The Citizen, 2006-03-16, Page 1eCitizen
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Volume 22 No. 11
Thursday, March 16, 2006
$1 (93c + 7c GST. )
NORTH HURONPUBLISHING COMPANY INC. I
Inside this week
-13 2
d
Local girl takes top
rg• prize at competition
Pg 9
PeeWee Dogs in
• OMHA series
pg.
10
Dairy educator
moves on
pg.Local band wins
19 another battle
Huron East Pg. 20 approves MVCA
levy increase
Group
forms
to aid
farmers
By Heather Crawford
Citizen staff
Stephen Webster won't be able to
keep his eye op Queen's Park night
and day any longer. -
The Blyth-area farmer had been
camping out in his car parked on
Queen's Street in Toronto during the
night and protesting the farming
crisis during the day. According to
local reports, police informed
Webster that he is not allowed to
sleep in his car while staying in the
city.
The Grass Roots Movement that
was created locally to help protest
the farming crisis will be raising
money to support Webster with
expenses while in Toronto as well as
raising money for other events.
Sandra Eedy, a farmer out of
Winthrop said a committee was
formed to start a donation drive to
support the movement.
One of the events the committee is
raising -money to support is a
meeting in Holmesville on
Thursday, March 16 named The
Next Steps, which will discuss
various ways to raise awareness of
the situation farmers are in currently.
Eedy said she spoke with a local
town BIA person in Huron County
who informed her that the retail
business owners "are now feeling
the agricultural income crisis."
"Sales have dropped significantly
in the main streets," she said. "The
farm families have now gone into a
strictly survival mode and only bare
necessities are being purchased."
Kern Herrfort, economic
development officer for North
Huron agreed the farming crisis is
having a tremendous impact on local
business.
"I think we hal yet to see the
worst of it," she said. "I think if we
Continued on page 10
By Heather Crawford
Citizen staff
Snowmobilers and snowmobile
retailers will not be looking back on
this past-season favourably.
This winter was the warmest in
Canada since 1948, according to
Environment Canada. Temperatures
were 3.9°C above normal on average
and mild temperatures in January
meant a short and swift season.,
Karen Buratynski, district
manager for District 9 of the Ontario
Federation of Snowmobiling Clubs
said this was a disappointing year.
"Pekmit sales were down this
year," she said.
This was the first year permit sales
have declined. Buratynski said sales
have remained steady in the past.
"We didn't sell a lot of pre-season
permits this year and then for people
who were waiting to get mid-season
permits, the landowner issues may
have stopped them from doing that."
She is thinking positively for next
year however. "The clubs are talking
to landowners and working with
them. There will be on-going
discussions through the summer and
we are confident and hopeful about
next season," she said.
Buratynski added that this year
meant a lot of work for local
volunteers especially in the Blyth
Brussels area.
"On behalf of District 9 we would
like to thank all of the volunteers,"
she said. "They worked hundreds of
hours getting the trails ready and
then not being able to use them with
weather and then landowner issues.
They work all year round, not just
when there is snow on the ground,"
' she said.
Local groups that use
snowmobiling events as a means of
raising funds had to find other ways
of raising money this year.
The snowmobiling rally scheduled
for Saturday, March 11 to raise
money for Clinton Young People
was cancelled due to mild weather, a
representative said.
Bruce Howson, a member of the
North Huron Trail Groomers
snowmobiling club agreed that it has
not been a good year for
snowmobiling. This season couldn't
really be called a season at all.
"The season didn't really get
going until Feb. 1," he said. "Then it
ended at the end of February. So
that's the kind of year we had."
"The farmers' income crisis did
not help either," he added.
He is hoping the farming crisis
will get - resolved soon and farmers
will allow snowmobilers on their
land again next season.
"I think the type of snow
conditions for the past five, six,
seven years has deterred people
[from snowmobiling] more than
anything, and not the farm crisis."
Linda Stevenson, office manager
of an insurance company said she
has noticed less people buying
insurance the past few years. -
"It has been decreasing," she said.
"I think [that has to do with] the
weather and also the cost of
snowmobiling is high for the amount
of use."
Stevenson said she has noticed less
people buying insurance this year
and said that has made a difference
in business.
The lack of snowmobilers took a
toll on local retail businesses as well.
Colleen Elliott, manager of a local
gas bar in Brussels said she
definitely noticed a difference this
year.
Continued on page 8
Maitland
gets
mightier
as water
rises
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen editor
The warming temperatures and
rainfall this past weekend had the
Maitland River at its mightiest.
With the snowpack reduced
significantly and accumulations of
precipitation in many areas, the
usually placid river had spilled over
its banks, almost reaching the
roadways in some spots, by Friday
night.
Dave Grummett, director of
operations for the Maitland Valley
Conservation Authority, said they
released a flood monitoring safety
bulletin throughout the watershed
area on Friday.
"As a result of the seasonal
temperatures, the snow pack would
be significantly reduced which
would result in high flows. We didn't
anticipate serious flooding, but knew
there would be minor flooding in the
low-lying areas where it typically
occurs."
Municipalities, he said, were told
to look for the traditional problems.
By Saturday, the situation had
peaked, said Grummett, with the
rivers continuing to rise a bit through
the river system.
Then early Monday, a
thunderstorm added 15 ml of rain on
top of the situation. Mid-morning of•
that day, Grummett said they would
need two or three hours to see how
the Maitland would react to the
influx.
"We will try to get a handle on
whether that amount was uniform or
if it was heavier in some areas than
others."
With a cooling spell and flumes
predicted for the week starting
Tuesday, the water could begin to
recede. A strong wind would dry
up some of the fields and pond-
ing.
However, Grummett noted that it
will require quite cold temperatures
to improve the situation.
"If we go down to -5°C, it won't
stop the flow. We need colder for
that, but it will slow down the
drainage off land."
Grummett said it is possible that
the levels could go higher, perhaps
even exceeding those of Friday night,
but serious flooding was not
expected.
People are reminded to keep their
children away from the fast, flowing
waters and the banks where visible as
they are slippery at this time of
year.
"Things are rolling out there.
There's no doubt about it, But I guess
it's spring."
Spring collection
Tyler and Ashley Cartwright were collecting sap at their home this past weekend. This is the
second year they have tapped trees on their Blyth property and at the Anglican Church. They
hope to be able to donate the maple syrup for next year's Shrove Tuesday pancake supper
hosted by the church. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Winter a sorry season for some