The Citizen - April 30, 2020

INSIDE THIS WEEK:

WEDDING - Pg. 3

DONATION - Pg. 6

HOCKEY - Pg. 12

Local couple reschedules their big day due to virus

Brussels Optimist Club hands out donations

‘The Citizen’ celebrates OMHA co-champions

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0

The

Citizen

$1.25

GST included

Volume 36 No. 18

Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Central Huron aims to reduce tax rate

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen

Reason to celebrate Central Huron Clerk Brenda MacIsaac retired after 34 years of working for Central Huron, and the Town of Clinton before it, beginning as a temporary summer receptionist who worked her way up to being the clerk. In lieu of a retirement party (and a birthday as Friday happened to be MacIsaac’s birthday), dozens of vehicles drove past the municipal office in Clinton to express their appreciation for her decades of hard work. Leading the way in Clinton’s antique fire truck was Central Huron Fire Chief Dave Renner and his wife Judy, waving to MacIsaac on the steps of the municipal office. (Shawn Loughlin photo)

School Fair moved to 2021

By Denny Scott The Citizen The 100th annual Elementary School Fair, scheduled for September, has been postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the second time the event has been postponed during its run.

Alice McDowell, the PastPresident and Communication Officer for the fair’s executive, explained the decision was made far in advance for a handful of reasons, but two primary ones drove the change.

“A staple in the fair is the school work and, without the kids in school, and not knowing when they will be back, it does pose a problem for us,” McDowell said. “Moreso, and along that line, it wouldn’t be fair to our educational partners to be expecting the fair to be a focus with everything else happening right now.”

The second major concern, McDowell said, is the fiscal

responsibility the committee has to its donors and sponsors.

“We count on donors and sponsors to be able to run our event,” she said.

“One of the things we have to have done very early in May is the fair book printing. It’s a substantial cost, and, if we’re printing that, we have to ask if we’re being fiscally responsible with donors’ and sponsors’ money.”

The fair relies on the generosity of others, McDowell said, as there is very little funding available other than what comes from community members and businesses.

“We want them to know we couldn’t do the fair without them,” she said. “We want to thank them and hope they will be able to continue sponsoring and donating to the fair.”

While those were the major concerns, McDowell said there were other issues as well, including distributing supplies to students, which would be difficult with them not in school, and making sure the

committee is recognizing the 100th anniversary of the fair in a meaningful way.

McDowell said the board looked at every possibility when considering the future of the event and felt the most responsible decision was to postpone it now instead of pushing forward with expenses and work that could be fruitless if they had to cancel.

Most of the classes that have been announced will likely carry over, McDowell said, though no firm decisions have been made regarding next year’s classes.

“We’re also working on a way for students to have an opportunity to showcase some of the work they have done,” she said. “We’re working on details for that.”

One of the options is that the work will be shown off during the ambassador competition the committee hopes to run in September. The event was set to be held March 28, however it was deferred for COVID-19 concerns.

Central Huron Council has altered course significantly in its budget deliberations, favouring a zero per cent tax levy increase, making for a 5.35 per cent decrease to the municipal tax rate.

Director of Finance Jeff Boyes presented the latest draft of the budget to council on Monday night.

It was the fifth meeting of the budget process for Central Huron.

Boyes presented council with three options, recommending a 0.87 per cent increase to the tax rate and a 6.57 per cent increase to the levy.

Councillors, however, had their eye on another of his options, putting forward a budget that would dip into the municipality’s reserves, but give ratepayers a break during the COVID-19 pandemic. In discussing the budget on Monday night, Mayor Jim Ginn said he couldn’t justify spending more this year than last with the pandemic in full swing and many residents hurting for money.

Ginn said the municipality’s businesses and farmers are struggling right now and many residents are on employment insurance, so council needed to find a way to curb its spending, but keep up service levels.

He recommended the approval of one of Boyes’ options that included a 5.35 per cent decrease to the tax rate and a zero per cent increase to the tax levy. It would equal a decrease of $35.49 in taxes per year per $100,000 of residential assessment.

Most councillors agreed with Ginn immediately, though by the

end of the conversation, the decision to move forward with the recommended budget was unanimous.

This option still left some finer points to be discussed, which will be presented at council’s May 4 meeting.

Under this recommendation, the municipality’s pool deck repair would be moved to 2021. Two road projects were also being discussed, one on Winthrop Road and the second on Tipperary Line, both of which were slated to cost $405,000.

Boyes said council was essentially in a position where it had to choose one project or the other. However, council directed Boyes to draw up some scenarios using reserves to move ahead with both projects, while not affecting the tax rate.

Direction from council recommended using the tax stabilization reserve and the roads and bridges reserve to help balance the budget.

Councillor Alison Lobb also lobbied for fairness in road projects throughout the municipality, saying that many Hullett-area projects were being left in, while Goderich Township-area projects were being removed.

Council took that under advisement for the next meeting, though Chief Administrative Officer Steve Doherty did remind her that the municipality was planning a significant investment in Goderich Township by way of purchasing the former Bluewater Youth Centre property.

The budget will again be addressed at council’s May 4 meeting with final approval set for the May 19 meeting.

Slight rise in H-P COVID-19 cases

By Denny Scott The Citizen The first case of COVID-19 in a Huron County long-term care home has been identified as a resident at the Blue Water Rest Home in Zurich.

Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) Medical Officer of Health Dr. Miriam Klassen announced the case during a bi-weekly teleconference on Monday, saying the case was identified through testing. The resident is self-isolated in a separate part of the home and the staff have contacted other staff, residents and family regarding the case.

While it was the first case, more

may come to light as the HPPH team prepares, in a week and a half, to triple the number of tests done in the area.

Klassen explained that the HPPH has completed 1,380 tests across Huron and Perth Counties since the COVID-19 pandemic started and now are completing 2,000 test swabs in residents and staff of long-term care homes to track any potential for outbreaks.

As part of the teleconference, Klassen stated that, of the 1,380 tests, 1,016 have come back as negative, 321 are pending and 43 tests have come back as positive.

Positive test results have been identified in the following areas: Continued on page 24

PAGE 2. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020.

2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Ontario, your efforts to beat COVID-19 are making a difference.

To stop the spread, we need you to continue to:

Stay home when possible

2m

Practice physical distancing of at least 2 metres

Wash hands thoroughly and often We need your continued determination and cooperation to stop the spread.

COVID-19 can be deadly.

Don’t put your family and friends at risk.

Stay home. Stay strong. Save lives.

Learn more at ontario.ca/coronavirus Paid for by the Government of Ontario

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 3.

McCutcheon reschedules wedding due to pandemic

Another special day Brussels native Hannah McCutcheon and her fiancé Benjamin Hodgins were due to get married at the Four Winds Barn in Brussels on June 6, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to change their plans. The new date is April 24, 2021 and McCutcheon says that while rescheduling wasn’t perfect, her local vendors were all understanding and accommodating, helping her find solutions for her special day. (Photo courtesy of Haley Thuss)

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen While the news has been full of events being cancelled or sports leagues suspending seasons, the COVID-19 pandemic has also stood in the way of many couples tying the knot after, in some cases, years of planning.

Hannah McCutcheon, a Brusselsarea native who now lives in Lucan, had been looking forward to marrying her fiancé Benjamin Hodgins on June 6. However, the pair realized early in the process that COVID-19, which was declared a Public Health Emergency of

International Concern in late January and then a worldwide pandemic in early March, may factor into their decision-making process.

McCutcheon works in healthcare as an employee with the Londonbased Medpoint Healthcare Centre and Hodgins works at Hensall Coop. McCutcheon said that through the protocols being put in place at her place of work, she could see very early on that COVID-19 was going to be a virus of great concern to the world.

The pair first spoke seriously about rescheduling their wedding at the beginning of March.

McCutcheon said she was sure of

wanting to reschedule, but Hodgins wanted to delay a decision.

“At the time, I was pretty set.

Working in the healthcare field, I could see the virus itself; what it is and what it could do,” McCutcheon said.

The couple was scheduled to be married on Saturday, June 6 at the Four Winds Barn in Brussels.

McCutcheon said it was important to her to be married there for a number of reasons. First, the Four Winds Barn, which was moved from Grey Township and reconstructed in Brussels, once belonged to McCutcheon’s great uncle.

McCutcheon also wanted to be

married in her hometown.

Once the virus began spreading seriously across Canada and the United States, McCutcheon and Hodgins began to discuss the possibility of rescheduling the wedding. In a way, McCutcheon says, making the decision early in the process reduced the stress on the couple with plenty of time before their scheduled wedding. It left them with options as venues, vendors and other wedding-related merchants began seeing their 2021 schedule rapidly filling up due to wedding cancellations related to the COVID19 pandemic.

When they made the decision to reschedule in 2021, rather than pushing everything later into 2020 with the increasing uncertainty, McCutcheon’s first call was to her venue, the Four Winds Barn.

She said they were very helpful and understanding and worked with her to find a new date despite a rather full schedule even in 2021.

They were able to find April 24, 2021 at the Four Winds Barn and then McCutcheon began working with all of her wedding vendors to bring them along to the new date.

The couple was able to book nearly all of their vendors for the new date. McCutcheon says she was grateful everyone she booked was local when looking to reschedule.

She says she knew most of the people they had enlisted for the wedding, so calling them to reschedule, given the circumstances, was a relatively easy process.

McCutcheon says she has heard some horror stories from fellow brides and co-workers who have not been as lucky.

One bride, for example, was due to be married in April in western Canada. Cancelling just a few weeks before the wedding and dealing with vendors she didn’t know and had

never met in person meant she was often unable to recoup her deposit.

McCutcheon said she really was impressed with the level of understanding and co-operation she received when working to move everything to 2021, serving as a great endorsement for local vendors and other wedding professionals.

As a result of the pandemic, McCutcheon says a number of other events have had to be delayed, rescheduled or held virtually, like her bridal shower, bachelorette party and other traditional events in the lead-up to a wedding.

In the long run, McCutcheon says the new date is working out for the best. Some of her far-flung relatives living overseas will now be able to attend whereas they couldn’t this year. Furthermore, she said that moving the wedding to 2021 will ensure that guests will feel safe and comfortable travelling to the wedding, whereas if it were to be moved to later this year, there’s no telling what the situation will be.

The couple had then planned to be officially wed this summer on June 6 in a small family service at her family’s home farm, but that again has been held up due to the pandemic. They would need a marriage certificate from a local municipal office, but they are all closed, so it’s looking like both the wedding and the celebration will take place in April next year.

McCutcheon said that if she has any advice for other couples in her situation, it’s to find the least stressful solution for both of the parties being married. From there, she said, everything else will fall into place.

She also said that just because a couple can host their wedding later this year, guests may not feel comfortable attending if the pandemic has yet to truly subside.

PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020.

Editorials & Opinions

President: Keith Roulston • Publisher: Deb Sholdice Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld • Heather Fraser

The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. N0M 1H0 N0G 1H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Phone Fax 519-523-9140 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.huroncitizen.ca

The Citizen is published 51 times a year in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $38.00/year ($36.19 + $1.81 G.S.T.) in Canada; $180.00/year in U.S.A. and $380/year in other foreign countries. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited.

Advertising Deadlines: Mon. 2 p.m. - Brussels; Mon. 4 p.m. - Blyth.

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 Member RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CCNA CIRCULATION DEPT. Member of the Ontario Press Council We acknowledge the financial support PO BOX 152 of the Government of Canada.

We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright email: info@northhuron.on.ca

Leading the way Last week, on Earth Day to be precise, the University of Guelph’s Board of Governors voted to divest their endowment of investments in the fossil fuel industry over the next five years, making it one of the first universities in Canada to make such a commitment.

This is part of the university’s larger ongoing commitment to reduce its carbon footprint. As with any change, this decision did not come easily to the board. A motion had been passed in January, 2019 to reduce the carbon footprint of its endowment fund portfolio by 10 per cent within two years. However, the student group Fossil Free Guelph didn’t feel that went far enough and continued to pressure the university.

Even after a recommendation from the university’s administration and finance committee, which had sought external investment advice, the board was not unanimous in its decision. In fact, the board even amended the original motion to allow for some investing in fossil fuel companies that “support a transition to a low-carbon economy”, giving itself a loophole.

Change is hard, being the first to change is even harder. – DS

Another election’s promise When U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson beat a frightening bout with COVID-19 and returned to 10 Downing Street, he said he owed the National Health Service (NHS) his life. Some residents, however, were quick to remind him that his debt to the NHS is far more concrete than that, telling Johnson he actually owes the NHS £350 million per week, as opposed to “his life” or any other empty praise.

When Johnson aligned with the Vote Leave campaign in 2016 as the Mayor of London, he could often be found pontificating in front of a large bus emblazoned with a slogan suggesting a reappropriation of funds misleadingly suggesting that the U.K. sends £350 million per week to the European Union and that money would be better spent with the NHS. The slogan surgically stoked voters’ fear – a digital outreach and misinformation campaign that would serve as the roadmap to victory for Donald Trump in the U.S. – and brought that money “back home” for nationalists wondering which way they should vote in the upcoming referendum to leave the European Union after over 40 years.

Thanks to whatdoesborisowe.co.uk we know how much Johnson should be paying the NHS. Like a debt calculator, the number is in constant motion, but by the time you’re reading this, it’s likely to be over £69 billion. But, like a long-forgotten transgression for which he skirted the consequences, it seems as though that money has become that which must not be mentioned. It did its job in getting Brits to vote to leave the European Union and lift Johnson into office. Like so many election promises, they no longer matter and are no longer discussed once a candidate is elected, left as a distant memory for those hoping to one day break the mold and elect a politician who actually keeps a promise.

On our side of the pond, politicians have flaunted “promises made, promises kept” slogans – with asterisks aplenty – seemingly showing they know the value of living up to things they promised. Voters need to hold their politicians accountable. They can’t simply foist themselves upon us, selling us a bill of goods and ripping up the receipt after being sworn in. If your politicians disappoint, lie or ignore their promises, vote them out. It’s the cornerstone of democracy and it’s why we have the power, even if it might not always feel that way. – SL

We need to do better Whether it’s the black sheep of the family, the group of protestors saying the province, state or country needs to be re-opened, or rookie Conservative Canadian MP Derek Sloan, there is always someone looking to ruin the party.

These troublemakers can do something as stupid as spiking the punch bowl or as damning, for the entire country, as making racist comments in their bid to become the next leader of the Conservatives.

Sloan decided on the latter, questioning Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam’s loyalties, whether she works for Canada or China, during a time when Chinese people are already facing racist comments and actions because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Sloan, who is gunning for outgoing Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer’s position at the top of the Conservative Party, faced no official reprimand from his party, though several Conservative MPs called him out for his racist remarks.

With the exception of Indigenous peoples, we all wear where our ancestors came from, but because Tam has Chinese heritage, she makes an easy target for comments like Sloan’s.

As a country, Canada needs to do better, so call on the next leader of the federal Conservative Party, and our own representatives, to end rhetoric like Sloan’s. – JDS

Looking Back Through the Years May 2, 1962 Lloyd McQueen of Toronto, the assistant supervisor of music for the Ontario Department of Education, served as the adjudicator for the first-ever music festival held in Brussels. He said the festival was of “high standard” and the entries were of good quality.

At the festival, the Home and School Shield for the school winning the most points went to Brussels Public School. The school finished the competition with 251 points, 20 points more than the other two participating schools, Blyth and Walton Public Schools.

The festival was officially opened

by North Huron school inspector J.H. Kinkead of Goderich. Over 200 parents and other community members were in attendance as the festival began.

The first night of competition focused on rhythm bands and twoand three-part choruses. Judges saw a total of 27 entries that first night.

Walton Public School, which had been open and in use since December, 1961, was formally opened by local dignitaries. The building was dedicated by Rev. Arthur Higginbotham of Walton United Church.

The Brussels 4-H Beef Calf Club held an organizational meeting to elect its officers for the coming year.

Don Nolan was named the president, while Jean Roe was the vicepresident, Gerald Smith was the secretary and Dave Gowing was the press reporter.

A dedication service for the new organ donated to the Moncrieff United Church was set for Sunday, May 5.

May 5, 1971 The Blyth Calorie Counting Club held its graduation night and four

members lost a collective 148 pounds as a result of their weightloss efforts in the club.

The North Huron 4-H Horse Club held its organizational meeting, naming Jim Brigham the president, Henry Fidom the vice-president, Margaret Franken the secretary and Linda Wise and Harry Franken as the press reporters.

Blyth Village Council authorized a $10 donation to the Huron County Historical Society, as well as a $100 donation for new bleachers at the village’s park.

May 5, 1999 The Brussels Bulls executive made the decision to sell the Junior C franchise, as well as the right to the team’s carded players, to hockey interests in Goderich.

The Citizen reported that the Bulls’ 1998/1999 season was the worst in the franchise’s 14-year history. However, President Mark Pennington said that while it seemed the team had hit a low, the coming season was looking promising.

As area municipalities looked to amalgamate with one another, Huron County’s strategic planning committee said that 6,000 eligible voters should be the goal for any newly-amalgamated municipalities.

Furthermore, the committee also recommended that Huron County Council representatives be assigned to new municipalities for every 3,000 eligible voters they represent.

Sept. 1 was set as the goal for receiving local restructuring proposals. Then, county council would put forward an entire restructuring plan for the county based on those proposals.

Laurel Armstrong was named the new director of marketing and communications for the Blyth Festival, coming to Blyth after

working as the sales manager for the Benmiller Inn. Ahead of the opening of the 1999 Blyth Festival season, organizers announced there would be more matinees on the schedule, adding regular Tuesday matinees and even one Sunday matinee per show for the duration of the season.

Blyth councillors approved a small tax increase for the coming year, which equated to an increase of 30 cents per year per $100,000 of assessment.

Blyth budgeted to realize revenue of just under $600,000 in 1999. One of the largest decreases was in the Community Reinvestment Fund, which dropped from $113,000 in 1998 to $88,000.

May 6, 2010 The Blyth Festival received $37,300 from North Huron after its Trillium Grant application for $30,000 was approved. The money would be going towards the replacement of windows, doors and masonry work at Memorial Hall.

The work at the hall was scheduled to be completed by June 1, so it would not disrupt the 2010 Blyth Festival season, said Artistic Director Eric Coates.

The Brussels Mennonite Fellowship marked its 30th anniversary. A special service and several meals over the course of the weekend of May 22-23 celebrated the milestone.

The Saugeen Maitland Lightning PeeWee team went undefeated in the provincial championships, earning gold for the community. On the team were several locals, including Lexi Smith from the Brussels area and Sam Pruden of the Wroxeter area.

Russell Cook, a well-known veteran of World War II living in Blyth, passed away at the age of 85.

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 5.

Other Views

Connecting in a time of pandemic

T

he world has totally changed for most of us since the pandemic hit. Take Councillor Rory Roper, for instance.

“If I’d known what I was getting into I’d never have run for council last time,” he told me this week. “And I don’t mean COVID-19 – I mean Zoom!

“I’ve managed to get along quite happily without all this modern communications technology until now. I mean I didn’t know what Twitter was other than a lot of twits used it. So when they told me we couldn’t have meetings in the council chambers anymore and we’d have to meet using Zoom, I had no idea what they were talking about. Little did I know that even the smart young people on council who know everything about apps (is that the term?), had never heard of Zoom before the pandemic. Nobody did. Now we can’t avoid the darned thing.

“Let me tell you, it’s hard to argue for good old-fashioned values, which is why I ran for council, when you have to do it over Zoom. I mean I don’t mind being called old-fashioned.

When we still met at the town hall, some of the young smart-alecs on council used to ask me where I parked the horse. But when you’re forced to use technology and you can’t make it work, you look plain stupid, and unlike some politicians – the President of the United States, comes to mind – I don’t like looking stupid.

“At least, thanks to my wife, we have internet in the house. She wants to keep up with her friends on Facebook. I manage to avoid that, except when she calls me over to see some absolutely useless bit of information somebody has posted (posted? Is that what it’s called?)

“Anyway, when they told me we’d be having meetings on Zoom I had to get my daughter to show me how to use it. Of course,

Keith Roulston From the cluttered desk when there was actually a meeting, she wasn’t here. I could see the other councillors in those little boxes but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Now for some of them this was a big improvement – but then again some of them probably thought the same about not being able to hear me.

“Finally, for the next meeting, with my daughter’s help, we found the problem was our crappy rural internet connection. Turned out that there was only one place in the house – about 10 feet from our Wi-Fi hub (is that what you call it?) where the signal is strong enough for both pictures and sound on Zoom.

“The problem with that is, that the only spot Zoom works is in front of a wall that cracked over the winter when our 19th-century house shifted with the frost and it shows in the picture right behind my head. My wife is not pleased that everybody on council, and anyone else who’s watching, thinks we live in a rundown house. So, tomorrow I’m plastering the crack and repainting the room.

“Not that my wife is opposed to getting to see into other peoples’ houses. ‘What does Mindy Danby’s house look like?’ she asked me the other day. ‘I always wanted to get a look inside that big house of hers.’

“I told her ‘She’s got a nice bookshelf, that’s all I can see of the house.’ ‘Darn!’ my wife said.

“It turns out Mindy isn’t so proud of her

bookshelf. ‘You see these famous people being interviewed from home in front of their bookshelf and they’ve got books by Stephen Hawking or Nelson Mandela behind them which makes them look really intelligent’, she told me one day when we were talking on the good old telephone – land line, in my case.

‘Me, you can see my collection of Danielle Steel and John Grisham. It doesn’t inspire confidence in my constituents. I wish the book stores would open so I could go out and buy some books by Greta Thunberg, Malcolm Gladwell or even Margaret Atwood. I may never get around to reading them – they’ll look impressive on the shelf!’

“I’d rather not see Mindy’s bookshelf, or the Mayor’s expensive painting on the wall behind him, for that matter. I’m the sort of guy who likes to meet face to face, to look someone in the eye and shake their hand. Now the health experts are telling us that when this pandemic is all over, we shouldn’t go back to shaking hands – but how can you look a person in the eye if you’re concentrating on bumping elbows without elbowing the person in the ribs?

“On top of that, there’s the problem of how do you represent the ordinary people if you can’t go out and meet them and hear what they have to say. I used to go to the fair board meeting or the senior citizens – even hear things from the gang I have coffee with.

Somebody suggested we could have a virtual coffee club on Zoom. Yeah right! I’ll skip coffee first!

“And then there’s the reality with Zoom, that I haven’t the looks to be a TV star, yet there I am on the screen! And if I was planning to be on TV, I’d at least get a haircut but even that’s impossible these days. You can’t do it on Zoom – the one way it could be useful!”

She’s off with a ‘zoom, zoom, zoom’

I

t’s not that often that Monday morning rolls around and I can look back over a weekend and feel that I accomplished a lot, but, as I write this, there’s a definite feeling of contentment attached to the last weekend of April.

I’ve got to say, however, that the most fulfilling job I got to tick off my to-do list wasn’t on there on Friday when I faced the weekend.

Are there still a lot of projects left undone at my house? You bet! However, as I’ve recently been told, you can’t measure your life by what you’ve got left to do because there should always be unfinished business.

That said, I was able to check off a lot of boxes over the weekend from family to friends to baking and housework.

If there was one thing I wish I could teach my younger self it’s that a job well done really can be its own reward if you learn to revel, for just a few moments, in the joy of scratching it off your to-do list.

On Friday, I had an arm’s-length list of things I wanted to get done and by golly, I did them, and it felt good on Sunday night, as I took in a final episode of MASH before I dozed off, to know I had finished what I set out to and then some.

The most rewarding job of the weekend, however, was one I hadn’t planned on doing for a long time yet.

On Saturday, my mother dropped off a spring cleaning present to my daughter Mary Jane: a hand-me-down bike from one of my siblings, complete with training wheels (or stabilizers as my daughter calls them, thanks to a British television show about an animated pig).

The bike was in pretty good shape, needing just a once-over, some tightening and/or loosening of parts and filling up the tires before it was ready to go.

Denny Scott Denny’s Den From there I started the real task: teaching Mary Jane how to ride.

If I’m being honest here, it wasn’t that difficult a task. From daycare to our own efforts with trikes, she already had the basic skill of pedalling down and, thanks to the training wheels, she didn’t need to worry much about balancing (though that didn’t stop at least one tumble).

By the end of our first training session, she was pedalling hard and going up and down the street with me striding alongside her. By the end of the day, (her third ride of the day after begging to keep going more and more as the day wore on) she was outpacing my brisk strides and making me run while she shouted “zoom, zoom, zoom” at the top of her lungs.

I’ve got to say, as far as a job well done, there are very few things that will ever compare to hearing her exclaim “zoom” and laugh while she screams about how fast she’s going.

So if you happen to see a purple-and-pink blur at the south end of the village in the coming weeks with a huffing-and-puffing reporter chasing, you’ll know her lessons have continued.

On an unrelated note, does anyone have a used adult bike for sale? Asking for a friend.

Shawn Loughlin Shawn’s Sense

Terry’s run turns 40

A

s the world navigates the tricky waters of the COVID-19 pandemic and there seems to be room for little else in the news cycle, Canadians may have missed a meaningful anniversary as one of the most selfless projects in the history of our country turned 40 earlier this month.

On April 12, 1980, a 21-year-old Terry Fox dipped his prosthetic right leg in the Atlantic Ocean in St. John’s, Newfoundland. There, he filled two large jars with ocean water – one he hoped to keep as a souvenir and the other he planned to pour into the Pacific Ocean when he finished his run, soon to be named the Marathon of Hope, in British Columbia.

I’ve written before about Terry, a personal hero of mine, and his uniquely Canadian quest.

He rejected the limelight and never made his run across Canada about him. Whenever he was asked to speak, he always shed light on the fight against cancer or the young children he’d met during his treatment or others he’d met along the way. In fact, after weeks in Ontario, which he entered as a full-fledged Canadian hero, he longed for the long, quiet days of anonymity in the Maritimes near the beginning of his run, but for the fact that his increased fame brought with it increased Canadian Cancer Society donations.

Terry’s goal was to raise millions for the Canadian Cancer Society and along the way he rejected every corporate sponsorship offer he received, thinking any corporate involvement would detract from the mission and message of the Marathon of Hope. To date, the Terry Fox Run has raised over $750 million.

In fact, it’s now been reported that the form of cancer that claimed Terry is largely curable, thanks in no small part, no doubt, to the injection of funding Terry brought to research.

When Jess and I travelled to Newfoundland last summer, I knew I wanted to visit the spot where Terry began his run. Mile 0, as it is known, includes several plaques and a large statue of Terry. It’s in a tucked-away corner of St. John’s that has changed quite a bit over the years, but you can still sense the scope of the run. Newfoundland does have an edge-of-theworld feel to it, so to turn your back on the ocean and run across one of the biggest land masses in the world must have felt daunting.

It was emotional for me to set foot in that spot, exactly where Terry started running. In speaking with Ron Clarkson of Brussels, the village’s Terry Fox Run co-ordinator, he had made a similar trip years ago, but to where Terry’s run came to an early and abrupt end near Thunder Bay when Terry again fell ill.

Earlier this year, there had been discussion regarding replacing Wilfrid Laurier on the five-dollar bill and Terry’s name was quickly floated as an obvious successor. It’s hard to imagine a figure who better shows the world what it means to be Canadian. Terry put his head down, worked through pain and negativity all for the good of others, never shining the spotlight on himself while using his power to lift others who needed help.

Canadians will never leave each other behind and Terry showed us that. At just 21, an age at which you’re only just allowed to drink in some countries, he decided to undertake the Marathon of Hope. He should have had other things on his mind, but he didn’t.

Every September, communities across Canada honour Terry and his fight against cancer with local Terry Fox Runs. Find one, dust off your running shoes and take part.

Honour Terry’s 40-year legacy and embrace your inner Canadian. Be selfless and help those who need our help now more than ever.

PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020.

Brussels Optimists donate $20,000 to hospitals

Helping out The Brussels Optimist Club donated $5,000 each to the hospitals in Wingham, Seaforth, Clinton and Listowel. Presenting the cheque are, from left, Cody Subject, Cole McLean and Chris Corbett of the club. (Photo submitted)

The four local hospitals in Wingham, Listowel, Clinton and Seaforth have all received a $5,000 donation from the Brussels Optimist Club.

The Optimist Club had intended to host its annual dinner and auction on March 14, but made the decision to postpone in light of growing concern around COVID-19. The hospitals had been the intended beneficiaries of that event.

Nonetheless, the members of the Optimist Club made the generous decision to contribute $20,000 to support local healthcare even without the anticipated success of the event.

The contribution by the Brussels Optimist Club will be directed towards vital medical equipment and facility upgrades at each of the four hospitals. The club’s generosity

will ensure that all our local caregivers continue to have the tools they need to provide care throughout the current situation and beyond.

Hospitals and healthcare are on everyone’s minds right now.

Supporting these essential services in communities across our region will help us weather this storm while maintaining the high quality healthcare that everyone in our community deserves. The Hospital Foundations in Wingham, Listowel, Clinton and Seaforth all extend a big thank you to the Brussels Optimist Club for their ongoing commitment.

For more information on how to support your local hospital foundation please visit their website: Wingham, www.wdhfoundation.ca; Listowel, www.lmhfoundation.ca/; Clinton, www.cphfoundation.ca and Seaforth, www.hpha.ca.

Set out a ‘concrete’ activity to cope with isolation A NOTE FROM BETTY

By Betty Graber Watson Call 887-9231 Living in hope is the way to be in this very weird time. In our own way we have each learned to handle isolation. Many of us can appreciate

the solitude, but then it’s followed by a gut-wrenching need for a visit with a good hug from family. You are not alone. This too shall pass, but in that moment we wonder – when?

It’s time to remind yourself that sometimes there are no answers, no matter how you set the question, sometimes we just don’t know. This is a new virus and the way it behaves is still a mystery. Think of what we know about it from the last few weeks and how our health authorities have used the science to help us live with it. So, when will this be over? When can we see a

movie? When will my church reopen? No one knows! Lots of guesses, no clear answers. So, for your sanity, accept it, live with it and move along to wonder about something you know and can do – read, bake, walk, phone, in any order you wish.

This is our practice time for patience – making a grocery list and reading it in the store, phoning a friend rather than meeting them and perhaps those photos in the box could be sorted. We have more available time than most of us have ever had, but because of that we let

Brussels fair still going ahead

By Denny Scott The Citizen While other organizations have decided to start postponing, delaying or cancelling events as far ahead as this fall, the Brussels Agricultural Society has decided to act as if the Brussels Fall Fair will go ahead in September.

In an interview with The Citizen on Monday, Brussels Agricultural Society President Zoey Onn said the society has not made any plans to cancel the event.

“We are waiting,” she said. “We feel it’s best to wait and see.”

Onn said a significant amount of

work had gone into revamping the fair book and preparing for the event, so society members don’t want to cancel it until they absolutely have to, which means the decision will be made, at the latest, this summer.

While other organizations have pulled the plug on events due to a lack of student submissions caused by the cancellation of school, Onn said the Brussels Fall Fair is, at its core, a community event with many exhibits from Brussels residents.

“We do have a large junior section, but only some of that is done through the schools,” she said. “A lot of it is done at home. Our fair, although we do have a student

program, is moreso for the community and we have a lot of entrees come from the community at large.”

Onn said the group will continue to act as if the fair will go ahead until they’re told it can’t or until volunteers feel it’s no longer safe to hold the fair.

“It really depends on what opens up and that depends on the government,” she said. “That’s who we have to go through.”

The fair, if it does go forward, could be a “real morale booster” Onn said.

Watch The Citizen for updates on the event.

our minds wander. I’ve been trying to do a concrete thing each day, just in case someone asks. Shall I finish the latest book, number 14 I think, or will I bake bread, clean a cupboard, sort the underwear drawer, it all depends on the day. This choice thing can be a little tiring.

To keep your mind good, think of

the things you want to do when COVID-19 is controlled. Make a list of the things you’ve accomplished so that when we’re able to be out and about, you go knowing you got some good stuff done and are prepared to get onto the next step of life.

Be kind. Be safe.

Betty G.W.

At the Branch

Branch work goes on

By Jo-Ann McDonald Although the Brussels Legion Branch is not open, the business of the Branch goes on. The COVID-19 pandemic has cancelled all gatherings and many of our yearly fish fry groups have had to cancel or postpone their events. Hopefully by August things may be back to a kind of normal and we can get back to business.

Provincial Command continues to communicate with the Branch and gives advice. Conventions have been cancelled until next year, scrapbook submissions for 2019/20 will not be due until fall and even election of officers for the upcoming year may have to wait. We are all doing our best and will continue to do so.

The new garbage bin has been erected by Comrades Jim and Sandra Brown and Lisa Glanville and Joan Smith.

The new bin is a significant

improvement over the the old one.

Stay safe all.

NEWS FROM BRUSSELS

A riddle in providence!

(Charles Spurgeon) “I have seen slaves on horseback—while princes go on foot like slaves.”

Ecclesiastes 10:7 When our Lord was upon earth, although He is the King of the kings of the earth—yet He walked the footpath of weariness and service as the Servant of servants. What wonder is it if His followers who are princes of royal blood should also be looked down upon as inferior and contemptible people?

The world is upside down, and therefore, the first are often last–and the last are often first. See how the servile sons of Satan rule in the earth! What a high horse they ride!

How they lift up their horn on high!

This is a riddle in providence whose solution will one day gladden the hearts of the upright; but it is so common a fact, that none of us should murmur if it should fall to our own lot.

Haman is in the court, while Mordecai sits in the gate. David wanders on the mountains, while Saul reigns in state. Elijah is complaining in the cave, while Jezebel is boasting in the palace. Yet who would wish to take the places of the proud rebels?

And who, on the other hand, might not envy the despised saints?

A tough time During a period when more people than ever could be turning to local food banks, the Brussels Optimist Club is helping out with a $2,000 donation to the Huron County Food Bank.

Presenting the donation are Chris Corbett, left, and Cole McLean. The club also donated to the Millers from the Jam Jar Pub and Eatery, who have now been feeding residents at the Highland Apartments at Huronlea Home for the Aged for over a month. (Photo submitted)

When the wheel turns—those who are lowest rise, and the highest sink.

Patience, then, believer, eternity will right the wrongs of time!

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:16 A Grace Gem Submitted by: Immanuel United Reformed Church, Listowel, ON 519-492-1359

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 7.

Reunion’s fate still to be determined

By Denny Scott The Citizen After having to cancel its April meeting, the executive for the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association is hoping to meet in May to determine if the event, held annually the first weekend after Labour Day, will go forward this year.

President Judy Sloan said nothing had been decided yet, but there are concerns about how the event could proceed in the era of COVID-19.

“One of the factors will be that a lot of our attendees are older,” she said.

She said children may not be having step dance lessons or violin lessons during the pandemic, which could also impact the annual competitions at the event.

Another concern, Sloan said, is how close together people can be at the event, saying she believes

Developing skills While spring, summer and fall sports may be cancelled due to COVID-19 (see page 8), that doesn’t mean athletes can’t keep training for the upcoming winter season. Above, Blyth’s Ethan McNaughton practises some hockey hand-eye co-ordination during the warm weekend weather. (Hannah Dickie photo)

NH COVID-19 measures detailed North Huron Councillor Chris Palmer is concerned the repair of a leak in the Blyth and District Community Centre’s roof was being put off due to COVID-19 control measures.

Palmer, during council’s April 20 meeting, said the deferral of the work was a concern to him, regardless of the COVID-19 situation.

“I’m a little concerned about the leak at the [centre],” he said. “I’m afraid of leaks, and that should be taken care of as soon as possible.”

Palmer said delaying work like that can lead to bigger problems down the road, then asked why the project was being deferred.

“There’s a couple of reasons we’re recommending we proceed with that work after the all-clear,” Director of Public Works Sean McGhee said.

“The leak has been going on for a period of time and it’s not a particularly destructive one. With roof leaks we would like to put out a tender that requires a site visit.”

McGhee said a site visit can prevent potentially costly mistakes.

He also said the project likely wouldn’t be put off until next year, just “post-pandemic”.

The report Palmer was referencing included a number of changes that have been made in North Huron as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated control measures.

While timelines in the planning realm had been suspended by provincial order last month, earlier this month, regulations changing the Planning Act should alter the earlier orders.

In the report, Clerk Carson Lamb said those rules were being reviewed by the Huron County Planning and Development Department to recommend processes for dealing with planning applications.

North Huron has also decided, for the time being, to suspend issuing specific licences and permits, including, but not limited to, lottery licences, marriage licences and kennel licences. Licences needed by essential services, like taxi licences, are available through the town hall.

Burial permits are also deemed

essential, and the municipality has implemented steps to allow for Electronic Medical Certificates of Death to be sent by funeral directors.

As for burial plots, pre-sales are currently on hold but plots needed immediately for burial are available through appointment.

Earlier this year the township began the heritage de-designation process for the Wingham Armouries to potentially sell the building which, after the shuttering of the Wingham Police Service, has been deemed surplus.

Due to the suspension of timelines regarding such decisions, the appeal period against the process is extended indefinitely until the end of the state of emergency.

Late last week, the municipality released an updated list of all the COVID-19 changes made since the pandemic started, including the closure of municipal facilities.

The changes include: • Municipal facilities have been closed to reduce costs and prevent the spread of COVID-19

• The municipal daycare and recreation programs have been cancelled and staff have been temporarily laid off • Grass-cutting frequency has been reduced • The municipality’s main street flower program has been suspended • Tree removal has been limited to essential removals only • Ice pads were removed from local community centres earlier than normal • All conferences and in-person workshop and training sessions have been cancelled, resulting in a reduction in mileage, registration and travel expenses • Weekly firefighter training sessions have been suspended.

The municipality also listed services still available, including staff interaction through phone or email, council meetings, curbside garbage and recycling pick-up, water and sewer services and the Wingham Landfill’s availability.

For more information, contact Lamb at 519-357-3550.

Craig hopes for return to normalcy this week From Marilyn’s Desk

By Marilyn Craig Call 523-9318

I think that staying at home has gotten to me. Last week I apparently forgot to push the “send” button to send in my column so here are the highlights.

We only had two people celebrating their birthdays last week: Sandra (Howson) DeCorte, Zurich, April 23 and Tanner Brooks, April 24.

If you are bored and want something to do, call a friend or

neighbour just to say, hi! You can call a senior member of your community just to chat and to see if they are alright.

Now, on to this week. Happy birthday to Mae Ritchie, Sheron Stadelmann, Samantha Kerr and Alice Hakkers, Goderich who all celebrate May 2; Arletta Hallahan and Kay Buchanan, May 4 and Nancy Daer, May 5. Happy birthday to all.

I am hoping that this week we will finally hear when we can go back to being normal again or as close to normal as we will ever be again. The weather has finally come to be spring today. I have noticed that the birds are happy and singing their little hearts out to let us know that the nice weather is coming. Stay safe and have a healthy week.

physical distancing to prevent spread of the disease might last “quite awhile.”

“Those are a few of the concerns,” she said. “We want to have an event where everyone wants to come and feel safe so that the event can be successful.”

Sloan said this is a very unusual year and, if the reunion were to be delayed or cancelled, it would mark the first time that kind of action had been taken in its history.

She said the executive is watching what Music in the Fields in Lucknow decides as a good measure of the reunion. The two events are held at a similar time and, while Music in the Fields may be bigger and draw a different crowd, Sloan said the two events aren’t very far removed from each other.

For more information, visit the association at blythsteamshow.com and watch future issues of The Citizen.

Rural Reading Room moves store online

By Denny Scott The Citizen North Huron Publishing Company’s Rural Reading Room now has a portion of its book catalogue online.

Starting with 30 books, the Reading Room is offering a handsoff way to shop for customers during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

The books are available, by category, through huroncitizen.ca, with each category listed under the “Marketplace” heading. Currently, there are numerous categories including children’s books, gardening books and do-it-yourself books.

To help introduce books to the public, special guests, including

some members of The Citizen’s staff, will be reviewing books. Once a month, a review will appear in The Citizen and on its website.

For more information, visit huroncitizen.ca or call 519-5234792.

Feeling Dirty?

Blyth Laundromat 191 Westmoreland St., Blyth 519-523-9687

NEWS FROM BLYTH

Follow The Citizen on Facebook, Twitter or through our website at huroncitizen.ca

POSTPONED TO A FUTURE DATE For those who have already purchased tickets they will be honoured at the door on the new date. If you would like a refund please contact your ticket seller to arrange.

PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020.

Organizers hope for shortened sports seasons

By Denny Scott The Citizen Local sports may be deferred or cancelled for the spring, summer and fall of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however local organizers are hopeful they will be able to host shifted or truncated seasons.

Brussels Minor Soccer, working at the direction of the Ontario Soccer Association, has officially suspended any kind of activities for the month of May and will be making further decisions in the coming week.

Patricia Beuermann, the secretary of the Brussels organization, said its board is hoping for a shorter season.

“Normally we don’t go into the month of August, but we’re hoping

we can schedule that,” she said.

“Nothing has been decided for June, so we’re hoping that will work for us.”

Similar sentiments were shared by local baseball organizations, including Brussels, Belgrave and Londesborough minor baseball groups.

James Hickling, president of the Brussels club, said with municipal facilities like the baseball diamonds shut down, the season won’t be proceeding.

“In terms of re-opening, it doesn’t appear to be something that will happen in the near future,” he said.

“We will follow provincial and federal softball organization guidelines.”

Hickling said there are e-mails

floating around with various leagues asking what the future will hold, and he expects he will be attending online video conferences in the near future to decide what the season might look like.

As far as the Brussels association, he said the group is optimistic about the season, saying if they can get teams onto the fields, they will, even if it means changing the way the season is run.

“If facilities open, we could just do a few mini-tournaments or run some skills events,” Hickling said.

“We could also possibly consider doing a fall league if things open up.”

Hickling said rumours about school years being extended could also impact the summer sport

A view from above

season, so he’s considered video training programs to help keep the athletes active.

Bruce Higgins of Belgrave’s minor baseball group said the situation doesn’t look good.

“It comes down to, first off, whether the government opens anything,” he said. “Softball Canada is going to decide on May 31 whether a season is a go or not, then it’s up to our league whether we go ahead or not.”

He said, in a best-case scenario, the season will be at least a month behind, meaning it would either be shortened to end in August as normal or extend into September.

He said, even if the league is given the green light, it might be difficult to make a proposition like that work.

“To have sports go, we’d want everything to be back to normal,” he said, explaining disinfecting bats and helmets during the

game would be a daunting task.

“We really don’t know and we’re in a waiting game,” he said of himself and fellow league executive members. “If things open up and we can go after May 31, the season could happen.”

Jenn Elliott of Londesborough Minor Baseball said the club has yet to make a decision, saying even scheduling meetings are delayed until the middle or end of May, though she anticipates those may be delayed further than that.

Shawn Daw of the Huron County Fastball League says the league’s committee has postponed the season until diamonds are opened to the public again, at which point the group will assess if and how a season could happen. He said the Brussels Tigers annual fastball tournament is “in the same boat” and if it moves ahead will need to be decided at a later date.

Cheryl Peach M.Ed., B.Ed Over my many years in coastal conservation I’ve had several opportunities to take a flight in a small plane to tour and photograph the shoreline. If you’ve never had a chance to have this bird’s eye view of the lake, I highly recommend it.

It’s beautiful scenery to be sure.

But looking at things a bit more objectively, certain aspects become apparent. There are few large tracts of forest on the landscape these days. They have been replaced with agricultural land and built-up areas.

Thin treed corridors align with our creeks and rivers flowing to the lake.

Along the lakeshore, a narrow corridor of woodlands hugs the coast. Larger woodlands exist where our provincial parks exist (Pinery, Point Farms and Inverhuron show up as large patches of green), and First Nation reserve lands (Kettle PointIpperwash and Saugeen) are intact forested land.

Other than that, our remaining woodlands appear as modest features on our landscape, and quite vulnerable.

Because the original forest cover has been reduced from a presettlement extent of 90 per cent to around 15 per cent in Huron County, and as low as six per cent in some of Lake Huron streams (Environment Canada 2019 identifies this as a high risk, challenged ecosystem function area), this article is about the value of our remaining woodlands, and proposes a need for greater stewardship.

Most cottagers and local residents know some of the direct benefits of the woods bordering the Lake Huron shoreline—shade during the summer providing needed relief from the hot sun; windbreak from the intense winds off the lake during storms; the aesthetic value of the trees and the connection with nature.

These woodlands give us clean water, protect our soils and slopes from erosion, give us fresh air and beautiful, relaxing places to enjoy with our families. They act as “living filters” that intercept, absorb and store sediments and excess pollutants carried in runoff from adjacent lands.

If we reduce the ability of these woodlands to filter runoff, the more we can expect water quality along the lakeshore to deteriorate.

Woodlands function in much the same way that wetlands do to clean our water. These woodlands are essential in filtering out nutrients from farmland and development runoff, pesticides, pathogens and excessive sedimentation.

When we look at a woodland, it’s more than simply a bunch of trees.

Healthy woodlands are balanced ecosystems that are home to a variety of plants and animals. They include the vegetation, soil, insects and microbes and each play a part in the health of a forest.

The remaining woodlands along Lake Huron are in a tenuous condition as more conventional development and resulting tree clearing occurs. Every time a new cottage or home is built or expanded, more of the Huron fringe woodlands are lost. New subdivisions can impact large portions of the woodlands. Development has the effect of fragmenting the woodland into smaller pieces.

As this happens, the woodlands lose some of its ecological integrity which can, among other things, make the woodlands more prone to disease and pests (i.e., Emerald Ash Borer devastation killing millions of trees), and reduce their water cleansing function.

Once development is in or adjacent to a woodland, other impacts can occur to alter or damage its ecology. As development moves in, it offers a pathway for a number of alien, invasive species to intrude, and in some cases overtake the forest.

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is an example of an invasive plant that can overtake native plants and choke out seedlings that replace trees as they die out. If we continue to remove our remaining woodlands, the loss of ability for it to regenerate becomes a long-term consequence that is a legacy for our children and grandchildren. The woodlands that we see today may not be around tomorrow.

What can be done: • Reduce your impact by adopting stewardship measures that reduce impacts to woodlands • Preserve trees on property and keep your place as natural as possible • Use native species when doing landscape planting and keep a vigilant eye out for damaging invader plants, like Garlic Mustard or Phragmites • Work with your neighbours, community, local groups including, but not limited to, the Goderich-toGuelph (G2G) Rail Trail, Huron Perth Chapter of the Huron Woodlot Association, Huron Stewardship Council, Lower Maitland Stewardship Group, Maitland Trails Association, and cottage associations in adopting conservation stewardship practices that will benefit the

whole community. While they act locally, taken collectively, these groups are creating positive change for the entire Lake Huron watershed • Encourage your municipality to adopt plans and bylaws that strongly protect remaining woodlands. Treecutting bylaws are a way to control the indiscriminate cutting of trees, particularly in sensitive areas where their removal could create serious erosion conditions • Where development plans are already being considered, encourage plans and bylaws that promote future development to adopt conservationist designs that result in preservation of natural areas.

• Bring back the windbreak. Along our roads and highways, treed corridors can help reduce snow drifting in winter, and soil erosion the rest of the year • Plant more native trees!

There is much more work to do, but the involvement of individuals and community groups will be the gamechangers, as far as improving the health of our environment. [original article was authored by Geoff Peach in 2015, and has been updated by Cheryl Peach and Coastal Centre Staff - Samantha Ventura]

A beautiful day Greg Sarachman of Blyth took advantage of the sunny, warm weather over the weekend and took his dog Farley out for a walk. (Hannah Dickie photo)

MANY THANKS to all the

Essential

Workers

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 9.

519-523-4311

www.ruralvoice.ca

Agriculture

BLYTH 519-523-4244 www.hurontractor.com

Brussels Livestock report

Good buyer demand on quality steers Total receipts for Brussels Livestock for the week ending April 24 were 2,055 cattle and 972 lambs and goats.

On Tuesday quality fed steers and heifers sold steady with good buyer demand. Choice steers and heifers sold $140 to $147.50. Second cut steers and heifers sold $130 to $140.

Cows sold steady. On Thursday veal sold at a strong active trade. Heavy lambs sold higher, light lambs sold steady. Sheep sold higher. Goats sold steady to higher. On Friday calves sold steady to last week. Grass-type calves sold strong. Yearlings sold on a strong active trade at steady prices.

K/C McAlpine of Ailsa Craig, consigned four head that averaged 1,623 lbs. and sold for an average price of $143.81. Two charolais steers averaged 1,558 lbs. and sold for $146.50. Dave Adams of

Lucknow, consigned four head that averaged 1,530 lbs. and sold for an average price of $139.55. One limousin steer weighed 1,490 lbs. and sold for $144.50.

Southlore Farms Ltd. of Palmerston, consigned 12 head that averaged 1,408 lbs. and sold for an average price of $128.81. Two red heifers averaged 1,350 lbs. and sold for an average price of $147.50.

There were 225 cows on offer.

Beef sold $67 to $75 with sales to $89; D1 and D2, $60 to $66 with sales to $99; D3, $54 to $59; D4, $48 to $53.

Steenbeek Dairy Farms of Varna, consigned two holstein cows that averaged 1,275 lbs. and sold for an average price of $99. Cleason M. Horst of Holyrood, consigned two gold cows that averaged 1,540 lbs. and sold for an average price of $89.

There were eight bulls selling $96 to $113.

Murray Preece of Wyoming, consigned one black bull that weighed 1,795 lbs. and one bwf bull that weighed 1,350 lbs. and sold for $113 respectfully.

There were 180 head of veal on offer. Beef veal sold $140 to $185 with sales to $189; good holsteins, $118 to $135 with sales to $138; SL heavy holsteins, $105 to $115; heavy holsteins, $105 to $120; medium holsteins, $105 to $115.

Rueben S. Martin of Wallenstein, consigned five head that averaged 872 lbs. and sold for an average price of $177.70. One charolais heifer weighed 885 lbs. and sold for $189. Paul Pennington of Mildmay, consigned eight head that averaged 713 lbs. and sold for an average price of $116.98. One holstein steer

weighed 710 lbs. and sold for $135.

Lambs under 50 lbs. sold $334 to $400; 50 - 64 lbs., $308 to $330; 65 - 79 lbs., $320 to $343; 80 - 94 lbs., $314.50 to $328; 95 - 110 lbs., $308 to $318.

Sheep sold $145 to $290.

Goats: billies sold $150 to $300; nannies, $100 to $250; kids: meat, $400 to $485; dairy, $300 to $435.

Lynn Campbell of Mitchell, consigned 16 boer kids. Seven kids averaged 59 lbs. and sold for $483; Ryan Ropp of Milverton, consigned 86 head. Three lambs averaged 74 lbs. and sold for $343. Kent Wilson of Conn, consigned 19 goats. Eight boer-cross kids averaged 54 lbs. and sold for a price of $474.

Top quality stocker steers, 400 499 lbs. sold $237.50 to $249; 500 599 lbs., $216 to $257; 600 - 699 lbs., $207 to $227; 700 - 799 lbs.,

Lawyer urges farm youth to get involved

By Lisa B. Pot The Rural Voice More and more people are writing policy and making decisions about agriculture that have no farming background. Farm parents should be urging their farm kids to be in those positions of influence, believes Kurtis Andrews.

Andrews is a farm and animal welfare lawyer based in eastern Ontario. He spoke to dairy farmers about animal rights activists and Bill 156 at Grey Bruce Farmers Week Dairy Day back in January.

He explained there are typically three areas of focus for animal rights activists: • Farm Invasions: “It used to be activists would come onto the farm with cameras at night. Now they have discovered they can get away with this kind of stuff and are doing it in broad daylight when farmers are away. They also used to be organized by well-known groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) but now they are loosely organized via social media. They band together via Facebook or Twitter and then they slip through everyone’s fingers again.”

• Farm Job: “Typically operated by more sophisticated organizations, the group will get someone to apply for a job at a farm. Once they are employed, they start filming with a camera disguised as a button on their jacket. They might film for months.

Then they have it edited into a narrative which gets released on YouTube and social media.

Sometimes the media picks it up although the media seems to be getting tired of it. However, for the individual farms that get targeted, it can be very devastating when their names are out there. They may get harassed and get hate mail.”

• Harassment towards Livestock Transporters: “Groups will stop the trucks on the road and swarm them while filming it all to show themselves as caring people giving the pigs water. They don’t seem to care that they are holding the truck up and stressing the animals in the process. Drivers don’t want to get out of the truck and are worried

about driving someone over because they cannot see everybody. It causes a lot of stress.”

All of the above are illegal, so why aren’t the police controlling every situation?

“This question brings us to the challenging concept that police and prosecutors grapple with,” said Andrews. “The police’s priority is to keep the peace, which is a loose and subjective term.” Some officers choose not to arrest activists because it can lead to violence.

Andrews said it’s important to consider the definition of “peace”. Is it to feel calm? Feel safe? Lack of stress? How, then, does the trucker feel? Does he feel calm, safe or stress-free?

Andrews suggests that police should be looking at it from the trucker’s point of view. Some do.

Some don’t.

On the farm level, farmers have traditionally been welcoming. Not all farmers though. Andrews said mink farmers have been grappling with activists for a long time, to the point that some mink farms are surrounded by fencing with locked gates and security cameras. It’s what all livestock farmers could face.

This is why Andrews is a fan of Bill 156, the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act. “It hits all the points,” says Andrews.

He said the act works as a communication tool from government to police. “It says this is an important issue and it’s so important, we created a law to address it.”

The bill also does a great job of defining what an animal protection zone is, even if it isn’t signed. More importantly, says Andrews, it has a section that declares if a person gets hired onto a farm under false pretences, that is an offence. “It deals with people getting hired for trickery.”

Moreover, there is a limitation period. In existing legislation, the limitation period is six months. So what happens, says Andrew, is the fake labourer waits six months before posting the material. The new bill proposes a limitation period of two years and the clock does not start ticking until the evidence is made known.

Next steps will be to make this a federal issue versus a provincial one.

Also, Andrews believes there needs to be an additional component to deal with bullying on social media.

“Online intimidation is harassment and I think it should be a criminal offence to target anyone with bullying on social media based on what they do for a living,” said Andrews. He encouraged dairy farmers at the meeting to pressure their MPPs to add this to the Bill 156 legislation.

Laws have to be enforced for a “dog that never bites” or they are not really worth much, said Andrews.

Activists know they can get away with unlawful behaviour because they don’t have fear of being prosecuted. This needs to change, said Andrews.

For right now, there are proactive measures farmers can take. Andrews offers this advice: • When hiring somebody, make sure you do your reference checks.

• Require all employees to sign a

Celebrating A Special Occasion?

Advertise it in

The Citizen Call or email to book your ad today! **Buck & Doe **Anniversary **Wedding **New Baby **Graduation **Birthday

The Citizen 519-523-4792 info@northhuron.on.ca

piece of paper on your animal welfare protocol.

• Every livestock operation should have a book or binder that keeps track of every animal welfare issue of any kind.

“It does not have to be complicated or in great detail. A summary will do.” This includes staff involvement. “I tell you, I have two cases involving undercover people and at one farm, they have a log book. The other farm, while still having good policies, did not have the same record keeping.” The one with the log book is able to prove the deceptive employee’s claims are false. The other farm is going to trial, stated Andrews.

$179 to $201; 800 - 899 lbs., $168 to $184; 900 - 999 lbs., $166.50 to $174.75; 1,000 lbs. and over, $155.50 to $167.

Top quality stocker heifers, 400 499 lbs. sold $193 to $223; 500 - 599 lbs., $171 to $215; 600 - 699 lbs., $183 to $202; 700 - 799 lbs., $162.75 to $214; 800 - 899 lbs., $157 to $189; 900 lbs. and over, $149 to $162.50.

Ross Baird of Wingham, consigned 25 head that averaged 883 lbs. and sold for an average price of $159.50. One blue heifer weighed 705 lbs. and sold for $214. Matthew Piel of Ripley, consigned 38 head that averaged 626 lbs. and sold for an average price of $207. Seven charolais steers averaged 631 lbs. and sold for $223. Elvin Weber of Mount Forest, consigned 102 Western steers that averaged 915 lbs. and sold for an average price of $172. Twenty-three steers averaged 906 lbs. and sold for $174.75.

BRUSSELS LIVESTOCK Division of Gamble & Rogers Ltd.

UPCOMING SALES TUESDAYS 9:00 a.m.

Fed Cattle, Bulls & Cows

THURSDAYS 8:00 a.m. Drop Calves 10:00 a.m.Veal 11:30 a.m. Lambs, Goats & Sheep

FRIDAYS 10:00 a.m. Stockers Visit our webpage at: www.brusselslivestock.ca email us at: info@brusselslivestock.ca

Call us 519-887-6461

Keep up with the latest agri-businesses and the best of rural living!

Rural Voice January 2020

The

THE MAGAZINE OF AGRICULTURAL LIFE ... $2.50 PM 40037593

$20 for 12 issues

$35

PROTECTING FARMERS Animal Protection Zones in proposed new legislation will protect farmers, animals and food safety from trespassers

for 24 issues

SING AND SWING Mixing education with fun, Junior Farmers compete for prizes at provincial sing swing event in Grey County

TOSSED TO THE SIDE

Please make cheques payable to North Huron Publishing Inc.

T.J. Klopp shares his healing journey after tractor accident in documentary on farm safety

The magazine of Agricultural Life

Subscribe Today

www.ruralvoice.ca The Rural Voice 405 Queen St., P.O. Box 429 Blyth, ON N0M 1H0

PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020.

CH’s MacIsaac calls it a career after 34 years

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen

A double celebration Central Huron Clerk Brenda MacIsaac retired this week after 34 years of employment with Central Huron and the Town of Clinton before it. Dozens of vehicles greeted her on Clinton’s main street on Friday for a special retirement party parade. It also happened to be MacIsaac’s birthday, so there was another reason to celebrate. (Shawn Loughlin photo)

This week marks the end of an era in Central Huron, and the Town of Clinton before that, with the retirement of Clerk Brenda MacIsaac after 34 years.

Staff both past and present, as well as many community members, celebrated MacIsaac on Friday afternoon with a drive-by retirement parade. It also happened to be her birthday, giving her another reason to celebrate.

Dozens of cars drove past the Central Huron municipal office in Clinton with people holding signs, honking their horns and shouting well-wishes to MacIsaac as she worked one of her final days as Central Huron’s Clerk. (Her final day was slated to be today, April 30.)

In an interview with The Citizen, MacIsaac admitted to feeling overwhelmed by Friday’s parade, which was a complete surprise to her. She said it was very humbling to see so many people from the past and the present come out to wish her well.

That group included Marie

Jefferson, the woman who hired MacIsaac back in April, 1986.

Jefferson was the Town of Clinton Clerk in 1986 and after an abrupt resignation in the staff, Jefferson needed help at the office and recruited MacIsaac for temporary help in reception, hiring her on a contract for just a few months from April to June.

MacIsaac had just finished up at business school, anticipating a career as a legal assistant. She said Jefferson saw something in her and thought MacIsaac would be a good fit for municipal politics.

“She really is an amazing lady,” MacIsaac said of Jefferson.

Back in the early days, MacIsaac said, the team was much smaller, so those who worked in the office really did handle much of the day-to-day operations of the town. But she says she was immediately intrigued with the world of municipal administration, saying her work consisted of something new every day.

There is plenty of work that goes on behind the scenes, MacIsaac says, in the running of a town or a Continued on page 11

There’s no excuse for forgetting Mother’s Day Opening May 1st with Curbside Sales!

Check out our website that offers online ordering and payment.

Since 1936

sunsetspringsgreenhouse.com Order online for next day pick-up Don’t forget Mother’s Day!

519-527-0761

Our Doors may be locked, but we are open for business!

43079 Hullett-McKillop Rd. R.R. # 4 Walton

Remember Mom with cut flower bouquets, arrangements, potted plants and more • • • • •

Beautiful selections of fresh cut flowers Fresh flowers for all occasions Plants • Tropicals Silk Arrangements - Traditional & Exotic Fresh flowers for all occasions

Happy Mother’s Day

*Website orders & Phone Orders Available *Delivery and Pick up can be arranged

Order early for best selection!

135 Frances St., Wingham 519-357-3880 www.lewisflowers.com

We offer a wide variety of gift ideas for Mother's Day!

Treat mom this Mother’s Day to her favourite spots.

Great selection, delicious food, wonderful service!

Farmer’s Dell ON-SITE & AVAILABLE MON-FRI 9AM-5PM SATURDAY 9AM-3PM

naturesnest@tcc.on.ca

with contactless curbside pickup

with contactless pick up window!

6 London Rd. Brucefield Est. 1956

519-233-7162 Hours : Sunday - Thursday 11 am - 8 pm Friday & Saturday 11 am - 9 pm

"It’s worth the drive to Brucefield"

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 11.

Learning curve with rural issues for MacIsaac

Where it all began Marie Jefferson, seen here at Brenda MacIsaac’s retirement parade, gave MacIsaac her big break, hiring her in 1986 for help with reception. (Shawn Loughlin photo)

Continued from page 10 municipality. Residents just see that things are running smoothly.

MacIsaac would work her way up in the Town of Clinton office, becoming the Deputy-Clerk in 1995.

She would remain in the position for a few years before amalgamation rolled around. At that point, the Town of Clinton amalgamated with Hullett and Goderich Townships to form Central Huron and everyone had to reapply for their jobs.

MacIsaac was hired back on, eventually being made Clerk of Central Huron in 2008.

One of the biggest transitions MacIsaac underwent during her time in municipal politics was when Central Huron was formed. Being born and raised in Clinton, working with the town for nearly 15 years, she had to learn a lot about how rural townships work.

Whether it was municipal drains or other rural township situations, MacIsaac said she had to learn on

the fly, which was one of the biggest challenges of her career Over the years, MacIsaac says much has changed in her job. When she began in 1986, the office didn’t have a single computer, buying its first machine in either the late 1980s or early 1990s.

MacIsaac says it’s interesting to see the trajectory her career has taken; beginning at a time when her office didn’t own a single computer and now retiring during a pandemic during which council meetings are being held virtually with all council members connecting from home.

She says she’s worked with tremendous employees along the way and very co-operative councils, so she’s been very grateful for those with whom she’s worked.

As for retirement, all of MacIsaac’s plans are now on hold due to COVID-19, but she will soon be visiting her cousin in the Yukon.

When she was in her teens, MacIsaac spent a few years there

with her aunt. Her aunt has since passed away, but her cousin still lives there, so she’s hoping to visit.

She then hopes to enrol in an immersive cooking school experience in the Tuscany region of Italy. The waiting list now has a three-year wait, but MacIsaac says that’s a part of the world she’s always wanted to visit, so she looks forward to taking that trip one day.

Closer to home, she will commit herself to gardening now and spending more time with her children, 25-year-old Gregory and 28-year-old Amelia.

In a small ceremony after the parade, Mayor Jim Ginn thanked MacIsaac for her years of service, guidance and wisdom and said the municipality looked forward to holding a proper retirement celebration for MacIsaac when it was once again safe to do so.

She thanked everyone for attending and said the whole day was truly overwhelming for her.

Show Mom you are thinking of her!

Huron County s 1st Winery!

A variety of wines and ciders

Mother’s Day Gifts

~ Curb side pick up and online orders ~

519-233-WINE (9463) • 78925 Sanctuary Line, Huron East (Clinton)

www.maelstromwinery.ca

Check out our Facebook page and website for great Mother’s Day gift ideas

SOLACE ON TURNBERRY • Spa • Shop • Suites

519-887-9682 or C 519-525-3333

Curbside Pick up

437 Turnberry St., Brussels, ON N0G 1H0

www.solaceonturnberry.com • solaceonturnberry@gmail.com

We are open for curbside pickup order online

#LoveYourMother Cupcakes?

Miniature Cakes?

www.greyhavengardens.com The Perfect Gift...

hanging baskets, container gardens, annuals,LOADABLE perennials, bedding plants, vegetables, tropicals, GIFT CARDS trees and shrubs.

Celebrate Mom with these delicious bouquets in chocolate and sweet buttercream, made from scratch baked in beautiful tulip cupcake liners and hand-piped.

We want em' - She’ll want em' bad

Call or order online today!

sherri@makeawishcakes.com 226-980-7807 Located in Exeter, ON

www.makeawishcakes.com

Our reloadable gift cards make a great gift for any occasion RR#1 39843 LONDESBORO RD., LONDESBOROUGH PHONE/FAX 519-523-9781

LOCATED 500 YARDS WEST OF LONDESBOROUGH ON CTY. RD. 15

PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, APRIL 30, 2020.

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 13.

GJAJ Holdings Ltd. Rutledge Subdivision-Blyth

Congratulations to the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team We are so proud of you!

Congratulations

519-955-2323

The Citizen

BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team

Monthly y Rates Now Av A ailable

www.airbnb.ca

Congratulations to the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team Provincial Co-Champs!!!!

OMHA Provincial Co-Champions!

1-888-281-2746

With Offices in Blyth, Brussels, Goderich, Linwood, Seaforth and Stratford

1.800.876.4163 www.orrinsurance.net

541 Turnberry St., Brussels

405 Queen St., Blyth

519-887-9114

519-523-4792

Brussels Optimist Club We congratulate the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team ~ our Provincial Co-Champs

Brussels

Congrats BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team

Fresh food. Friendly neighbours.

Congratulations BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team Our new Provincial Co-Champs!

38 King St., Brussels • 519-887-9740

Proud Support of Youth

Provincial Co-Champs!

The Blyth BIA wishes to Congratulate the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team on their successful season.

519.606.2211

tcc@tcc.on.ca www.tcc.on.ca

blythnow.ca

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

BLYTH/BRUSSELS ATOM REP CRUSADERS on becoming OMHA CO-CHAMPIONS! Serving the area since 1999

STEVEN NIXON Broker WILFRED MCINTEE & CO. LIMITED

COWBELLBREWING.COM

40035 BLYTH RD., BLYTH

Bus: 519-357-2222 • Cell: 519-531-0252 Email: nixon@execulink.com www.stevennixon.com 249 Josephine St., WINGHAM, ON N0G 2W0

1-844-523-4724

BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team

our new Provincial Co-Champions on a great year!

Congratulations Blyth/Brussels Atom Rep Crusaders on becoming OMHA Co-Champions

We congratulate the Provincial Co-Champions ~ the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team!

The Municipality of Central Huron 519-482-3997 www.centralhuron.com

BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Provincial Co-Champions

Falconer Funeral Homes Clinton Chapel Bluewater Chapel Blyth Chapel

519-523-4577 • 519-482-9521

ions!

ulat t a r g n o C

BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep – “OMHA CO-CHAMPIONS”: Back row, from left: Coach Darryl DeRuyter, trainer Dwight Caldwell, coach Archie Fleet, trainer Andrew Wharton.

Middle row: Justin Fleet, Jaxon Bromley, Rodney Ansley, Colyn Hallahan, Carter Howson, Tysen Greidanus, Bo Wharton, Ayden Hallahan, Dylan Lee, Will Nesbit, Emmitt Shortreed.

Front row: Everett Cherrey, Brett Caldwell, Nick White, Damon Shannon. Absent: Tristen Piper, manager Alicha Hallahan.

Congratulations BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team!

Residential & Commercial Dumpster Rental & Service R.R. #1 41403 Londesboro Road, Londesboro Jim Anderson 519-523-4894 Cell 519-440-6007 Jason Fleet: Cell 519-525-9473

2 miles south of Blyth corner of London Rd. & Hullett McKillop Rd.

519-523-9308 Way to Go! BBMHA Crusader Atom Rep Team

Christopher M. Smith Mark R. Rushton Amanda Rich

Repairs to all makes & models of cars & trucks

The tradition of service continues...

~ Jack VanDorp ~

CAR & TRUCK SALES

Uptown Blyth Mon-Fri

We wish to congratulate the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team on a very successful season and becoming the OMHA Provincial co-champions

to our son Everett Cherrey and his teammates of the BBMHA Atom Rep Crusaders on an outstanding season and becoming the OMHA Co-champions We look forward to serving you Hot Dogs, Sausages, Fresh Fries & More! when the Emergency Status is lifted

Dave Franken

Congratulations to the CONCRETE FORMING BBMHA Crusaders For All Your Concrete Needs!

Atom Rep team COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL • Foundations • Floor Finishing the new • Circular Tanks • Sandwich Walls Provincial FREE ESTIMATES Co-Champions!

RR#3 Blyth ~ Fax 519-523-9604

519-523-9971

Brussels

519-887-6277

Congratulations BBMHA Crusaders Atom Reps on becoming Provincial Co-Champions!

Howson & Howson Ltd.

Flour Mill Blyth

Way to Go! BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team Provincial Co-Champions!

Municipality of Huron East

BLYTH 519-523-9624 / 1-800-663-3653 WALTON 519-887-6130

to the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team Provincial Co-Champs

519-523-4241 Congratulations Bo Wharton #17 “C” and the Atom Rep Blyth Brussels Crusaders OMHA Co-Champs 406 Mill Street, Blyth Corner of Dinsley & Mill

www.spaessentialsblyth.com

519-523-4793

823316 Burns Line RR1 R1 Blyth N0M 1H0

Mike Kerr 519-525-7079 Robb Finch 519-525-5009

Way to go!

BBMHA Atom Rep Crusaders on becoming the Provincial Co-champions

PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, APRIL 30, 2020.

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 13.

GJAJ Holdings Ltd. Rutledge Subdivision-Blyth

Congratulations to the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team We are so proud of you!

Congratulations

519-955-2323

The Citizen

BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team

Monthly y Rates Now Av A ailable

www.airbnb.ca

Congratulations to the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team Provincial Co-Champs!!!!

OMHA Provincial Co-Champions!

1-888-281-2746

With Offices in Blyth, Brussels, Goderich, Linwood, Seaforth and Stratford

1.800.876.4163 www.orrinsurance.net

541 Turnberry St., Brussels

405 Queen St., Blyth

519-887-9114

519-523-4792

Brussels Optimist Club We congratulate the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team ~ our Provincial Co-Champs

Brussels

Congrats BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team

Fresh food. Friendly neighbours.

Congratulations BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team Our new Provincial Co-Champs!

38 King St., Brussels • 519-887-9740

Proud Support of Youth

Provincial Co-Champs!

The Blyth BIA wishes to Congratulate the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team on their successful season.

519.606.2211

tcc@tcc.on.ca www.tcc.on.ca

blythnow.ca

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

BLYTH/BRUSSELS ATOM REP CRUSADERS on becoming OMHA CO-CHAMPIONS! Serving the area since 1999

STEVEN NIXON Broker WILFRED MCINTEE & CO. LIMITED

COWBELLBREWING.COM

40035 BLYTH RD., BLYTH

Bus: 519-357-2222 • Cell: 519-531-0252 Email: nixon@execulink.com www.stevennixon.com 249 Josephine St., WINGHAM, ON N0G 2W0

1-844-523-4724

BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team

our new Provincial Co-Champions on a great year!

Congratulations Blyth/Brussels Atom Rep Crusaders on becoming OMHA Co-Champions

We congratulate the Provincial Co-Champions ~ the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team!

The Municipality of Central Huron 519-482-3997 www.centralhuron.com

BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Provincial Co-Champions

Falconer Funeral Homes Clinton Chapel Bluewater Chapel Blyth Chapel

519-523-4577 • 519-482-9521

ions!

ulat t a r g n o C

BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep – “OMHA CO-CHAMPIONS”: Back row, from left: Coach Darryl DeRuyter, trainer Dwight Caldwell, coach Archie Fleet, trainer Andrew Wharton.

Middle row: Justin Fleet, Jaxon Bromley, Rodney Ansley, Colyn Hallahan, Carter Howson, Tysen Greidanus, Bo Wharton, Ayden Hallahan, Dylan Lee, Will Nesbit, Emmitt Shortreed.

Front row: Everett Cherrey, Brett Caldwell, Nick White, Damon Shannon. Absent: Tristen Piper, manager Alicha Hallahan.

Congratulations BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team!

Residential & Commercial Dumpster Rental & Service R.R. #1 41403 Londesboro Road, Londesboro Jim Anderson 519-523-4894 Cell 519-440-6007 Jason Fleet: Cell 519-525-9473

2 miles south of Blyth corner of London Rd. & Hullett McKillop Rd.

519-523-9308 Way to Go! BBMHA Crusader Atom Rep Team

Christopher M. Smith Mark R. Rushton Amanda Rich

Repairs to all makes & models of cars & trucks

The tradition of service continues...

~ Jack VanDorp ~

CAR & TRUCK SALES

Uptown Blyth Mon-Fri

We wish to congratulate the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team on a very successful season and becoming the OMHA Provincial co-champions

to our son Everett Cherrey and his teammates of the BBMHA Atom Rep Crusaders on an outstanding season and becoming the OMHA Co-champions We look forward to serving you Hot Dogs, Sausages, Fresh Fries & More! when the Emergency Status is lifted

Dave Franken

Congratulations to the CONCRETE FORMING BBMHA Crusaders For All Your Concrete Needs!

Atom Rep team COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL • Foundations • Floor Finishing the new • Circular Tanks • Sandwich Walls Provincial FREE ESTIMATES Co-Champions!

RR#3 Blyth ~ Fax 519-523-9604

519-523-9971

Brussels

519-887-6277

Congratulations BBMHA Crusaders Atom Reps on becoming Provincial Co-Champions!

Howson & Howson Ltd.

Flour Mill Blyth

Way to Go! BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team Provincial Co-Champions!

Municipality of Huron East

BLYTH 519-523-9624 / 1-800-663-3653 WALTON 519-887-6130

to the BBMHA Crusaders Atom Rep Team Provincial Co-Champs

519-523-4241 Congratulations Bo Wharton #17 “C” and the Atom Rep Blyth Brussels Crusaders OMHA Co-Champs 406 Mill Street, Blyth Corner of Dinsley & Mill

www.spaessentialsblyth.com

519-523-4793

823316 Burns Line RR1 R1 Blyth N0M 1H0

Mike Kerr 519-525-7079 Robb Finch 519-525-5009

Way to go!

BBMHA Atom Rep Crusaders on becoming the Provincial Co-champions

PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020.

Funeral professionals face COVID-19 challenges

A new era With COVID-19 control measures in effect, events like funerals have had to change to fit the times. Above, a funeral procession was held in Brussels by Riverside Funeral Home for a service recently as a drive-by event, replacing the regular visitation that would normally occur.

(Photo submitted)

By Denny Scott The Citizen Making sure that loved ones have a safe way to say goodbye to the dearly departed has taken on new meaning with the COVID-19 pandemic control measures, but local funeral professionals are making it work.

Zoey Onn, licensed funeral director and owner of Riverside Funeral Home, said that, between how services have had to change and rules limiting gatherings, certain aspects of her business have changed dramatically.

“The biggest thing is, as human beings, we’re so used to comforting people,” she said. “We’re used to

being tactile and connecting when something like this happens.”

Onn said she’s offered modified services for people, including “drive-by” services that were inspired by similar services south of the border and local celebrations like drive-by birthdays.

She said that another idea that is coming from the United States is to livestream services through online video programs.

While there are rules allowing up to 10 people to a service, Onn said, the reality is that it is only for facilities where you can fit up to 10 people while respecting physical distancing rules.

“If you don’t have the space for 10 people to be six feet apart, you need to reduce that number,” she said, adding that the chapel at Riverside Funeral Home is only big enough to safely fit four or five people.

With churches closed to the public, it eliminates their use as a space for the funeral, further compounding the problem.

Aside from drive-by services, Onn said that she has also started doing graveside services where someone records the event to share with friends and family. She has also decided to record services herself for some interments.

Onn said people are respecting the changes that have been made as a result of the pandemic.

“People are very understanding,” she said. “I’ve seen situations in larger cities where they might not be as understanding, but in our area, people seem to be okay with it.”

Christopher Smith, owner of Falconer Funeral Homes, said he has been taking similar steps and is following the protocols laid out by the province.

“Services have to be very small,” he said. “COVID-19 has certainly changed the way people are being able to conduct and attend services.

We’ve had the ability to do live streaming for services for some time and done that a couple of times.”

Smith said he is open to anything that helps people have a meaningful service as long as it follows the rules set out by the province.

“We have people that are delaying things until restrictions lift to a degree,” he said. “There are lots of ways we’re coming up with to make an opportunity for people to have some sort of a farewell.”

Smith said there have been positive comments on the live streaming services, specifically from those who are out of the province and unable to come and put their loved ones to rest.

“I think, for the most part, we just need people to try and be patient,” he said. “We would suggest that, with the electronics we have in the world today, people utilize those systems.

Some of these things can be done without coming into our office.

There are ways to plan things meaningfully, we just have to bounce ideas off of everyone involved and make it a collaborative effort.”

As far as the way that interment is handled, Onn said that direct cremation or direct burials are being suggested with a celebration of life after the COVID-19 pandemic has been subdued. She said, however, that cremation seemed to become a more popular option for families prior to the COVID-19 uptake, and that people are now turning to it as a chance to put off the celebration of life.

“People are going to more personal celebrations of life, like having them at home,” she said.

“Smaller celebrations are taking place.”

Onn said there are still people who want to come in for the closure, and she’s ready to provide that within the

boundaries of the control measures.

“Every opportunity is offered to pretty much every family,” she said.

“They can decide whether they need it or not.”

Aside from the changes dealing with the public, Onn said that the behind-the-scenes work has seen small changes, but most of it is just being vigilant with existing practices.

Onn said that while she hasn’t had to work with anyone who contracted COVID-19, she has spoken to other professionals who have.

“People forget that funeral professionals have been dealing with diseases since the beginning of time,” she said. “We’ve always worn personal protective equipment. This is much more contagious, but in practice, it’s just like SARS or even HIV when it was first a thing. We’ve been doing this for a long time.”

She said that being in a rural area like Huron County has sheltered her and the community from the kinds of outbreaks that larger city centres are seeing, so she doesn’t envy her peers in the funeral industry dealing with larger populations. That said, she doesn’t think much has changed for those in the industry beyond making sure they are following the rules that have been in place long before the pandemic struck.

“We were already doing most of the steps,” she said. “There is a thorough cleaning of the prep room after every preparation. It’s just our normal way to do prep, but we are being more vigilant regarding bodily fluids.”

Smith said that things have changed in terms of dealing with long-term care facilities as well. A new ruling was put into place where funeral professionals have to allow nursing home staff to remove deceased individuals because the funeral professionals aren’t allowed inside the homes.

North Huron ties dog park care to border agreement

By Denny Scott The Citizen A request for support for the Auburn Dog Park has North Huron Council wanting Central Huron Council to start considering crossborder servicing and shared soft services.

Central Huron Council made an official request to have North Huron support the dog park in Auburn through contributing to the cost of maintaining the site, however the issue was more complicated than the request as, in the past, Central Huron had stopped contributing to facilities and services in North Huron.

The dog park, which North Huron helped to kickstart in 2016, has fallen into disrepair due to the original citizens’ group behind it dissolving. A new group has taken it over but is asking for Central Huron to continue to maintain the lawn at the park.

Originally, Central Huron staff had tried to contract out the job, but it became too expensive. Since then, Central Huron staff have been sent to cut the lawn and now Central Huron Council is asking both AshfieldColborne-Wawanosh and North Huron councils to consider supporting it.

North Huron staff suggested, if council did want to contribute to the project, it should be done one year at a time.

While some council members were wary of getting involved with Central Huron after its council had pulled funding for initiatives like the

Blyth and District Community Centre, which many Central Huron residents use, Councillor Paul Heffer was against spending money on a dog park regardless of its location.

“I cannot justify spending taxpayer dollars on dog parks,” he said. “To me, it’s not acceptable…

It’s great if community members or businesses want to contribute, but I feel that North Huron has trails and parks and roads that people can take their pets to.”

Heffer also said contributing to this park would open the municipality up to requests in other places like Whitechurch, Wingham and Blyth.

Councillor Chris Palmer agreed saying the request, which was for $2,800, may not be a significant amount of money in the municipality’s budget, but it is still “a lot of money”.

Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip said he wasn’t against contributing, but it should be part of the larger discussion regarding cross-border servicing.

“Central Huron [Council] made it perfectly clear four or five years ago that they have a number of services within their municipality [so] they aren’t willing to provide funding for recreation outside their borders,” he said. “If that’s something they are willing to change, then maybe that’s something the cross-border servicing committee can work on.”

Seip also noted there were some discussions with Central Huron Council regarding collaborating on

infrastructure including sidewalks when the Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company and Ultramar/Tim Hortons developments were built at the south end of Blyth, however nothing came of those discussions.

“If you want to talk about borders, let’s talk about borders,” Seip said.

“If you don’t want to, we’re not going to. That’s my position. I’m willing to share costs if they’re willing to share costs.”

Reeve Bernie Bailey provided more information regarding the relationships with Central Huron, which he said had been strained going back to his last term on council over four years ago.

“We asked Central Huron to help with the Blyth [and District Community Centre],” he said. “We had a number of people in Central Huron using the facility. The council of the day for Central Huron said they wouldn’t pay for anything outside their borders.”

Bailey said if any changes were to happen, it would be as a result of a cross-border servicing committee discussion like North Huron is currently working on with MorrisTurnberry.”

“We’re running water and sewer to the new structures south of Blyth, and we’re not seeing a dime,” Bailey said, referring to costs above and beyond the regular water hook-ups for the aforementioned developments. “I would like to send a letter saying this is part of a bigger discussion and see where that leads.”

Bailey also pointed out his drive to

move Huron County’s new staff facility to a location between Blyth and Londesborough is a move that benefits Central Huron more than anyone, and if approved will once again rely on North Huron services.

Councillor Kevin Falconer said he would like to see that discussion happen, but wanted council to keep

in mind the dog park is used by North Huron ratepayers as well.

After more discussion, council agreed to support maintenance costsharing in principle, but defer financial contributions until a more comprehensive cross-border agreement can be finalized. The motion passed with Heffer dissenting.

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 15.

Bailey vows detailed, understandable tax explanation

By Denny Scott The Citizen After some complaints regarding taxation in East Wawanosh were brought to North Huron Council, Reeve Bernie Bailey vowed to have staff produce a document to make taxes easy to understand for ratepayers.

Councillor Chris Palmer said, during council’s April 20 meeting, that East Wawanosh constituents were already complaining about the budget, two weeks after council had approved the budget.

Palmer said the budget and taxes were just one of the concerns he was hearing and he felt it best to bring those concerns to council.

During council’s April 13 meeting, Palmer had, immediately after

passing the budget, said the large tax increase to agricultural land, spurred mostly by assessment, would be a bitter pill for taxpayers to swallow.

With rising assessment and spending increases in the municipality, an average agricultural property in East Wawanosh could see an increase in tax payments of 16.15 per cent this year, which Palmer said would likely result in complaints.

In response, Bailey said he has asked staff to put together a document outlining how municipal taxes work.

“I’ve asked staff to put together this document and I’m working with them,” he said.

The document will show where taxes are spent, how much comes in from each ward and what goes to the

local school boards, what goes to Huron County and what goes to the municipality.

“You’re right, East Wawanosh has a right to know where the money is going, and how much of it [is being used],” Bailey said. “We’re going to produce [answers] and have a fullblown conversation about it.”

Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip didn’t agree with Bailey’s plans, however, saying everyone has a chance to question the budget before it’s passed.

“This is not the time to have problems with the budget,” he said.

“If you have a problem, you should be dealing with it when we go through the budget. We had budget discussions for four months.”

He said the community needs the

municipality to inform it of pending decisions, but community members need to take responsibility and be involved in the discussion. After the budget presentation Director of Finance Donna White provides every year, Seip said he doesn’t think there can be a much more indepth way of looking at it. Seip added that during the four-week period between the draft of the final budget being presented and the budget being passed, no concerns were raised.

“I want to make sure we’re not making a mountain out of a molehill,” Seip said, indicating this is a large project to undertake based on a limited number of comments.

Bailey, however, felt those comments were just the most recent

issue with a process that has gone back to when amalgamation saw North Huron created 15 years ago.

Palmer also stated he wasn’t bringing up the complaints to see this kind of action undertaken. He just wanted council to know these were the concerns people were bringing up. He said he had told the ratepayers about the information White provided, and it did little to placate them.

Palmer then went on to say the main problem isn’t North Huron’s spending, but increasing assessment, which is handled by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), not North Huron Council.

Bailey said he would bring the issue back before council in the near future.

Letter to the Editor

EW taxes too high: Caldwells THE EDITOR, To North Huron Council: In times of crisis, it never fails to amaze me how some people just don’t get it. A 16 per cent rise in taxes is not only absurd, it is not being responsible.

Yes, our assessment has increased due to the rise in land value, but our income certainly hasn’t. It is not the value of the land, it is the value of what the land produces. While land is worth more, our input costs are rising, and the fate of the future remains in question, it is unthinkable that council could even consider such an increase in farm taxes. Please give your head a shake.

Dairy farmers are being forced to occasionally dump some of their milk, chicken farmers are cutting back production and in the beef and pork industries, chaos is developing because of the incapability of slaughter plants to process these animals, due to killing plants being shut down in Alberta, Quebec and Ontario with only limited staff willing to work in these trying times.

This is causing a severe backlog of these animals on the farm, forcing prices to bottom out significantly below production costs. Because most farmers are self-employed, very few qualify for any government assistance being offered.

Each day, more and more people on the farm are wondering how they are going to survive, for we are falling through the cracks, let alone try to pay for inputs.

I think it is time for council to wake up and realize the vast expanse of the problems that are taking place in rural Ontario. We need responsible solutions; a 16 per cent rise in taxes is not the answer.

Thank you.

Les and Evelyn Caldwell.

Have an opinion?

Reach out through a letter to the editor to let readers know your take on the issue.

E-mail your letter to info@northhuron.on.ca

at

the edge of walton midland painted turtles

A baby painted turtle found last spring and the butterfly markings on the turtle’s lower shell!

Scientific Name: Chrysemys picta marginata size:Upper shell, average 12-14cm size: Distribution: In Ontario, throughout the Southern & Central regions habitat:Painted turtles live in ponds, marshes, lakes and slow-moving habitat:

creeks that have a soft bottom and provide lots of places to lay in the sun and plenty of vegetation for food. These turtles often bask on shorelines or on logs and rocks that stick out of the water. The painted turtle hibernates on the bottom of these same bodies of water.

Characteristics: All painted turtles have an olive to black carapace (upper

fun facts about painted turtles:

shell) with red or dark orange markings on the marginal scutes (enlarged scales on the shell), as well as red and yellow stripes on the head and neck. The midland painted turtle has a yellow or dark tan plastron (lower shell) with a darker, irregular “butterfly” marking along the midline.

1.Females nest from late May to early July, digging their nest in loamy or sandy soil in sunny areas. The clutch contains from three to 14 eggs. 2.Hatchlings may emerge in the fall but sometimes overwinter in the nest and emerge the following spring. They can survive temperatures as low as -9ºC, because they contain a biological “antifreeze” that prevents their tissues from freezing! 3. The temperature of the nest during incubation determines if the hatchlings will be male or female. 4. Some individuals live for 30 to 40 years in the wild. 5.The midland painted turtle is currently listed as Special Concern under the federal Species at Risk Act (2018), and as of May 2018 all Ontario turtles are on the Specias At Risk list, mostly due to road mortality. vvvThe 6. four species of painted turtles are the most widespread turtle species in Canada and in all of North America - odds are, if you’ve seen a turtle on a log enjoying some sunshine, it was a painted turtle!

Midland Painted Turtles at the edge of walton: We’re not lying when we say we have HUNDREDS of painted turtles at the Edge of Walton! Every day you can find turtles basking on the logs in our ponds - we even make turtle docks for them. The most we’ve ever counted on a log has been 23! Do you ever find them not in a pond? Usually only in the spring when they are looking for a good nesting spot, then we can find them on the roads, fields and sometimes even in our driveway.

Painted turtles get their name from the markings on their shell - it looks like someone painted them on with a paintbrush! harper asked her friends why they thought the painted turtles were called that, and here are their answers:

Why do you think painted turtles got their name?

Brea MacDonald: Because they have black, white and brown on their shell and red details all around!

Wes MacDonald: ‘Cause them got paintbrushes.

Logan Devereaux: Because they have stripes and lots of unique details on their shells Jaxon Devereaux: Because it looks like each of them were painted Hudson Devereaux: Because they have colour on them The edge of walton is a registered non-profit organization and is located at 42932 walton road in walton, ontario

PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020.

Douma salutes workers with bi-weekly music PEOPLE AROUND WALTON

By Jo-Ann McDonald Call 887-6570

The weather is starting to look a little better and when out for a drive, farmers are getting into the swing of spring. Equipment has been greased and gotten ready for use over the last couple of weeks and now it is time to head to the field. Farmers are spreading manure, stone picking, cultivating, some plowing, chisel plowing, baling corn stalks, spreading fertilizer on wheat and whatever job needs to be done.

Picking up seed or fertilizer will be next. It’s always a busy time of year

and hopefully all our hardworking farmers stay healthy and well to get the job done; planting the crops so they can put food on their tables and yours.

Let’s remember that for all this work to get it done means there will be farm equipment on the roads. It will be out there before sunrise and after sunset, so be wary and watchful when travelling the roads and have patience.

Congratulations to Devin and Sarah Blake on the birth of a precious little girl. Maelyn arrived to the joy of all last week. She is excitedly welcomed as the first granddaughter for Clara Blake to add to the crew of five grandsons.

She will also be welcomed by the Van Loon family. Everyone will be excited to see the new arrival, but FaceTime will have to do until all is safe and well. Congratulations to the Blake family.

Brussels residents are enjoying the

melodic strains of music coming from the Brussels Melville Presbyterian Church chimes twice a week. The music is played by Mary Douma on Wednesday evenings at 7:15 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 1:15 p.m. in support of our healthcare workers. Thank you Mary!

The Ministry of Education has officially announced that school will remain closed until May 31. Another month of kids staying home, parents doing some homeschooling and trying to keep them busy as they try and work from home or just get some work done around home.

This week at home has seen only a few jobs accomplished. Our entrance way received a deep cleaning and all the cupboards housecleaned and tidied. We will see how long that lasts!

Hooray, hooray it will be the first of May, when many will be reading the paper. My dear old friend, the

late Betty McDonald, used to always make us laugh when this month rolled around. She would call me on the morning of May 1 the first and sing, “Hooray, hooray, the first of May, outdoor fun begins today!”

Hint – her idea of “fun” is a word that rhymes with “crewing”. She would invite me into her place with a few of her old friends and we would have a small celebration of the day.

Many laughs were enjoyed and now remembered.

Celebrating birthdays this past week and to the end the month of April include Tammy Martene, Darrell McClure, Amanda Morrison, Mary Jane Storey, Jeff McKee, Avery Boven, Dean Glanville, Derick Bachert, Spencer Hackwell, Cody Terpstra, Graeme Craig, Paul Humphries, Amy Alcock, Brad Finlayson, Casey Bernard, Jessica Fraser, Kelly Marks, Jenna Regele, Kelsey Eckert, Marcy McCall MacBain, Pat Parr, Donald Dalton,

Landon Gemmel, John Huether, Dave Lewington and Joe Steffler.

NEWS FROM WALTON

Barmy Tech pitches in

The big dig Seaforth’s main street is now under construction thanks to a massive revitalization project due to be carried out by Huron East and Huron County over the course of several years. Work should continue throughout the course of the year. (Deb Sholdice photo)

Dorothy Cummings and her company Barmy Tech, a fabric company based in Walton, are continuing to work for their regular customers during the COVID-19 pandemic while also helping the local medical community.

Cummings, in an e-mail to The Citizen explained that in addition to the company’s regular offerings, she is making a plethora of items for medical purposes and front-line workers.

As far as front-line workers specifically, Cummings said tote bags are being made for workers’ meal deliveries in addition to gift bags for front-line workers and personal-use cloth washable face masks. She is also making large laundry bags for hospital use, she said, and headbands with buttons for local health workers in conjunction

with Brussels’ Jackie DeWit and her Sewing with Thanks group.

Cummings also said the business is working with Artech Signs in Seaforth on large banners that say, “Heroes Work Here” and, from a customer side, midwifery bags are seeing an increase in sales, she said, as a result of people trying to avoid hospitals when able.

“We are trying to fit in our regular customers as well,” Cummings said.

“I would like to thank my staff, some on-site and some from home, who are helping to get the job done.”

In the shop, Cummings says the machines are spaced six feet apart with tables in between to ensure physical distancing, so the shop is continuing to operate during the pandemic.

For more information, visit www.barmytech.on.ca

Obituaries sister Joan (1956) and brothers Larry (1996) and Robert (2019).

Cremation has taken place. A memorial to celebrate Jim’s life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers and as expressions of sympathy, donations to the Salvation Army, Stratford Branch would be appreciated.

Condolences may be left at wgyoungfuneralhome.com or sent to Box 173, Brussels, ON N0G 1H0.

JAMES DOUGLAS SMITH James Douglas Smith of Stratford, passed away peacefully at his home in Cedarcroft Place Retirement Residence in the early hours of April 23, 2020. He was in his 80th year.

Born in Morris Township on Feb. 6, 1941, Jim was the beloved husband of the late Marilyn (Mary) (2003). He was the father of John and Jimmy, both of London.

Jim was the older brother of Don, Ottawa; Rae, Brussels and Douglas and Colleen, Guelph. He is survived by nieces and nephews, Karl, Kenneth, Leif, Kassandra, Jessica, Matthew, Andrew Shirin and Anisa.

Jim was the beloved son of the late Douglas Smith (1956) and the late Adah Smith née Grasby (2009).

He was predeceased by his

JOAN ELIZABETH (NÉE RYAN) McDONALD March 24, 1932 - April 25, 2020 Joan Elizabeth (née Ryan) McDonald passed away peacefully Saturday, April 25, 2020 at the Maxville Manor, from Alzheimer’s

disease. She was predeceased by her husband of 53 years, Donald (Donnie) Gordon McDonald (Dec. 17, 1930 - Nov. 28, 2016). They were married on May 18, 1963 in Brussels.

Joan’s loss will leave an indelible mark on her seven children and their families, including Grant (Monica), Elaine (Terry), Heather (Duncan), Mark (Isabel), Patricia (Greg), Ross (Tina) and Brian (Karine) and her 18 grandchildren. She is survived by her loving family, including Jack, Gerry (Anne), Teresa and Betty, her sisters-in-law, Hazel, Mary and Margaret and brother-in-law Ewan as well as her many, many nieces and nephews.

Joan was predeceased by her parents, brothers Bob, Jim and Nelson, sisters-in-law Marianna, Barb, Anne, Margaret, Constance, Martine and Helen as well as brothers-in-law Angus, Hugh, Duncan, Harry, Bill and Charlie and her daughter-in-law, Aldona.

Joan was born on a farm on the outskirts of Walton to Marjorie (Reid) and Lawrence Ryan. At 18 she went to London, enrolled in the four-year registered nursing program and graduated in 1953 from the Saint Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing.

Always known for her adventurous spirit, after graduation she moved to Banff in the early 1950s to work, then moved on to Hawaii to continue

her nursing career while pursuing more exciting travel experiences.

In 1957, Joan decided to broaden her education further at the University of Ottawa by enrolling in courses to allow her to become a public health nurse. After the excitement of Banff and Hawaii, her public health qualifications brought her back to London, then to Glengarry County where she met her husband Donnie in 1958. She also spent time working in neonatal and pediatric wards at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, and hospitals in Clinton, Seaforth, Woodstock and St. Anne’s Veterans Hospital.

Joan lived out her life trying to remain true to her deep Catholic faith and love of family while maintaining an abiding respect and compassion for her neighbour.

The family wishes to extend its enduring gratitude to everyone at the Maxville Manor, whose professionalism, patience, kindness and generosity were nothing short of exemplary, particularly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joan’s final resting place will be beside her husband Donnie, at St. Finnan’s Cathedral, Alexandria, Ontario.

If you would like to make a donation in Joan’s name, please consider Maxville Manor, or the charity of your choice.

Funeral arrangements under the

care and direction of the Munro & Morris Funeral Homes Ltd., Alexandria, Ontario.

As a memorial to Joan, a tree will be planted in a memory woods. A tree grows – memories live.

Condolences may be made online at www.munromorris.com.

Walk Ins Welcome SHEAR TALENT Hair Design & Tanning

45 West St., Goderich 519-524-6555

www.shear-talent.ca

Wingham Memorials Distinctive memorials of lasting satisfaction produced by us to your specifications.

Owned and operated by Mac and Donna Anderson

519-357-1910 E-mail: andgranite@bellnet.ca After hours appointments available 89 North Street W., Wingham www.winghammemorials.com

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 17.

Classified Advertisements – RATES – 20 words or less only $7.00 + HST. Additional words 20¢ each + HST. 50¢ will be deducted if ad is paid in advance

DEADLINE 2 p.m. Monday in Brussels 4 p.m. Monday in Blyth Phone 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 e-mail: info@northhuron.on.ca

Articles for sale GERBERS FIREWOOD SERVING you for over 10 years. Your number one source of quality slabwood and bodywood. Delivery available. No Sunday calls. 519-656-2057, 519441-2085.

01-50p -------------------------------------------REPRINTS OF PHOTOS taken by Citizen photographers are available to purchase. All are in colour. 4x6 – $5.00, 5x7 – $6.00, 8x10 – $10.00. Phone to order 519523-4792 or 519-887-9114. tfn -------------------------------------------THE CITIZEN IS AVAILABLE online for free while we are under orders for physical distances. Stay safe!

Citizen-ToCitizen “SWAP SHOP” ad “One person’s junk is another’s treasure”

Let us help you turn that junk into $$ ➨ Free ad up to 25 words, person to person only (no businesses), items valued at $1,000 or less.

Your ad will run three times unless it sells faster! ➨ The Citizen reserves the right to limit the number of items or ads per person.

Call 519-523-4792 or email: info@northhuron.on.ca FOR SALE – Electric fireplace, dark brown, 1500 watt, accent lighting, remote, $195; Emsay garden seeder, 6 seed discs, 2 inline wheels, like new, $100.

226-622-2175.

17-3 ---------------------------------------FOR SALE – King-size bed, mattress and box spring, $395; La-z-boy recliner chair, wine colour, $195. 519-440-1110.17-3 ---------------------------------------WANTED – one metal calf creep feeder. Phone 519-523-9324.

17-3

Services

Card of thanks Services DAVIDSON. A special thank you to my McArter family for organizing the unexpected drive-by birthday.

To all the participants, it was good to see you all, thanks for coming.

Thanks to everyone who brought gifts, cards and for all the phone calls. Everything was much appreciated. Love you all – Jean.

18-1

Coming events VIRTUAL ONLINE KARATE Classes! Schweitzer’s Martial Arts.

Train safely from the comfort of your own home. No experience needed. Beginners welcome!Group classes for ages 4 to adult, private and semi-private lessons also available. Taught by Renshi Becky Schweitzer, 4th Degree Black Belt and World Karate Champion.

Our 10-week session for group classes $90+HST. Call 519-5801418 or e-mail becky_schweitzer@ hotmail.com 18-3p -------------------------------------------THE WINGHAM COLUMBUS Centre would like to invite you to the next Famous Fish Fry Take-Out Style! on Friday, May 1 from noon 7 p.m. Take-out $16. Your choice of grilled or battered white fish or chicken fingers, baked potatoes or fries and a dinner roll, add a salad for $1.50 and/or a tart for $2, all taxes are included. Orders must be made in advance, payment by credit card or etransfer. Pick-up times will be scheduled and all doors will be propped open and meals with names on them in the foyer. Please call 519357-1270 , if no answer please leave a message and we will call back.

Freezers are full of homemade TVstyle dinners $7 and soups 6X500mL, $20, same arrangements as above for ordering and pick up.

17-2p

Personals ARE YOU PREGNANT AND unsure about your future? Contact Ramoth House. We can help you discover your parenting potential.

You can get more information about our services on our website www.ramoth.ca or by phone 519323-3751 or email: office@ramoth.ca e6w

Straw 4x5 ROUND BALES OF STRAW for sale, stored inside, aerage 600 lbs. Call or test 226-222-0707.17-2p -------------------------------------------SMALL SQUARES OF WHEAT straw, available after Harvest 2020.

Local delivery available. Call or text 226-222-0707.

17-2p

FAXING SERVICE is suspended.

Will resume when COVID-19 crisis is over. The Citizen, tfn

Cranbrook Customs Ltd. Liquid Manure Spreading

1. Butt out.

2. Work out.

Two 6300 Houle manure spreaders with 50 km tractors

Strip Till Two 8-row Kuhn Gladiators with RTK

Just two things you can do to reduce your risk of cancer.

Learn more about healthy lifestyle choices.

Call the Canadian Cancer Society Cancer Information Service at 1 888 939-3333 or visit www.cancer.ca.

Services

Cole Terpstra: 519-440-2558 Joe Terpstra: 519-357-0344

SELL IT IN THE CLASSIFIEDS! Turn those unwanted items into quick cash with a single phone call or email.

CALL 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 info@northhuron.on.ca To place your classified ad in

The Citizen

Help wanted

Help wanted

Help wanted

The Municipality of Central Huron is currently seeking a positive, self-motivated, teamoriented individual to fill the position of: CLERK Reporting to the CAO, the position will perform all statutory duties in accordance with the Municipal Act and other applicable legislation. A Department Head position, the Clerk manages the Clerk’s Department including the Building and Planning Department, Committee of Adjustment, Cemetery Administration, Bylaw Enforcement, Animal Control, Municipal Drainage, Heritage Designation. Responsible to provide corporate administrative and secretariat services to Council and other boards and committees as required.

The ideal candidate will possess progressive experience in municipal government; Knowledge of the Municipal Act, Vital Statistics Act, Marriage Act, Drainage Act, Municipal Elections Act, Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, Planning Act, Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy, Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and other relevant legislation; Demonstrated knowledge and skills and ability to maintain discretion in a confidential environment; Diploma/Degree in public administration, law, or related field; AMCTO Municipal Administration Program completion.

A full job description for the position and information about the Municipality of Central Huron is available at www.centralhuron.com We invite interested applicants to forward a covering letter and resume by noon (12:00 p.m.) Friday, May 15, 2020 in confidence, to: Human Resources, Box 400, 23 Albert Street, Clinton, Ontario N0M 1L0 or by email: humanresources@centralhuron.com This is a non-union position in a union environment. Terms and Conditions of employment as per all Human Resources policies and procedures of the Municipality of Central Huron . The Municipality of Central Huron is an equal opportunity employer. Accessibility accommodations are available for all parts of the recruitment process. Applicants need to make their needs known in advance. We thank all applicants and advise that only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

All word ads in The Citizen classifieds are put on our webpage at

www.huroncitizen.ca

PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020.

Start-up, growth financing panel held in Blyth

By Lisa B. Pot The Rural Voice Restaurants and retail operations create more fear than excitement for traditional and creative lenders, but the emergence of small farm entrepreneurs is exciting, says Paul Nichol, General Manager of Community Futures Huron.

“For a lifetime, it has been about ‘bigger is better’ in agriculture, but we are starting to get a lot of pick-up on small farm operations,” says Nichol. “These are the direct-tomarket folks or the ones who make small runs of processed beverages.

This has become an emerging sector that excites me.”

Nichol was one of six experts on the “Financing for Start-ups and Growth” panel held in March at Cowbell in Blyth. It was organized

by Huron County Economic Development (HCED) to spur

those with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Sharing Nichol’s excitement for new business was Patrick Donnelly, a business coach with HCED, who spoke on small business services and grant programs. John Kiser of Libro Credit Union discussed what traditional lenders expect and are willing to expend for start-ups.

Kirk Irving said the Business Development Bank of Canada is the only bank dedicated to entrepreneurs. Lawyer Quinn Ross of The Ross Firm Professional Corporation provided technical and strategic support while John Marshall of John D. Marshall and Associates shared his experience from working over 25 years in mergers and acquisitions.

Little could the panelists or the county know that COVID-19 was right around the corner while encouraging entrepreneurial action.

While times of isolation do not bode

well for new businesses, there is never a wrong time to work on an idea “with legs” said moderator Alex Ripley, a development officer with HCED. Entrepreneurs can start with a visit to see Donnelly at HCED who, as a business coach, will ask direct questions. “Being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone,” said Donnelly.

“It takes a specific set of skills, attitude and philosophies.”

Entrepreneurs need passion, excellent people skills and the ability to not take “no” for an answer.

The next task is to prepare a business plan and search out available grants and financing.

Huron County’s Starter Company Plus program offers $5,000 to entrepreneurs looking to start, expand or purchase an existing business. To qualify, applicants must have a business plan

and a two-year cash flow projection.

Nichol said start-up loans are a fairly typical loan for Community Futures Huron. “We will take on new entrepreneurs and new business startups that are risky,” he said.

“Without a track record it can be hard to get money from traditional sources, but we are not afraid of start-ups at all.” The difference is that Community Futures is not so much focused on collateral as it is on an excellent business plan.

“A good business plan is the number one thing we look at in terms of the viability of a business,” said Nichol. “The second is character loans.”

Nichol said it’s a combination of having a good business plan and believing in the individual that will prompt board members to release loans of up to $300,000 to entrepreneurs.

Kiser, a Libro lender, stated that banks are more conservative in their approach to lending money. They are less likely to invest in risky ventures, but as a credit union, Libro is very focused on local communities.

“We know the communities we work in and while we don’t take higher risks than banks, we... are more likely to be receptive to certain applications,” said Kiser. Libro is open to looking at homeownership as equity, or full-time employment as back-up for a part-time startup.

“If those are not options, we can help you with day-to-day banking and then refer you to Community Futures or the Business Development Bank of Canada.

That was Irving’s cue to promote the Business Development Bank of Canada’s (BDC) website, which, said Irving, has “fantastically curated content” on how to start a Continued on page 20

DREAM HOME OF THE MONTH

PLAN NUMBER 7-3-946B A MODERN TWIST ON A POPULAR PLAN

P. E . I n g l i s Holdings Inc. • Backhoe • Bulldozing • Licensed Septic Pumping & Installations • Terralift - no dig septic repair/ soil rejuvenation • Hyhoe Excavator • Dump Truck

1-800-834-4414 Home Hardware Building Centre We’ve got your lumber • Lumber • Flooring • Windows • Kitchen & Doors Cabinets

519-887-6277 1-800-881-0030 Brussels www.mcdonaldhomehardware.com

This home features a modern twist on an otherwise popular floorplan. This homey and liveable three-bedroom family residence is highly sought after.

Entry is up a couple of steps into a roomy foyer. A coat closet is located nearby, across from a powder room.

Immediately to the right of the foyer is a den, featuring French doors to a covered porch.

Through an archway is the great room, with a dramatic double-height ceiling and a fireplace. The dining room, open to the great room, occupies a bayed-out area and enjoys access to a spacious terrace — the perfect spot for al fresco summer meals.

The kitchen is separated from the dining room by a prep island, so the cook will never feel isolated. The sink, set diagonally into a corner, will receive lots of light from windows on two sides. A walk-through pantry connects the kitchen to the laundry room. With a useful coat cupboard, as well as access to the double garage, the laundry room can double as a mud room.

A U-shaped flight of stairs leads to the second floor, a portion of which is open to the great room below. The master suite features a large window that overlooks the back garden. The walk-in closet is separated from the four-piece en-suite by a handy linen cupboard. A shower stall and soaker tub in the en-suite add a touch of spa-like comfort.

The second and third bedrooms, separated by a three-piece bathroom, both enjoy an extra-wide windowsill.

Ceilings measure nine feet throughout. The double garage is large enough to contain a compact workshop.

Exterior finishes include lux panel siding and ledgestone pilasters that frame the front entry.

This home measures 38 feet wide and 54 feet deep, for a total of 1,997 square feet of living space.

Plans for design 7-3-946B are available for $835 (set of 5), $900(set of 8) and $952 for a super set of 10. Also add $35.00 for Priority charges within B.C. or $60.00 outside of B.C. Please add H.S.T., PST, OR G.S.T (where applicable) to both the plan price and Priority charges.

Our 52ND Edition of the Home Plan Catalogue containing over 300 plans is available for $16.50 (includes taxes, postage and handling). Make all cheques and money orders payable to "Jenish House Design Ltd." and mail to: JENISH HOUSE DESIGN LTD. c/o The Blyth/Brussels Citizen, #201 - 1658 Commerce Ave, Kelowna, BC V1X 8A9 OR SEE OUR WEB PAGE ORDER FORM ON: www.jenish.com AND E-MAIL YOUR ORDER TO: homeplans @ jenish.com

NORTH HURON CARPENTRY INC. 38728 Moncrieff Rd., RR #3 Blyth, ON

• Additions • Renovations • Seamless Eavestrough in both Aluminum and Heavy Gauge Steel • New & Replacement Windows & Doors • General Repair • New Homes • Supply and Install stairs, rails, kitchen cabinets David Werkema Ph.: 519-526-7634 • Dave - Mobile - 519-531-0224 Email: dave@northcarpentry.ca Herman - Mobile - 519-525-0232

C&P PORTABLE TOILETS Teeswater 1-800-834-4414 Ph: 519-392-8474 Fax: 519-392-6168 * Regular Units * Deluxe Units - sink / flush * Handwash Stations * Wedding / Special Event Units * Wheelchair/Infant Care Units * Comfort Station Trailer Convenient for your outdoor event!

Always clean & fresh.

C&P - for people who are out and “going”!

This Space Could Be Yours Single ads $40 + HST per month Double ads $78 + HST per month Call 519-523-4792

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 19.

From the Minister’s Study

Maintain fellowship while in isolation

By Lawrence Weiler Brussels Community Bible Chapel We are living in unsettling times.

People are losing their jobs and being told to practise physical distancing in order to slow the spread of a virus that we do not fully understand. Unfortunately, though completely necessary, the order to ban public gatherings includes churches, which are one of the very places that many people turn to when they are scared and looking for answers or reassurance. Fortunately, with the resources available to us in our current digital age, many churches can offer livestreaming or recorded services, but this is not true of every church and it doesn’t solve one key problem: many of us are feeling lonely and confused and are finding it difficult to receive encouragement and security in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

For Christians, their local church is just as much their family as their biological relatives, since Scripture says, “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” (Gal. 3:26 ESV) We are also told in Scripture to not forsake “the assembling of ourselves together,” (Heb. 10:25 KJV), which makes it

especially hard to bear when we must forego that for the sake of public safety. Having the ability to listen to sermons and worship music digitally on Sunday is a wonderful blessing and both are important for strengthening our faith during this time, but they will never satisfy our need for fellowship with our local church family.

Christians are all unique members of the body of Christ and just like a body, every part serves the others.

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you,’” and again, “If one member suffers, all suffer together.” (1 Cor. 12:21, 26) However, even though this is difficult to bear, I do not condone the members of any church disobeying the government’s order to ban public gatherings. Scripture also tells us to “be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted

by God.” (Rom. 13:1) Despite the necessity to respect our governing authorities, our need for fellowship remains and cannot be understated, since fellowship is necessary for far more than just combatting loneliness. For one thing, fellowship guards us against

County approves EVC application Huron County is hoping to place electric vehicle chargers with an application to the Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) that could bring a minimum of 20 new charging stations into the county.

The project has been ongoing for several months, but council approved moving ahead at a meeting earlier this month after a presentation by Lily Morrow, the county’s climate change and energy specialist.

Morrow is now working towards consulting with county staff and lower-tier municipalities regarding specifications of the initiative and further opportunities for collaboration. The consultation period will identify locations, quantities and types of electric vehicle chargers, as well as the total cost, before proceeding with the application.

Applications for this round under ZEVIP are due May 12 with funding being administered through Natural

Evangelical Missionary Church

Services LIVESTREAMED each Sunday 10:30 a.m.

May 3 Pastor Ernest Dow, “The Beauty of a Life Spent Serving” (Jn.12:20ff) (building closed due to COVID; check out our midweek virtual LifeGroups!) ** Let us know how we can be praying for you / practical needs **

huronchapel.com huronchapelkids.com huronchapelyouth.com 119 John’s Ave., Auburn 519-526-1131

Resources Canada. It is specifically Continued on page 22

sin. Scripture says, “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Heb. 3:13 ESV) When you are isolated, you are vulnerable to the deception of sin and it is only by being active in a regular community with fellow believers that we can be fully accountable to one another.

This accountability guards our hearts against the lies of the enemy, but also exposes our sin by bringing us out of the darkness, where we can easily hide, into the light of Christ in the presence of our fellow believers.

Scripture says, “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:20-21) As well as being an effective guard against sin, this accountability is also another instrument God uses for growing our faith and furthering the work of the Gospel. Scripture tells us to “stir up one another to love and good works,” (Heb. 10:24) and that is not easy to do simply through livestreamed worship services where the preacher and worship leaders have no way of interacting with their audience directly to know if they took the message to heart. Unless believers keep in touch, making sure to push each other not to “grow weary in doing good,” (Gal. 6:9), it is easy for us to grow lax in our walk with Christ and care more about worldly concerns rather than the work of sanctification and the discipleship of others God has called

BRUSSELS

United Church Weekly worship in our building is cancelled.

Take the opportunity to join Rev. Gary Clark on YouTube “Forest Hill United Church Kitchener” for Sunday Worship.

MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS Search on YouTube for "St. Andrew's and Melville Sermon" for a new virtual worship every Sunday morning.

Stay safe and healthy!

Brussels Soup and More 2 is cancelled until further notice.

519-357-5273

Blyth United Church Due to the COVID-19 Virus the church building is closed.

Please join Rev. Gary Clark on YouTube “Forest Hill United Church Kitchener” for the Sunday Service Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches blythunited@tcc.on.ca ~ 519-523-4224

us to. God desires all people to live holy lives and this begins in the context of Christian fellowship. How can the Church spread the message of God’s love and holiness to others if we haven’t first demonstrated that same love and holiness to one another?

So, if fellowship is so essential to the church, how can we maintain it while in isolation? Well, the fact is that we can’t, at least not to the fullest degree that we would like, and this will have a noticeable effect on the church. How much of an effect is not yet clear and will depend on how long this isolation lasts. However, there is no need to lose hope, since there are means available for us to keep up with each other regularly. Texting, e-mail, and

social media are great ways to share with each other and communicate. If you have a desperate need to see and hear each other, there are a plethora of apps for video calling like Skype and Facebook Messenger. For those who prefer it, you can always pick up the telephone and make a phone call (it’s an ancient concept for those of us who are younger, I know).

Hopefully, rather than weakening our faith, this time of isolation from one another will instead give us an ever-increasing yearning to be together again, but it is imperative that we use every possible legal means to remain as connected and accountable as possible, exhorting and praying for one another and for others in our communities, growing in faith and holiness.

Brussels Mennonite Fellowship “We have this HOPE as an ANCHOR for the soul”.

It’s JESUS HE is always there for YOU. BMF Mission = our church exists to GROW in the teachings of Jesus to LIVE by His example, and to CONNECT people to Him

Worship Service: 10:00 am Coffee Time: 11:15 am Sunday School, all ages - 11:30 am

250 Princess St., Brussels • 519-887-6388 • Pastor Ken Gazley

The Regional Ministry of Hope See our Facebook page 10:30 a.m. on Sundays for a live broadcast of our service.

All Anglican Churches are closed for public worship until further notice.

Rev. JoAnn Todd, Rector 519-357-7781 email: revjoann@hurontel.on.ca The­Regional­Ministry­of­ Hope

Trinity

St. John’s

BLYTH

BRUSSELS

9:00 am

12 noon

St. Paul’s Trinity

WINGHAM

10:30 am

COME WORSHIP WITH US!

Church Services are cancelled until further notice Video sermons available on YouTube by searching “Blyth Christian Reformed Church”

BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743

THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH

OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE

CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Brussels: St. Ambrose Saturday 6:00 p.m.

17 Flora Street Wingham: Sacred Heart Sunday 9:00 a.m.

220 Carling Terrace Listowel: St. Joseph’s Sunday 11:00 a.m.

1025 Wallace Avenue N.

PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020.

Investigate your business, then improve it: Ross Continued from page 18 business. “There is a template on how to create a great business plan as well as articles and tips on putting a proposal together and approaching a banker for a loan,” said Irving. The way BDC works is, if you have a great plan, and are willing to invest half the capital, they will lend the other half.

Whether you are a sole owner or a corporation is the subject for lawyers like Ross. “The lawyer’s job is to try and get you what you need on the most favourable terms with as little security as possible,” said Ross. He doesn’t mind when entrepreneurs seek advice and says he often does it at no cost, knowing they will return in goodwill.

Good advice is the key to a successful business and Marshall’s advice to the crowd was to surround themselves with the best. “Legal, business and human resources are landmine issues... surround yourself with great people and do it religiously,” he said. “The most

successful businesses spend the money to hire the right professionals to sit around their table.”

Also, when looking for funds, sometimes it’s wise to look to your employees. “We would tell the employees we wanted to keep, to leverage their houses to have a stake in the company. In this way, we kept the employees we wanted and they had a vested interest in the company.”

Moderator Ripley then asked the experts if a business wanted to rise to the next level and purchase equipment or hire more employees, how would investors and banks respond?

Kiser from Libro said with a threeyear project cash-flow and enough security, loans like that can be approved. Equipment is a tool that does a job for you and can help you either earn revenue or reduce expenses. With a forecast on advantages of equipment, Libro would take the piece of equipment as security and offer term financing

over the course of its useful life.

Nichol said what’s important when looking to expand is to “keep your hand on the tiller.” Many times business owners rely on their accountant, but he says you cannot assume your bookkeeper will tell you all you need to do. Keeping your hand in the business is key to success.

As a lawyer, Ross said when a business owner wants to expand, he helps them investigate if they have reached critical mass or if they need to revamp their systems. Then it’s time to ask questions. Do they need debt financing or equity financing?

Are the structures in place as lean as possible? Is it time to seek private equity to invest in the business?

“This results in owning less but provides the capital to invest in the next great step,” explained Ross.

Having served as a lawyer for many companies, Ross can share insight into the strategies other businesses have used to succeed.

When it comes to loans

themselves, remember that equity can be used for a down payment.

While banks do require down payments, the BDC can finance 100 per cent of a company start-up or expansion if the cash flow makes sense. Alternatively, entrepreneurs can establish a “lease to own” option so that a certain amount from the lease payment goes toward down payment of the property.

The environment must always be a consideration.

Environmental assessments are often mandatory for banks and even non-traditional lenders. Doing an assessment can be viewed as a protection device, suggested Nichol, for it’s through these assessments that you learn if a property requires expensive restoration plans or not.

Other advice the panel had to offer included: • Marshall: “Do not skimp on [human resources]. It’s the mistake of a lifetime. We learned from experience that what you need to focus on is professional

relationships and your relationship with your lender.”

• Ross: “Make the time to investigate your business to the most granular level. Then iterate and improve every process in your business. This takes discipline but it is absolutely the key to success.”

• Irving: “We once had a business owner who wanted to buy a building that came up [for sale] next door.

While at his business, he showed us a woodworking machine and all the fantastic things they were working on. He had pictures on his phone but no website to show people the capabilities of his little shop. Instead of buying the building, we had a discussion with him about how to grow his business. If you lack skills in a certain area, such as marketing, then bring in the expertise.”

• Kiser: “Make that business plan.

It is critical. And make sure you have three to five years worth of cash flow. By realistic, I mean make it conservative. You want to be sure it is going to work.”

Business Directory - COMPLETE MECHANICAL SERVICE COMPUTERIZED TUNE-UPS - TIRES - BRAKES MUFFLERS - VEHICLE INSPECTION STATION

COME IN AND VISIT YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD PHARMASAVE

BROWN’S PHARMASAVE

37452 Glen’s Hill Road R.R. #2, Auburn, Ont. N0M 1E0

DAN'S AUTO REPAIR Owned and Operated by Dan & Heather Snell

198 Josephine St., Wingham, Ont. 519-357-1629

Ph: 519-529-7212 Fax: 519-529-3277 Email: info@smythwelding.com

RR 3, Blyth, Ont. N0M 1H0

Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9 - 6 Sat. 9 - 4 Rear Parking Available

Snowblowers, Land Rollers, Stone Windrowers, Sweepers, Crimper Rollers, Quick Attach Buckets & Woodsplitters.

Full Machine Shop & Repair Services

(on the Westfield Rd.)

Easy Prescription Transfer

PAUL COOK ELECTRIC Home, Farm & Commercial Wiring BELGRAVE

519-357-1537

1. Eat squash.

2. Play squash.

Just two things you can do to reduce your risk of cancer.

Learn more about healthy lifestyle choices.

Call the Canadian Cancer Society Cancer Information Service at 1 888 939-3333 or visit www.cancer.ca.

Free delivery in Wingham & surrounding area

Automotive Technician

519-523-4356

INSTANT FAX AS FAST AS A PHONE Send your paperwork by FAX instantly! eg. statements, contracts, auction ads, favourite recipes, obituaries, messages...

The Citizen has a FAX machine in our Blyth office that lets you contact any other FAX machine in the world ... instantly.

Our FAX number is also your number so if you want to be reached instantly — we will receive your messages as well.

The Citizen

• Farm Lanes • Campgrounds • Driveways • Horse Riding Arenas

Call Us Today For Details 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114

Contact Brent Pryce

Fax: 519-523-9140

519-525-6295

Affordable

Authorized dealer for

Large & Small Trucks

Central Boiler

fridge carts - piano dollysmoving blankets

NEW CONSTRUCTION AGRICULTURAL RENOVATIONS RESIDENTIAL

Call

Bernard Enterprises

CAR AND TRUCK RENTALS

519-524-0253

The Blyth Walk-In Clinic Open every Friday

9:30 am to 5:30 pm with Family Physician Dr. Farahnaz Farzadfar

226-532-9500 Easy prescription transfers

full size or mini

Classic Outdoor Wood Furnaces, Edge Outdoor Wood Furnaces & Maxim Wood Pellet and Corn Burners Gasification units available Inquire about our new edges Carman Bernard

GODERICH TOYOTA

519-887-6405

Free Delivery Ph: 226-256-8383 Fax: 226-256-8503

Complete Selection of Cars Our rates qualify for insurance replacement

Passenger Vans

344 Huron Rd. GODERICH

RR #4 Brussels centralboiler.com

519-524-9381 1-800-338-1134

Dave Franken

BLYTH PHARMACY * Get your flu shot here

Monday to Friday 9 am - 6 pm

442 Queen St., Blyth, ON

Lakeside

SHELVING & RACKING

Large instock selection of pallet racking, store shelving, display cases and more for Industrial, Residential, Farm & Retail

CONCRETE FORMING For All Your Concrete Needs!

COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL • Foundations • Floor Finishing • Circular Tanks • Sandwich Walls FREE ESTIMATES RR#3 Blyth ~ Fax 519-523-9604 519-523-9971

www.smythwelding.com

DAN SNELL,

Talk to us instead.

TO L L - F R E E

1-877-513-5333

www.lakesideshelving.com lakesidemarket@gmail.com 33842 Market Rd., North of Goderich, off Hwy. 21

519-524-1740

Excavating

Drainage

• Excavating • Bulldozing • Backhoeing • Sand & Gravel

• Farm Drainage installation & repair • Specializing in small acreage jobs & problem areas

“Working Together To Build You a Better Farm.”

74300 Goshen Line Zurich, ON N0M 2T0

Call 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 to book your spot today!

Zurich: 519-263-6400 Goderich: 519-524-1400 hayterex@gmail.com

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 21.

What Blyth school teacher was drowned along with almost 200 other people in the 1881 Victoria Day boating disaster in London?

Read about Miss Foxton in the Blyth Repository of History.

405 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792

#ThrowbackThursday

Leadership in energy and environmental design

Devon Henry 84772 McDonald Line • Box 616 • Brussels

devonjhenry@hotmail.com 519-505-2473

blythrepositoryofhistory.ca

The Citizen, April 14, 1999

The Citizen, April 22, 2010

The Citizen, April 28, 1999

The Citizen, April 22, 2010

“Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future.” - Sally Mann *** For your weekly dose of what once was new, visit The Citizen’s Facebook page for #ThrowbackThursday

PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020.

COVID-19 to cost Huron thousands above funding

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron County Treasurer Michael Blumhagen estimates that COVID19 had already directly cost Huron County thousands of dollars with the potential for more on the horizon.

Blumhagen prepared a report for Huron County Council, presented at a meeting earlier this month, outlining the expenses in various departments.

“The County of Huron has incurred some additional costs in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Blumhagen said in his report. “There are also future costs that can be anticipated. These costs have not been planned for in the county’s budget, however, there will be some savings elsewhere in the budget as some projects and costs are being deferred.”

Blumhagen said it’s still early in terms of anticipated costs and adjustments would likely need to be

made over the course of the year, depending on how long the pandemic persists and control measures remain in place.

“While the initial costs are minimal, as we are only a few weeks into this crisis, there are many additional costs expected to be incurred as this unfolds and we continue to adjust our operations to meet the needs of Huron County residents,” Blumhagen said. “The province has recognized this and has provided some additional special funding to some of our departments to assist with the increase in costs.”

In the county’s homes for the aged department, $8,000 has been incurred for purchasing iPads for residents to connect with their families and over $4,000 has been spent on other COVID-19-related medical supplies.

Additional expected costs in the homes for the aged department include personal protective

equipment, costs related to the setup of isolation units, on-site trailer rentals and set-up for isolation unit staff accommodations, off-site hotel costs or other staff accommodations and staff overtime and other costs if an outbreak were to occur.

In Emergency Medical Services (EMS), nearly $100,000 has been spent in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bulk of which was $82,500 for equipment to sanitize N95 and surgical masks, including training and ongoing monthly costs related to the equipment.

The county has placed an order for more personal protective equipment for that department for $12,500 and additional medical equipment at a cost of over $1,000. Blumhagen’s report also anticipates paying staff overtime in response to the pandemic.

In the social services department, there will be hotel costs associated with the Out of the Cold program and emergency childcare costs to

support children of essential workers. The county will also have to buy more personal protective equipment in addition to $500 for cell phones for those in the county’s homelessness program.

Blumhagen says he expects to have costs associated with county recovery strategies as they move forward, though few details were available on that initiative.

Other miscellaneous county costs will be staff overtime, additional information technology costs and more.

Thus far, nearly $850,000 has been provided to the county through funding announcements. The bulk of the money, $708,100, is in the social service relief fund, while $70,000 has been allocated for each county home for the aged.

Nature’s Nest helps Huronview

Helping out While birdwatching has become an activity for all ages during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nature’s Nest co-owner Jenn Elliott has made sure that some of the most senior watchers get to keep enjoying the activity by providing bird seed and filling up feeders. (Photo submitted)

By Denny Scott The Citizen Nature’s Nest in Londesborough is making an effort during the COVID-

19 pandemic to make sure some local retirement community residents can participate in the ageold practice of birdwatching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Electric vehicle charger application approved Continued from page 19 focused on installing chargers for workplaces, multi-unit residential buildings and fleet vehicles.

This came after council approved the submission of an application on March 13 to expand the network of charging infrastructure, installing 20 Level 2/Level 3 chargers at county facilities, including workplaces and housing apartments and partnering with lower-tier municipalities to expand the distribution of chargers.

In order to successfully apply, the county had to demonstrate its ability to fund at least 50 per cent of the secured project funding as well as proof of ownership and access to the

project site. The county would also need to install a minimum of 20 chargers throughout the community.

Jenn Elliott, co-owner of the company, said with changes to who can visit long-term care facilities, it became apparent the feeders outside of residents’ windows in Huronview likely wouldn’t be cared for.

“We heard that, with families not allowed to go there anymore, even to look into windows, the feeders weren’t getting filled,” she said. “We thought we might as well do it for them.”

Elliott used to work in the activities department at Huronview and said birdwatching is an important part of some residents’ days.

“I just thought we could help out that way,” she said. “There’s not really a lot for the residents to do right now.”

Elliott said someone from Nature’s Nest will be filling and cleaning the feeders once a week and providing the seed for the feeders.

Nature’s Nest, located on King Street in Londesborough, is remaining open during the pandemic Elliott said, utilizing curbside pickup and a take-out window to keep everyone safe. She said through talking to people through the business, she has found a lot of people are feeding and watching birds right now, which brought the residents of Huronview to mind.

“It’s funny,” she said, “the age group for birdwatching is getting younger, especially with the pandemic, so we’ve got a lot of people enjoying it.”

#1 And Still Growing Recent circulation figures show The Citizen has the highest circulation in the northern part of Huron County, #2 in the entire county.

Proudly Community-Owned Since 1985

in

The Citizen

Call or email to book your ad today 519-523-4792 info@northhuron.on.ca

Bud and Laura May Chamney celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary on Saturday and were the guests of honour in a parade that made its way through Auburn.

Dozens of people either joined in the parade or watched and cheered from the sidewalks. (Hannah Dickie photo)

Now Here’s a Bright Idea!

Order your subscription to The Citizen today and save up to

2450

$

The Citizen

Welcome Your New Arrival

Guests of honour

a year

off newstand price

The Citizen Yes - I want to save money.

Enclosed is $38.00 for a 1-year subscription Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Town . . . . . . . . . . . . .Postal Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

On-line subscriptions available too at www.northhuron.on.ca

Phone or mail cheque made payable to North Huron Publishing to: P.O. Box 429, Blyth, ON N0M 1H0

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020. PAGE 23.

McLellan restores wife’s old Beaumont for their 40th

Before and after To mark their 40th wedding anniversary, Alvin McLellan has gifted not only a car to his wife Pam, but plenty of effort and time to restore it. The car,

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Alvin and Pam McLellan from the Ethel area are in the final stages of restoring a piece of history that has been over 40 years in the making.

Since last year, Alvin has been working on an anniversary gift for his wife Pam, working tirelessly to restore a classic car that once belonged to Pam in the hopes of having it ready for their 40th wedding anniversary this June. And while he doesn’t think it will be quite ready for their June wedding anniversary, it should be complete later this summer.

It all began before Alvin and Pam were married. Pam was living in Wingham, but working in Brussels, and needed a car to get from home to work and back. She eyed an advertisement in the Toronto Star in May, 1979 for a used 1969 Pontiac Beaumont for sale for the tidy sum of $500.

The Beaumont was the Canadian equivalent of the Chevrolet Chevelle, produced by Pontiac between 1966 and 1969. Pam bought the car and drove it for a few years.

The pair would be married in June of 1980 and soon enough they began having children. It was at that point that the car started to look a bit impractical to Alvin and Pam, being a two-door car with children on the way.

So, a few years after they were married, they sold the car and Alvin said he lost track of it from there. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that he heard about the car again, when Alvin ran into Richard Harris, from just outside of Brussels, who said he had come into possession of the car.

Alvin inquired as to whether Harris would be interested in selling it and at the time he said he really wasn’t. His plans were to restore the car for his son so he could drive it one day, even going so far as to put the car’s ownership in his son’s name.

Again it fell off of Alvin’s radar for a few years until last year when he was driving past Harris’s house and wondered if he still had the car and, if so, if he was willing to change his mind.

Sure enough, in May, 2019, Harris made his way into Alvin’s auto body shop to ask about some parts and the car came up in conversation. Harris said he had abandoned his plans to restore the car and that if Alvin didn’t buy it the barn would likely fall in on it soon.

The negotiations began and soon enough they reached an agreement for Alvin to bring the car back into his family.

It was sometime in the middle of May last year that Alvin and Pam went to take a look at the car and Alvin said it had really fallen into disrepair, likening its image to a pile

a 1969 Beaumont, was originally owned by Pam when the two of them were wed in 1980. On the left is how it was recovered, and on the right is it restored.

of metal, but he said he could see some of his paint work from the early 1980s during the visit, which gave him hope.

In early June, Alvin, his son and his grandson all worked to transport the car from Harris’s farm to the McLellan house so Alvin could begin work restoring it.

During that time, Pam did some digging of her own, finding some documents tied to her ownership of the car in May of 1979. She also had the ownership of the car transferred into her name, which was tricky because Harris’s son now lives in Texas.

Alvin began by stripping the car apart and taking an inventory of what he had and what he needed to fully restore the car. He said he was pretty impressed with all that he had, though he knew he’d need a new engine and transmission before the car could go anywhere.

Alvin said that as the restoration went on, he didn’t run into any unanticipated problems. When restoring a car of that age in that condition, Alvin said, there are some problems you can forecast, so he didn’t face anything beyond those.

While the car looks a lot better than it did, there is still work to be done in areas like the interior and electrical before it will be ready for the road.

He had it painted by the fall and

Brighten Their Day with our Celebration Special During this time of social distancing don’t forget your loved one’s special day with our limited time special price for celebration ads (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.)

2" wide x 3" high 4" wide x 3" high

$30 + tax includes colour

The Citizen

Call or email today 519-523-4792 info@northhuron.on.ca

has continued work on it in the months since, but he’s pretty sure the car won’t be complete in time for his and Pam’s 40th wedding anniversary this June.

Alvin says this summer he hopes to recreate a classic photograph he took nearly 40 years ago of Pam sitting on the front of the car. Once he fully restores the car, he hopes to take “then” and “now” photographs to mark the occasion and the hard work to bring the car back to life, celebrating the role it played in both of their lives.

This isn’t the first time Alvin has taken on such a project. His main vehicle is a 1964 Ford 100 pickup truck that he completely rebuilt from the ground up. He said that while others may not see the beauty in it, there is a tremendous sense of gratification in driving a vehicle you’ve essentially built yourself.

He says it isn’t overly complicated, it just takes patience

for a project like the one he’s undertaken.

Watch The Citizen for another story later this summer when the car has been fully restored.

Happy 88th!

Kay Buchanan May 4

Love you lots!

Your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren

The “Vow” Factor Wedding Package

Stag & Doe

Engagement

2" wide x 4" high

4" wide x 3" high

Card of Thanks

Wedding Announcement

25 words

4" wide x 4" high

$60 + tax includes colour Prebook all 5 ads in

The Citizen for only Be part of our

WOW!

100

$

Savings of over $100

Bridal Showcase Call or email today 519-523-4792 or info@northhuron.on.ca

PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020.

McWhinneys mark 60th anniversary Dungannon-area couple Bill and Ruby McWhinney had to cancel their 60th wedding anniversary celebration as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and control measures, though that didn’t stop family and friends from parading to their home to mark the occasion.

The celebration included a convoy of 32 vehicles, including automobiles and farm implements, making their way up the laneway of the McWhinneys’ farm and making it an anniversary to remember.

The McWhinneys’ granddaughter,

Ashley Gulutzen, said it seemed like everyone was eager to be a part of the impromptu parade and mark the occasion.

She said her grandparents were shocked by the turn of events and will remember the anniversary for years to come. The occasion was also captured in a video on Ruby’s Facebook page which, as of last week, had been viewed 800 times.

The family still plans to mark the occasion with a celebration, possibly in the fall.

Battling the blaze On Monday night, Huron East Fire Department’s Brussels hall responded to a fire at the Walton Landfill site. (John Stephenson photo)

April Showers...

The Rural Reading Room

Big day

Specializing in

Bill and Ruby McWhinney, recently marked their 60th anniversary. The celebration included a parade of family and friends wishing them well. Below, the McWhinneys’ great-grandchildren, from left, Leyland, Cheyenne and Jase Caesar, show off the signs they made for the special parade. (Photo submitted)

HPPH to ramp up care home testing Continued from page 1 Huron East (one), South Huron (three), Goderich (one), Central Huron (one), Bluewater (two) and Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (one) in Huron County and Perth East (two), North Perth (two), Perth South (two), West Perth (two), Stratford (24) and St. Marys (two) in Perth County.

The confirmed case at the Blue Water Rest Home puts the home on the list of sites of long-term care facility outbreaks with Greenwood Court in Stratford (14 cases) and Hillside Manor in Sebringville (one case). Three of the four deaths in the HPPH area have been attributed to the outbreak at Greenwood Court.

The most senior members of Huron and Perth Counties continue to be the hardest hit by the COVID19 virus with one confirmed case under the age of 19 and four confirmed cases per bracket for 20 to 29 year olds, 30 to 39 year olds and 40 to 49 year olds. There are eight confirmed cases between the ages of 50 and 59 years old, 14 confirmed cases between 60 and 69 year olds, three between 70 and 79 years of age and five cases where patients are 80 years old or more.

More women than men continue to be identified in confirmed cases with 29 cases being females and 14 being male.

Rural Living & Local Authors

VEGETABLES, HERBS & FRUITS: An Illustrated Encyclopedia At more than 600 pages this is the definitive source book to growing, harvesting, preserving and cooking all kinds of fruits, vegetables and herbs — including medicinal and other uses. $29.95

GROW FOR FLAVOR Home-grown fruits and vegetables have a flavour advantage over store-bought foods that travel long distance.

This book offers tips and tricks to supercharge the flavour of everything from apples and grapes to mushrooms. Lots of drawings. $29.95

GARDEN PATHS: Inspiring Designs and Practical Projects Garden paths can add so much interest to your yard. This 240page book shows beautiful, colour photos of examples, then gives instructions on how to build them. Sure to inspire your imagination. $26.00

GARDENING WITH CONIFERS Conifers (often called evergreens) can add so much texture and colour to your property. This colourful 190page book provides information on the magic of conifers, choosing varieties and, caring for them. $24.95

FRUITS AND BERRIES FOR THE HOME GARDEN More than 250 pages of information on choosing fruits and nuts, planting them, pruning, controlling disease and pests, and harvesting fruit. Even instructions on reproducing your trees & bushes. $27.95 Total

Qty.

GROW FOR FLAVOR VEGETABLES, HERBS & FRUITS GARDEN PATHS GARDENING WITH CONIFERS FRUITS AND BERRIES FOR THE HOME GARDEN COLD-CLIMATE GARDENING Prices subject to change with increases in wholesale prices, postage, taxes, etc. Please refer to current issue for correct figures.

Incorrect payment will delay delivery.

$29.95 $29.95 $26.00 $24.95 $27.95 $25.95

Total for Books Shipping & Handling $9.00 Add 5% GST on subtotal Order Total

COLD-CLIMATE GARDENING More than 300 pages of tips on “how to extend your growing season by at least 30 days”.

Information for food plants, landscaping techniques to protect vulnerable plantings and how to warm the soil earlier. $25.95

The Citizen

Send cheque or money order for full amount to: Books: North Huron Publishing P.O. Box 429, Blyth, ON N0M 1H0 or call and pay by credit card 519-523-4792 MAIL BOOKS TO: Name:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Address: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ______________________ Code _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Visit our NEW online Marketplace at huroncitizen.ca for more rural living books and local authors.

New titles being added as we build the site.

Mail order or curbside pick up available.