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The Citizen, 2019-09-12, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019. PAGE 9. Fall Fair adds cake-decorating contest, auction This year’s Brussels Fall Fair will feature a cake-decorating competition thanks to 2018/2019 Junior Ambassador Kaleigh McCallum and her mother Crystal. Crystal told The Citizen that last year, when visiting numerous fall fairs and similar events representing the Brussels Fall Fair, Kaleigh noticed that many events held cake- decorating contests where ambassadors or other title-holders would decorate cakes then auction them off for the benefit of the groups they represented. “It’s more common than I realized,” Crystal said. Kaleigh wanted to bring the practice to the Brussels Fall Fair, so this year, neighbouring ambassadors and Queens of the Furrow and Princesses from local plowing matches have been invited. The competition is set for Sept. 17, the fair’s opening night with the decorating at 6:45 p.m. and the auction at 7:15 p.m. Cole McLean will be the auctioneer. “We reached out to all our local ambassadors and have had a great response,” Crystal said. So far, title-holders from ambassador competitions like Clinton and Palmerston have agreed, as have local Queen and Princess winners from local plowing matches and the Elementary School Fair Ambassador Bryn McInnes. Contestants will be paired up randomly and given a quarter-slab cake to decorate in line with the fair’s theme, “Back to our Roots”. Crystal said the competition is a great opportunity for local businesses to get involved as tax receipts will be offered for the auction. For more information, visit brusselsfallfair.ca By Denny Scott The Citizen Borrowing a page The Brussels Fall Fair is borrowing a play from groups like the Huron County Plowmen’s Association and holding a cake-decorating contest and auction. Above, Queen of the Furrow Maranda Klaver, right, and fellow contestant Mackenzie Terpstra show off a cake they decorated during the recent Huron County Plowing Match. (Denny Scott photo) Earlier this year, the free software that North Huron Township Council had been using to livestream its meetings and make them available on YouTube was discontinued, leaving the municipality with limited options to continue broadcasting its meetings. Since the program was discontinued, staff have been using a handheld camera to record meetings, however it has proven to be a time-consuming process. Through conversation with council, Clerk Carson Lamb eventually explained it can take hours of staff time to compile and upload the video, saying the video needs to be uploaded in chunks. Lamb, during council’s Sept. 3 meeting, explained that council is not required to broadcast the meetings, and that its procedural bylaw says council may choose to livestream its meetings. Lamb did say that the videos are widely used by the public, indicating that some videos had as many as 3,901 views. He presented a report suggesting that, if council wanted to continue broadcasting its videos, it could invest in an eSCRIBE module that would not only allow for broadcasting, but also work with the existing eSCRIBE program the municipality uses for its online agendas. Lamb gave council four options: continue using the handheld camera, requiring significant staff time; stop broadcasting meetings and lose the ability to archive and recall meetings easily; continue using the handheld camera until 2020 and make new software part of the budget for that year or use part of the modernization grant from the provincial government to cover costs. Lamb suggested that an upset limit, or a maximum that could be spent without needing additional approval from council, of $15,000 could be set for the module alongside a $10,000 upset limit for the annual cost of running the program, which he felt would be sufficient. Lamb also said buying the module would be an excellent use of the funding as it was designed to help municipalities modernize the way they do business and to make systems more accessible for constituents. Reeve Bernie Bailey agreed, saying that he would like to hold back on using the fund for future projects with greater impact, but did say this expenditure made sense. Furthermore, he said that before he was on council he utilized the livestream and YouTube often to keep up to date on the going-ons of council. Bailey then said that if council hopes to attract participation from younger residents, having a livestream of council meetings is paramount. Councillor Kevin Falconer asked if North Huron could partner with a local cable provider to have the meetings broadcast on a community channel, and while some members thought it was a good idea, Councillor Anita van Hittersum pointed out that East Wawanosh residents don’t have the option of subscribing to cable. Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip said he was behind the expenditure if it was accessible, as the municipality’s website has to be, and if it’s worth it. He said he didn’t think that enabling 500 viewers was worth $15,000, saying that “views” could be inflated by one person watching multiple times. Lamb said that eSCRIBE’s module is completely accessible, and uses closed captioning. Bailey said he was behind it if it wouldn’t stifle the municipality’s ability to rehabilitate its aging website. Lamb said he was part of the team of staff members considering a new website and said he would ensure compatibility. He also said a report would be coming in the near future about the website. Council approved further investigation into the eSCRIBE module to better determine how council should proceed. NH considering online options Continued from page 8 goaltending responsibilities for the Ironmen. Golley stopped 17 out of 19 goals while Carson earned the win with eight saves on 10 shots. Wingham served five penalties totalling eight minutes, while Exeter had five infractions totalling 26 minutes. In their first pre-season game, the Ironmen were bested 4-2 by the Irish late last month. Despite outshooting Lucan 51-27, the Ironmen couldn’t find the back of the net more often than their competition from the south. Lucan took an early lead in the first with a marker just past the six-minute mark. Meurs responded later in the period with an assist from Restoole. Neither team generated a goal in the second period, but Restoole opened scoring in the third with a marker assisted by Melady. After that, Lucan scored three straight goals, including one on an empty net, to round out the scoring. The match was a relatively calm affair, with each team only serving two minutes each on minor calls. Golley shared goaltending responsibilities with Carson, who stopped 10 of 11 shots while Golley stopped 13 of 15. Irish top Ironmen in pre-season game PLANTING FOR THE FUTURE Maitland Conservation - Tree Planting Services Please contact us for on speciesinformation availability, costs and the application process. Maitland Conservation [e] trees@mvca.on.ca [w] www.mvca.on.ca [t] 519-335-3557 ext. 235 GRANTS AVAILABLE for some planting projects! Call for details. Reforestation Service - assistance to landowners reforesting landlarger tracts of by hand or machine planting. S helptaff will with ,choosingappropriatespecies creatinga planting plan, conducting survival inspections and identifying potential project funding. A minimum of one acre of land is requiredformachineplanting. Large Stock Service - larger trees (coniferous and hardwoods) and shrubs for stream buffers, windbreaks, reforestation and planting.roadside A variety of tree species available. Applicants must pick up theirorderfromMaitlandConservation. Orderdeadline:November1,2019 Seedling Service - variety of species available to landowners doing their own planting. A required50 tree minimum order for seedlings. Applicants must pick up their orderfromMaitlandConservation. Orderdeadline:November1,2019 By Denny Scott The Citizen 84772 McDonald Line • Box 616 • Brussels devonjhenry@hotmail.com 519-505-2473 Devon Henry Leadership in energy and environmental design Stoking the fires Steam is a big deal at the annual reunion of the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association and you can’t have a steam engine without stoking a fire. (Mark Nonkes photo) Find breaking news and police report online at huroncitizen.ca