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The Citizen, 2006-11-09, Page 1. NT H4 ESTABLISIILD 1877 ": ( I NORTH HUR6N PUBLISHING COMPANY INC. I Inside this week Remembrance Members of Blyth Legion and its Auxiliary paraded into Londesborough United Church Sunday prior to this year's service of remembrance. The annual Remembrance Day service begins in Blyth at 10:45 at Memorial' Hall, Nov. 11. In Brussels the service will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the cenotaph with the church service to follow at Melville Presbyterian Church. There will also be an afternoon service at Huronlea. (Vicky Bremner photo) `Exceptional women' take the Blyth stage in 2007 e Citizen Volume 22 No. 44 Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006 $1.25 (1.18c + 7c GST) County to meet Friends By Keith Roulston Citizen staff Dining Out in Blyth turns 10 CAs protecting source water Local youths honoured Bill 140 worries council At their Nov. 2 meeting Huron County councillors voted to seek a meeting with representatives of Friends of Ball's Bridge and Central Huron and Ashfield-Colborne- Wawanosh. In moving the motion Goderich councillor Deb Shewfelt called it an act of good faith for the county to have warden Rob Morley or his representative seek a meeting to get a group moving forward on a solution to the closure of the 120-year-old bridge across the Maitland River south of Auburn. "We can't negotiate through the newspapers," he said. If the bridge is to be saved a grassroots committee similar to that behind the Menesetung walking bridge at Goderich needs to be organized, he said. "If the community doesn't take hold of it it's not going to happen." Ben Van Diepenbeek, councillor for Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh seconded the motion. He said his council supports moving forward on The provincial government's haste the issue which has garnered wide to approve Bill 140, the Long-Term . . support with more than 1,000 names Care Homes Act, has Huron County on a petition to save the wrought-iron bridge. Van Diepenbeek said the consensus at an information meeting held by the Friends of Ball's Bridge, Oct. 23 in Goderich was that supporters wanted the bridge restored for light traffic such as cars and pickups. Morley, who attended the meeting, agreed with that assessment but said the only written communications from the group was an early letter that called for bringing the bridge back to standards that would take emergency vehicles. The question of what standards to restore the bridge to continues to dog councillors. Bluewater councillor Jim Fergusson moved a motion asking the country roads department to prepare a report estimating how expensive the engineering costs would be to restore the bridge to the options of a walking bridge or for light vehicular traffic. He was supported by Bill Dowson, also from Bluewater, who said "We're just spinning our' wheels until something happens." But county engineer Don Pletch said there were just too many variables to even ask engineers to suggest how expensive a study would be let alone ask for an engineering report at this point. Until it's decided if the bridge will be a walking bridge, accom- modate light traffic or all traffic, it would be premature and could be expensive to ask for estimates. (Fergusson's motion was defeated.) Pletch said the original report suggesting it would cost $100,000 to $150,000 in immediate repairs and perhaps another $100,000 to $150,000 in further repairs in the next two to five years had been submitted to , council after "we realized it was more than a $10,000 to $15,000 job." Pg. 3 Pg. 6 Pg. 7 Pg. 8 Pg. 14 Remembering our veterans Atom Lakers enjoy winning weekend -By Keith Roulston Citizen staff , officials concerned. Barb Springall, administrator of the county's homes for the aged, told county councillors at their Nov. 2 meeting that consultations on second reading of the bill have been poorly tinied to allow input from municipal councils which are in the midst of an "election campaign. As well the only hearings are being held in Toronto, she said. The new bill has some serious liability implications for municipalities which operate homes for the aged, Springall said. "It is certainly not structured for our benefit," agreed Warden Rob Morley, who took part in a conference call among nursing home operators, on the county's behalf. The government claims the bill will promote zero tolerance of abuse and neglect of long-term care home residents; give whistle-blowing protection for staff, residents and volunteers who report abuse or neglect; enshrine in legislation that a registered ,nurse be on duty in the home 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and restrict the use of restraints to limited circumstances where it is absolutely necessary and only with appropriate safeguards. Springall said she felt the legislation was prompted by an expose on CTV's W5 about abuse of seniors in some nursing homes. "They're getting a big stick to fix a few bad apples," she said. "Those who are complying are getting clobbered along with those who don't comply." She said the nursing homes association had hoped the bill would be more co-operative than Continued on page 6 By Bonnie Gropp Citizen staff The season of exceptional women. That is what Blyth Festival's artistic director Eric Coates is calling his 2007 season. On the heels of a season of critical and-financial success, Coates has put together for this coming summer a playbill built around "a bunch of distinctly Canadian vibrant women." "The interesting thing is that none of these plays can really be put into a box to describe them. They are complex and inspired by the audience response to the 2006 season," said Coates." "They reacted strongly to stuff that was topical, emotional, had laughs, but not knock-down comedy." Opening the season oh June 28 is The Eyes of Heaven by Beverly Cooper. "This is a first play and Bev really wanted to get inside small-town Ontario," said Coates, adding that Cooper interviewed a number of young women in the area to gain insight. The story centres on a teenage girl at war with her mother. One night after coming in late, she gives the excuse of an encounter with a UFO. "The essence of this is how hard it is to be different in a small town." Coates said he feels that audiences will connect with the story. "The opening scene I think will have mothers standing up and cheering. It is so well written about the relationship between a teenager and her mother." As for which is the 'exceptional woman' Coates said that both have their strengths. "The teen makes tough choices, but the mom is more resilient." Opening next is Queen Milli of Galt, a Gary Kirkham play that has seen two previous Canadian productions. "It jumped out at me. It was a late entry that I read and immediately said I want to do this. It galvanizes the whole season." The play is based on a true story of a woman from Galt who claimed to have been married to Edward VIII. Kirkham imagined what would happen if Edward had ditched his heritage for a headstrong young woman. "It's really a very funny play, but on a more serious level is the fact that both of these people are emtionally paralyzed. She lost her true love in the war and the Prince of Wales is emotionally empty." Coates adds that the play actually has a powerful anti-war. theme that pays tribute to the women left behind. "And I am pleased to do this kind of show in Memorial Hall." Lance Woolaver's World Without Shadows is an autobiographical account of folk artist Maud Lewis. Despite being crippled by arthritis the Nova Scotian "churned out hundreds of paintings," said Coates. "People came and bought her work for a dime, or a nickel. Now they are worth upwards of $10,000 apiece." She and her husband lived in a 9x12 shack, said Coates. "To say he was a miser was a grotesque understatement," said Coates. "Yet despite her dismal life she spread sunshine everywhere." This is not a conventional play, Coates explains, but rather a study of this relationship. "It's a tribute to her sense of love." Coates was also pleased to announce with almost 100 per cent certainty that Anne Anglin and Randy Hughson will appear as Lewis and her husband. The fourth play is written by Grand Bend's Paul Ciufo. Though named for a man, Reverend Jonah is about a woman that the young minister meets. Phyllis, said Coates, has been kicked out of her church, "because horror of horrors, she's a lesbian." Coates said the play enjoyed a very positive response in public readings. "A lot stood up and said it's time to tell this story." Phyllis, he said, is an honest, hard- working woman who is raising her grandchild and really contributing to society. "Jonah takes on this fight to convince the church board that they should adhere to the tenets of Christianity. If you go to church to you really love your neighbour." - Ciufo has given the sensitive story a very balanced approach, said Coates. "I'm excited about the play because anyone who would come to it to see it as a liberal anthem against Christianity, will see that the liberal characters are flawed as well." With these women being the core of the season Coates has included one strong man as a postscript. The Ballad of Stompin' Tom will be back again, starring Randy Hughson. "Anyone who didn't see it last year is going to get a chance. I have spent more time in the past two months reassuring people of that." Which leaves Coates feeling pretty good about the season to come. "This kind of reaction and feedback is always a good indicator."