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The Citizen, 2016-10-20, Page 1INSIDE THIS WEEK: AWARD - Pg. 8 Long-time Lions Club member named Citizen of the Year CAR CARE - Pg. 13 The Citizen' presents annual fall car care guide RENOVATIONS - Pg. 26 Tour Memorial Hall with renovations underway Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON NOG 1H0 4Citiz Volume 32 No. 41 , n WELCOME TO BINT H $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, October 20, 2016 Chipping in The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority did a little bit of work over the weekend, but also included a little bit of education for young residents of the area — namely the Blyth Scouts and Wingham Guides. They began their day at the farm of Melanie Pletch on Nature Centre Road planting, but then moved on to the creation of birdhouses. Blyth Scouting Leaders Lavern Clark, left, and David Cartwright, right, were on hand to lend their expertise. (Vicky Bremner photo) Cadet program awarded The 2967 Brussels Army Cadet Corps was awarded the Area Lord Strathcoma Unit Efficiency Award during the annual seminar for cadet unit Commanding Officers recently at Canadian Forces Base Borden. The Area Lord Strathcona Unit Efficiency Award is awarded to the Top Small Army Cadet Corps in the area. Ensuring a dynamic and engaging youth program for all participants takes a lot of effort and co-ordination. Delivering this training are Canadian Armed Forces Officers of the Cadet Instructors Cadre, reserve (part-time) officers trained as leaders and mentors. Having a local program with no registration fees and opportunities that you can't find anywhere else is part of the excitement and challenge found in the Army Cadet Program. Army Cadets participate in parades, expeditions (hiking, biking, canoeing and sometimes travelling by dog sled), community service activities, sports and much more. "We had a very successful training year, and we are hoping to build on this momentum. Last time we had this honour was in 1995. It has been over 21 years," says Captain Paul Dawson, Brussels Commanding Officer. The Cadet Program is open to all youth between the ages of 12-18 with a focus on teaching leadership, citizenship and physical fitness. Blyth School building to come down by year-end By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen The Blyth 14/19 Board of Directors has voted to demolish the former Blyth Public School in favour of a new $5 million building. Karen Stewart, administrator for the organization, says that the board finalized the vote at its October meeting less than two weeks ago. Stewart said that members of the board felt the current building was purpose-built as a public school and it would be far too expensive to repurpose it for the needs of the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity, one of 14/19's creations. These thoughts were confirmed by a pathology study that stated repurposing costs would be far too high. Stewart says the board is anticipating that the building will be demolished by the end of the year. As for the new building, as previously announced in The Citizen, it will be called The Grant and Mildred Sparling Centre and its footprint will aim to be very close to the 19,400 -square foot space the school currently occupies. Stewart says that whether or not the school will be built on its current footprint has yet to be determined. Garden space at the centre will remain crucial, Stewart said, and The Garden at Blyth and outdoor learning areas will remain part of the property. However, if the decision is to build the new centre on a different part of the land, Stewart said, the garden space will have to be moved as well. The timing is important Stewart said, as the $3.3 million received from the provincial government earlier this year must be spent by March 31, as does the $979,907 received from the Minister of Canadian Heritage through a Cultural Spaces Fund grant. Of that money, Stewart said, nearly $730,000 will be put towards the centre, namely its demolition and the hiring of an architect for the preparation of plans for the building. The board, Stewart said, is planning a highly environmentally -efficient structure with an eye toward the future. As far as how the building will be designed, Stewart said it's too early to be specific, but that it will include studio space for visiting artists, gathering spaces for small symposiums and potentially for dinner gatherings. The centre will also house the four flagship programs of the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity: fibre technology/fashion arts, new media, theatre arts and 'the rural voice'. Hopefully, with architectural drawings in place by the end of March, 14/19 Project Manager Peter Smith says the project will be shovel -ready by March, 2017. The board is planning on a $5 million budget for the building, although that may change once the yet -to -be - chosen architect comes back with his plans for the building. While the building will bear the names of Grant and Mildred Sparling, their son Steven, one of the driving forces behind 14/19, thinks that if his late parents had their way, they would rather it carry a different name. Steven says his parents didn't seek recognition or validation, but that he and his brother David had spoken to his parents before they passed away about their intention to honour their parents in this way, saying it was a decision made by the family. With his parents' love for the Blyth community and their support of Blyth programs for decades, Steven said that the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity, which will be housed within the Grant and Mildred Sparling Centre once constructed, certainly fits within Grant and Mildred's hopes for Blyth. "They were always strong advocates for Blyth to not only sustain itself, but to grow," Steven said. Before Grant and Mildred, better known as Pat, passed away, Steven said, they were both well aware of the vision of 14/19 and the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity and they were encouraged by its potential. Smith says residents should be encouraged with the plans because a learning centre will be in Blyth once again. "There will be an education centre once again in the village," Smith said in an e-mail to The Citizen. "It will be a centre for innovation, for entrepreneurs, for artists and for the community. And it will be located on the same piece of land that held the Blyth Public School — a centre that helped shape the imaginations of so many generations in our community." Smith added that the new building and, by extension, the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity, will play a crucial role in rural innovation and telling the rural story. "Did the people who created the Blyth Memorial Community Hall know that a national theatre company would grow inside that living cenotaph? Maybe some did, but it took 60 years for that company to come along," Smith said. "The Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity is building on the tradition of the Festival in telling the rural story and we are pushing to create a rural cultural hub, a creative incubator for the 21st century, in this unique part of the world."