The Citizen, 2006-08-17, Page 1Demolition
Trent Story of Artscrushing and Demolition chips away at the bridge on County Road 25 west
of Blyth. The bridge is being removed due to the breaking away of the concrete and its unsafe
condition. The bridge will be replaced with earth fill and a new top will be constructed. There
will no longer be a pathway under the bridge; snowmobilers and pedestrians will have to find
an alternate route. Jeff Morley, the head foreman from Lavis Contracting, expects the bridge
to be completed early September. (Heather Dietz photo)
Local woman starts on-line
discussion group for parents
Inside this week
Pg. 7
Pg. 8
Pg. 9
Former. SS#5
students reunite
Local Mite teams in
tournament
Beigrave PeeWees
A champs
Da 112 Play revisits trials
18. io of farm families
n, 'Schoolhouse
rg• 17 premieres at Blyth
tArT
ESTABIJSRLD 187i Citizen
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Volume 22 No. 32
Thursday, Aug. 17, 2006
$1 (94c + 6c GST)
Festival
celebrates
100th
premiere
Blyth Festival marked its 100th
Canadian premiere with a special
celebration and reception on Friday
night.
Prior to the opening of Leanna
B rodie's Saioolhouse, visitors
attended—the reception for the
opening of Ai First Light, featuring
the work of Elora artist Tim Murton
in the Bainton Gallery. The artist
was in attendance to talk to the
public.
.At the play, Coates was joined by
a spokesperson frOm the Ontario
Arts Council, who recognized the
commitment of the Festival to
producing Canadian works.
After the Festival production, it
was time to party. The courtyard in
front of Memorial Hall featured live
entertainment by Better English.
Refreshments were served' both
inside and Outside.
Artistic director Eric Coates spoke
briefly about Blyth Festival and
acknowledged the dedicated. people
-who have made it a success through
100 premieres.
Coates expressed his excitement at
the accomplishment, one, which he
said he'd been preparing for since
the previous season. "It was then that
I realized four more plays would
make it 100."
While_ stressing that the other
premieres this season were equally
worthy of having been the 100th,
Coates underlined the power of
Schoolhouse, which he called "a
beauty".
He recognized Brodie and director
Leah Cherniak for their work.
Coates also paid tribute to each of
his predecessors, beginning with
founder James Roy, who was in
attendance.
Also present were former artistic
directors Janet Amos and Katherine
Kazsas. Not on hand for the evening
were Peter Smith and Anne Chislett.
Blyth
gears
up
for
Battle
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen editor
They will come from across the
country to do battle in Blyth, Aug.
26.
The stage is set for the Global
Battle of the Bands, which will be
held at the soccer field amphitheatre
behind the Blyth arena. Canadian
director Jeff Nesbitt of Blyth said
there are 24 bands competing.
"It will definitely be a full day of
music. We're just working now on
figuring out how to fit them all in."
The day will begin with the final
qualifier at 2 p.m.
"This is for some bands that didn't
have a qualifier happening near
them, as well as a last chance kir
some that didn't win in an earlier
qualifier."
"The response has been great."
The finals will be held that
evening.
Bands are travelling from as far
west as Calgary, as far east as
Montreal and as far north as Timmins
in the hopes of advancing.
"It's obviously a big deal for these
bands, and for the musicians
themselves. It's a great opportunity
for exposure, a great experience and
the chance to network with other
musicians."
"We actually have some that kno
wthey really don't have much of a
chance, but are coming to cortipete
just for the experience."
Nesbitt noted that there were also
be many industry people present for
the day to observe the talent.
The winner of the Canadian
contest will advance to the global
match to be held in England in
December.
Whci will win is anyone's guess,
said Nesbitt.
"There have been some bands that
have just blown us away. It's exciting
to see this talent and to give th6m an
opportunity to show what they can
do. This is all about the music.
And we have been pleasantly
surprised by how good some of these
bands are."
Entrance to the day-long event is
$28.50 a person. Information can be
obtained from the website
canadianbattle.com, or tickets can be
purchased on-line from ticketweb.ca
You can also call 11888-222-6608.
Entrance to the grounds will be off
County Road 25 at Thresher Road.
Parking is available_on site.
There are also campsites available.
Food and drink will be sold at
venues on the grounds.
People may want to bring lawn
chairs or blankets for sitting.
Parents and people who provide
services to families in Huron County
have a new place on the internet to
connect with each other, share
information and provide support.
Huron County Parents Online is an
online discussion group for parents
located in Huron County to network
and share information with each
other about raising children and
living in Huron County.
Group moderator and founder.
Sarah Caldwell started the on-line
group after being a member of a
similar group in Stratford. She
joined the Stratford group because
she found it difficult to keep
connected with other parents when
she returned to work as most
playgroups were held during her
workday.
The Huron County Health Unit
has received word there is a big
increase in West Nile virus activity
around Ontario.
This month, several more Ontario
health units have found birds with
West Nile virus. West Nile positive
mosquitoes are also being detected
in some areas. —
The record-breaking hot weather
is the suspected cause of this
increase in activity.
"Keeping connected with other
parents of children, especially young
children, has been a vital parenting
tool for myself, however living in a
rural area and working full-time it
was not always easy to stay
connected," said Caldwell, a
Belgrave-area mother of three.
She hopes to help alleviate some
of the isolation of parenting small
children for other parents by having
a supportive online, non-judgmental
community that can help to solve
everyday parenting questions.
Caldwell found the information
about parenting in the Stratford
group was useful, but a lot of the
information was also specific to
Stratford, so she wanted to start a
group to support parents living and
raising children in Huron County.
Huron County residents are
reminded to report dead bird
sightings to the health unit. They are
particularly interested in crows and
blue jays, as they can have them
tested for West Nile.
The Huron County Health Unit
has sent 12 birds for testing this
summer. Ten of these have tested
negative and they are awaiting final
results for the other two.
"We encourage the public to
After inquiring with the moderator
of the Stratford Parents Online
group, the Huron County group was
launched in November 2005.
The group is fully moderated.
Every membership request and e-
mail received is approved before
being posted to the group to
maintain the quality of the group.
Currently the group has 23 members
and almost 100 messages have been
posted since it started.
Caldwell would like to see the
group grow and is encouraging
parents and service providers to join
and get connected to the parenting
community in Huron County. To
become a member of the Huron
County Parents Online group' visit
http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/h
uroncountyparents/
protect themselves by wearing a
mosquito repellent with DEET,"
says public health inspector Paul
Dawson. "It also helps if you reduce
standing water around your home, as
mosquitoes will breed in the
water."
To report a bird sighting, please
contact the West Nile virus infoline
at the Huron County Health Unit.
Call 519-482-5119 or toll-free I-
877-837-6143, extension 2001.
Health unit says big increase
in West Nile virus in Ontario