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The Citizen, 1999-02-10, Page 1Feature ______I_________Sports_________I________Money Mi g-:g Brussels Bulls honour their own at banquet Financial pages offer advice and tips to help you invest wisely See page 7 -See page 21 See page 23 Queen’s Park may so no way to split policing CitizenThe North Huron Though Huron County council has voted to proceed with a con­ tract with the Ontario Provincial Police to provide policing to all but the Town of Wingham, doubts have been raised that the solicitor gener­ al’s office will allow split policing. County councillors voted, al their Feb. 4 session, to have a draft bylaw prepared for the Feb. 18 meeting of the Administration, Finance and Personnel committee but there was doubt expressed as to whether the bylaw could go ahead. Il was indicated that an official in the solicitor general’s office had suggested a “hybrid” force, with both OPP policing and one local force, might not be allowed. “There seems to be a dispute as to whether the legislation permits that to take place,” said Sgt. Gary Marlin, Huron Detachment Com­ mander. In an interview later, Lynn Mur­ ray, county clerk administrator explained there have been other “hybrid” forces approved else­ where but there is some question with the Toronto office that the practice should be allowed to con­ tinue. “I would hope that if there is any­ thing coming down from the solici­ tor general’s office we would be told as quickly as possible,” said Wingham Reeve Bruce Machan. Vol. 15 No. 6 Wednesday, Feb. 10,1999________fo^gst) 750 County may hire consultant to deal with complicated bill Huron County, along with local municipalities, may hire a consult­ ing company to deal with the com­ plicated calculations required under the new provincial Fairness for Property Taxpayers Act. County treasurer Ken Nix explained to county councillors, Thursday, that implementing the bill, designed to keep the maximum tax increase from reassessment of commercial, industrial and multi- residential properties below 10 per cent in 1998 and five per cent in each of 1999 and 2000, will require a huge amount of work. “The workload with Bill 79 both for upper tier (county) and lower tier (municipalities) is going to be horrendous,” Nix said. Nix explained that under one of two options offered under the act, the one he described as “the lesser of two evils”, municipalities would be required to apply a complicated 28-step mathematical formula to every commercial, industrial and multi-residential property in their jurisdiction. The municipality will also be required to maintain, by hand, a separate assessment roll at the pre-reassessment level. ' -Nix said he had spent two and a half weeks working on noihing but understanding and seeking solu­ tions to the problems ceated by the new legislation. In all, four weeks of staff time have been spent so far, he said. Not only is the formula difficult to use, Nix said, but there are a minority of cases where there arc special circumstances on a property that mean it doesn’t work. Nix estimated the cost of a con­ sultant to do the work would be $35,000 over the three years the bill is in effect. The municipalities may seek recovery of the expendi­ ture from the province, he said. Since the calculations are Continued on page 29 Art at work The circus is coming to Brussels Feb. 21 as members of Brussels Figure Skating Club prepare for their carnival, to be presented at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. Volunteers have been busy behind the scenes organizing costumes, makeup and props for the vent. Jane Zwep gets down to the task of painting backdrops that will give spectators, with just a little imagination added, the sense of being under the big top. OPP warn drivers to watch for deer Libraries get more CAP funding The Huron OPP would like to remind the motoring public that due to the large deer population (8,000) present in Huron County, to keep special watch. Over the last year 170 collisions have occurred between these animals and vehicles, usually during the quieter hours of the day. Warmer weather is forecast and with a lot of the snow having disappeared, deer activity has increased. The risk of motorists coming into contact will increase as well. Drivers are cautioned to scan ahead and to both sides of the roadway and adjoining ditches looking for these animals. Special care should be exercised when driving at night, as deer are more apt to frequent roadways during traffic decrease times. Deer are usually seen between dusk and dawn and are found near woodlots that come close to the road or near swampy areas. Drivers should look for reflecting light off the eyes of deer since they will illuminate in the dark and will warn of the potential problem. If you see one deer there will be others as they move around in a group. Slow down, be prepared to stop. Also, police remind that all drivers must report damage to their vehicle of $1,000 or more. As well, the Ministry of Natural Resources must be notified of any collision involving deer. The Community Access Project (CAP) at the Blyth and Brussels Branches of the Huron County Library have received an extension to the funding for the internet access assistants at the libraries. Basil Ho (Blyth) and Sarah McMullin (Brussels) will continue to provide internet training for the public at the library, develop web pages for community organizations, and provide information about the Year 2000 computer problem for the Blyth and Brussels area. There is no charge for any of these, services. The program has been extended until the middle of March. People can call the Blyth Library at 523- 4400 and Brussels Library at 887- 6448 to book an internet appointment, either for training or for independent free use of the internet computer. The Community Access Program Eye care program extended at CPH Residents of Huron County will reap the benefits of Clinton Public Hospital’s underserviced designa­ tion through the continuation and extension of its ophthalmology out­ reach program. An agreement with the Ministry of Health will allow the hospital to extend the specialized eye care ser­ vices, thereby permitting more resi­ dents to receive the necessary is an initiative of Industry Canada to help rural and remote Canadian communities connect to the internet. treatment on a timely basis, close to home. "The demand for this local ser­ vice has been tremendous. The Ministry of Health has recognized the importance of maintaining ser­ vices in our community," said Jan­ ice Cosgrove, vice-president, mulli-silc administration, in a press release.