The Citizen, 2013-08-22, Page 1CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, August 22, 2013
Volume 29 No. 33
FLOOD - Pg. 15Brussels company chipsin after Alberta flood FESTIVAL - Pg. 19 ‘Falling A: Wake’ toopen at Phillips StudioMADNESS- Pg. 10Chrome Madness cancelledafter poor attendancePublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Tim Hortons coming to Blyth
Walton TransCan sees increase in attendance
Some serious air
It was TransCan weekend once again in Walton and the
area’s population swelled by tens of thousands. Attendance
was up at the event by between 15 and 20 per cent,
according to organizers, and the weather was perfect for
racing as Cole Thompson was crowned the King of Walton
and Brett Metcalfe was the winner of the MX1 class. For a
gallery of pictures from the event, visit The Citizen’s
website at www.northhuron.on.ca. (Jim Brown photo)
For the first time since the duo
took over the Walton Raceway, Brett
Lee and Mark Perrin hosted the
Walton TransCan at the site and,
with a few changes over previous
years, the event was the best yet
according to Perrin.
“This year went very well starting
with the move-in and going
throughout the week,” Perrin said,
explaining that (through a lottery
system) they cut down on a lot of the
lines of vehicles waiting that have
accompanied the move-in day, “We
scheduled move-in times and with
that we had no big line-ups. It was a
great procedure.”
Aside from that and the weather,
the week was the best that they could
have asked for according to Perrin.
“With the weather keeping the
track moist and cool, we were able
to have great racing conditions all
week,” he said.
Other changes this year included a
12’x12’ screen in the infield and live
reporting of scores and times. Both
of these new technologies allowed
everyone from the raceway to across
the world to keep up with their
favourite racers.
“The screen and the live tracking
were really great,” Perrin explained.
“It really helped us to get
community involvement so everyone
can follow the race. We can make
sure, whether people are in the
infield or at home, that they can
follow everything from the track.”
Numbers wise, Perrin stated that
Tite Racing, the company that he
and Lee formed to take over the
track from Chris Lee, was still
working to figure out exactly how
things went. He did, however, state
that on Sunday, the last day of the
event, numbers were up across the
board.
He stated that both riders and
spectators showed up in droves
resulting in a 15 to 20 per cent
increase in attendance over last year
for both groups.
“With those kind of numbers, the
vendors were busy and the sponsors
were extremely happy,” he said. “It
was an enjoyable event for Brett and
I, especially since this was our first
year running it.”
As far as the racers are concerned,
they came from across the road,
across the province, across the
country and across the world.
The final podium for the Monster
Energy Motocross CMRC Nationals
was a great example of that
according to Perrin.
“It was nice this year, the winner
of the top race was Cole Thompson,
a Sarnia native,” he said. “He beat
out Brett Metcalfe who is from
Australia and Bobby Kiniry who is
from the United States.”
Thompson is what Perrin feels is a
local rider.
“He grew up riding 50cc
motorcycles in Walton when he was
four to six years old up to now being
crowned the King of Walton,” he
said.
The advancements that were made
will definitely be kept in coming
years, according to Perrin, as they
were well-received.
He also said that it was great
working with community partners to
help them raise money and run the
events.
“Locally, it was great working
A numbered company has
received one of several approvals
necessary to build a restaurant,
convenience store and gas station, at
the site of the former Grandview
Restaurant just outside of Blyth.
Reports indicate that the restaurant
in question will be affiliated with
Tim Hortons.
The property, which is in Central
Huron on the south side of County
Road 25, had to be rezoned before
2336438 Ontario Inc. represented at
the Aug. 6 Central Huron Council
meeting by Yaso Somalingam could
begin pursuing further
documentation needed for their
proposed construction of a small
restaurant with 16-person seating, a
gas station and a convenience store.
While the documents presented to
Central Huron Council earlier this
month include no information
regarding the restaurant’s fare,
Central Huron Chief Administrative
Officer Peggy Van Mierlo-West
confirmed the restaurant being
considered to operate alongside the
convenience store and gas station is
indeed Tim Hortons.
Huron County Planner Monica
Walker-Bolton presented the
application to council earlier this
month. She stated the proposed
structure would be similar to gas
station-restaurant combinations in
larger, more urban centres, but with
more of a focus on the restaurant. It
would, however, be less of a
restaurant presence than Tim
Hortons locations in neighbouring
communities like Clinton, Goderich,
Seaforth and Wingham.
The rezoning was necessary
because the previous zoning drew
reference to the existing restaurants
and the owners are planning on
demolishing and building a
completely new building.
“The plan is to tear down the
existing building and orient the new
building kind of parallel to County
Road 4,” Walker-Bolton said in an
interview with The Citizen. “The
traffic would enter and exit the
property off of County Road 25
[Blyth Road] and move around the
building.
“The zoning needed to be changed
to recognize what was being
proposed,” she said.
Walker-Bolton stated that this fits
in the official plans of both North
Huron and Central Huron, but there
are other planning issues that still
need to be addressed, including a
site plan.
“Other issues that they may have
to look at include traffic flow and
how the property fits into the
surrounding area. It’s not completely
done yet,” she said.
Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn
explained there was a slight change
of use necessary for the property.
He also said that if a drive-through
was present, as it is in similar set-ups
with coffee companies and gas
station combination sites, there is
still work to do.
“You have to deal with drainage
issues and setbacks, especially with
a gas station, and other kinds of
“A recent Ontario Arts Council study confirms
that for every dollar invested in culture tourism,
there is an $11 return. Just imagine the impact
of this $6-million campaign.”
RICK ELLIOTT, CHAIR
BLYTH BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 16
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 7