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Lakeshore Advance, 2012-05-16, Page 28SUMMERNILL 1 < 40 TURBINES ST COLUMBAN SEAFORTH 20 TURBINES II County passes on pay hike plan Cheryl Heath Iluron County Councillors are not yet sure how to handle their own pay hikes. As proposed by Coun. James Ginn (Central Huron), councillors were debating whether to tie their annual honorarium) pay increases to the :onsumer Price Index (CPI) at the May 18 committee -of -the -whole session in Goderich in response to an earlier recom- mendation by County Clerk Barb Wilson that a bylaw should set the standard. Ginn says while he doesn't have a problem with the principle of a plan to tie council's wages to the county's non-un- ion staff as per the prior suggestion of sev- eral councillors, he is concerned the pub- lic will come to believe county councillors will approve overly generous yearly wage increases to non-union staff so that they, too, can benefit from them. Ginn's proposal, says Cow). Paul Klopp (Bluewater), could prove problematic in inflationary years because the CPI could lead to "big raises." While County Warden Neil Vincent (North Huron) says tying county council's increase to non-union staff seems the most fair, Coun. Ben Van Diepenbeek (Ashfield Colborne Wawanosh) says councillors always seem to grapple with this issue, but the truth is the public is not worried about it. "In the 14 years I've been on council, nobody has ever asked about what 1 get paid here," says Van Diepenbeek. Ultimately, Ginn's motion failed to pass. Chief Administrative Officer Larry Adams' suggestion to fords a committee, comprised of councillors and members of the public, to investigate how best to roll out councillors' pay increases also failed to garner support as tilopp says it is a "complicated enough" process without involving a third party. Helping Out Huron County is seeking 0 way to lend a helping hand to the residents of Slave Lake, Aka., that were recently displaced by a massive brush fire that rived one- third of the community. In broaching the issue, Coun. Deb Shewfelt (Goderich) asked county CA() Larry Adams to investigate any way, including through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, in which coun- cillors can assist Albertans. "I think, as Canadians, we need to pull together and help those people out," says Shewfelt, who adds that he recalls a dev- astating tornado in the 1990s that impacted his community. Under Review Councillors are agreeing to take 1.10 nother look at the S20,000 Huron }lerit- ' age bund. As per the request of Cultural Services Director Beth Ross, councillors will be reviewing a nwnber of options relating to the fund, including the possibility of increasing its funding allocation given its popularity. Councillors also agreed to a proposal to move forward with a grant application that will allow administrators to map cul- tural assets to build on the county's GIS platform. "This will demonstrate how rich we are in our cultural composition," says (bun. John Grace (Goderich) in support of the Creative Communi- ties Prosperity Fund through the Ministry of 7bur- ism & Culture. Denbo for Schools Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Chief Dave Lew reports 12 area schools will Soon be home t0 defibrillators thanks to a recent donation made by the Heart & Stroke Lew also made note and, as such, crews took biome and Garden Show Meanwhile, Coun. Foundation, of the fact part this Bernie it is RMS Week on past MacLellan the Goderich weekend. (Huron Fast) reports his municipality is working on strat- egies to encourage more residents to sign up for PRISM 911, which is an emergency call out sys- tem for county residents. MacLellan says using the system would be helpful when boil -water advisories need to be issued. In supporting the move, Lew notes the PRISM is 100 per cern effective but the key to its success is getting all of the residents registered. At the Homes In reporting to councillors, Joanne 1 lickey, the Homes Director of Care, notes the Iluronlea home in Brussels currently has beds available in its secure unit but filling them is at the discretion Wednesday, May 25, 2011 • Lakeshore Advance 13 of the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC). 1lickey argues the open beds could be utilized by people in need and that if the !tomes department has less than 97 per cent occupancy, it negatively impacts ministry funding. In expressing concern about the situation, Conn, Deb Shewfelt (Goderich) says it seems strange beds are available at a time when hospi- tals are struggling to place people into permanent locations. "What can we do?" asks Shewfelt. Hickey says the key is to continue to "spread awareness" on the issue. "We're not the gatekeeper, we have no control over this," says Hickey, adding there is a meeting scheduled with the CCAC in order to address the situation. Hickey says one problems may be the "stigma attached" to the secure units. IS THIS THE FUTURE OF ONTARIO'S WEST COAST? �111f)(i1 t • • -44 LLI('10 0 I • • • . GVch'1 r( /1 Bayfr('Id = - (;r,llh(t . A11f)l1I 11 . Myth • C1111tOI1 H KINGSBRIDGE 2 150 TURBINES W117 0,111 K1NGSBRIDGE 1 22 TURBINES BI TTD - HOLMESVILLE 60 TURBINES BLUIWATER 30 TURBINES Se.ltot ti l . • GRAND BEND 50 TURBINES [1� NEN * 40 TURBINES Come to..... A Community Forum on Wind Development in Huron County Monday May 30th @ 7PM Knights of Columbus Hall 390 Parsons Crt Goderich Presentations and panel discussion featuring.... Dr Scott Petrie B.Sc PhD Executive Director Long Point Waterfowl — Potential Impacts of Industrial Wind Turbines on Lower Great Lakes Waterfowl Tom Adams, former Executive Director of Energy Probe — What will Ontario's aggressive plans for wind energy mean to rate- payers and how will it effect our electrical system and economy? Mike McMurray, realtor specializing in rural properties -- What are the implications for prop- erty owners in Industrial Turbine Development areas? Admission is Free Sponsored b» concerned citizens of Huron County For more information go to www.chatcentralhuron.com or email - chathuron@gmail.com "The dots represent turbines placed within the develop- ment areas currently proposed for Huron County. They are not accurately placed within the project area, but gives a sense of the density.