The Citizen, 2007-09-06, Page 1The CitizenVolume 23 No. 35 Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007 $1.25 ($1.18 + 7c GST)Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Inside this week
Pg. 2
Pg. 3
Pg. 7
Pg. 18
Pg. 19
5 vie for fair
ambassador title
Blyth PeeWees
continue play
Team performs
‘Masterfully’
Summer company
Serious FUN
Locals enjoy Young
Company experience
It’s time to get those pledges
gathered and prepare for the Terry
Fox Run.
Hundreds of thousands of people
from across Ontario are expected to
participate in the 27th edition of this
fundraiser for cancer research, to be
held this year on Sunday, Sept. 16.
Across the province in 2006, a
total of $12.7 was raised for the
cause.
Registration for the Run in
Brussels is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It
will be held at the Brussels Optimist
Clubhouse, located on the west side
of Turnberry Street at the north end
of town. The site is wheelchair,
rollerblade and bicycle accessible.
There are three routes for
participants, four, two and one,
something suited to everyone’s
ability.
Pledge sheets are available at
various locations in town.
Terry Fox
Run, Sun.
Sept. 16
A skip in their step
It was back to school for children across the county Tuesday. While it’s sad to see the summer
over so quickly, for many it’s an opportunity to get back and see their friends. Olivia Johnston,
left, and her schoolmate, Candace Burnham, seem ready and eager to be back to Brussels
Public School as they hurry from the bus. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
It’s Thresher Reunion time in
Blyth and thousands will begin
converging this week for the annual
steam show.
This is the 46th Reunion, which
was begun by a threshing gang as a
way to reminisce and talk about the
good old days of roaming the
countryside. That original group
consisted of many local men
including the Hallahan brothers of
East Wawanosh, Dennis, Willie Joe,
Daniel, John Simon and Raymond
as well as Alec Manning, Jack
White, Hugh Chisholm.
Besides the threshing
demonstration, held throughout the
weekend, today’s Reunion, which
begins officially this Friday, offers a
variety of entertainment, sights and
sounds.
The official opening ceremonies
for this year’s Thresher Reunion
will take place at the outdoor main
stage at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
Opening ceremonies will be
closely followed by the first
installment of the steam engine
games at 1 p.m. which will take
place near the south baseball
diamond. Steam engine games will
take place again on Saturday and
Sunday at 2 p.m.
Friday is also student education
day as well as senior’s day.
Students can learn rope-making,
old time butter making, old time
clothes washing, horse handling,
etc.
There is also a demonstration by
the OPP Canine Unit that will go
twice that day, at 10:30 a.m., then at
2 p.m.
There will be a fun tractor pull
from 10 a.m. until noon that will
feature antique tractors (anything
dated before 1958) and a horse
demonstration at 10:30 a.m. as well.
Adult special events, like nail
driving, log sawing and bag tying,
take place at times throughout the
weekend.
There is an antique flea market,
as well as antique tractors and cars
on display for people to peruse.
There will be a parade every day
at 4 p.m. followed by music of the
Twilight Serenaders on Friday and
Saturday evenings.
The air will be filled with music
constantly over the weekend, with
bands playing on the main outdoor
stage between noon and 4 p.m.
daily, and jamborees, jam sessions
and competitions going on at the
arena, on the main stage and in all
three of the steel sheds.
A fan favourite, Peter Mogensen
of Mount Forest, will be back
creating chainsaw sculptures,
turning logs of wood into art.
The tractor pull goes from 10 a.m.
until noon on Saturday and Sunday,
while sheep shearing goes on
Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon.
On Saturday at 12:30 p.m. there
will be more sheep shearing,
clowns for the kids and the annual
fiddling competition in Shed 3.
Kids’ special events take place at
1 p.m.
Then again from 1 p.m. until 3
p.m. the tractor pull will take place
again, with a kid’s tractor pull to
take place just after the regular one.
The horse demonstrations will
take place at 2:30 p.m. on Friday
and Saturday at the north end of the
grounds.
At 1 p.m. on Saturday, the
Clinton Pipe Band will play, then
again at 3 p.m. they’ll grace the
main stage.
Breakfast by the firefighters takes
place on Saturday and Sunday
mornings at the fire hall.
Then the church service will take
place in Shed 3 on Sunday at 10
a.m.
The highlight of Sunday is the
step dancing competition that will
take place in Shed 3 at 12:30 p.m.
Daily admission is $5 per person,
while children 12 and under are $1,
but if accompanied by an adult, they
are free.
On Friday, senior citizen
admission is $3 per person.
People movers will be departing
constantly from the headquarters in
the middle of the north and south
baseball diamonds to get people to
where they need to be.
Free parking is available and
there is a shuttle bus service from
the parking lot to the main gate of
the grounds on Friday between 9
a.m. and 6 p.m. and then again on
Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to
7 p.m.
Not much has changed in the
area’s schools over the summer.
Students have come and gone and so
have staff, but everything’s evening
out.
Blyth Public School is reporting a
two-student increase this year, with
their student body going from 186 to
188.
They also have a few new faces on
the faculty. Blyth is welcoming
Heather Rempel and Jennifer
Trudeau to the faculty as full-time
educators and Crystal Moir, who will
be temporarily filling in at the
school.
Brussels Public School’s
attendance will look very similar to
how it did last year as well.
However, Brussels is welcoming
several new teachers to the school;
five to be exact.
Anna Vassiliou, who came on
temporarily last year, will be kept on
as the permanent Grade 1 teacher.
Brussels P.S. welcomes Marie
Mitchell back. Mitchell used to teach
in Brussels and left two years ago to
work at the school board office. She
is now back full-time to teach Grade
3 at her old stomping grounds.
Edwina Rogers will be taking over
the Grade 6/7 class. Bruce Pepper
will be covering a maternity leave,
teaching Grade 4 in the morning,
then taking care of music in the
afternoon. Christa Bennett is also
new, and she will be teaching the
Grade 4 class in the afternoon.
Grey Central Public School is
expecting 220 children, which is
slightly down (just under 10) from
last year’s student body.
Principal Rob Snell says that as a
lot of students moved on, he thought
46th Reunion in Blyth this weekend
Area
students
back to
school
Continued on page 17