The Citizen, 2019-06-27, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2019.
Locals mark nuptials throughout community
Another week has flown by and
finally we can say most crops are in
the ground. I took particular note on
Wednesday, June 19, while driving
my 75-kilometre route, that there
were about 1,300 acres still needing
to be planted along the way. We had
good weather Wednesday and
Thursday, until 3 p.m., when it
rained and work ground to a halt
again. Friday morning, I again took
note and there were about 500 acres
left to be planted. We had a good
weekend and on Monday morning,
the last 50-acre field had the planter
sitting there, ready to go. It’s now
June 24 and it looks like most in our
area have finished planting, only
about two-and-a-half to three weeks
later than usual. I do know of
some who are not done in our area
and a drive further south has many
fields not planted with water all
around.
Other farm activities like haying,
spraying and spreading are keeping
the farmers busy and with the
emergence of the tender shoots of
corn and beans, so too have the
groundhogs surfaced. Not a day goes
by that we do not see groundhogs
out having breakfast or lunch or
trying to cross the road to another
field. Some make it, some don’t!
Sadness has gripped our area
again this past week with the passing
of two more lovely ladies. Our
sympathies are extended to Ron
Cardiff and sons Larry and Brian
and their families on the passing of
Susan Cardiff. Susan was a very
quiet lady that some will remember
from her working days at the
Brussels Pharmacy in the 1980s. She
also worked in Listowel in a fast
food retail store in the early 2000s.
She was a client of mine and she
loved to visit and chat when in town.
Our condolences to the Cardiff and
VanCamp families.
Another lovely lady was Vernice
Prescott, who passed last week. She
will be missed by her husband Eric
and her children Teresa Befurt, John
Prescott, Dianne Warwick and their
families. Vernice loved to visit, and
travel to the west to visit with family.
Despite years of health issues and
pain, she always had a smile on her
face and a pleasant demeanour to
share. She enjoyed a good time, her
grandchildren and as we joked many
times together, putting up with Eric.
She will be missed by many and our
sympathies to the family and to the
Prescott/ Harkes families. I had the
opportunity to meet two of Vernice
Prescott’s brothers who arrived from
the west for the funeral as they
explored the main street of Brussels.
A meet-and-greet dinner was held
at the Blyth Inn last Tuesday for Dee
Kirlin, fiancée of John van Vliet.
The ladies of the 16th and eighth
gathered to meet Dee and welcome
her to the neighbourhood. Dee is
originally from the Hamilton area
and she works in Waterloo. She is
loving the farm life, going to the
barn and meeting folks around the
area.
Attending the evening, arranged
by Rita Bowers, were Pat Gillis,
Gabrielle, Maria and Etta Boettcher,
Jody Houston, Jillian Houston
Csöff, Michelle Blake, Annette
Lewington, Dorothy Cummings,
Jane Zwep, Linda McDonald, Lisa
and Lerissa Stevenson, Rita Bowers,
Jo-Ann McDonald and Evelyn
Blake.
The group enjoyed a delicious
meal and having a visit with Dee and
the neighbours. Welcome to Dee!
The couple is to be married in July.
It was a pork chop barbecue to
celebrate the upcoming nuptials of
Melissa Glanville and husband-to-be
Jordan on the weekend. The event
Continued from page 3
significant wetlands and other
natural areas, council has
recommended a 120-metre threshold
for provincially-significant wetlands
and a 50-metre threshold for other
natural areas.
Again, Van Amersfoort stressed
that lands within those thresholds
may be subject to further review and
will not necessarily be subject to
further construction control.
Each case will be different, she
said, which is why a review could
take place and restrictions will not
always be necessary and normal
farm practices will never be affected
by these thresholds.
She also said that while simple,
changing the name of the update was
crucial to communicating to
landowners exactly what the
department is attempting to achieve.
Rather than implementing a new
plan, the department is simply
updating mapping for lower-tier
municipalities when they update
their official plans.
Van Amersfoort said that work on
the plan began in 2016 when she was
working to update Bluewater’s
official plan. During that process she
found a number of inconsistencies in
the natural heritage mapping and
realized the department was still
working on aerial photography from
2006, 10 years before the review.
Van Amersfoort suggested putting
the process on hold in order to wait
for the updated aerial photography
from 2015 and that’s when the
update process began.
A draft of the plan was presented
and accepted by council in February,
2017 and public consultation ran
from May to December of last year.
The protection of natural heritage
features, she said, is mandated by
the province, but they are also
cherished by many county residents.
During this process, she told
councillors, she heard time and
again about how important
preserving the natural beauty of
Huron County is to its residents.
The update will ensure clean air
and water, she said, the protection of
the county’s valuable soil from
erosion, a fertile habitat for plants
and wildlife, resiliency from
extreme weather events,
groundwater protection, recreation
and education opportunities, a
beautiful landscape and sustainable
economy and a community that
provides improved physical and
mental health through its natural
features.
She also said that protection of
these resources has been in place in
Huron County since the early 1970s,
so the update isn’t really bringing
anything new to the table, other than
updated photography and, therefore,
more accuracy to the traits of each
piece of land.
After a successful trial
implementation in Howick last year,
Van Amersfoort says she’s confident
the update will roll out in a
successful manner and address many
of the inaccuracies in mapping
throughout Huron County.
The next two municipalities due
for an official plan update are South
Huron and North Huron. In North
Huron, specifically, she said, the
update should provide a huge benefit
to the community, addressing a
number of issues throughout the
township where properties are
misidentified as natural environment
when they’re not.
With council’s approval on June
19, she said, the update would
officially be adopted with the
changes and clarifications she
proposed. It would then be
implemented at the lower tiers when
their regular five-year reviews come
due. She also stated that the update
will not be dictating any legislation
or making any decisions, only
serving as a reference document for
decisions being made going
forward.
Councillors commended Van
Amersfoort for her work and clarity
on the update. In fact, many
councillors had their concerns
alleviated by Van Amersfoort.
Council approved Van
Amersfoort’s recommendation.
BMG Pool
Sponsored by the Brussels Lions Club
Come and celebrate Canada’s birthday
at the Pool July 1st
from 2-4 pm
Wear red and white, bring a flag.
Water toys with Canada on them will be welcomed.
By Jo-Ann
McDonald
Call
887-6570
PEOPLE AROUND
WALTON
NEWS
FROM WALTON
Falling in line
The Brussels Cadet Corps held its annual inspection and awards night earlier this month and
all of the members showed off what they had learned over the course of the year. From left:
Sgt. Hailey Nelson, Sgt. Megan denDekker, Sgt. Kaylee Ives, Sgt. Liam Sharp (with back to
camera) and Warrant Officer Alexandra Kellington. (Photo submitted)
Lower-tiers to implement update
Continued on page 9