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Huron Expositor, 2005-02-09, Page 22 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, Feb. 9, 2005 •.•.•..•. .......... 1111 !!If liffffi �;•7 ':: OPENING TODAY! ''• ••� Wednesday, February 9th •�- Dr. Feelgoods House of Fun We Buy, Sell and Trade In Quality Used ••'" Music, Video Games & ••▪ •' Collectibles •;•r 60 Main Street, Seaforth wolIO MIMS NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING The 129th Annual Meeting of the Members will be held in the HEAD OFFICE of McKillop Mutual Insurance Company 91 Main Street South, SEAFORTH, Ontario on Wed., February 23, 2005 at 1:30 p.m. • To receive and dispose of the 2004 financial statement and auditor's report: • To appoint Auditors; • To elect three qualified Directors for a term of three years; • To consider amendments to By -Laws # (33) Remuneration (53) Adjustments and Settlement of Claims • To transact any other business that may properly come before the meeting; • The retiring Directors are Eric Anderson, Jeff Campbell, and Brad Carnochan. Jeff Campbell and Brad Carnochan are eligible for re-election; • Any qualifying policyholder wishing to seek election must file their intention to stand for election in writing with the Secretary of the Company at least seven days in advance of the Annual Meeting (by1:30 p.m. February 16, 2005.) (By -Law No. 21 (d) ). Ken Jones Secretary -Treasurer -Manager News Huron East decides to wipe out arena deficits in Seaforth, Brussels By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor Huron East is wiping out the deficits of both its arenas in Seaforth and Brussels. After a recorded vote of 10-1 last Tuesday, council will be taking $114,207 out of restricted reserves and contributing $100,000 from its 2005 budget to give the arenas "a clean slate" in 2005. "The eagle has landed and we're going to clean this mess up," said Mayor Joe Seili. Accumulated deficits at the end of.2004 of $137,689 at the Seaforth arena and $56,354 at the Brussels arena were the subject of budget discussions at council's Feb. 1 meeting. Council has been debating for the past year whether or not Huron East's three recreation facilities can be expected to fund their own operating expenses and whether council should be expected to pay for each facility's capital costs. Deputy -Clerk Brad Knight told council that the decision to put additional money into the recreation budget will raise the Huron East levy by more than 4.6 per cent. He also pointed out that the plan will mean asking Morris-Turnberry and West Perth for more money than Looking Glass 4 Main St., Seaforth 527-1783 *Reflexology +Deep Muscle Therapy +Ear Candling +Reiki In Home Services Provided Gift Certificates Available Jennifer McClinchey WHAT MAKES A TRAIL? by Craig Nicholson (©2004 by Craig Nicholson. All rights reserved.) When you travel an especially circuitous snowmobile trail, you might imagine that an inebriated engineer designed it. In fact, most trails are placed only after much sober considera- tion, predetermined by a variety of largely uncontrollable fac- tors. It's estimated that each kilometer of new trail costs an aver- age of $2,000. Annual operations run at about $400 per klick. So snowmobile clubs strive to get the shortest and most direct routes to save as much money and volunteer effort as possi- ble. But trail location is not simple. First, there's the question of why the trail is needed and where it is supposed to go. Often, the purpose is to link ser- vices, communities or other existing trails. A sustainable route must be found. Sustainability is key for a permanent trail, because anything other than Tong -term tenure can be a waste of very limited club resources. So who owns the land and what long-term land use permission may be available can determine the route. Any given proposal may involve multiple property owners, both public and private, and the refusal of any one of these can dramatically change the proposed route. Wherever possible, preference is given to existing pathways such as early settlement roads, trapper's trails, cut lines, utility corridors, logging roads and abandoned rail lines. But the availability of these routes can also depend on variables such as other existing or planned land uses, gov- ernment policies, attitudes of adjacent landowners, environ- mental concerns and even politics. Many other factors are also involved. Is the terrain steep or flat? Rugged or rolling? Dry or wet? Stable or unstable? Are there any natural obstacles such as waterways, wetlands, cliffs, hills and forests that must be taken into account? What about man-made obstacles? Considerations like permission for roads crossings, use of existing bridges and the difficulty of building the trail itself play an important role. Then there are factors such as municipal by-laws, access to services, and public input. Clubs must also be concerned with terrain specific issues that can impact future preparation, maintenance, grooming costs and safety. Placing the trail in one location may help the snow base last longer by protecting it from direct sunlight. Placing it in another may avoid prevailing winds and drifting. Spring run-off can undermine some locations, resulting in expensive erosion repairs. Farmland often merits special trail placement: along fence lines, instead of directly across the field, or in one field but not another, or maybe in a different field than last winter due to crop rotation. Even when a club successfully addresses all of the above and opens a new trail, it may not last if snowmobilers upset any individual landowner. Too many trails that should have been permanent are being lost today because of inconsiderate people who trespass during the winter and other seasons, cause property damage, or do not stay on the trail. Then the club has to start all over again. USE T1= AIII. AT 1r vUti OWN RISK • YOU must know and obey the Motorlied Snow Vehicles Act (Ont.) • YOU must use caution At all tames • Emergency and cen phone service r may not he availeble *YAMAHA Ultimate Parleiromece ,see in, tt.t.rflon SERVICEACE TRE rhF4Fs h0Th NG JKF rt BOMBARDIER' ATV 1111110100 • •SALES •SERV CE •ACCESSORIES 1 1/4 Miles North of Seaforth 527-0120 j . © POLARIS' Thole/cry O. SNOWMOBILES ACCESSORIES SALES & SERVICE POOLS & SPORTS 234 Main St., Seaforth 527-0104 }: 130 CENTRE IT. • DAIHW00D 237-3322 Your is ARCT1CCAT Sledquarters Snowmobiles & ATV's Sales & Service Parts & Accessories ARCTIC CAT J<IIUI!E Olfrlt Mif/0N: tilt s i.W1t5Y :n:wtsty 345.224 PERTH COUNTY LME M SNOWMOBILE COUNTRY r•• usual. "We think it's going to be very difficult to go down to West Perth and ask for the amounts that would cover the deficit. But, the basic levy and a one-time infusion might b e reasonable," said Knight. At the' Seaforth arena, the deficit resulted in part from $100,000 in unbudgeted capital projects council approved for 2004 including a new furnace for the upstairs hall at $12,000, new boards and doors on the arena ice surface at $46,500, new flooring in the dressing room and lobby at $25,000 to $30,000 and a new cleaning machine for the floors at $8,000. Other contributing factors to the Seaforth arena deficit were the costs and loss of revenue caused by the chiller (machinery that keeps the ice cold) breakdown in 2002. At the Brussels arena, the deficit was caused by a lightning strike and less than projected revenues from bar proceeds and fundraising budgets. A $60,826 contribution from the Brussels' arena's reserve over the past four years has limited its deficit to $56,354 over a period when Brussels bought two compressors and a skate sharpener. Both arenas will receive a one-time infusion of $50,000 from the 2005 Huron East budget. To match the contributions made from the Brussels arena reserve, the wards of Seaforth, McKillop a n d Tuckersmith w i 1 1 contribute from their restricted reserves to wipe out the deficit at the Seaforth arena. West .Perth will also be asked to contribute towards the Seaforth arena's deficit. Out of a $114,207 total from reserves, West Perth's contribution is calculated as $10,278, Seaforth's contribution is $44,541, McKillop's share is $25,136 and Tuckersmith's share is $34,262. And, while Tuckersmith Coun. Bill DeJong was the only one to vote against the decision, some of the councillors had concerns that the arenas could create large deficits again. "What guarantee do we have that in two years, we're not in the same position?" asked Grey Coun. Mark Beaven. "It doesn't give you much incentive to meet your budget if you know your fairy godmother is going to pick up the bill," added Brussels Coun. David Blaney. "We're trying to suggest to the rec committees that they've got toget things under control," responded Deputy -Clerk Brad Knight. "If you save it, you get to keep it in a reserve," added Seili. McKillop Coun. Ferg Kelly said he thought the rec committees deserved a break. "I think these guys are headed in the right direction," he said. Seaforth Coun. Joe Steffler said starting the year with a huge deficit would be impossible for the arena boards. "It's like going to a swimming lesson with a cement box around your ankles," he said. Tuckersmith Coun. Larry McGrath said council has to choose whether or not it is going to support recreation in Huron East or not. Seili said council has no one to blame but itself for the arena deficits. "This is the only proposal that's come forward after 12 months. We've let this go on for four years since amalgamation," he said. DeJong expressed concern that the restricted reserves - the money that each former municipality brought to the amalgamated municipality of Huron East - were originally kept to do road work. "We're going to keep licking at these reserves until there's nothing left," he said. But, McGrath responded that everyone living in Tuckersmith uses the Seaforth arena and must contribute towards its upkeep. Corn, Wheat and Soy board president says low prices will stop farmers from planting From Page 1 Bob Hallam, president of the Huron County Corn, Wheat and Soy Boards said that the problem facing grain and oil seed producers is spread throughout the province. "Our price is lower than it was 25 years ago," said Hallam. "It's a 25 - year low." " I t definitely is a crisis," he said. So far members of the Huron County Corn. subsidizing program for farmers from the Ontario government. "It has to come from the provincial government on propping it up to complete with Quebec and Alberta. The feds have to come up too," he said, adding that the federal support program also have to be raised to a level where it can work. If nothing is done to help grain and oil seed farmers, Hallam said, some farmers might not be Quoted `I always try to look at the silver lining but right now it's looking kind of black,' - Huron Corn, Wheat and Soy board president Bob Hallam Soys and Wheat Board have lobbied Huron -Bruce MP Carol Mitchell. "I think Carol's trying to do her best, but it's the province itself," said Hallam. "I guess she has a lot of urban ones (MPs) that don't understand and it's hard to come up with the money." Hallam said that the problem has to do with a poor able to farm next year. "There's going to be a lot who fall through the cracks. There'll be a lot who won't have the money to put the crops in and the ones that do put it in are gambling with their own equity," said Hallam. So far. Storey said, the staff at the farm machinery dealership has had a lot of people phone or drop in and compliment them on the sign. Storey explained that although the sign has been on the side of the road for many years, this is the first time they've had a political message like this. "The only thing we would have on there were financing programs, products or services we wanted to promote," Storey said, adding that they also used the sign to promote the Seaforth hospital during their telethon last fall. "If you look at the magic line called the border, US farmers had the best year possible and we had the worst," said Hallam. "That should tell you how our government is supporting the farmers." Hallam said that the financial problems facing farmers is going to soon branch out to other parts on the economy. Although he said he doesn't exaggerate, Hallam said that this situation is as bad as it sounds. "I always try to look at the silver lining but right now it's looking kind of black," said Hallam. Request for Public Opinion on the Proposed Nursing Home Annual Licence Renewal of Seaforth Manor, Seaforth In accordance with the Nursing /I/ tnes.4cr. public opinion is being requested prier to final derision being made on the above If vnu have comments or opinions and wish to bnng them to the attention of the Ministry of Health and longTerm Care. you may submit them by March 14. 2003 to' Director under the Nursing Homes Act Ontario Ministry of Health and long Term Care long -Term Care Homes Branch c'n S"00 longe Street. 4th Floor North York. Ontario M241 tliS Phone AIb32 -315 Fax )16-U411,2 Please include the name of the nursing home and quote Protect •236-05 on all written submissions The Director will consider Al submissions before making a final decision CI Ontario