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The Citizen, 2015-01-15, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, January 15, 2015 Volume 31 No. 2 CHOIR - Pg. 18 Auburn woman looks to start children’s choir BABIES - Pg. 10 ‘The Citizen’ celebrates 2014 in local births Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0 INSIDE THIS WEEK: Emergency situation After Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were called to Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton on Monday, reports started to surface that a weapon had been discovered in the school. While rumours suggested everything from a firearm to a knifing incident happening at the school, reports from OPP indicate that there was no danger to the students or staff. The OPP reported that they took an individual into “investigative detention” prior to discovering no threat to the school. Eyewitness reports indicate they released the individual prior to leaving the scene. The OPP also report that no charges have been laid as a result of the investigation. (Denny Scott photo) Huron East pledges to help 2017 IPM committee Central Huron SS lockdown ends with no arrests Huron East Council is looking forward to a fruitful partnership with those involved in bringing the 2017 International Plowing Match (IPM) to Walton. At council’s Jan. 6 meeting, Mayor Bernie MacLellan told the organizing committee that council looked forward to working with them and that Huron East would aim to help the project in any way that it could. IPM Committee Secretary Lynne Godkin started the group’s presentation to council, asking councillors to envision what Walton will look like as the host of the 100th IPM in 2017. She presented an aerial picture of the site properties near County Road 12 and Canada Company Road and then a picture of the IPM in Dashwood in 1999, the last time Huron County hosted the prestigious match. Godkin told councillors that the IPM is a tremendous tourism attraction that will provide a huge economic benefit for not just Walton and Huron East, but for all of Huron County and beyond. Using a graphic provided for a recent match, she told councillors that over 60 per cent of IPM visitors will drive over 40 kilometres to attend the match. The hope, she said, is to attract visitors who wouldn’t otherwise visit Huron County, but to show them what Huron County is all about and make them want to come back once the match is over. Over 75,000 people are expected to attend the match, she said, but it is the committee’s goal to break the 100,000-visitor mark. The match, Godkin said, could result in $20 million in economic spin-off for Huron County. Committee Administration Co- ordinator Brian McGavin told councillors he couldn’t be more pleased that the match will be in Huron East. The three-phase hydro offered by the site, he said, made it an easy choice once Huron County had been chosen as the host for the match. He praised the match host, Jack Ryan, the other host property owners, as well as the community, saying that the match will be in good hands in Walton in 2017. He said the alfalfa for the plowing sites will be planted this spring, providing a good base for the competition with two years of growing beforehand, saying that crops for other portions of the site are already being considered and preparations are already underway. McGavin then began discussing access to the site with council, saying that a number of access points will have to be defined in the coming years. Committee Plowing Co-ordinator Paul Dodds said that those involved with the match aren’t expecting Huron East to pave a number of roads in the area in preparation for the match, that gravel will be just fine, only that some roads will have to be widened slightly to accommodate the traffic (18 inches wider on each side of the road, Dodds suggested). McGavin said that no decision had yet been made as to whether or not it was expected that County Road 12 would be closed during competition. He said it was assumed that it would remain open, but that if the county was to consider closing the road, that would be even better for the Central Huron Secondary School was placed on lockdown on Monday afternoon after Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were called with reports of a weapon on the property. The lockdown was initated slightly after 12:30 p.m. when police arrive on the scene. After the lockdown was initiated, OPP arrived on scene with multiple cruisers and automatic weapons, however, after investigation, the report of the weapon proved to be false. In a press release from the OPP, it indicates that an individual was located outside the school who was immediately placed “under investigative detention” and searched by the officers. The release also states that police were not able to find any weapons on the individual and further, that he had not “ever posed any threat to the staff or students.” Eyewitness reports indicate that the male was not a student at the school and was released by the Ontario Provincial Police before they left the site. The press release indicates that no charges have been laid as a result of the investigation. Nearby St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School was also placed in temporary lockdown as a precaution. The lockdown was lifted just after 2 p.m. The Citizen Celebrating 30 Years 1985~2015 By Denny Scott The Citizen North Huron Councillor and Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) representative Bill Knott is looking for support for an initative that would put traffic lights at the intersection of County Roads 4 and 25. At the BIA’s Jan. 7 meeting, Knott said he was going to begin pushing for a traffic light at the intersection due to the increased traffic that could result from the proposed restaurant and gas station being built at the former Grandview Restaurant. “We need to install a traffic light at the corner of [County Roads 25 and 4],” he said. “I need support for that idea.” Knott said he has routinely observed large trucks travelling on Blyth’s main street going 80 to 90 kilometres an hour and has reported them to police, but he has seen no resolution to the issue. He said that, between the light at the county roads intersection and another proposed light at Dinsley Street and County Road 4 (Queen Street), the problem could be solved. However Past BIA Chair Rick Elliott pointed out the blocks in the village were too small for traffic lights to be installed at the corner of Dinsley and Queen Streets as they could cause backups at other main street intersections. Elliott also said that while a traffic light could help and has been sought at the intersections of County Roads 4 and 25 for years, it won’t solve the problem with trucks. “Enforcement is the only way we’re going to solve that problem,” he said. “We need to get the Ontario Knott pushes for traffic lights By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 9 By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 3