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In brief
Economic
development
officer's
contract
renewed
for one year
by council
Huron East's economic
development officer had
his contract renewed for
one year by Huron East
council at its Oct, 21
meeting.
As well, council
increased the economic
development committee
budget by $9,500 to go
towards a new business
directory for , the
municipality.
"I'm a lot more
impressed by him than the
last person. He seems well
connected and will do a
very good job for us," said
Deputy -Mayor Bernie
MacLellan • of economic
development officer Ralph
Laviolette.
Mayor Lin Sterner
agreed saying, "He's a
very knowledgeable man.
This municipality is very
fortunate to have someof
his calibre her."
She argued that
renewing Laviolette's
contract is not affected by
the "lame duck" status of
council beforethe
municipal election Nov. 10
because the $9,500
increase in the budget is
well below the $50,000
allowed by the Municipal
Act.
' "This is the council
that's familiar with him
and his work and it's at the
same rate of pay," she said.
Laviolette's contract has
been extended another
year beginning in January.
Golf cart joy
ride ends
in the pond
at Seaforth
golf course
A $7,000 beverage cart
was stolen and driven into
a pond at the Seaforth Golf
and Country Club on Oct.
25 sometime overnight.
Huron OPP say a storage
shed was broken into and
the Club Car Turf 2 was
taken for a joy ride around
the golf course, ending up
in the pond near the 12th
green.
The unit was left
submerged in the pond but
the value of damages has
not been determined.
Anyone with related
information is asked to call
the Huron OPP or Crime
Stoppers.
0
Huron East's
auditor warns
council to get
informed
about Seaforth
trust committee
By Susan Hundertmark
Expositor Editor
Huron East's auditor Mike Meyers wants council to do a
better job monitoring the Seaforth community development
trust.
Meyers, who presented the municipality's financial
statement at Huron East's Oct. 21 meeting, reminded
councillors that they are responsible for all committees of
council, including the Seaforth trust.
"In my opinion, the trust is still a committee of council and
you're all responsible for it. I would monitor these funds at
all times. For your own protection, you need to get more
information," he said.
Meyers said he had a four-month wait for financial
information from the Seaforth community development trust.
And, after he called the trust's treasurer Seaforth Coun.
Dick Burgess for the information and waited three to four
weeks for a reply, he said he consulted with a municipal
lawyer to find out if under the Municipal Act, the trust could
withhold information from the municipality's auditor.
See WAIT, Page S
Halloween fun
house offered
by CHSS and BIA
at Commercial
Seaforth's• Commercial Hotel will be reopening for one
night only this week — Halloween.
The Seaforth BIA and the Central Huron Secondary
School student council will be holding a Halloween Fun
House at the vacant hotel at 84 Main Street on Oct. 31, from
5 until 8:30 p.m.
"We wanted to do something fun for kids on Halloween
night," said Kora Bennett, president of the CHSS student
council.
Bennett, along with the student council members and other
Seaforth area students, will be operating the children's fun
house that will feature a variety of games and, of course,
Halloween treats.
"We will have tons of Halloween games that the kids will
switch through," she said. "It will be nothing scary 'cause it's
all for fun," said Bennett.
The Grade 12 student said as children walk into the fun
house, they will go through a tunnel filled with glow -in -the -
dark objects, there will be apple bobbing, guess that touch
table, ghost stories and more. She added that children who
come dressed up will be judged on the best costume.
Bennett said original plans called for having a haunted
house at the former Seaforth Public School but later the BIA
decided to hold the event on the Main Street.
See HALLOWEEN, Page 2
Susan Hundertmark photo
Pumpkin math
Seaforth Public School Grade 3 students William Ringgenberg and Matt Oliver count the ridges
of a pumpkin during math class, where students also had to estimate and then measure the
height, mass and circumference of a pumpkin.
Seaforth trust, development
and water concerns at town's
all -candidate meeting Monday
By Susan Hundertmark
Expositor Editor
The Seaforth community development
trust, economic development and water
quality were among the concerns of close to
70 Seaforth ratepayers who attended an all -
candidates meeting for municipal council at
the Seaforth arena on Monday night.
Seaforth Coun. Dick Burgess was centred
out for a number of questions about the
Seaforth trust, including why the trust opened
an office at the Seaforth post office instead of
using the town hall, why the trust hired its
own accountant rather than using town staff
and what was involved in the $27,000 paid to
the trust's chair Alf Ross for professional
services.
Burgess answered that the trust could not
find office space at the town hall, adding that
even the mayor does not have an office at
town hall.
As well, he said the trustees decided to
have a separate accountant do the books and
that the $27,000 was paid "for services
rendered, not a salary as such."
"The trust agreement has been followed
and the statement has been provided to
council," he said.
Deputy -Mayor Bernie MacLellan also
responded to the questions about the trust,
adding that he has a problem with the trust
being governed by people who are not
elected and being required to only share its
books at the end of each year.
"When we (council) made the motion to
create the trust, I don't think we realized how
much power we gave that committee," he
said, adding that he hopes council will
change the agreement after the Nov. 10
election.
See CLOSE, Page 2
Customer service can beat 'big box retail'
Entrepreneur Roy Prevost tells 20 attending how to survive as a small retail business
By Sara Cambial
Expositor Staff
To prosper in a "Big Box retail world," small
businesses need to develop a close relationship
with their customers.
That was the message from entrepreneur and
futurist Roy Prevost to about 20 people who
attended a seminar, "Prospering in a Big Box
Retail World," at the Seaforth Legion on Oct. 24,
in conjunction with the Huron Small Business
Enterprise Centre.
"If you think you are competing with Wal-Mart,
you're not and you never will be," said Prevost.
"Big Box businesses certainly do not have the best
customer service and won't make the personal
contact a small business can."
Prevost said he owned a successful retail gift
shop in Ottawa for 25 years before realizing he
needed a career change and moved to Vancouver,
B.C.
"I didn't like people. My philosophy was that I
would get more work done if I didn't have all these
Roy Prevost
Sara Campbell photo
people around but I also thought, I made this
business now you people better come shop here,"
he said.
Prevost said retailers should ask themselves if
they love what they do, if they have a passion for
their business, are they in a rut and should they be
somewhere else.
"People often get into the retail business for the
wrong reason. They see the flashy signs and think,
I can do that, it looks easy enough," he said. "What
they should do is spend time as an employee at that
retail business first, before starting the business for
themselves."
Creating community ties, knowing customers
names and making a warm, friendly business are
keys to building relationships, said Prevost.
"Small businesses are not competing with the
Big Box. They are competing with their own
attitudes," he said. "People will drive for miles to
save 25 cents but the idea is to attract the people
who will pay the premium price because of the
relationship you have with the customer."
See SUSINISSES, Page i
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