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The Citizen, 2015-01-29, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, January 29, 2015 Volume 31 No. 4 AUCTION - Pg. 17 Brussels student to auction off hair to help fellow student AGRICULTURE - Pg. 11 Walton farmer receives innovation award 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: County questions SWIFT initiative Trail blazing The tall, skinny, barren trees of the forested Environmental Learning Grounds at North Woods Elementary School take on a far more tame appearance when students don snowshoes and walk on top of the snow. As part of the school’s winter fun day on Jan. 23, students got to see the grounds, up close and personal, without fear of sinking too far in the snow. They also got to enjoy crazy carpets, snow soccer and games. Shown enjoying the trip are, from left: Aliya Dauphin, Justus DeWispelaere, Kaitlyn Schlosser, Kierstin Fraser, Kiley Nicholson and Mrs. Lindsey Anstett. (Denny Scott photo) Council’s reconsideration draws ire of HEAT Huron East Against Turbines (HEAT) is encouraging Huron East Council to go with its gut and not change its mind on a vibrancy fund offered by St. Columban Wind Energy that council rejected last year. Jeanne Melady of HEAT spoke to council at its Jan. 20 meeting, saying that the stance of the wind turbine opposition group has not changed since the issue was first up for consideration over one year ago. The group still has many concerns with the proposed agreement, none of which have been addressed in the last year. MacLellan suggested raising the issue once again late last year at the first meeting of the new council after the October election. He said he felt the time was right to revisit the issue. Melady told council that she felt “common sense” was required when considering the issue, specifically the rights council would be “giving up” by agreeing to enter into such a contract. First, she said, members of the group resented becoming the “sacrificial lamb” that was being seen as standing in between the municipality and some revenue. Some Huron East residents, she said, have made negative comments towards the group, saying it’s keeping the municipality from the money. Melady suggests that one thing is not related to the other and the group shouldn’t be demonized for its stance against wind turbines, just because there is money on the other side of the scale. The group is also concerned about how the municipality agreeing to the fund would influence bylaws or motions passed by Huron East Council. Melady said that in the contract, the company has the right to terminate the fund if council were to pass any policies that would hinder the wind turbine project. “This does not allow anything to get in the way [of the project],” Melady said, adding that a “quiet nights” bylaw council had been exploring at one time would have to be “off the books” if the fund were to be approved. She also quoted some research that had been conducted by Wind Concerns Ontario saying that no company – wind turbine or otherwise – can legally have the right to direct municipal policy. If a policy suggests otherwise, all it is is a bribe, Melady said. She also told council she was concerned about what taking the money would communicate to the company on behalf of the municipality. If a company wants to bring wind turbines to Huron East, she said, and the municipality accepts money as a result, if the municipality needs more money, a wind turbine company could simply bring more wind turbines to the area. She said a transaction like that is a “slippery slope” that council shouldn’t want to be on. Melady and the members of HEAT encouraged council to “find another way” to fill what “must be a shortfall” in the municipal budget somewhere. She also suggested that Huron East Council entering into a vibrancy fund agreement could have consequences in the ongoing appeal process related to the project and several others throughout Ontario, including the proposed K2 wind project in Ashfield-Colborne- Wawanosh. At the heart of the issue, Melady said, is the alleged adverse health effects related to wind turbines. She referenced the Health Canada study stating no direct link between wind turbines and adverse health effects, but said the term “annoyance” is used in the study and it could very well prove to be an important term in the ongoing fight against wind turbines. She said annoyance, as a medical term, and its effects, could be the link between wind turbines and adverse health effects, but that it has yet to be proven. In closing, Melady asked council to not reconsider its stance from last year which turned down the fund, saying it was a thoughtful decision at After a presentation on OPP costing for Central Huron, Councillor Alex Westerhout says he thinks the municipality needs to seriously consider forming its own police force. At council’s Jan. 19 meeting, Sgt. Kevin Hummel and Detective Inspector Chris Martin, both of the OPP, spoke to council about OPP costing going forward, explaining that under the new contract, a level of service is guaranteed, regardless of municipal call volume. Hummel told councillors that in light of recent pushback regarding OPP contracts, the policing service is now offering varying contract terms ranging between three and six years, rather than what had been the standard five-year term. Mayor Jim Ginn told Hummel that Two presentations to Huron County Council in two subsequent weeks told two very different stories about the Southwest Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) initiative this month. At council’s Jan. 21 committee of the whole meeting, Grey County Information Technology (IT) Director Geoff Hogan requested funding from the county, while one week earlier at another county committee of the whole meeting, representatives from several local telecommunications companies reiterated their concerns. The initiative plans to cover all of Southwestern Ontario, a population of over three million people covering as far south as Windsor and as far north as Bruce County, stretching from Lake Huron in the west to Orillia, Guelph, Brantford and Norfolk County in the east. Councillors have been skeptical of the program since its inception, hearing from local providers that it is not focused on the last mile (providing high quality internet to everyone in Huron County) but rather building on existing infrastructure built by local providers to clear the way for large providers. Hogan told councillors that the importance of the initiative is job losses in traditional manufacturing industries and the need to think outside the box to ensure that rural communities remain viable into the future. He explained several aspects of the project, indicating that the fibre optic network would be “open access” meaning that any internet provider could use the technology, which hasn’t always been the case. In Huron County, Hogan said, local providers have ensured that residents are well ahead of many neighbouring counties. Between Huron County’s small size and how much work has already been done, he said Huron County won’t be an area where the initiative will have to complete a lot of work, which should be reflected in the costs. Hogan said there is very little competition in the area. The idea would be to introduce competition, which will drive down prices and be better for the consumer in the end. He also addressed bringing internet to “the last mile” which he hoped would be finally implemented on a 20- to 30-year scale. The hope, he said, is that funding for the large project would be that the federal and provincial governments would contribute $81 million each, municipal governments would contribute a total of $16 million and $65 million would come as a result of private donations. Hogan told council that the project The Citizen Celebrating 30 Years 1985~2015 By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 10 By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 6 Westerhout suggests mun. police force By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 6