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The Citizen, 1991-06-05, Page 1line for CN in Brussels Brussels and north Huron resi­ dents will hear the s’ounds of a diesel train hom for the last time by the middle of this month. serving Brussels, Blytn, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. VOL. 7 NO. 22 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 1991.60 CENTS Brussels enters composter program Brussels residents should soon be able to buy backyard composters at bargain prices as part of a program to encourage them to keep biodegradable wastes out of their garbage. Village councillors gave approval Monday night for clerk-treasurer Donna White to apply for a two- thirds grant for the purchase of the composters even though some of the councillors expressed their own disinterest in the idea of compost­ ing. If the Brussels application is approved, the village would be able to sell residents composters at one- third the normal price or under $25. Similar programs have proved pop­ ular in other communities. Mrs. White said a questionnaire put out some lime ago indicated 16 people were interested in the com­ posters at that time. She expected, however, that once the program was underway, other people would also want to take advantage of the deal. Council agreed to apply for a grant for up to 100 composters but purchase them only as demand requires. Bids will be put out to local and other suppliers for 50 to start with. Councillor Bruce Hahn is not a supporter of composting. "We'll have 60 garbage dumps in town" he forecast. Reeve Gordon Workman had similar opinions. "When the sewers moved into town they moved the outhouses out - now they're moving them back in," he said. But Councillor Greg Wilson, who has a backyard composter said there is little smell from the unit and it did gel rid of a lot of kitchen and garden wastes. Meanwhile councillors approved a new garbage pick-up rale of $58.75 per year reflecting higher costs of recycling. Mrs. White explained that as well as paying Carter's Waste Disposal to collect recycleables, there is a charge from McLellan Disposal of $95 a ton from which the company deducts what revenue it can get from the Continued on page 21. The National Transportation Agency (NTA) issued an order May 16 for the abandonment of the Listowel-Wingham CN Rail line Going West Musical harmony was on tap at the presentation of Going West at the East Wawanosh Public School May 29. The two-act musical told of a western wagon train and characters met along the way. Blyth man A Blyth resident who has been campaigning to get natural gas ser­ vice for the north Huron area brought an update on the move­ ment to Blyth council May 28. Everett Scrimgeour told council that Union Gas had promised to do within 30 days. That decision reverses an order that would have saved the rail line for another two years. On February leads campaign to get natural gas a survey of the North Huron area this summer to see how much inter­ est there was in getting natural gas. Currently the natural gas pipeline slops at Clinton. Mr. Scrimgeour had taken infor­ mation to Blyth, Brussels, Wing­ 4 the NTA had told CN it couldn't abandon the line because a presen­ tation from Premdoor, the Wing­ ham door manufacturer, had ham and the townships of Howick, Morris, East Wawanosh and Turn­ berry and that East Wawanosh and Tumberry had sent letters to Union Gas that they were unanimously in favour of natural gas service to the area. Tumberry, Mr. Scrimgeour indicated enough future use that the rail line stood a reasonable chance of becoming profitable. The rail­ way claimed to have lost $20,785 in 1987, $129,668 in 1988 and $107,434 in 1989. Premdoor argued that although due to the eco­ nomic slowdown, it had not used the rail line as much as it had fore­ cast in 1990, its acquisition of another plant late in 1989 would mean an increase of 40-45 carloads of lumber in the coming year. But within days of the release of the earlier NTA decision, the eco­ nomic slowdown brought huge changes at Premdoor. A lawyer for the company wrote to the agency says "as a result of the current economy...Premdoor has concluded that its Wingham Facility, as presently operated, cannot be made profitable in the foreseeable future. As a result, its production of solid v. ood doors at its Wingham facility will be curtailed, thereby virtually eliminating the need for rail trans­ portation of inbound lumber." On hearing that information CN immediately filed an appeal of the order to continue the rail line. The NTA in its new ruling says other parties had until March 21 to respond to the appeal of the request. The agency says that with the change of circumstances at Pre­ mdoor "there is no reasonable prob­ ability of the operation...becoming economic in the foreseeable future." Brussels Reeve Gordon Work­ man reacted angrily to the word of the closure Monday. "I think it's sick," he said of the decision. The railway got the land for the rail line for nothing, he said and now they seem to be doing their best to drive away business so they could get out of the rail business. The railway is the cheapest form of transportation, he said. He said that while he had nothing against truckers, the high cost of repairing highways was going to make it much less eco­ nomical in the future. The closure brings to an end nearly 120 years of rail history in Brussels, Morris and Grey. The Wellington, Grey and Bruce Rail­ way opened on July 4, 1873 with a day of celebrations, banquets, speeches and a parade in Brussels. The rail line had been supported with grants from local municipali­ ties (Grey gave $35,(XX) and Morris $10,000). The line extended from Listowel to Kincardine. The section from Wingham to Kincardine was abandoned several years ago. With the abandonment of the CN line, northern Huron loses its last railway. First to go was the CN line north from Clinton to Wingham through Blyth in the 1940's, best known as the "Butter and Eggs" line. A CP Rail line through How- ick to Teeswater was abandoned later, along with the CN line west of Wingham. The CP line from Guelph to Goderich through Wal­ ton and Blyth was abandoned in 1988. said, has indicated a natural gas pipeline would be good for the area and help attract industry. Mr. Scrimgeour said the time for installation of a pipeline seemed ideal with the reconstruction of Continued on page 21.