INSIDE THIS WEEK:
WINE - Pg. 2
CAR CARE - Pg. 13
CULTURE - Pg. 27
Blyth native’s family poised to open county’s third winery
‘The Citizen’ presents annual spring section
County seeks input on new Cultural Plan
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Volume 35 No. 17
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Councils wary of reviews By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen
The mad dash As part of an initiative to both celebrate Easter in Blyth and increase awareness and usership of the Blyth Greenway Trail, which is part of the Goderich-to-Guelph Rail Trail, the Friends of the Village of Blyth held a special Easter on the Trail event on Saturday. The morning included a special
Easter egg hunt, for which 1,000 eggs were hidden along the trail, and a special visit from the Easter Bunny. Once the more-than 50 youngsters collected their eggs, they traded them in for special Easter treats before they left. Though it was wet and cold that day, everyone bundled up and enjoyed the event. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Huron County and its lower-tier municipalities are currently in “wait and see” mode in regards to 24 reviews that are ongoing at the provincial level. Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan, a member of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Health Task Force, spoke to the reviews first at the April 16 meeting of Huron East Council and then the next day at Huron County Council. MacLellan had attended a task force meeting earlier in the week that was derailed by several announcements by the provincial government concerning amalgamation of local health agencies and emergency service stations throughout the province. He said the day’s agenda was thrown into disarray with the announcement, adding that much of what was to be discussed had been fundamentally changed by the provincial government. This led to a discussion about the potential for a municipal governance review and its current status. It was then that members were informed that while a municipal governance review, which may lead to further amalgamation, is still in the works, it was just one of 24 ongoing reviews that could affect the way municipalities and counties operate. In a document provided to the members by AMO, the 24 reviews are listed, all of which are either Continued on page 3
HE Council approves six per cent levy increase By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron East Council has approved its 2019 budget with a 6.12 per cent municipal levy increase. The overall levy increase, when taking into account county and school board taxes, is 6.09 per cent. Though the tax levy is increasing for the year, tax rates are actually decreasing slightly due to the increase in assessment values. Council approved the final draft of the budget at its April 16 meeting. Taxation by ward fluctuates drastically in Huron East for the overall increase of 6.09 per cent. In Brussels there is a 2.13 per cent reduction, while there is a small increase in Seaforth of 1.87 per cent. In Tuckersmith, there is an increase
of 5.28 per cent, while the increases in Grey and McKillop are 9.66 per cent and 11.01 per cent, respectively. Taxes in 2019 for a house valued at the municipality’s average assessment of $210,315 would be $1,507 in Seaforth, $1,453 in
Brussels, $1,122 in Tuckersmith, $916 in McKillop and $958 in Grey. Treasurer Paula Michiels told council that while the Huron East budget has increased just under 19 per cent since 2016, the municipality’s Ontario Municipal
Partnership Fund (OMPF) allotment has decreased by 33.6 per cent. She told councillors that while Huron East has had to increase its budget in recent years, the municipality has still not increased the budget enough to cover the lost provincial
funding over the last three years. Michiels’ job was made a little easier at the 11th hour by over $600,000 in one-time provincial funding, which could be injected right into the budget. While council Continued on page 28
Roulston, Festival honoured by HAHN For its 10th anniversary, the Huron Arts and Heritage Network (HAHN) will be celebrating some of the last decade’s greatest contributors to the arts, culture and heritage landscape in Huron County. The network will be presenting its annual Cultural Awards this Friday night at the Goderich Legion. Unlike most years, this year HAHN asked people not to nominate new
contributors, but vote on past winners in the hopes of ranking them. Several local past winners have made the list and will be honoured on Friday night, including former Citizen Publisher and Blyth Festival co-founder Keith Roulston, the Blyth Festival, the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association, Blyth’s Duncan McGregor and 2017
International Plowing Match Chair Jacquie Bishop. Others to be honoured that night as part of the 10th anniversary top 10 are the St. Joseph’s Kingsbridge Community (now the Kingsbridge Centre), Iceculture in Hensall, local historian David Yates, the Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story and Goderich’s FauxPop Station. The awards will be handed out on
Friday, April 26, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Goderich Legion. The evening will include live music, a silent auction and a cash bar. Tickets, which include dinner catered by Bon Vivant, are $37.50 each and are available at eventbrite.com. If you have any questions, e-mail Huron County Cultural Development Officer Rick Sickinger at rsickinger@huroncounty.ca.