The Citizen, 2002-12-04, Page 7c"c‘'
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BLYTH ARENA CAPITAL FUND HEART AND SOUL PLEDGES RECEIVED FROM SEPT. 1/02 TO NOV. 30/02
(DOES NOT INCLUDE INKIND DONATIONS FOR DONATIONS TO THE HEART AND SOUL AUCTION)
Allen, Drew and Liz, Londesboro; Beacom, Miss Edythe, Londesboro;
lilack, Ms. Kim, Stratford; Black, Mr. Murray, Blyth; Blake, Michelle,
Brussels; 465421 Ontario Limited, Blyth Acres Trust Farms, Blyth;
Blyth & District Fire Dept., Blyth; Blyth Figure Skating Club, Blyth;
Blyth Legion Branch 420, Blyth; Blyth Masonic Lodge, Blyth; Blyth
Public School, Blyth; Brooks, Brent and Lori, Blyth; Burkholder Auto
Body, Blyth; Bylsma, Auke, Chris & Family, Blyth; Chalmers, Jim and
Joan, Blyth; Chamney Sanitation Ltd., Auburn; Craig, Mr. and Mrs.
Allan, Auburn; Cronin, Pat and Patti, Blyth; Cronin, Tom and Cheryl,
Blyth; Cunningham Ila M., Auburn; In Memory of Thomas J.
Cunningham, Auburn; Cunningham, Mr. Roger J., Auburn; Datema,
Marthinus and Gaye, Blyth; The Elliott Families, Auburn; Elliott, Grant
and Sharon, Goderich; Elliott, John, Bev, Rick and Neil, Blyth; Elliott
Nixon Insurance Brokers Inc., Blyth; Elliott, Richard, Anne, Heather
and Jeffrey, Blyth; Babcock, Randy and Eleanor, Clinton; Blyth Midget
Bulldogs 2001/2002, Blyth; Caldwell, Les and Evelyn and Family,
Blyth; Ferguson, Jeff, Blyth; Gross, Steven and Shirley, Blyth; Henry,
Jim, Janice and Family, Blyth; Heartland Community Credit Union
Limited, Clinton; Hessels, Everett and Cheryl, Blyth; Hopper, Debora,
Wingham; Howson, Doug and Barbara, Blyth; Hubbard, George and
Family, Blyth; Jackson Barill Management Inc., Stratford; Jenkins,
Gordon and Pat - In memory of Barbara Walsh, Blyth; J H R Elliott
Holdings Inc., o/a Olde Village Sud Shoppe, Blyth; Johns, Robert Ted,
Toronto; Kelly, Peter and Giselle, Blyth; Layton, Douglas and Marilyn,
Wingham; Londesboro. Oldtimers, Blyth; MacDonald, Beverley, Blyth;
Machan, Robert and Theresa, Blyth; Madill, Mr. Terry, Georgetown;
Mclnroy, Rick and Margaret, Blyth; McNichol, Ray and Cathy, Blyth;
Middegaal, Paul, Blyth; Nesbitt, MacKenzie, Russell, Kerry and Ryan,
Blyth; Richmond, Bruce and Ula, Blyth; Roulston, Keith and Jill, Blyth;
Sanderson, Mrs. Viola, Blyth; Scrimgeour's Food Market Ltd., Blyth;
Siertsema, Mike, Debbie and Family, Blyth; Siertsema, Murray and
Doreen, Blyth; Sippel, Mr and Mrs. Lloyd, Blyth; Skeoch Business
Equipment Ltd., Goderich; Snell, Richard and Christine, Blyth;
Sparling, Steven and Laurie, Blyth; Sparling, Jessica, Blyth; Sparling
Grant II, Blyth; Sparling Propane Employee Fund, Blyth; Stewart, Don,
Linda, Tyler and Kirk, Blyth; Tasker, Lloyd and Jean, Kincardine;
Teeswater Concrete Ltd., Teeswater; Toll, Aubrey and Marie, Blyth;
Thomson, Cathy, Jeff and Family, Auburn; Turner Mrs. Steacy, Elliott,
Darryl and Jason, Blyth; Underwood Farms, Wingham; Walsh, Mr.
Larry, Tillsonburg; Walsh, William Lloyd, Blyth; WalSh, Ms. Susan,
Clinton; Watson, Mr. John, Babcock, Ms. Kim, Blyth; Webster, Mr.
Glen, Auburn; Worsell, Shelley, Auburn; Egli, Arnold and Theresa
Marie, Walton; Anderson, Jim, Margaret, Lindsay, Brad, Amanda and
Matt, Londesboro.
Donations are still being gratefully received. Please send to Heart & Soul, P.O. Box 81, Blyth or call Fran Cook at 523-9040
or Diane Ferguson at 523-4563 to be picked up. Please call if the spelling of your name is incorrect.
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2002. PAGE 7.
Library plan to eliminate rents meets opposition
By Keith Roulston
Citizen publisher
A Huron County Library Board
proposal to phase out the money it
gives to host municipalities for
maintenance of library buildings and
use the money for more books and
longer hours met stiff opposition
from councillors at the Nov. 27
meeting of county council.
Opposition was led by Goderich
Councillor Deb Shewfelt who said in
suggesting eliminating the
maintenance grants over the next
five years the library board was
downloading its costs to the
municipalities that provide the
library buildings. instead of sharing
the costs across all municipalities.
"It opens a can of worms as we
negotiate with our neighbours to
recover the costs," he said. If the
library needs more money for books
or longer hours of operation, put it in
the budget, he advised.
South Huron Councillor Dave
Urlin said Exeter has counted on
additional money from maintenance
grants when it approved expansion
of its library.
But the expansion of the Exeter
and Goderich libraries is part of the
budgetary squeeze for the library
board. Beth Ross, county librarian,
said the additional space in the two
By Keith. Roulston
Citizen publisher
The first nine months of 2002 saw
a 14 per cent increase in the already-
high traffic collision rate in Huron
County.
There were 961 collisions injuring
309 people and killing eight others
Linda Stobo of the health unit told
Huron County councillors Nov. 27.
That was an increase from 845
collisions in the same period of
2001.
In a progress report on the Huron
County Road Watch Program, Stobo
said the program was started after a
47 per cent increase in collisions
between 1999 and 2000. In 2000
there were 377 people injured and
nine fatalities.
The county has the highest rate of
hospitalization and mortality among
people 16-24 years of age in the
province, double the rate for the rest
of southwestern Ontario and triple
the provincial average, she said.
As well, the severity of collisions
is increasing along with speeds
travelled by those driving county
roads.
Stobo recalled as a student at F. F.
Madill Secondary School, going to
12 memorial services for fellow
students. But people always talk
about these things as "accidents"
when most are preventable. Over 80
per cent of injuries in car collisions
were preventable, she said. Across
Canada there are 250 collisions an
hour and 21 deaths a day. Seven out
of 10 teenagers who die are= from
injuries in collisions. The economic
impact of traffic collisions is $8.7
billion a year across the country.
Erica Arnett, who works with the
Road Watch Program, said drivers
seem to be going faster and faster on
Huron's roads. The speed
compounds, the major cause of
collisions: driver distraction. From
failing to see and respond to stop
signs to failing to correct for weather
conditions to multi-tasking while
they drive, people are not paying
enough attention to their primary
libraries would boost the budget for
maintenance fees by $34,000 at the
current per-foot rate. She had
rejigged the 2003 budget to spread
the same amount of money currently
being paid over the additional space,
Meaning some municipalities will be
getting less so Goderich and Exeter
can be rewarded for their
expansions. She acknowledged that
municipalities that had expanded
their libraries had expected some
increase in revenue.
She explained that different
county library systems have
different policies on maintenance
grants. Lambton County pays no
maintenance grants while other
counties feel the grants help spread
the capital costs of libraries across
the whole county.
Howick Councillor Norm Fairies
liked the Lambton model, arguing
that when people went to libraries in
larger communities they were also
shopping there and supporting the
local economy.
Carol Mitchell of Central Huron
supported the library's plan, noting
her municipality will be required to
invest more in the Clinton library to
meet the requirements of the
library's strategic plan but she was
still in favour of cutting the
maintenance grants. If Central
Huron has to invest $300,000 in its
task, driving a vehicle. In one case
they have a photo of one driver
shaving while driving, and not with
an electric razor.
"People are treating driving like a
secondary activity," said Arnett.
"Every individual driver has to take
responsibility."
Road Watch is a dedicated group
of people representing 22
organization dedicated to dealing
with the "silent epidemic" of death
and injuries on the road, Stobo says.
Road Watch boxes in various
locations in the county allow people
to report drivers - who have
endangered others by their careless
behaviour. Radar-equipped speed
signs are available from the OPP to
demonstrate to drivers what their
speed is compared to the legal limit.
"We all need to do more to send a
message to people," commented
Bluewater Councillor Bill Dowson
at the conclusion of the presentation.
building, the $10,000 maintenance
grant isn't really that big, she said. "I
want to support a good library
system and if that means Central
Huron has to find $10,000 I'm for
it," she said, arguing that every year
the library's book budget had been
cut to keep from raising taxes.
But South Huron Councillor Rob
Morley said municipalities might
have to look into how they went
about withdrawing from the county
library system if they were expected
to spend more to meet higher
standards at the same time they were
getting less money.
Diane Denomme, chair of the
social and cultural service
committee then stepped into the
debate.
"Something is missing in the
message. Why do we provide
libraries?" Libraries were to help
people improve themselves, she
said.
She argued that the library budget
had eroded by 40 per cent in its
purchasing power over the years
with budget freezes or small
increases at the county level and the
elimination of provincial
government support. The $86,563
spent on maintenance grants would
buy a lot of books for the libraries,
she said.
But her remarks angered-Shewfelt
who said, "It's all about fair.ness.
Why wouldn't you put the extra
money for books into your budget? I
never remember a discussion on
more money for books." He accused
the library board of trying to
"finagle" a budget increase.
Denomme struck back, saying that
for two years in a row the county
administrator had asked what budget
increase councillors would accept'
and the increase was three per cent,
of which two per cent went to wage
costs.
Councillor Bernie MacLellan of
Huron East summed up the
argument saying that if council
approved a motion of Councillor
Paul Klopp of Bluewater to send the
recommendation back to the library
board "then you think the county
should provide more money (to the
library board)."
In the long run council approved
Klopp's motion in a recorded vote.
Meanwhile the debate showed
many councillors were unaware of
the status of the library board as a
provincially-appointed board. Ross
explained that the board was an
autonomous board that did not
answer to county council. A majority
of the board are councillors,
however, and county council
controls the budget for the
board.
Road collisions in Huron
continue to increase