The Citizen, 1999-09-29, Page 1Community Feature ■ Milestone Entertainment
Seniors,
students
visit
A look at
education then
and now
Couple
celebrates
60th
See page 6 See page 7 See page 18
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Stratford’s
‘School’, a
lot of fun
See page 19
CitizenTheNorthHuron Blyth in bloom
judges’ top pick
Vol. 15 No. 38 Wednesday, Sept. 29, 1999 (7fyc + 5« GST) 750
The end of a tradition
When Mike Beretta closes his abattoir and butcher shop in Brussels in two weeks it will be
the end of a business which has been a fixture of the main street for decades, and possibly
the last time Brussels bologna will be available for purchase. Owned for some 60 years by
Bill and Cleve Baker, the late Frank Thompson purchased half the business in 1966 with Fred
Stephenson becoming a co-owner soon after. In 1981, Thompson struck out on his own. He
sold to Jill and Don Sholdice in 1994 who then sold to the Berettas. Mike’s dream that it would
become a family business is now gone, thanks to provincial regulations.
Government rules end dream
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen staff
Call it blooming wonderful.
This past weekend, Blyth’s
Communities in Bloom organizers
were on hand in Stratford’s
Victorian Inn on the Park to hear
that they had received the highest
possible standing from the judges.
“This is pretty exciting,” said Bev
Elliott, one of the driving forces
behind the village’s participation.
Though Blyth was in competition
with Dorset in the under 1,000 pop
ulation provincial category, Elliott
adds that the village was evaluated
on its own merits. ‘They got three
blooms, we got four.”
Judges general comments were
extremely complimentary. “Blyth is
a delightful village which exempli
fies what Communities in Bloom is
about — people, plants and pride
growing together.”
Tidiness was given top marks
with 98 points out of 100. Judges
were “overwhelmed by the cleanli
ness and tidiness of Blyth. The com
munity not only blooms, it shines.”
Improvement to the trail system
and the rehabilitation of the Blyth
Brook contributed to the 87 out of
100 for environmental effort.
For community involvement the
judges said they were impressed by
the spirit of co-operation among all
segments of the community and
credited the Horticultural Society,
the Lions and Optimist Clubs, the
Legion and Ladies Auxiliary for
their efforts. The mark was 95 out of
100.
Heritage scored 93 out of a possi
ble 100. Judges noted the saving of
the two railway stations as a “super
idea” and said they were pleased to
see so many century buildings in
such good shape.
Urban forestry was a weaker spot
with only 118 out of 150 points
awarded. Trees planted on the sport
field and at the campground were
examples of. what should be done
elsewhere in the community. The
annual plantings of trees by young
students the judges said a “very pos
itive action.”
For landscaping, Blyth scored 132
out of 150. The Welcome to Blyth
signs were declared “second to
none”.
Floral arrangements downtown
were acknowledged, while judges
felt more floral displays in the park
and public buildings would be an
asset. They noted the “charming
gardens” of the residential sector.
The marks were 121 out of 150.
Turf areas were well maintained
and cut to the proper height. This
brought a score of 123 out of 150.
Travelling with Elliott to Stratford
were Eleanor Babcock, Nancy
Snell, Norma Daer and John and
Mary Lou Stewart. The group had a
display set up which will now sit at
the municipal office for several days
for the public to come in and view.
Also present for the weekend was
a delegation from Clinton, which
also captured top marks in its cate
gory.
With sights now on next year's
national contest, Elliott will attend
the October session of council for
direction. “I have to see where they
would like to go with this.”
Noting the tremendous exposure
the Communities in Bloom project
has given to other areas Elliott
believes the recognition will be
good for Blyth. “So many small
communities are fading. I hope that
folks will take another look at this
and work together. It takes every
body.”
For now, each business associa
tion will be receiving a certificate
which not only boasts the four
bloom designation but also a special
mention for cleanliness. “I think this
is just extraordinary,” said Elliott. “I
was so proud of Blyth.”
By Jancie Becker
Citizen staff
Government regulations have
forced the closure of a Brussels
business, bringing to an end a vil
lage tradition.
Provincial guidelines governing
abattoirs have resulted in Mike
Beretta and his family deciding to
close both the abattoir and butcher
shop.
"Province-wide regulations have
painted all abattoirs with the same
brush,” said Beretta. "They want us
to meet federal standards which
have no bearing on small opera
tions.”
Beretta said the capital expendi
tures needed to upgrade his facility
to federal standards would not result
in increased return.
“It is not viable at all and there
isn’t the cash flow for those things.”
They asked for the pens to be
changed from wood to steel, new
washrooms, an extended cooler with
another door, floor drains and a
paved driveway, he said.
Beretta said there was no room for
negotiation.
He questioned why he needed to
pave the drive when there was not a
high volume of traffic stirring up
dust.
A new washroom was not needed
when at most times, he is the lone
worker. Floor drains are needed in
federal abattoirs, he said, because
the animals are shipped from the
west and there may be several hun
dred at the facility for three or four
days. “That doesn't happen here.”
He emphasized these are not food
safety issues. “I still have an inspec
tor in when I do a kill.”
Beretta said there are other abat
toirs in the area closing with talk it
will hit 30 per cent province-wide.
“This will affect the farmers,” he
said. “Where will they take their ani
mals?”
Beretta is concerned that with
many butchers going out of business
and farmers looking for kills to be
done locally, a black market could
develop.
After considerable consideration
by his family, they also decided to
close the shop on Brussels’ main
street. Without the custom butcher
ing business and the facility to kill
his own animals to carry him
through the slow times, the store
would not be viable, he said.
Without providing his own supply
of product for the store, he would
have to have more brought in, the
same as supermarkets do. He cannot
compete with prices because the
stores have the volume.
Beretta said this is not just a loss
of his business, but a loss for the
community. It is one less business
available to donate to Christmas
chanty drives and community activ
ities.
The store will be open until
Thanksgiving weekend and Beretta
is booked solid with kills, cutting
and packaging.
Blyth council hears
recreational idea
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
Blyth council was presented with
an interesting proposal, Sept 21,
which could increase recreational
activities in the community.
Chad Haggitt attended the session
to give an overview of his report
which suggested the village could
benefit from a full-time recreation
co-ordinator.
He outlined the need for one per
son to help organize sport and recre
ational activities throughout the year
as many organization find it hard to
get volunteers.
His first suggestion was for a
men’s hockey league which would
play Sunday evenings. He would
like to see it get back to the six or
eight teams it once had.
Consideration would be given to
combining the Londesboro and
Blyth slow pitch teams to create a
league of 17 or 18 squads. This sport
is also having difficulty finding
organizers.
Haggitt said ladies' fastball is cur
rently run fine on its own.
There has been interest shown in a
ball hockey league as well as the
possibility of dance, aerobic or tae
bo classes. A summer day camp
could be put in place for the chil
dren.
As the recreation co-ordinator,
Haggitt would be responsible for
booking, dragging, lining and cut
ting the ball diamonds and co-ordi
nating arena ice-time for hockey,
broomball and figure skating.
In comparing his position with
other similar programs, Haggitt said
a starting wage could be around
Continued on page 3