The Citizen, 1995-05-10, Page 1Spring cleaning
The hamlet of Belgrave got some housecleaning last Thursday night. The enthusiasm of the
local Sparks, Brownies and Guides wasn't deterred by the nip in the air as they walked the
neighbourhood picking up litter. Brownies Janisa Cloakey, left and Lindsay Malhiot have a
lot of work ahead of them to get their bag full.
Vol. 11 No 19
Wednesday, May 10, 1995
610+400"ST 650
Morris, W. Wawanosh taxes up
Area couple
tells their story
of 1945 Holland
See page 8
Belgrave sees end
of era as Trinity
holds last service
See page 12
Special
Get ready for spring
with our Home &
Garden issue
Starting page 13 j
Blyth sees benefits
from 50 years
of Lions' work
See page 27
John Stewart
en new Blyth clerk
The mill rates are in and the
results don't look good for Morris
taxpayers.
Council approved a budget of
$2,169,697 at the May 2 meeting,
which includes an increased resi-
dential, public and farm rate of
6.73 per cent.
A tax information booklet to be
printed by the township will have
all the education costs outlined in
red.
The Huron County Board of Edu-
cation announced a 10.1 per cent
increase in April.
West Wawanosh council also
brought in an increase in the mill-
rate, hitting the public sector for 7.1
per cent and the separate school
supporters with 2.548 per cent.
The general municipal portion of
the hike was 6.1 per cent, with the
remainder of the increase coming
from the boards of education.
By Bonnie Gropp
A lifelong Blyth resident will be
taking over the position of clerk-
treasurer in the village beginning
June 12.
John Stewart, presently clerk at
Colborne Twp., was one of four
candidates interviewed from a list
of 52 applicants.
Blyth Reeve Mason Bailey says,
"Council is really pleased to have
someone like John taking over the
job. He has experience and is very
active in the community which we
With election day only four
weeks away, enumerators will soon
be knocking on doors to ensure that
everyone eligible is on the official
voters' list.
Beginning May 11 and running
until May 17, more than 40,000
people will be gathering informa-
tion to ensure voter qualification.
To be eligible to vote in the
provincial election, residents must
be at least 18 years old on the day
of the election, be a Canadian citi-
zen at the time of voting and must
A mistake made by a former vil-
lage administration has come back
to haunt the current reeve of Brus-
sels.
Clerk-Treasurer Donna White
explained to Brussels village coun-
cil May 1 that a street closing
bylaw for Walnut St. at the railway
track in the north end of the village
had been passed many years ago.
Some of the land on the street clos-
ing was to go to a business in the
area while the rest was to go to
Gordon Workman, now the reeve
of the village. But the description
of the land in the bylaw was incor-
rect and the land was never legally
transferred to Mr. Workman even
though he has felt he owned it for
years.
Actually the village inadvertently
bought land it already owned when
it purchased the former CN railway
lands in the area. The land where
the railway crossed Walnut St. had
never been deeded to the railway so
when it was part of the parcel the
village purchased, the village ended
up buying its own land back.
The problem for council, and for
Reeve Workman, is that a neigh-
bour now wishes to buy the former
street allowance.
"The safest and easiest thing,"
explained Clerk-Treasurer Donna
White, "is to leave it the way it is.
It's now in the village's name."
"It's worth nothing," said Coun-
cillor Greg Wilson.
Mrs. White agreed, but said that
now two different people want the
land and since the original road
closing wasn't done properly it's
consider a real asset. He is familiar
to the people in the village."
Stewart says though he is pleased
to be taking over the position, it is
not without regrets. "Working in
Blyth is more convenient for me,
but I have enjoyed a good relation-
ship with Colborne council and
staff since coming here in Novem-
ber of 1991."
"That it is closer to home for me,
was the main reason I applied for
the job, and I am looking forward
to working with the people in
Blyth."
have resided in Ontario for six
months prior to election day.
Enumerators carrying formal
identification will only ask ques-
tions relevant to these issues. Upon
qualification, the voter will receive
a receipt, Form 301, which will
indicate the polling station.
Voters must ensure their name is
on the list no later than the day
prior to the election, June 7.
Election information may be
obtained by phoning the Returning
Officer Shirley McAllister at 527-
2330 or 1-800-853-8510.
hard to figure out what to do now.
Reeve Workman said it wasn't
his problem that the original paper
work wasn't done properly. "All I
want is what I was supposed to
get."
Councillor Wilson suggested
offering the business owner inter-
ested in the land the portion of land
that sits on the former railway lands
and giving the rest to Reeve Work-
man as had originally been intend-
ed.
Reeve Workman said he wouldn't
be happy if the other applicant got
the land. "I won't sit here, whether
I've got a conflict or not, whether I
lose my job, and see him get it for
nothing," he said.
Bob Rae
visits
riding
Premier Bob Rae and Agricul-
ture, Food and Rural Affairs Minis-
ter Elmer Buchanan joined MPP
Paul Klopp on Tuesday for the
opening of his Goderich campaign
office.
The NDP candidate's office is
located at 42 South St.
Following the opening, which
occurred at 1:30 p.m. the three
politicians moved to the Bayfield
Town Hall where they met with the
public to discuss election issues.
Election '95
Enumerators' job
begins Thursday
Administrative error
haunts Brussels reeve