The Citizen, 2001-03-21, Page 1Face made up, hat on
Madison Sjaarda was decked out in face paint and a balloon hat while she enjoyed the many
activities for children at the Blyth Christian Reformed Church bazaar at the Blyth and District
Community Centre, March 13. While the many purchased handcrafted or baked goods, others
put in bids on auction items, guessed the number of jelly beans in a jar or tried their hand at
peeling an apple in one long stretch.
WPS's new life begins
The Citizen ,.• WELCDM '10
ESTABLISHED 187/
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Wednesday, March 21, 2001 Volume 17 No. 12
Inside this week
Blyth UCW
Pg. 3 prepares to Soothe
your Soul
Pg.Farmers have say
" at MP dinner
Area residents .1
Pg. attend open house
Missionary youth
Pg, 12 raise funds for
cause
Pg. 10 Historic home lives
rg• 10 again
Street
names
to change
Some area residents are going to be
getting new addresses.
Municipalities were recently
informed by the 9-1-1 co-ordinator of
the problem of overlapping street
names and numbers in newly
amalgamated communities.
Huron East councillors could be
faced with a daunting task at the.
March 20' -session when they are
asked to provide suggestions to deal
with the duplications.
When 9-1-1 road names were set
last year, conflicts with other
municipalities did not come into play.
However, with the amalgamation of
Huron East, some names are used as
many as six times.
Huron East Clerk-Administrator
Jack McLachlan said councillors
were presented with the list of 20
overused names at the committee
meeting March 13. They were asked
to recommend which road names
may need to be changed or how to
address the problem.
Some road names could be left
unchanged as the house numbers. in
the different wards do not overlap.
Elizabeth Street numbers in Brussels
run from 57 to 114 while those in
Seaforth cover 390-780.
However, when looking at the five
Church Streets, Ethel has one to four
(unopened road), Seaforth one to 72,
Brucefield 50 to 55 and Brussels 50
to 71. Only Egmondville is not in
conflict with 72 to 91.
In other situations, one of the
duplicate names is for an unopened
road allowance making it somewhat
easier to change those addresses.
In North Huron there are Victoria
Streets and North Streets in both
Wingham and Blyth with
overlapping numbers.
As the Blyth streets are shorter
meaning a change would therefore
affect fewer property owners it was
felt that that was the way to go.
Clerk-Administrator John Stewart
will investigate names that will not
conflict and submit them to the co-
ordinator for approval. Proposed
changes must be in by March 31.
Blyth
takes next
step for
funding
Friday, March 9 turned out to be a
very exciting day for the Blyth and
District Community Centre, Blyth
citizens, surrounding townships and
Twp. of North Huron.
The centre along with its
committee have been invited to
apply to the second round of the
SuperBuild project. Chairman Todd
MacDonald reports that this is very
big and exciting news for everyone.
MacDonald also adds that caution
must be taken in that there are no
guarantees with the SuperBuild
project. "We must apply like other
communities and hope for the best.
The scope of work to be done on the
community centre will solely depend
on government funding, local
fundraising and personal donations."
"Like those individuals who
worked hard in 1977 to build us the
current community centre which has
given many families 25 years of
service, our goal as a committee is to
refurbish the community centre once
again for another 25 years of fun and
entertainment. If we all work
together good things will happen,"
said MacDonald.
Brussels
may be back
in the game
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen staff
After a year without it, Brussels
area children will once again have
the opportunity to play ball.
Though numbers had dwindled
over recent years due to the
popularity of soccer, parent Gail
Semple is hoping to revitalize minor
ball in the village, noting that there
are still many children who prefer
the latter to the former. "I figured the
kids should at least have the chance
to register and if we get enough to
even get one team great."
The folding of the organization
occurred last year with the
resignation of the three executive
directors. Then president John
Harrison noted that those involved
no longer had children playing
baseball and had already served for
some- time. "It is time to get some
new blood and some new ideas," he
said.
Also there were only four teams in
Brussels in the 1999 season.
However, last year no.one came
forward to head the organization in
time for registration. With Semple's
determination that as many children
as possible get to play the sport they
want, the 2001 season will hopefully
see the diamonds back in business
this year.
There is one night of registration
left, Thursday, March 22 at the BMG
Community Centre. Semple would
also appreciate the assistance of
other interested parents or
individuals.
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
The new life for the Walton Public
School building has begun.
Dorothy Cummings and her Barmy
Tech enterprise was the first to move
into Walton Venture Centre
Incorporated, Feb. 7. Taking full
advantage of the large, bright and airy
former gymnasium/cafeteria at the
south end of the building, Cummings
said the building is perfect for her
manufacturing business.
Having worked out of her home for
many years, Cummings said she was
impressed by the space when she first
went to see it. "It was ready to move
in with no renovations."
The highway access has also turned
out to be a benefit as she can now
receive courier service twice a day.
"I'm not a rural route anymore so I
get morning delivery and afternoon
pick-up. Before, if there was only one
package, couriers would not make the
trip down the gravel road."
Though she is not in the retail
business, the highway location also
provides more visibility as signage is
planned for later this year. -
Cummings is not only a renter, but
a member of the board of directors of
the corporation and speaks highly of
what the facility has to offer potential
renters.
"The building has been very well
maintained," she said. Though two
rooms on the west side have been
rented for storage, a single classroom
and the double-size early years rooms
are still available. The previous
office, staff room, kitchen and
library/conference room would be
great for a branch office, she added.
Though she said one room would
be suited to a daycare or nursery, the
combination of occupants will be
determined by who comes firgt.
As rooms are occupied for specific
uses, that will determine the mix that
will work best in the building, she
said. Because of the zoning, she
believes few adjustments would be
needed for other operations.
Even the acreage around the
facility is available, she said. There
would be no objections to the large
75 Cents (70c + 5c SST)
yard being plowed for test plots and
the seed company having offices
inside.
"Walton Venture Centre is perfect
for satellite offices," she said, "for
consultants or professionals who
don't necessarily have to be here all
the time."
An open house is planned for April
19 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. for both the
new Barmy Tech location and Walton
Venture Centre Incorporated.
Cummings plans to invite her clients
to the event and potential renters will
have an opportunity to meet with
facility directors to discuss options.
Information will be available at that
time regarding rental fees for the
various areas.
The board of directors hopes that
by bringing traffic into the-huilding,
people will get together anniscuss
opportunities, she said.
A concerted effort to fill the space
will take place later in the year.
Anyone interested in discussing
options at the Walton Venture Centre
can contact Jim Campbell, 887-2680
or Jeff McGavih, 887-9996