The Citizen, 2019-01-24, Page 1CitizenTh
e
$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, January 24, 2019
Volume 35 No. 4
BUDGET - Pg. 10
Huron County treasurer
presents first draft of budget
PHOTOGRAPHY - Pg. 19
Local photographer documents
rural life with ‘Home Grown’
HOCKEY - Pg. 2
Teens with local connections
help Canada cruise to gold
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:
New county building estimated to cost $18.8 million
President
needed
for BAS
Huron County Council is one step
closer to pulling the trigger on a new
Huron County administration site at
an estimated cost of over $26.5
million.
The building itself, estimated by
Jason Morgan of Allan Avis
Architects, is expected to cost $18.8
million, while other associated costs
and variables could tally up an
additional $7 million.
The site chosen for the new
building is on Gibbons Street on the
south end of the former Victoria
Public School property in Goderich.
The north end of the lot is now home
to a hotel.
Morgan, in his presentation to
Huron County Council at its Jan. 16
meeting, said there are a number of
factors to be considered with the
building’s construction, including
putting council chambers front and
centre in the new 60,000-square foot
structure.
He said the building should
appropriately represent Huron
County. The design, form materials
and methods of construction, he said
in his report, should represent the
traditions and heritage of Huron
County and local and regional
building materials where possible.
The building, he said, should be
open and welcoming to the public
and staff and not opposing or closed-
off in its appearance. It should
enhance public service, encourage
good mental and physical health and
be accessible to everyone. Physical
barriers in the building should be
limited, he said, with universal
design principles used throughout.
He said that occupant wellness
should also be top of mind, ensuring
good indoor air quality, operable
windows and natural lighting to
enhance the quality of interior
spaces for staff and visitors.
Of utmost importance, Morgan
said, should be the county’s
environmental leadership, employ-
ing energy-efficient, good quality
building techniques which will
demonstrate performance and
proven savings realized over time.
He said that the building could be
The presidency of the Brussels
Agricultural Society is still up in the
air after the organization held its
annual meeting on Friday night as
there were no takers.
Dorothy Cummings is the current
president, serving in the second year
of a two-year term. This is the third
time she has been president, once
serving as president for seven years
in what was supposed to be a two-
year term.
Jeff Cardiff, another past-
president of the organization, called
for nominations, reaching back to
last year’s nominations to try and
continue the lineage of presidency
of the organization.
The vacancy goes back to last
year’s election, when Cummings
took on the presidency from
outgoing President Matt Cardiff, but
no one stepped up to fill the vice-
president role. (The role has been
used to groom the vice-president to
become the president for the
following two-year term.)
Without anyone in that position,
Cardiff asked for nominations for
someone to be the vice-president for
one year under Cummings and then,
in 2020, move into the president’s
role for the 2020 and 2021 Brussels
Fall Fairs.
Though many were nominated, no
one accepted the nomination and the
position remains vacant.
Cardiff, who has been president
twice, said it’s an excellent
organization with many volunteers
willing to give their time, it just
needs a leader and the position does
take some time.
Finding no success in asking for
The Maitland Mills Association
has now officially been struck after
members and guests toured the two
sites on Jan. 18. that the group aims
to rehabilitate.
The association hopes to
rehabilitate and maintain the former
mill sites in Brussels and Gorrie,
which will now are going to be
called Logan's and McGuire's Mills,
respectively.
The association passed its charter
alongside a document outlining its
constitution and bylaws after touring
the two sites with Executive Director
Rob Leverty of the Ontario
Historical Society.
The group exists, according to
Community Futures General
Manager Paul Nichol, to give these
mills a new lease on life.
In the week after the group met,
Blaney was proud to announce that
the Ontario Historical Society had
approved the association’s official
incorporation application on Jan. 16.
While Nichol won’t be part of the
organization, he said the project is
ready to be turned over to the newly
formed association.
“There are some very, very
exciting plans,” he said. “The idea
for both sites is that they become
living classrooms for tradespeople
that want to develop skills in
heritage renovations.”
Nichol said that building a modern
house is significantly different than
Mills Assn. now incorporated
Frigid wars
While extreme cold and bountiful snow may be problematic
for some real-life war-time strategies, at Hullett Central
Public School on Monday, temperatures as cold as -18°C
paved the way for indoor recess and a lighter side of
war – the card game, of course. If reactions tell us anything, Lilly
Thompson, right, appeared to be getting the better of her friend,
Brook Ohm, in the age-old card contest as they enjoyed their free
time without having to wear their winter coats. (Denny Scott photo)
Continued on page 18
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 3
Continued on page 12
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen