which is good, but it was not a nice night to be fighting the fire," he said. "The house was a total loss and the value of the damage is yet to be determined" Morris-Turnberry Fire Prevention Officer James Marshall said he was told the smoke alarms saved the lives of the inhabitants of the home. "The smoke alarms did their job and the residents were able to get out in time," he said. "If the alarms hadn't worked, with the weather conditions, this could have been a much worse incident." McLellan explained that the community came together to help with the effort, saying that JR's Family Restaurant and Gas Bar provided coffee for the firefighters, while friends and family members of the firefighters brought out sandwiches and soup as the department was on scene early into the next day. McLellan said it was a team effort that couldn't have been successful without everyone pulling in the same direction, like Morris-Turnberry Public Works closing the road.