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The Citizen, 2016-03-10, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016. Smith resigns Central Huron Council seat By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen On Monday night, Central Huron Council officially accepted the resignation of West Ward Councillor Genny Smith and will soon be seeking a replacement. Central Huron staff officially received Smith's resignation by way of e-mail the evening of Feb. 28, but the resignation became official the following morning. Clerk Brenda MacIsaac instructed council that there are three options in regards to filling Smith's seat. The first is to simply appoint someone from the community (should they accept). The second would be to invite nominations from the public, then council would interview the candidates and choose a new councillor and the third is a by-election. Several councillors, including Burk Metzger and Dan Colquhoun Just in time With the warm weather that swept through the area this week, North Woods Elementary School students were lucky to have gotten in their outdoor snow activity day last week before the snow all melted. The day included snowshoeing, special snacks and hot drinks and lots of sledding, as demonstrated by Rylea McDonald -Inglis. (Denny Scott photo) Stolen Brussels truck results in police chase Huron County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has charged a 29 -year- old female from Kitchener with several criminal charges following an early morning chase that started in Brussels this past weekend. Just before 4:30 a.m. on March 5 a Sports Park Drive resident was awakened to the sound of his truck engine running in the driveway. Police say the man looked out the window and watched as the thief took off in his truck, a Dodge Ram pickup. The owner immediately took after the thief following in a second vehicle, called police and continued to follow the vehicle. Huron County OPP officers located the stolen truck in Seaforth at the intersection of Centennial Drive and Alexander Street. The driver of the stolen pickup then entered onto Silver Creek Crescent, a dead end cul-de-sac. At this point the driver of the pickup drove across a residential lawn and rammed the pickup truck directly into the passenger side of the OPP Chevrolet Tahoe. A second police vehicle immediately positioned in behind the pickup truck preventing it from reversing. The driver was then immediately taken into police custody. The police officer was not injured in the collision, however the police vehicle sustained heavy damage. Upon identifying the female driver officers determined she had outstanding warrants from Waterloo Regional Police Service and she was currently serving a probation sentence. Upon searching the stolen vehicle officers located two stolen wallets that contained identification and securities which had been stolen from an unlocked vehicle that was parked on Flora Street in Brussels. As a result of the police investigation, the 29 -year-old has been charged with the following 12 offences: • Theft of Motor Vehicle • Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle • Fail to Comply with Probation Order (5) Counts • Mischief Over $5,000 • Assault a Peace Officer with a Weapon • Possession of Stolen Property Under $5,000 (3) Counts The accused remained in custody ahead of a March 8 video appearance at the Ontario Court of Justice. said they were uncomfortable with choosing the new councillor when it should be the public that votes, but found a by-election cost -prohibitive. In MacIsaac's report, she stated that a by-election would cost approximately $20,000 and would, in terms of time, be the longest option. Due to various deadlines, the election wouldn't even be held until late July or early August, after which then the new councillor would have to be sworn in. Council then passed a motion officially declaring Smith's council seat vacant and directed MacIsaac to proceed with the second of the three options. She will soon advertise in area newspapers seeking candidates from the entire municipality, not just the West Ward. Once nominations are received, the candidates will be brought into a special council meeting where they will be able to speak about themselves and be interviewed by council, who will then make the decision of who will next fill the seat. Smith was first elected in the October, 2014 election, winning a seat in the municipality's West Ward. PAQUETTE PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS — - CONC:;RT * * * FEATURING CANADA'S PREMIER ETA * * * PETE PAQUETTE — WITH THE ROCKIN' ROYALS & THE TONETTES BLYTH SAT. APRIL 9, 2076 BLYTH MEMORIAL HALL SPM 519-523-9300 FOR MORE INFO & NEWS VISIT: paquetteproductions.com