The Citizen - Feb. 3, 2022

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The

THIS WEEK

Citizen

Huron County’s most trusted independent news source Volume 38 No. 5

Thursday, February 3, 2022

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Counties register six new deaths due to COVID-19

By Denny Scott The Citizen

Well, hello there Mike and Donelda Cottrill worked with their grandson Oliver, the son of Shawn and Katie Cottrill, to build this towering snowman - at least towering to young Oliver - during the recent dump of snow in Huron County. If you want to share your winter fun pictures with The Citizen, e-mail them to Denny Scott at reporter@northhuron.on.ca and they may be featured in a future issue of the newspaper. (Photo submitted)

Junior Farmers launch show

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen The Huron Perth Junior Farmers are working to tell the story of century farms in the two counties by way of The Century Farm Show, which broadcasted its first episode last week.

The show will focus on one of the area’s century farms once a month for the course of the year with a total of 12 episodes. Creator Nick Vinnicombe of Walton and hosts Lauren Bos and Jolande Oudshoorn, both of the Auburn area, have already done interviews and secured footage for about nine episodes, Vinnicombe says, with more work to be done later this year.

The century farm program was established by the Junior Farmers of Ontario as part of Canada’s centennial celebration in 1967. It remains the only centennial project that has persisted to the current day.

(The Junior Farmers of Ontario now even offer add-on signs that signify 125, 150 and 200 years for farms that have remained in the same family for that period of time.)

Supported by the Huron County Museum’s Heritage Fund and the Huron County Federation of Agriculture, the show can be viewed on the Huron Perth Junior Farmers’ Facebook page, as well as on Vinnicombe’s Lake Affect Media site and FauxPop Media’s The Staysh. It can also be viewed

on LocalOne via Hay Communications.

The first 15-minute episode focuses on the farm of Tom and Bev Prout, who live in the Exeter area. The hosts are Bos and Oudshoorn, who are the president and vice-president, respectively, of the local chapters of the Junior Farmers.

Vinnicombe, in an interview with The Citizen, said the project stretched back more than a year ago when he first joined the Huron Perth Junior Farmers in the fall of 2020. In his first few months with the organization, members were looking for ways to further promote the organization and the work it does. Focusing on the century farm Continued on page 19

Huron and Perth Counties continue to see increases in COVID-19 case counts, fatalities and outbreaks.

Over the past week, 233 new cases have been identified, despite modified testing guidelines which only see high-risk individuals or those in high-risk settings tested.

Since the start of the pandemic, the two counties, according to Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH), have had a total of 5,056 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with many more likely going unreported due to the highly-transmissible Omicron variant, according to Huron Perth Medical Officer of Health Dr. Miriam Klassen.

As of Monday, there were 10 individuals hospitalized due to COVID-19 with five of those individuals’ infections considered active. Over the past week, there have been nine new hospitalizations, bringing the cumulative total to 168.

Six new COVID-19-related deaths have been reported over the past week, bringing the cumulative total to 85.

There are currently four active long-term care facility outbreaks totalling 118 COVID-19 cases.

Kingsway Lodge in St. Marys, in an outbreak that was first declared on Jan. 3, now has 18 residents and 14 staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Queensway Nursing Home in Bluewater, in an outbreak declared on Dec. 31, has had 13 residents and six staff members test positive for COVID-19.

Braemar Nursing Home in North Huron, in an outbreak declared Jan. 12, reports 41 residents and 16 staff members having tested positive, while Huronview Home for the Aged near Clinton has had five staff and five residents test positive in an outbreak declared on Jan. 21.

There are currently no outbreaks in retirement home facilities, while South Huron Hospital has an outbreak that was declared last Thursday, Jan. 27 with nine patients testing positive.

One unidentified congregate living facility is under an outbreak according to HPPH. The incidence rating, or the number of confirmed cases, for Huron and Perth Counties remains in the “red” band of the nowdefunct colour-coded provincial reopening plan. The two counties’ combined positivity per cent, or the percentage of tests coming back

positive, hit 12.06, also in the “red” band’, and indicated a continuing climb over the past three weeks after hitting a pandemic-long high of 13.05 in early January.

VACCINATION STATISTICS COVID-19 vaccination efforts continue across Huron and Perth Counties with some people having their second booster, or fourth total dose of COVID-19 vaccine, being reported.

The number of individuals with one COVID-19 vaccination increased from 116,821 to 116,864 between Jan. 24 and Jan. 31, representing an increase from 84 per cent to 84.1 per cent.

Changes in demographic information for those with at least one dose is as follows (note that some numbers do decrease for a variety of reasons according to HPPH): • 5-11: 5,550 (46.4 per cent of eligible residents) to 5,556 (46.9) • 12-17: 7,806 (77.6) to 7,810 (77.7) • 18-24: 8,868 (73.2) to 8,870 (73.2) • 25-29: 7,119 (83.2) to 7,129 (83.4) • 30-39: 13,648 (83.2) to 13,662 (83.3) • 40-49: 13,406 (83.7) to 13,403 (83.7) • 50-59: 17,154 (85.8) to 17,146 (85.7) • 60-69: 20,634 (98.6) to 20,622 (98.5) • 70-79: 14,560 (99.7) to 14,546 (99.7) • 80+: 8,126 (93.7) to 8,120 (93.5) Fully-vaccinated residents (or residents with two vaccine shots) account for 79.8 per cent of eligible residents, up from 79.4, or 110,768, up from 110,224.

• 5-11: 1,510 (12.7) to 2,053 (17.3) • 12-17: 7,500 (74.6) to 7,510 (74.7) • 18-24: 8,504 (70.2) to 8,514 (70.3) • 25-29: 6,782 (79.3) to 6,793 (79.5) • 30-39: 13,187 (80.4) to 13,193 (80.4) • 40-49: 13,071 (81.6) to 13,074 (81.6) • 50-59: 16,676 (83.5) to 16,667 (83.4) • 60-69: 20,333 (97.3) to 20,319 (97.2) • 70-79: 14,457 (99.7) to 14,446 (99.7) • 80+: 8,204 (95.8) to 8,199 (95.5) There are 68,560 fully-vaccinated individuals in the two counties who Continued on page 3

PAGE 2. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022.

Sparling wants NH to match county on meetings

By Denny Scott The Citizen

Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) Chair David Sparling,

alongside the rest of the BIA, would like North Huron Township Council to align its virtual meeting practices with those of Huron County.

During the BIA’s Jan. 27 meeting,

Sparling said the county’s practices have provided more consistency throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. He said Huron County Council, and the departments

Cold culinary creation Chloe Caldwell visited her grandmother Joan’s house last month and, while it was too cold to be outside, it was the perfect temperature to get busy in the kitchen. Chloe, under the watchful eye of her grandmother, made some dip for apples for a snack. Share your winter activities, indoor or outdoor, with The Citizen to see them in print by e-mailing reporter@northhuron.on.ca. (Photo submitted)

Falconer lauds position

By Denny Scott The Citizen

Blyth Ward Councillor and North Huron Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) representative Kevin Falconer believes a newly-created position at the municipality will significantly benefit the BIA. During the BIA’s Jan. 27 meeting, Falconer said the creation of the community engagement coordinator position by North Huron “ticked all the boxes” as far as the lack of community interaction that BIA members had expressed concern about. He said that Denise Lockie, who had been moved to the position, would be a great benefit to the BIA and other community groups.

Falconer said that Lockie, as the co-ordinator, would be able to solve some of the issues groups like the BIA have had such as closing roads for parades or connecting with North Huron staff, saying she would handle “anything to do with North Huron and the public and the volunteer organizations.”

Falconer listed a number of other issues that Lockie could help with, including facilitating quicker approval from the township on issues or helping to deal with “normal township bureaucracy.”

He said he looks forward to

Lockie being able to help the BIA and that, by the summer, the township could see dividends from the creation of the role.

BIA Chair David Sparling asked Falconer to request Lockie attend a future BIA meeting to discuss how she and the group can work together, and Falconer said he would be happy to set that up.

Falconer said council was still debating an economic development position in the township to further facilitate growth, adding he wanted to “try and approve” it.

“We haven’t had growth for so long, and now we have organizations that want to come in and do things, and we need someone qualified for that position to help,” he said. “That’s what we learned through the A2A property.”

He said the property saw no movement for eight years partly because it wasn’t on any particular staff member’s “plate” and North Huron didn’t have the expertise to handle the situation.

Share your winter activity photos to see them in The Citizen. E-mail your photos alongside your name, the names of those in the photo to reporter@northhuron.on.ca

within the county, have stayed online, while North Huron’s swapping between in-person and online meetings has proven a stumbling block for the BIA. “It’s good to have consistency,” he said, adding the BIA could set up a regular meeting so that meeting planners wouldn’t need to send out new invitations every week.

That became an issue, he said, before the most recent BIA meeting when two different room codes had been made available.

“I’d suggest we ask North Huron to remain consistent with Huron County in allowing or prohibiting in-person meetings for consistency,” he said.

Vice-Chair Shane Yerema agreed, saying that some companies are aiming for hybrid models even when they return to full opening.

Under those models, he said, so many meetings per year would have to be held in person, while the rest could be held online, which could be a benefit.

Rev. JoAnn Todd agreed, saying she is currently working with another group with the same idea, because it cuts down on travel costs and allows people to participate in the meetings wherever they are.

“It’s an incredible time and costsaver,” she said.

Sparling said having online meetings in general is a good idea because it allows for more regular participation, pointing out he was participating in the digital meeting from Vancouver, British Columbia while others in attendance were from Blyth, London, Sunderland, Lucknow and Clinton.

Yerema asked if the BIA could ask for its own policy, however North Huron Council representative Councillor Kevin Falconer said he had been told there are complications with one-off rulings like that.

During previous council meetings, North Huron Clerk Carson Lamb, who wasn’t part of the BIA meeting, told council that staff would recommend having all

Have We Got Your Number?

meetings held to the same standard instead of allowing each group to determine what works best.

Falconer did say, however, that the mix-up with the Jan. 27 meeting, which required a new Zoom invite being sent out prior to the meeting, would have meant the meeting couldn’t be held due to transparency concerns.

Colleen Jordan said she preferred the online meetings since in-person meetings are under mandates including a vaccination passport being necessary.

“If the mandates are all trashed, then maybe this will change,” she said, adding she preferred not having to drive to Blyth for an 8 a.m. meeting.

In the end, the group passed a motion requesting North Huron align its own digital meeting policies with Huron County in the hopes that it provides more consistency for the group.

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022. PAGE 3.

Committee wants to keep ‘DNA’

By Denny Scott The Citizen The Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) marketing committee wants the BIA to keep a focus on its “DNA”, as set out during a brainstorming session held by Regional Tourism Operation 4 (RTO4) several years ago.

During the BIA’s Jan. 27 meeting, the BIA adopted the minutes of a recent committee meeting, which led Chair David Sparling to ask exactly what the group meant to say by suggesting the BIA “Maintain its DNA”.

BIA Secretary and marketing committee member Rachael King explained that, in 2017, RTO4 identified Blyth as a key travel

destination in the region and committed to help further establish the village as a destination.

Part of that process was, over the course of a year, hosting three workshops where attendees brought in stakeholders and businesses from the area and focused on encouraging them to work together, she said.

Through those workshops, those in attendance “distilled a DNA” for the group, she said, which resulted in a mission statement of “Welcoming people to participate in the theatre of rural life.”

The committee felt that, to maintain that DNA statement, members wanted to see the BIA break down the year into initiatives that should be promoted, including January as a “rest month” in

Business welcomed

By Denny Scott The Citizen

Ready for the rink With the Province of Ontario rolling back COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, local community centres are open. The news likely comes as a great relief to local youth who were missing their time on the ice. Above, Mary Jane Scott is ready to strap on her skates for some ice time. (Denny Scott photo)

Vaccination numbers continue to climb Continued from page 1 have received a third “booster” shot of the vaccine, or 49.6 per cent of eligible residents, up from 66,619 individuals or 48.2 per cent.

• 12-17: 156 (1.6) to 164 (1.6) • 18-24: 3,341 (27.6) to 3,507 (28.9) • 25-29: 2,656 (31.1) to 2,774 (32.4) • 30-39: 6,070 (37) to 6,375 (38.9) • 40-49: 6,956 (43.4) to 7,276 (45.4) • 50-59: 10,934 (54.8) to 11,307 (56.7) • 60-69: 16,165 (77.6) to 16,543 (79.4) • 70-79: 12,887 (91.4) to 13,058 (92.6) • 80+: 7,454 (91.2) to 7,555 (92.3)

As of Monday, there were 744 individuals, or 0.5 per cent of eligible residents, who had received a second booster shot.

• 12-17: remains unchanged at one person (less than 0.1 per cent of eligible residents) • 18-24: two people (less than 0.1 per cent) to two people (less than 0.1 per cent) • 25-29: two people (less than 0.1 per cent) to four people (less than 0.1 per cent) • 30-39: eight people (less than 0.1 per cent) to 13 (0.1) • 40-49: 12 (0.1) to 20 (0.1) • 50-59: 31 (0.2) to 44 (0.2) • 60-69: 89 (0.4) to 129 (0.6) • 70-79: 169 (1.2) to 246 (1.7) • 80+: 430 (5.3) to 840 (10.4) For the most up-to-date statistics, visit hpph.ca.

Several members of the Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) board mentioned that it was good to have new businesses opening in Blyth, specifically highlighting the Village Pizzeria opening its doors.

During its Jan. 27 meeting, members of the BIA executive lauded the new business and its products. *** Business is going better this year when compared to last according to Hotel Lux owners Colleen Jordan and Shane Yerema.

Yerema, the vice-chair of the Blyth BIA, told the group during its Jan. 27 meeting that, in comparing this year to last, patronage is up, and he anticipates it will continue to rise once COVID-19 pandemic restrictions are lifted.

Jordan said they had used incentives to encourage people to stay, which had worked out, and also mentioned that they had avoided a rash of cancellations when local restaurants went to takeout only, which is what had happened last year. *** North Huron Councillor Kevin Falconer advised BIA members they should spread the word about available grants for local businesses looking at facade improvements or other renovations.

He said North Huron does have grant programs available for both facade improvements and more intensive renovations like accessibility projects or retooling spaces.

Yerema, who owns a building on the main street said he received such grants for work in the past and asked if businesses could apply and receive the grants more than once, to which Falconer said he believed so, provided it was for different projects.

For more information, Falconer said to contact the municipality. *** The Blyth Festival is hoping to announce its new season by the end of February, with tickets on sale in March or April, depending on how COVID-19 restrictions are handled between now and then.

Blyth Festival General Manager Rachael King, who is also the secretary for the BIA, told the group that Festival organizers are looking forward to a larger season this year, and said there is some construction necessary at the Harvest Stage, which was opened last year.

The theatre company, however, is aiming to have things ready, she said.

preparation for Huron County’s Huron Hygge program in February; promoting crafting and outside winter activities in February and March; during May and April the BIA should promote the Rutabaga Festival and Blyth Community Market; from June to September there would be a crossmarket campaign between Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company and the Blyth Festival theatre, with a focus on camping and visiting local wineries and breweries, as well as the annual reunion of the Huron County Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association; October and November should focus on the beauty of fall, crafting and building up to “Blyth” Friday, a celebration that takes place the day after American Thanksgiving and, finally, promoting the Santa Claus parade and New Year’s Eve fireworks in December.

While no action was taken, the BIA executive received the minutes of the meeting.

The only thing that concerns us (J.R. Miller) “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 Is not God wise enough to manage the complications of our lives—and to bring order and beauty out of them? Has He not skill enough? Is He not our Father? and will He not always do the very best and wisest thing for us? Should we not trust Him—and cease to be anxious about anything that we have committed to Him? Is not anxiety, doubt? and is not doubt, sin? We are simply to commit our way to the Lord, trust Him, and be at peace.

The only thing that concerns us, is our DUTY. God will weave the complicated web of our lives, into patterns of beauty—unless we mar it by our follies and sins. But His plans are sometimes very long, and our impatience may mar them, as well as our sins.

The buds of His purposes, must not be torn open. We must wait until His fingers unfold them.

“Commit your way to the LORD. Trust also in Him—and He shall bring it to pass.”

Psalm 37.5 A Grace Gem Submitted by: Immanuel United Reformed Church, Listowel, ON 519-492-1359

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PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022.

Editorials & Opinions

Founding Publisher: Keith Roulston Publisher & President: Deb Sholdice Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld 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 $45.00/year ($42.86 + $2.14 G.S.T.) in Canada; $190.00/year in U.S.A. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited.

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Walking the walk With every successful social marketing campaign, a little controversy is bound to bubble up. Bell Canada held its 12th annual Bell Let’s Talk Day on Jan 26, eliciting over 164 million messages and resulting in the company’s largest donation of a little over $8 million to its own Bell Let’s Talk Fund, which is composed of three parts: Community Fund, Diversity Fund and Post-Secondary Fund. But the company has been called out on the treatment of its own employees struggling with mental health issues and last year imposing hundreds of layoffs just days after the campaign while also collecting government COVID-19 subsidies.

If you are going to attach your corporate brand to a social cause and use it for a marketing identity, there is a razor’s edge to walk. Mental health has touched everyone in some capacity, so there is the capacity for much good to be done, but it is also a flashpoint for many, so an important element of your marketing plan should be that your own corporate culture lines up with the ideals the campaign espouses.

Critics of such campaigns argue that Bell cares more about building its brand than combating the stigma around mental illness. Every misstep with its own workforce reinforces the idea that the company cares more about money than people, which helps prove those critics right. – DS

Road trip Whether you’re Team Freedom Convoy or Team Flu Trux Klan, there are strong opinions on both sides of what happened in Ottawa over the weekend, with many pledging to stay in place in the nation’s capital until whatever they want is implemented.

But what exactly is it that they want? Plenty of the rhetoric is tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, with many calling for the government to put an end to vaccine mandates, mask-wearing and lockdowns. However, footage from the crowds showed plenty of hate for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, including a lot of profanity, and the harassment and assault of journalists. Some organizers have called for sweeping resignations in government, while others are allegedly calling for the dissolution of government. Even its identity as a “trucker” protest is up for debate, with many rolling into Ottawa in passenger vehicles.

The Canada Anti-Hate Network has dismissed the protest as nothing more than a vehicle for the far-right, rooted in racism. While that too can be debated, many bad actors have made it hard for some Canadians to see the protestors’ side. Protestors have flown hate symbols, jumped on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, defaced a statue of Terry Fox and harassed a local homeless shelter into providing them food.

When the convoy pulled out of British Columbia, it was about vaccine requirements for transport truck drivers. When it pulled into Ottawa a few days later, it became about much, much more.

Bad actors and organizers insisting they’re not going anywhere, holding Ottawa hostage in the process, will not further this movement’s goal in the court of public opinion. Exactly what that goal is, however, may actually be the protest’s biggest public relations issue. – SL

No easy answers News broke last week of a man in Boston who was denied a heart transplant because he didn’t want to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The hospital’s transplant committee had decided that, for the best chance of a successful transplant, recipients needed to be vaccinated. While it quickly set the pro- and anti-COVID-19 vaccination crowds into a tither, the situation isn’t exactly black and white.

D.J. Ferguson, the would-be recipient, had been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a heart condition, and he was worried about the fact that the COVID-19 vaccine has been tied to other heart problems. He’s had other immunizations, according to his mother. Unfortunately, transplant recipients are more at risk when it comes to contracting diseases after they go under the knife, making the vaccine all the more important.

Ferguson isn’t the first person to face this situation and hospitals have made it clear that, like changing lifestyle and habits, vaccination is an important commitment for patients to make to guarantee the life they earn through a new organ will be a long and fruitful one.

While it would undoubtedly be easier to look at this issue if Ferguson were just anti-vaccination, this is a complicated situation with no right answer. There is a lot to unpack when it comes to organ transplantation, and each hospital in the United States has its own rules. Beyond that, as anyone who has received the vaccine should be able to report, there are warnings about how the vaccines could impact a recipient’s heart (though doctors and experts say the same issues can happen with the virus, and while still rare, it’s more likely to occur through infection than inoculation). It’s one thing to be healthy and scared of a slim chance of a side-effect, and another entirely to already have a heart that may be faced with even more problems as a result of the vaccination.

If the facts are as they’ve been presented, Ferguson’s case is not as cut and dried as many likely wish it would be. – JDS

Looking Back Through the Years February 4, 1965 A special “Minor Hockey Night” in Brussels saw the locals win three of the day’s games and tie a fourth as part of Minor Hockey Week in Canada. The Brussels Squirts beat their opponents from Atwood by a score of 2-1, followed by the Brussels PeeWees beating Monkton by a score of 10-1, the Brussels Bantams tying Monkton at one and the Midget team claiming victory over the Stone School team by a score of 4-3.

The first-ever bonspiel organized by the newly-formed Brussels Curling Club was held in the village, with 16 rinks taking part in the action in front of a large crowd of spectators, despite the inclement weather of the day.

February 5, 1975 Jo Anne Snell of Londesborough was crowned Queen of the Clinton Winter Carnival. The Central Huron Secondary School student was one of eight young women vying for the position.

The Huron County roads budget increased by just under 24 per cent over the previous year’s budget. It was the first time the roads budget had increased since 1968.

While Blyth Village Council voted to increase councillors’ pay for the next term, The Blyth Standard reported that council’s wages still wouldn’t meet the standards of minimum wage.

The Blyth Legion announced the winners of its annual poetry and essay contest. Carol Gowing won first place in the essay contest, followed by Steven Sparling in second and Sherry Brommer in third. Andy Battye won first place in the poem category, followed by Janet Lockhart in second and Brad Hesselwood in third.

February 5, 1997 Despite reducing its budget by nearly $1.2 million in response to direction from the provincial government, the Huron County Board of Education still found that those savings would be negated by an increase at the provincial level.

Huron County Board of Education Superintendent of Business Janet Baird-Jackson said the cuts made by the board represented savings of 5.5 per cent of its budget. However, provincial increases of between six and 10 per cent would completely wipe out any action taken by the board.

Baird-Jackson said the board’s savings were achieved by doublebusing, a decrease in capital expenditures and cuts in other areas of the board’s coverage area.

In response, secondary school teachers from Huron County would be joining others from across the province in questioning changes to education being made by the provincial government. At a meeting on Jan. 30, Huron County secondary school teachers discussed an action plan to raise public awareness of the impact of the changes being made.

February 2, 2012 After a closed-to-the-public meeting, Morris-Turnberry Council decided that it would create its own fire department and two distinct fire stations, one in Belgrave and one in Lower Town Wingham.

After calling for proposals the previous summer for fire coverage from departments in North Huron, Howick and Huron East, council was displeased with the proposed rise in costs and agreed to renew fire coverage agreements with the three partner municipalities for just 2012 and 2013, rather than the

proposed five-year contract.

Council said the new MorrisTurnberry Fire Department would provide fire service for the municipality beginning on Jan. 1, 2014.

North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent said he was “in complete shock” after being informed of MorrisTurnberry’s decision on the fire coverage issue. He defended the escalating fire costs in North Huron, saying that to make a volunteer fire department legally compliant costs money and that partner municipalities needed to understand the reasoning behind the rising costs.

The Grade 3 class at Brussels Public School collectively penned a letter to the editor in which the students expressed that they were sad, scared and worried after the gazebo at the school had been damaged by vandals overnight.

This, in addition to spray painted messages, left the students scared and confused, according to the letter. The vandals also hit the Brussels Library and Cinnamon Jim’s restaurant that night.

The Blyth Brussels Bantam Rep hockey team returned to Huron County with gold medals around their necks after claiming victory at the International Silver Stick tournament in Forest. The team won in the Bantam C final over Ilderton.

Three members of the team Matt McNichol, Hayden Ten Pas and Dustin Pennington - were voted to the tournament’s all-star team.

Work had begun on expanding the Clinton Business Improvement Area (BIA) to include all of Central Huron, with a vote on expansion scheduled to take place on Feb. 7 at the BIA’s regular meeting.

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022. PAGE 5.

Other Views

The price of freedom can seem high

L

ondon Mayor Ed Holder made a brave statement when he gave his State of the City address last week, celebrating those citizens who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 and had gone through two years of lockdowns, and criticizing anti-vaxxers.

This, in the week when a convoy of truckers streamed across Canada, protesting federal government requirements that they be vaccinated in order to cross the Canada-U.S. border. This also after anti-vaxxers protested across Canada, the U.S. and Europe the weekend before. Among those protesting was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who compared antivaccine efforts to the anti-Jewish crackdown

by Nazi Germany, which cost more than six million Jews their lives.

Meanwhile, as anti-vaccine believers continue to get sick and go to hospital, they move to the front of the line for medical care.

CTV, on the weekend, pointed out 82 per cent of Canadians had been vaccinated yet threequarters of the people who have been hospitalized or died are unvaccinated. People with cancer or heart conditions have had their situation worsen, even if they have two vaccines and booster shots, and other operations have been delayed because hospitals are filled with the unvaccinated.

In mid-January, the Bluewater Health hospital in Sarnia had 75 per cent of its COVID-19 patients unvaccinated. The Sarnia area has a lower than normal vaccination rate: 77 per cent of the eligible population are fully vaccinated compared to the Ontario average of 82 per cent. Still, 23 per cent of the population made up three-quarters of COVID patients.

The whole trucker convoy was a difficult story to cover for journalists. As they crossed the country, truck convoys drew support from anti-vaxxers in different communities, yet this is still a tiny minority of Canadians.

Keith Roulston From the cluttered desk What’s more, despite targetting the Canadian government, the unvaccinated drivers can’t cross into the U.S. anyway. The U.S. government has also made it essential to have been vaccinated in order to enter their country.

So much of the protest in Ottawa seemed to echo the cry of Howard Beale, the network anchor man in the 1976 film Network who cried “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” We’re all sick of the pandemic. We just want life to get back to normal – if we can even remember what normal is after this long.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, facing an election this year, has clearly decided he wants to put the pandemic behind him, with a midJanuary Angus Reid Institute poll showing two-thirds of adults in Ontario disapprove of his performance, the same voters who last year gave him high marks. He’s slackening restrictions, even though the number of people being treated is still high.

Even medical leaders are making the future appear better than it seems to most of us, who see hospitals still filled with COVID patients and necessary operations for other needs postponed. Some of us are just lucky that our own health care needs didn’t coincide with the heaviest demand on hospitals.

Meanwhile, we’re losing doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals at an alarming rate. This has meant good news for

some immigrant nurses who have been allowed to work even though they haven’t taken tests to prove they can meet Ontario requirements – yet this still fills only a tiny proportion of the shortage, caused in part by the burnout of nurses.

All of which returns us to the conspiracy theories of the people who took part, or at least supported, the truckers’ protest in Ottawa on the weekend. Why would governments want to have staff shortages in hospitals by inventing, or at least exaggerating, the pandemic? Why would they want to add to empty store shelves by reducing imports? Why, when inflation is one of the toughest problems governments face, would they purposely drive up the cost of food? Why would they increase government deficits by paying for people not to work in restaurants or other businesses forced to close to meet government restrictions? Why would governments all around the world glom onto nearly the same restrictive policies if the problem is imaginary?

Then there are the people who live in many countries which can’t afford vaccines for all who would say to Canadians: “If you don’t want to get vaccinated, we’ll gladly take your shots.”

I won’t even get into the actions such as demonstrators abusing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Terry Fox statue or who portrayed the Prime Minister as a traitor.

You put so many anti-government protesters together in one spot and you’re bound to have some idiots!

Still, you put that many unvaccinated people together and there are sure to be some who get infected. Will they avoid using hospitals to treat a disease they think doesn’t exist or is overblown? Here’s betting they don’t, and thus they add to the problems hospitals face.

How to go about eating an elephant

W

hile I had initially wanted to tackle the protest going on in Ottawa with a more critical lens I realized that, much like the protest itself, there’s just too much involved in the story to critique it effectively. Without even looking at any particular stated goal of the group, there’s enough to analyse between the abuse of journalists, the defacing of statues and memorials and the fact that the protest is impacting everyone, not just the people who could affect changes, but at some point there is just too much to consider.

I’ve always had a problem with issues as complicated as this protest, in that it can be so hard to find a spot to start that I end up with some kind of “analysis paralysis” (which apparently is tied directly to some of my learning disabilities). I’ve always been good at making quick decisions, but complicated ones give me pause.

Whether it’s the fact that there is no right answer or the fact that there’s just too much information to process in time to make a decision, I often find myself at a crossroads not knowing which path to take.

I had a teacher once who noticed my inability to start large projects ahead of time, and she suggested that, first, I should make a to-do list, which not only helped me to keep track of what I need to do, but to divide the work into bite-sized chunks.

It helped. Heck, it still helps. When it comes time for The Citizen’s editorial department to tackle some of our larger special issues, the first thing I’ll do is print out an 11” by 17” todo list and tape it to my desk so that I can keep track of all the stories. When I described the process to a professional educational analyst when I was a post-secondary student, they helped me connect the practice to the adage of how to eat an elephant: one bite at a time.

Denny Scott Denny’s Den Unfortunately, not everything is an elephant.

Take, for example, the constant complaints about taxes in North Huron.

It seems like a simple problem to solve, right? Just have council cut the budget. The question becomes, well, where should the township spend less money?

Should North Huron councillors again ignore the wants of their constituents and further cut recycling/garbage collection?

Should we put road maintenance on hold?

Should we close one of the municipality’s community centres?

Each one of those options could save money, but the question then becomes who is willing to give those things up?

Tackling budget decisions (and then writing about them) isn’t like eating an elephant, it's more like staring down an all-you-can-eat buffet made from a menagerie. Deciding what is first, if you don’t have immediate direction, could be half the billable hours.

So, when faced with reports of the Freedom Convoy over the weekend (because apparently even when I’m not at work, my brain still gets hung up on this stuff) I went back and forth over the situation, trying to decide how I would tackle the issue in a common-sense way. I wanted to avoid duplication on the previous page (in our editorials) because Shawn was set to cover this issue, but I did want to talk about some of the mistakes made.

As Shawn points out, the messages, the support and the criticism all seem a little muddled. That loss of the message is why I’m having such a hard time following up on it and might be why the convoy itself seems to not be getting as much play as one might expect.

Sure, it’s popped up on major news media websites and news broadcasts, but I’ve heard from more than one person they’re surprised that it isn’t receiving more coverage.

To me, the most reasonable response is, which part should the media be covering?

There are people arguing for autonomy, others there just to tell off the Prime Minister and others still just attending to cause problems, and that list likely does not cover a quarter of the different motivations people have to be a part of the Freedom Convoy.

Fair and balanced coverage of an event like that would need to simultaneously talk about the concerns people have, while also trying to figure out who is responsible for defacing memorials and statues, while at the same time trying to rope in serious comments and questions to present to the nation.

News organizations have had to find the right people to talk to about each particular issue and there is a narrative to follow on both sides of the protest (including truckers who didn’t want to be a part of it and people in Ottawa supporting it despite how it's impacting their day-to-day lives).

Some might argue that it’s a journalist’s job to wade into all this information and present a logical interpretation of the events but, like I said, there’s always the question of where to start. It’s a tough ask, and I’m sure my peers are doing their best, but whether you start with the trunk, the ears or the flanks, it takes a long time to eat an elephant.

Shawn Loughlin Shawn’s Sense

The fear factor

W

ell, I suppose I could blame Spotify or the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine hesitancy or former Fear Factor host Joe Rogan or maybe even Neil Young himself, but, regardless of who’s to blame, I’m no longer able to listen to the music of one of Canada’s greatest musicians.

Late last month, Young issued somewhat of an ultimatum to Spotify, the world’s largest streaming service for music and podcasts, saying that, essentially, it was him or Joe Rogan. The Joe Rogan Experience is the most popular podcast in the world and it’s been reported that Spotify bought its exclusive rights for more than $100 million. It’s no surprise that Spotify would choose its cash cow over Young, but that wasn’t the point.

Young, an advocate for vaccination, put the screws to Spotify for allowing Rogan to spread misinformation about everything from climate change to vaccination on one of the world’s biggest platforms. It’s no different than the recent crackdown on misinformation on social media and perhaps other artists will follow Young’s lead and make a difference.

For me, Young has been a formative musical presence in my life. There was a period of about two years in which I only listened to Young. So, while most people today will shrug at Spotify’s decision, I, a Spotify subscriber, am bummed by Young being whisked away.

Just as my pal Denny eulogized his beloved Meat Loaf last week, allow me to tell my story of a life lived with the music of Neil Young.

A friend introduced me to Young’s music after I began listening to Bob Dylan. If you like Bob Dylan, he said, you’ll love Neil Young. This friend was not so much of a Bob Dylan guy, but he appreciated Neil Young.

I fell in love immediately. I started with some of Young’s most popular albums, like Harvest, Tonight’s the Night and After the Gold Rush, branched out to his lesser-known works with albums like Everybody Knows This is Nowhere and Comes a Time and then worked to understand his most complicated releases like Re·ac·tor and Trans, albums in which he embraced some really weird ideas and trends.

For a while, if Young made it, I’d listen to it.

Eventually I made my way to the albums he made with Pearl Jam, learning about how he became grandfather to the grunge movement.

Then, just as I was coming of age to attend concerts on my own, he released Greendale. A rock opera of sorts, the album’s 10 songs told a story and the live performances featured a cast of theatre actors on stage while Young and his band Crazy Horse played the songs.

As a young music fan who finally got to see his idol perform, it was magical. In retrospect, however, the whole thing wasn’t that great.

The songs were alright, the theatre aspect was weird and I don’t think it really came together for people as Young had hoped it would.

I would see him again with Crosby, Stills and Nash, but it wasn’t until Jess and I saw him at Massey Hall that it all came together. It was truly one of the magical moments of my life, seeing Young in a place with so much history, both for him and for Toronto.

I even read biographies on the man and I learned that he spent some time in Pickering.

He lived on Brock Road, four minutes from where I lived. He became a teenager there, living across the street from what is now the Pickering Golf Club (where I grew up playing) and just steps from the cemetery in which my grandparents are buried.

What Young has done may not matter to the people who listen to Rogan, but it matters to him and he’s doing the right thing.

PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022.

Writer reflects on years of ‘letter’ writing A NOTE FROM BETTY

By Betty Graber Watson Call 887-9231

One winter month is gone. For many, these cold and snowy winter months drag on as we wait on better weather and more social action.

Again this year the impact of COVID-19 messed with our clear thinking regarding the spending of January days. Perhaps it was the anticipation of better days ahead that helped the days move right along.

With reluctance I started writing this column many years ago and told then-Editor Bonnie Gropp at the time, I’d have to do it as if I were writing to my brothers, as I was not much into the business of others. That has worked well up until now. Trying to write a decent letter weekly, let alone a column for The Citizen has been rather tough this year. Nothing is happening.

Sub-zero beauty Liz Allan of the Maitland Valley Camera Club recently captured this image of a beautiful frost arrangement on her back window as Huron County grappled with extremely frigid temperatures. A trained artist couldn’t have done it better herself. (Photo courtesy of Liz Allan of the Maitland Valley Camera Club)

At the Branch

Legion reopens with new rules

By Jo-Ann McDonald The Brussels Legion Branch held its executive meeting virtually last week – hopefully for the last time.

The Branch was able to reopen as of Jan. 31 and will be open Tuesday to Thursday 4-6 p.m.; Friday evenings 4 to 7 p.m. and later on nights with entertainment. With the reopening also comes the many protocols to be followed. The QR codes on your phones are accepted and the paper copy as well. Masks are still required when not in your seat and social distancing as well.

During the closing, some painting had been done and two new exit lights installed. Comrade President Jamie Mitchell and his Company Red Line Safety inspected all safety requirements needed for the Branch and made sure all were working and

up to date. Come on in and see the new colours and know you are safe!

The opening will also have light meals resuming on Friday nights.

This Friday night will be chili and a roll and next week will be beef stew.

Mark your calendars: the Catch the Ace draw will resume on March 18; St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated and a wing night will be held. The entertainment committee is working on booking old and new friends in the upcoming months.

Karaoke will be the last Friday of the month and we are looking for others to drop in and provide some fun.

The fundraising committee is looking to host a drive-through turkey dinner to celebrate Easter, so look for more details to come.

The branch received the announcement that the public speaking committee is cancelled for this year again for the safety of all.

The Legion is hoping though, with more restrictions lifted in the future, meetings and conventions can be held again inperson.

There have been very few inquiries for catering and the Cadets still cannot meet. The Branch passed a donation for the Cadets when they return. The inquiries have been coming in about fish fry dinners for the upcoming season.

We look forward to seeing our members and friends of the Legion drop in and see the new look, have a visit and make sure you bring a friend!

Travel has been restricted, we are seniors, we follow the public health guidelines and limit our contact as we are able. Again, nothing is happening. So each week we’re still healthy and definitely boring, so I sit and ponder what shall I write.

Oh dear.

The high point for today was hearing how the two-year-old in Edmonton was mimicking Phil by painting the kitchen wall, the trouble was that Weston was doing his painting using a deck screw as his brush. A two- and four-year-old do not give rise to boredom.

In contrast, the crowds on Parliament Hill this weekend were head-shaking. Various views of crowded, unsafe streets were all over the paper and the news. An idea gone wrong is the only way I can see the many idle people wandering the beautiful city of Ottawa. Usually a rally has a clear purpose and a suggested solution.

Living in a free country, alternate ideas can be expressed.

This gathering was a wonder, no matter how you looked at it. It showed the misplaced frustration and anger over issues that are not vaccine-related. A quote from the Monday Toronto Star by Susan Delacourt reads, “Holding a mass temper tantrum in Ottawa disguised as a street party won’t change the fact that the nation is still in the grips of a pandemic.” That statement said it all for me. What a waste of time and resources for an unclear, unreasonable solution.

Everyone is frustrated and sad at

NEWS FROM BRUSSELS the last two years, but the expectation is that we are adults and act that way, well at least most of the time and especially in public.

Temper is the only plausible explanation for me for the disruption for the people in Ottawa.

Oh my.

So, big breath and carry on.

Protecting ourselves and each other is our job for a bit yet. Be sensible as the community opens up with more opportunity for engagement.

All viruses are invisible and opportunistic, this one is just a little faster and stronger. Be careful, keep safe and always be kind.

Bye now, Betty G.W.

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SUDOKU Fun By The Numbers Like puzzles?

Then you’ll love sudoku. This mindbending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test!

Giving back The Brussels Legion continues to distribute funds from its Catch the Ace fundraiser, this time handing out $500 to St. John’s Anglican Church. Bill Clark, left, accepted the donation from JoAnn McDonald, right, of the Legion. (Photo submitted)

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022. PAGE 7.

Howson and Howson marks Somerville’s 50 years

50 years in the making Carolyn Somerville marked 50 years working at Howson and Howson after starting at the local company out of high school. While she now works in the lab at the company, checking the statistics and readings of different loads of product, she started out as a bookkeeper/secretary at the company. Over her time she’s worked with three generations of Howsons and has no immediate plans of changing her career. (Photo submitted)

By Denny Scott The Citizen Last week, employees at Howson and Howson Limited in Blyth celebrated a remarkable

achievement as Carolyn Somerville marked her 50th anniversary with the company.

On Thursday, Jan. 27, Somerville’s coworkers marked her long and ongoing career with a

celebration, 50 years after she started at the company.

Somerville started as a bookkeeper/secretary at the company, she said, before heading over to the lab many years ago and

Local ministers to raise funds

By Denny Scott The Citizen The United Way Perth-Huron Northern Huron and Area Community Committee is bringing the Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser to North Huron, including a virtual walk set in Blyth on Feb. 19.

The fundraiser, which is set for Feb. 26 in Wingham, encourages participants to walk between two and five kilometres and collect pledges to raise money for the United Way, which will benefit the proposed Northern Huron Connections Centre to be built in Wingham.

The connection centre, according to a United Way Perth-Huron press release, will be a place where those in need can find basic amenities and access services through the United Way’s partner agencies.

Lisa Harper, who is part of the Northern Huron and Area Community Committee, said the event is being held both in-person and virtually. Those participating

virtually are being encouraged to send in videos or photos to show themselves enjoying the walk.

One such group, the Blyth and Area Ministerial, will be taking to the streets of Blyth on Feb. 19 to raise awareness and money for the event before the Wingham walk on Feb. 26.

Team leader Rev. JoAnn Todd of the Regional Ministry of Hope, which includes Trinity Anglican Church in Blyth and St. John’s Anglican Church in Brussels, said she and three other members of the ministerial group, Blyth and Brussels United Churches’ Student Minister Alex Jebson, Blyth Christian Reformed Church Pastor Gary van Leeuwen and Huron Chapel Executive Pastor Ernest Dow, will walk to raise funds for the event.

“I had presented to them this idea of doing the United Way event,” Todd said. “I asked what we could do about it and how we could help and, between Alex and myself, we had the idea to put in a team and walk in Blyth.”

She said the whole idea was to raise awareness for the Wingham event in Blyth, while also helping to support the cause.

The route will be laid out by van Leeuwen, who walks the community often, beginning at the Blyth Christian Reformed Church parking lot.

Todd said all users are registered on the Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser website at cnoy.org, including her team, which is called BAM: Blyth and Area Ministerial.

Currently, the team has raised $200 of its $400 goal.

Todd said the fundraiser is important to draw attention to the problem of homelessness in the area and help raise money to create the connections centre.

“This allows us to provide assistance to those who are the most marginalized,” she said. “We’re helping those who are underhoused or homeless, those who have mental health [problems] or those with addiction issues.”

She said those individuals often Continued on page 8

has been there ever since. She worked at the Clinton Canadian Forces Base in Grade 11 and 12, but, besides that, Howson and Howson has been the only job she’s ever had.

She started with Howson and Howson, she said, because it was handy, being close to her family’s home, but she has stayed because she’s always enjoyed her job.

Things have changed significantly over the last 50 years, she said, and that has been part of what has kept her working at the company that long, through three different generations of the Howson family.

“It’s gotten busier and bigger over the years,” she said.

Somerville tests samples for every customer and every load of wheat that comes in, looking for different specifications for each order. She measures statistics like moisture, protein level and colour for the different products that come through the mill.

“It’s always been good and it’s something I look forward to doing every morning,” she said, adding she isn't looking at retirement any day soon.

She said the Howson family has always been accommodating and kind, which makes it easy to enjoy the job, as has the fact that she’s busy throughout the day.

President Jeff Howson also spoke to The Citizen about Somerville’s time with the company, saying that, when she first started in the laboratory, everyone wore three or four hats, so the job was different back then.

“She worked for a period with my grandfather, and worked for my father’s generation and now she’s working with my generation,” he said, adding his is the fifth generation to operate the company.

Howson said Somerville has missed very little work over the years and that kind of dedication isn’t common these days. He said, at a recent meeting for the industry,

on average people stay at jobs for five years or less, so to have someone mark 50 is truly a special occasion.

“I think it’s different in rural southwestern Ontario, as people may stay in their jobs a little longer, but 50 years is something worth noticing,” he said. “It’s a big commitment and big support for the company. We see it as big on her part, staying with us. At the same time, it’s great to have someone who has worked with our family for 50 years.

“It’s a very positive and big achievement, and something we’re proud of and something she’s very proud of,” Howson said.

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PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022.

Looking back on the Tokyo Olympic experience

This week’s quote for consideration comes from Judith Crist: “Amid all the easily loved darlings of Charlie Brown’s circle, obstreperous Lucy holds a special place in my heart. She fusses and fumes and she carps and complains.

That’s because Lucy cares. And it’s the caring that counts.”

That sentiment of caring for others was echoed in the message brought to Londesborough United Church on Jan. 30 by Rev. Jan Aylward. Her question to those gathered in the sanctuary that morning was - How do our actions/lives show the world that we are followers of Jesus Christ?

She encouraged everyone to do meaningful things that will be a help to others.

Reports for the annual report of the church need to be sent to Margaret Bakker as soon as possible. The annual meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 22.

Every church is preparing for its year-end and moving meaningfully

into the next fiscal year, but they cannot do this without help. Please consider volunteering for a committee within your church to spread out the workload and keep our faith communities viable. Being on a committee is a great way to stay aware of what is happening in your church.

Area residents travelling between Londesborough and Blyth recently will have noticed the digging happening at the corner of HullettMcKillop Road and London Road.

The field on the southeast corner of that intersection always seems to flood in the spring melt and after a heavy rain. They must be trying to improve the drainage of that field with more tile on the other side of the road. Trenching is happening also a little ways down the sideroad to the west. I wonder if they are perhaps draining to the Pollard Drain in anticipation of the work that is still to come on that system.

In spite of the cold recently, we need to keep in mind that we have reached the end of January with very little nasty winter weather. The days are getting longer and in two months spring will have arrived.

Following is the second half of the report offered by our niece regarding her work at the Tokyo Olympics (2021). Incidentally with COVID-19 still being part of our lives, there will be much television to watch from Beijing beginning this Friday.

Holly Horton HOLLY IN TOKYO

By Holly Horton “Despite all the restrictions of the Tokyo Olympics, there were lots of things I enjoyed. The people of Japan are lovely: polite, gentle, eager to please, and unfailingly respectful. Even though almost none of them were in favour of the games or of all of the media that descended upon their city during a state of emergency, they were gracious and helpful and sweet. The city is clean, safe, and beautifully adorned with artistic details at every turn.

The Japanese themselves are impeccably dressed, right down to their embellished umbrellas, which turns out are just as useful in the sweltering summer sun. The skyline and waterfront of Tokyo are spectacular, and the culture embodies a perfect balance of modern technology and traditional custom.

Yes, it’s true, I did not see one second of a live event. I did not even step foot inside another venue except for the media centre where I worked. Most of my 11-hour shifts each day were in a dark edit suite where we churned out headline highlight packages every hour. I figure I probably voiced about 100 international athlete names a day, names I had never uttered before.

But the crew I worked with was uniquely talented and passionate, and we produced some high-quality content, and had a few laughs along the way.

While my hotel room was about the size of a closet and, ironically, without an actual closet, I had a high-tech toilet complete with a heated seat and several spray options that made for an almostluxurious experience. And despite the fact that my menu for a month consisted of food from the media centre or 7/11, there was surprising variety. Just maybe more squid options than I needed.

It was not the experience others had had at the Olympics, but it was unique. Which brings me to the Beijing Olympics. I had agreed to go. And then Omicron hit. My second son is only four and unvaccinated.

Suddenly my husband and I were faced with all kinds of potential problems. What if my son became sick while I was

Share your photos with The Citizen by emailing them to reporter@northhuron.on.ca

Life in the bubble The Maitland Valley Camera Club had a bubble photo shoot last week, with members working to capture the very best image of a bubble that they could. Member Ange Coneybeare did an exceptional job. (Photo courtesy of Ange Coneybeare of the Maitland Valley Camera Club)

Fundraiser aiming for $35k Continued from page 7 go to larger urban centres with more available services, and said the same could be said of Blyth and Wingham.

“People from Blyth who are having those problems may go to Wingham to find assistance or the food bank,” she said. “This is a concrete way to raise the issue and bring assistance to people in our area.”

She said the event is new, and their team isn’t well-known yet, but she anticipates the awareness to increase as the event approaches.

Members of the ministerial, Todd said, are connecting with their congregations and the public through social media in hopes of generating interest.

While the BAM group hasn’t hit its goal yet, Harper said the walk has already raised $10,888, nearly

one third of its $35,500 goal, with a few weeks still to go. She said the metrics sent out by the Blue Sea Foundation, which oversees the fundraiser, have the committee and fundraiser well on its way to success.

Both Todd and Harper encouraged people to participate by visiting cnoy.org, with both saying that more participants or donations are always welcome.

“It only takes two minutes to register,” Harper said. “You can register as an individual walker or a team, and just send us photos and videos to show how much fun it is.”

While the event has been going on for over a decade, this is the first Wingham walk, Harper said, and she anticipates it will become an annual fundraiser.

To contribute to the BAM team or to join in, visit cnoy.org and search for the Wingham walk.

away? What if there was more virtual school for both my kids and my husband would have to shoulder that burden alone while also trying to work? What if I got COVID-19 and had to quarantine, sick and alone, in China? What if it prevented me from leaving the country to come home on time?

China has decreed a sort of bubble for the media at these Games: no public transport, no interaction with the public at all, and at the time of this writing, still many unknowns about things like food options, hotel accommodations and communication allowed outside the country. Trevor was understanding and graciously agreed to let me step down. I am disappointed. I still wanted to do the job, still wanted another Olympics adventure. But there were just too many risks this time.

Perhaps I will get another chance in the future when hopefully COVID-19 is a thing of the past.

Paris is the host for the Summer Games in 2024 and that would not be not too shabby. Until then, I’m grateful for Tokyo.

NEWS FROM LONDESBORO

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022. PAGE 9.

Financial Planning

Seniors can benefit from a good credit score seniors secure low-interest loans or credit cards that can help them pay down sudden, unforeseen expenses without getting into significant debt.

The importance of a strong credit rating is often emphasized to young people. However, a strong credit rating can be equally beneficial for seniors.

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Keeping it high While the importance of establishing a good credit score is often most associated with young people, it can have just as much of an impact on the lives of seniors when it comes to a number of factors. (MS photo) MS - The benefits of maintaining good credit include looking more reliable in the eyes of prospective employers and securing lower mortgage interest rates when buying a home. Those rewards can benefit anyone, but they’re especially enticing to young people.

But what about seniors? Do individuals stand to benefit significantly from maintaining good credit into their golden years?

According to the credit reporting agency Experian, senior citizens tend to have the best credit scores of any consumer demographic. That could be a byproduct of years of financial discipline, and there are many benefits to maintaining that discipline into retirement.

• Home buying and borrowing: Buying a home is often considered a big financial step forward for young people, but that doesn’t mean aging men and women are completely out of the real estate market. In its 2020 “State of the

Nation’s Housing” report, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University reported that the share of homeowners age 65 and over with housing debt doubled to 42 per cent between 1989 and 2019. In addition, 27 per cent of homeowners age 80 and over were carrying mortgage debt in 2019.

Maintaining strong credit after retirement can help homeowners who still have mortgage debt get better terms if they choose to refinance their mortgages. Even seniors who have paid off their mortgages can benefit from maintaining good credit if they decide to downsize to a smaller home but cannot afford to simply buy the new home outright.

• Rewards: Retirement is often associated with travel, recreation and leisure. Such pursuits can be more affordable when seniors utilize rewards-based credit cards that help them finance vacations, weekend getaways and other

expenses associated with traveling.

Seniors who maintain strong credit ratings into their golden years may have more access to the best travelbased rewards cards than those whose credit scores dip in retirement.

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PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022.

Tunnel attracts engagement, wedding photos

By Denny Scott The Citizen

A bright idea Central Huron Community Improvement Co-ordinator Angela Smith, right, told The Citizen the recently unveiled Tunnel of Lights in Clinton has been a popular spot for more than just visiting, with locals having wedding photos or engagements held there. Smith is shown with her assistant Izzy Siebert. (Photo submitted)

Central Huron’s Tunnel of Lights, located beside the community’s town hall in Clinton, has garnered a lot of attention, despite starting up less than a month ago, according to Community Improvement Coordinator Angela Smith.

In an interview with The Citizen, Smith said the tunnel, which was inspired by a similar structure in Toronto’s distillery district, was officially opened on New Year’s Eve and has already drawn an engagement, several wedding photography sessions and numerous repeat visitors from both locals and visitors.

“I came up with ideas of what I’d like to see,” she said, adding she had professional input offered on the idea that she brought to Clinton from Toronto. “What we have is the result of those discussions.”

Construction on the tunnel started in November, and was completed in December, with the lights turned on for New Year’s Eve. “The feedback has been incredible,” Smith said. “Residents are loving it and people have visited it multiple times, even people from out of town.”

The tunnel has garnered a lot of media attention, she said, especially when Spencer Yearley and Amber Weber of Exeter got engaged at the site.

“That was particularly exciting,” she said. “He is from out of town, but watched the construction progress and decided on it.”

Policy approved despite concerns

By Denny Scott The Citizen Despite some concerns about higher spending limits on alreadyapproved items, North Huron Township Council approved a new purchasing of goods, services and construction policy last week.

During council’s Jan. 17 meeting, Director of Finance Darcy Chapman explained that he drafted the new document to include environmental purchasing additions, allowing council to put more of an emphasis on “greener” products and providers. He also pointed out that council hadn’t been following its own bylaw because the previous bylaw had no provisions for advertising online, which the municipality makes use of often. In addition to those changes, however, he also proposed further changes, including increased spending limits that don’t require council approval as a means of streamlining staff work.

Chapman included a list of 10 changes, some of which were: • The increase of maximum direct purchase threshold, or the threshold at which purchases can be made without seeking quotations or proposals, from $2,500 to $5,000 “to better reflect the cost of goods and services and to allow for the timelier delivery of services” from both the municipality and its vendors.

• The increase of the maximum informal request for quotation threshold from $10,000 to $15,000, again in reaction to increased costs of goods and services.

• The development of emergency purchase thresholds to match the minimum purchasing thresholds identified above.

• Increasing the council approval limit on tenders and requests for proposals from $30,000 to $75,000.

• The implementation of quarterly reporting on all purchases from the new thresholds.

“Council needs to recognize that [the $30,000 to $75,000 increase] is for previously-approved budget items,” he said. “We will tender an item, and if it comes within budget, council is delegating authority to staff to pick that up.”

He said the best example would be vehicles like pick-up trucks, saying if council had approved, through the budget approval process, $50,000 for a pick-up truck and one came in at or below $50,000, staff would be able to purchase the vehicle without first getting council approval to purchase it.

Prior to council approving the document, any purchase over $30,000 that was approved in the budget would have to be approved for a second time before the purchase took place.

“It removes extra weeks to buy small-ticket items,” he said.

While Chapman felt the changes are necessary to keep the business of the municipality moving forward, some councillors weren’t as comfortable with them.

Councillor Anita van Hittersum said the proposed changes weren’t in line with the transparency that council is aiming for, however Chapman said that, since all affected purchases are covered by the budget process, nothing was being hidden. He went on to explain that anything that came in over budget, even if it was under the maximum thresholds, would still be brought to council for approval. Beyond that, he said there

would be quarterly reports identifying projects and assets that had gone ahead under the provisions.

He said most municipalities have similar rules which allow purchases that account for one per cent of the budget or less, which is why he picked $75,000, approximately one per cent of the proposed municipal budget.

Councillor Chris Palmer said he felt this was taking away some of council’s decision-making ability and opening the door for problems, but quickly clarified he didn’t think staff would do anything wrong.

“We may not always agree,” he said. “How do we deal with that?”

Chapman reiterated that nothing Continued on page 19

Celebrating A Special Occasion?

She said that Yearley had the plan in the back of his mind and put it into action when the tunnel was complete. Smith said Yearley decorated the space and made the event memorable.

The installation isn’t seasonal, she said, and will remain up, though she has some changes in mind for

A memorable moment Exeter’s Spencer Yearly proposed to his now-fiancée Amber Weber at the Tunnel of Lights in Clinton earlier this month. The site has drawn significant attention to the community since it opened according to Community Improvement Co-ordinator Angela Smith, not shown. (Photo submitted)

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the future to make both the entire experience and the lights themselves more interactive.

Smith said the project was a municipal one, but was also made possible through the My Main Street grant program, Huron County and IG Wealth Management.

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022. PAGE 11.

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Protect yourself Citizen Founder and contributing columnist Keith Roulston, seen above at his retirement celebration held in the fall of 2017, suffered a stroke in November of 2021 and has been on the road to recovery ever since. After his firsthand experience, he encourages everyone to do all they can to protect themselves from a stroke, saying the alternative is “no fun”. (File photo)

By Keith Roulston Stroke became a first-hand experience for me back in November, 2021 when I suffered my own attack of the disease.

I had no clue that I had a stroke the first time I used the stairs that morning but I knew something was wrong. Taking a single step without stumbling became difficult.

However, things weren’t totally bad by the time I had breakfast. I still had blurred vision, though, so I mentioned it to Jill, my wife. She had just recently looked at a magnetic sticker on our fridge that outlined the symptoms of stroke and it seemed familiar.

Because there seemed to be time to deal with the symptoms, Jill went to use the bathroom before proceeding. While she was away, however, I collapsed on the kitchen

had more experience handling strokes.

After immediate treatment, the Seaforth medical staff put me in an ambulance headed for Stratford General Hospital. I can remember the ambulance’s siren as it made the half-hour trip to Stratford but little else.

Left behind, Jill called our daughter Jennifer, who works in Listowel, who drove to Seaforth as quickly as possible and then they travelled together to Stratford.

I was being treated by specialized staff by the time Jill arrived. I have a fuzzy memory of the people and their treatment.

It must have been some time before Jill arrived (because of COVID-19 protocols, poor Jennifer was left in the car). I heard, and can Continued on page 12

floor. That spurred her quick action.

My doctor has been in Seaforth since Dr. Dan Rooyakkers had set up an office next door to The Citizen office on main street in Blyth years and years ago. That office had closed long since, but we’d continued to use him, and when he retired my file was turned over to Dr. Adam Gavsie, although I had never met him. Jill called the office in Seaforth and staff advised her to get me to the Seaforth Hospital emergency room as soon as possible.

Jill must have had a terrible drive with me gurgling beside her for a half-hour. When we arrived, I was treated immediately, but she was told she actually should have called an ambulance and they would have taken me to Goderich, which was closer to our home and where staff

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PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022.

Rehabilitation Team aids the Roulstons

Ticket to ride Huron County has had no shortage of snow in recent weeks, and Colt Metzger was one of the many who got all bundled up (no doubt with some help from his parents) and took advantage, heading out for a sled ride. (Photo submitted)

Be respectful on trails: OFA

By Ethan Wallace, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture Another Canadian winter is upon us, and with the arrival of fresh white snow, it’s the perfect opportunity for Ontarians to get outdoors and enjoy their favourite winter activities. My family jumped on the bandwagon last year and began snowmobiling, which has been a great sport in which to get involved. Spanning more than 30,000 kilometres, Ontario has an extensive trail system across the province which offers the chance to experience the countryside from a different view.

Local snowmobile clubs consist of passionate and dedicated volunteers working hard to groom trails, expand the network, and provide a fun experience for all riders. They build and maintain relationships with local farmers and landowners to ensure the continued use of their land for the enjoyment of everyone. While trail systems benefit the economy, the farmer receives no financial compensation for allowing access to their land.

However, social media has already highlighted incidents of trespassing and property damage due to snowmobile riders disregarding trail signs. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) would like to remind all riders of the responsibility to respect surrounding land and stay on the existing trail network.

Having access to these trails through farm and rural properties is a privilege, not a right. It’s important to be respectful and remember there would be no continuous trail system without permission from farmers and rural landowners.

The Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC), in collaboration with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), has also recently put a call out reminding all riders to ride responsibly, make smart choices and ensure the safety of themselves and others.

The reason is because experience shows there is a direct connection between poor trail conditions and increased trespassing on farmland and rural properties. When trails are closed, riders become increasingly impatient and ride them anyway, which not only worsens the condition of the trail but further delays the reopening as well.

Making a conscious decision to bypass an ungroomed trail or cut corners is not a reasonable excuse for riding on farmland and causing potential damage. Riders abusing the local trail system run the risk of losing the privilege for the entire community.

Going off the trail and on to farm property causes significant issues for several reasons. To start, the snow does an excellent job at hiding everything. Crop damage is very possible if riders enter a field of a vulnerable winter wheat crop.

Furthermore, it can be extremely dangerous to enter land that may have an unseen catch basin, buried furrows or stone piles, which have the potential to be catastrophic for equipment and riders.

As a result, some farmers lose patience with disrespectful riders and revoke permission to access their land. This jeopardizes the future of an expanding trail system.

As a trail rider, I find it is frustrating to think about those who are ruining this activity and experience for others. As someone who also rents land that is a part of the trail network, I am disappointed in the lack of initiative taken to keep trails clean.

It is also important to consider the impact these actions have on local snowmobile clubs. Farmers gain no compensation for damage to crops, equipment or land and often, snowmobile clubs will take ownership for irresponsible riders and offer compensation to landowners. Riding clubs deserve a lot of credit due to a limited budget.

In turn, this compensation cuts into trail grooming and expansion to improve conditions for the future.

In addition, trail permit cost increases can also result.

It’s great that more people have been getting out on the trails due to the COVID pandemic, but there is a responsibility that needs to be acknowledged to ensure the security of this sport in the future.

Continued from page 11 recall, only a little of the treatment they gave me. Eventually I was stabilized and moved to a semiprivate room where I rested and recovered. Jill and Jennifer eventually went home.

As the day wore on, my situation stabilized. By the evening I was feeling somewhat normal. I had a constant stream of doctors, dieticians and other professionals visit me that evening and in the days ahead.

My roommate was much younger – I would guess in his 40s – but it didn’t take very long before I realized he was in worse shape than I was, despite the fact that he had an up-to-date phone and knew how to use it. I was privy to his various calls for two days before he was transferred to Parkwood Hospital in London. He was replaced by a much older man who had just come out of Parkwood I was encouraged to get up and walk the halls and I did, in between visits by various professionals.

Because of COVID I was allowed two visitors, with our daughter Christina, who lived in Stratford, coming, as well as Jill.

By the fifth day, medical staff was encouraged enough to call Jill to tell her I would be discharged. I arrived home and had a more peaceful routine in which to recover.

Several days later I had my first visit from a member of the Community Stroke Rehabilitation Team, the rehabilitation therapist, who generally surveyed the state of my condition. In the coming weeks I would also be visited by the team’s registered nurse, occupational therapist and physiotherapist – up to three or four visits a week – but the rehabilitation therapist came most often. I was given information and an exercise program to get me back in shape. I need to thank them all for their careful care.

The team wrapped up its calls a couple of weeks ago and turned in their reports to my family doctor.

My family doctor, you see, has an important function, even though he has never met me yet. My driver’s licence was immediately suspended

when I went to hospital and I must have approval to get it back. I think the reports from the Rehabilitation Team have been generally positive, but I have no idea what my family doctor will feel. The easiest thing for him to do is put me in the stream of people who have to take a lengthy examination and a driving test in the city. By the time you’re reading this I will likely know which way he’ll go.

I thought I was looking after my health, but apparently I was missing something. Advice given to me included my diet. Although I thought I was eating somewhat healthily, for instance, I realized that I was not drinking as much liquid as I should be.

I believed I was eating well, but there were some changes made in our family’s diet. I’m fine with the recommendation from the Heart & Stroke Foundation that says you should eat whole and minimallyprocessed foods. I had a bit more problem with a recommendation that half my plate should be covered with vegetables and fruit at every meal – with these served plain with no salt, sugar or sauce added.

As a meat eater – not large, but still regular – the suggestion that I choose more vegetarian options was difficult. Luckily we already include many beans, lentils and nuts in our diet (though not the tofu they propose). We also already use lowfat dairy, so that wasn’t particularly a difficult choice. I don’t have snacks anymore so the proposal to choose hummus and baby carrots, apple wedges and lower fat cheese or plain yogurt with berries didn’t have much effect on me either.

There were lots of other recommendations, such as eating in restaurants less often, but COVID19 already simplified that!

In the long run, I wouldn’t have thought I was a candidate for a stroke, not being particularly overweight, never smoking and being relatively active, but my experience shows you can never be too careful.

My advice is to do whatever you can to protect yourself. The alternative is no fun.

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Brussels Livestock report

Cows move on active, stronger trade Total receipts for Brussels Livestock for the week ending Jan. 28 were 1,263 cattle and 619 lambs and goats.

On Tuesday, fed steers and heifers sold steady. Choice steers and heifers sold $165 to $175.

Second-cut cattle sold $158 to $164. Aged and medium-fed steers and heifers sold $129 to $157.

Holstein steers and heifers sold $73 to $123 with sales to $153.

Bulls sold $95 to $121.50. Cows sold on an active trade at stronger prices.

On Thursday, veal sold on a good active trade at steady prices. Lambs

and sheep sold higher. Goats sold steady.

On Friday, calves and yearlings sold steady.

K/C Alpine Farms of Ailsa Craig, consigned six head.

Two charolais heifers averaged 1,450 lbs. and sold for an average price of $175.

There were 300 cows on offer.

Beef sold $80 to $105 with sales to $110; good holstein cows, $78 to $95; medium holstein cows, $68 to $78.

There were 175 head of veal on offer. Beef veal sold $186 to $218 with sales to $235; good holsteins,

$160 to $178; SL heavy holsteins, $150 to $160; heavy holsteins, $120 to $130 with sales to $161; medium holsteins, $130 to $149; plain holsteins, $110 to $121.

Reuben S. Martin of Wallenstein, consigned five head. One limousin heifer weighed 855 lbs. and sold for a price of $235.

Lambs 50 - 64 lbs. sold $386.50 to $445; 65 - 79 lbs., $407 to $433; 80 - 94 lbs., $400 to $406; 95 - 109 lbs., $398.50 to $407; 110 lbs. and over, $307.50 to $387.

Sheep sold $100 to $285.

Goats: billies sold $300 to $400; nannies, $100 to $250; kids: meat,

$400.50 to $510; dairy, $350 to $450.

Todd Sheep Company of Lucknow, consigned 14 head. Four lambs averaged 100 lbs. and sold for an average price of $407.

Shepherd Creek Farms Ltd. of Staffa, consigned 15 head. Six lambs averaged 103 lbs. and sold for an average price of $404.

Top quality stocker steers under 400 lbs. sold $228 to $245; 400 499 lbs., $205.50 to $245; 500 - 599 lbs., $214.50 to $246; 600 - 699 lbs., $215.75 to $230; 700 - 799 lbs., $203 to $218.75; 800 - 899 lbs., $202 to $218.50; 900 - 999

lbs., $201.75 to $211.50; 1,000 lbs. and over, $194 to $211.

Top quality stocker heifers, 400 499 lbs. sold $157 to $200; 500 599 lbs., $199.50 to $209.50; 600 699 lbs., $185.75 to $198.75; 700 799 lbs., $178 to $189.50; 800 - 899 lbs., $185.50 to $190.75; 900 lbs. and over, $173 to $184.

Southgate Acres of Dundalk, consigned 39 head. Ten charolais heifers averaged 706 lbs. and sold for an average price of $189.75.

Maurice Martin of Listowel, consigned 12 head. Seven charolais steers averaged 1,018 lbs. and sold for an average price of $211.

OFA, University of Guelph focus on mental health

By Teresa Van Raay, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture Through the “Feeding Your Future” labour initiative, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), in partnership with the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus Business Development Centre (BDC), has launched a new training course aimed at enhancing the knowledge and awareness of mental health and wellness in agriculture. The course, which is offered as part of the Ontario Agriculture Worker Safety and Awareness Certificate, was developed to help identify the unique barriers the agricultural population experiences relative to mental health.

Expanding the online training certificate to include a focus on mental wellness is another strong

step forward in addressing the need for more resources and support in this area. It will also help employers and employees enhance their understanding and awareness of managing mental health concerns in an agricultural workplace. The module includes a comprehensive database of resources identifying counselling services specific to agriculture as well as accessible crisis lines. The OFA continues to prioritize the importance of providing access to mental health support and the launch of this new online course complements action already taken alongside industry stakeholders and government with the implementation of the Farmer Wellness Initiative.

With the extent of dangers in an agricultural or farm workplace, it’s important to understand that safety is at risk if you’re not taking care of

your mental and physical health.

Introducing this concept to new workers promotes greater awareness and acceptance, improving the workplace for both employers and employees. One farm employer stated, “Having this module added to existing training is very much needed and welcomed.

Having wider access and awareness to this type of training will not only continue to open up the dialogue about mental health, but I also believe there will be individuals that will find this information resonates with them more than they realized.”

We appreciate the support and contributions of the Ontario and Canadian governments in providing funding to the Feeding Your Future project, allowing the opportunity to expand such a valuable training program for those working in the agri-food sector.

The Agriculture Worker Safety and Awareness Certificate creates the opportunity for new workers to understand hazards and basic information about different types of agricultural operations. Structured to be completed at your own pace, these modules will provide the base knowledge that will give you more

confidence in your abilities and knowledge of agriculture to prepare you for success. The course provides a broad overview of health and safety on a farm, an introduction to farm equipment operation and safety, and an introduction to both livestock and crop farm operations. With the initial intent of expanding the certificate, this course has been relaunched today with new deliverables. Existing modules have been edited to enhance functionality and now include extensive information including road safety, biosecurity measures, grain bin hazards and crop input safety.

Another module recently added to the program is aimed at hand tool safety. It covers basic awareness and understanding of the different types of hand and power tools and specific hazards to avoid. We forget that the little tools and equipment can be just as dangerous as larger equipment.

This course offers a concise and effective version of training that introduces basic concepts in a farm workplace that we often forget about as employers. We’ve been working in these environments for

White marks 90th PEOPLE AROUND BELGRAVE

By Linda Campbell Call 357-2188

so long that we fail to remember the number of hazards that exist. Our minds have been conditioned to subconsciously acknowledge and avoid hazards on the farm, which is the ultimate danger for new employees. Having this training available creates the opportunity for new workers to safely enter an agricultural workplace. Although the training is all virtual, practical concepts are introduced which helps when it comes to hands-on application.

Furthermore, this training welcomes new workers to agriculture, encouraging the growth of the sector. High school students will be a target to enroll in this course and an Agricultural Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) co-ordinator shared, “It’s very useful to have agricultural examples that would make safety training so much more engaging and relevant for many students who hope to work in the industry.”

Ultimately, as employers there is so much knowledge we take for granted and taking advantage of training opportunities for workers new to agriculture is an excellent way to increase retention for our agri-businesses. Some of my workers with no existing experience in agriculture get the most excited about how the work they do on the farm contributes to the global food system.

Learn more about the program at feedingyourfuture.ca/agri-training and register your employees at a discounted rate until March 31, 2022.

BRUSSELS LIVESTOCK Division of Gamble & Rogers Ltd.

UPCOMING SALES

Icy throne Mackenzie Shannon enjoyed some time outside earlier this month, sledding down mounds of snow and even making a throne in the white stuff, as shown above.

Shannon’s mother Sarah Martin snapped this photo and shared it with The Citizen. (Photo submitted)

John and I visited with Jeremy and Stacy Campbell, Jackson and baby Callie in Kitchener on Sunday.

Jane White of Wingham celebrated her 90th birthday with her neighbour friends, who planned a surprise gettogether.

On Sunday, Jan. 30 Jane’s family gathered at her home to celebrate her 90th birthday. They brought in a delicious meal complete with birthday cake. It was an enjoyable memorable day.

Knox United Church services

TUESDAYS 10:00 a.m.

Fed Cattle, Bulls & Cows

THURSDAYS

NEWS FROM BELGRAVE will resume on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 11:15 a.m. Licensed Lay Worship Leader Gloria Wilbee will be the guest speaker.

9:00 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

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PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022.

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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 TO purchase at these locations – Auburn Co-op, Auburn Esso, Belgrave Variety, Blyth Variety, Blyth Food Market, Blyth Ultramar, Brussels Foodland, Brussels Variety, Clinton Convenience, Clinton Foodland, Dean’s Valu-Mart in Wingham, Wingham Mini Mart, Seaforth Foodland, GT Mini Mart in Seaforth, Fincher’s in Goderich, Goderich Victoria St. Shell and The Citizen Blyth.

Card of thanks LITTLE. The family of Olave Little wishes to acknowledge the many expressions of sympathy, cards, phone calls and gestures of kindness shown to us following the loss of our mother. Special thank you to the staff of Seaforth Hospital, Stratford Hospital surgery ward, Haskett Funeral Home and the caregivers at Maplewood Manor.

Your thoughtfulness will always be remembered. – Faye and family.

05-1p -------------------------------------------MacDONALD. I would like to thank everyone who phoned, sent flowers and food when I was in hospital and returning home. A special thank you to Carl Nesbitt for always keeping my driveway open. – Joann (Blyth).

05-1p --------------------------------------------

Card of thanks coming events Help wanted RINTOUL. Trudy and family wish to acknowledge the many expressions of sympathy and gestures of kindness shown to us during the difficult time of Brian’s passing. Words cannot express the strength you have given us during these most difficult times. We offer our heartfelt thanks to the many family, friends and neighbours who visited our homes, attended the visitation, service (live and virtually) and who provided support for us at this difficult time. For all those who brought food, called, sent flowers, cards and messages of condolences, as well as all those who made charitable donations, we are truly grateful. Thank you to the wonderful staff at McBurney Funeral Home for their care, guidance and service.

A special thanks to the doctors, nurses and staff at Wingham and Stratford General Hospitals for the wonderful care they gave to Brian and the kindness and respect they showed to us during Brian’s illness. May Brian’s spirit live on in us all. God bless and keep all of you. –Trudy and family.

05-1

FAMILY VALENTINE’S DINNER, take-out style on Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Wingham Columbus Centre.

Choice of Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Alfredo, Roast Beef or Chicken Fingers. All meals come with either Caesar or harvest salad and a swirl cupcake. $25 includes tax, 1/2 price for kids 12 and under.

Add a hot chocolate bomb from Sweets N’ Treats for $4.50. Famous Fish Fry on Friday, Feb. 18 from noon to 7 p.m. Call 519-357-1270 to book either of these meals.

05-2

In memoriam CRAIG. Remembering Graeme Craig, a dear husband and father who passed away Feb. 8, 2021.

His warm smile, His fun loving spirit, Kind and helpful ways, We miss every day.

Stories he shared, Songs he sang, Ideas he had, We hear in many ways.

Forever in our hearts, A precious legacy of memories.

– Lovingly remembered, Helen, Michael, Shannon and Dave. 05-1p

Help wanted Help wanted EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Drainage Superintendent – Part Time Visit the Township of Huron-Kinloss website to view this employment opportunity. https://www.huronkinloss.com/en/townhall/careers.aspx

HILL & HILL FARMS LTD. Processing Plant Operator Hill & Hill Farms requires a full-time individual to assist in the operation of our automated processing plant for export soybeans. Experience is not essential, but applicants must be willing to learn, be responsible, dependable and willing to be a team player. We offer competitive wages with a benefit package.

You can submit a résumé by email to hillhill@tcc.on.ca or fax at 519-233-3440 or call our office at 519-233-3218

Thinking about quitting?

Services

TO L L - F R E E

1-877-513-5333

Services

SWINE, CASH CROP OPERATION located near Brussels, Ontario is seeking a well-rounded individual skilled in the following: operating farm equipment, the ability to do routine maintenance. Knowledge of electrical work, livestock care, welding, carpentry and a Class D licence are considered assets.

Experience preferred but we are willing to train a motivated individual looking for long-term employment. We offer a clean, safe, work environment, competitive wages and a benefit package.

Interested persons should apply with a current résumé to monowayoffice@gmail.com or by fax to 519-887-9837.

04-3

Tenders

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Tenders

Municipality of Morris-Turnberry

2022 MAINTENANCE TENDERS Sealed tenders will be accepted until 2:00 p.m. local time on:

Wednesday February 23, 2022 For the following contract: MT-22-111 – Maintenance Gravel - Supply, crush, load, haul and spread approximately 36,000 tonnes of Granular ‘M’ Maintenance Gravel.

Tender Forms available upon request from the office of the undersigned. The lowest or any tender not necessarily accepted.

Completed Tenders must be received at the Municipal Office by 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 23, 2022.

For further information, please contact the undersigned.

Director of Public Works Municipality of Morris-Turnberry 41342 Morris Road, PO Box 310, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0 Telephone: 519-887-6137 Ext. 227 Fax: 519-887-6465 Email: malcock@morristurnberry.ca

Municipality of Central Huron

TREE MAINTENANCE TENDERS The work includes tree removal, trimming and stump grinding.

Tender documents may be obtained from the office of the undersigned after January 25, 2022.

TM-1 (Urban) – Town of Clinton, Lakeshore Communities and Clinton Cemetery (Requires an ISA Certified Arborist) TM-2 (Rural) – Holmesville Patrol TM-3 (Rural) – Londesboro Patrol

Sealed tenders will be received until: Tuesday, February 15, 2022 by 2:00 p.m.

Roads Manager Municipality of Central Huron 23 Albert Street, PO Box 400, Clinton, Ontario N0M 1L0 519-482-3997 Ext. 1235 Email: roads@centralhuron.com

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

www.huroncitizen.ca

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022. PAGE 15.

Obituaries

THOMAS ALEXANDER POWELL Thomas Alexander Powell of Listowel and formerly of Cambridge, passed away at Listowel Memorial Hospital on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. He was in his 80th year.

Tom was the calm in the family; unassuming. Congestive heart failure/flash pulmonary edema took its toll on him. He was a wonderful husband, father and grandpa.

He was happiest at Fisherman’s Cove near Kincardine. Retired 25 years, Tom was a very lucky guy and so proud of what his two sons have become with their upbringing.

We all will hold many memories of him in our day-to-day lives.

Tom was the husband of Dorothy (Marks) Powell and the father of Colin and Beatrice Powell, Waterloo; Jay and Angela Powell, Wellesley and the grandpa of Ethan and Blake.

Tom was the brother-in-law of Mildred Pfeifer and Edith Wilkins,

both of London, Stanley Marks and Alice Marks, both of Brussels. He was predeceased by his parents Alexander and Winnifred (Schildroth) Powell, sister Carol Holland and her husband Doug, brother-in-law David Marks, and sister-in-law Nancy Marks.

Visitation will be held at the Eaton Funeral Home, Listowel on Friday, Feb. 4 from 10 - 11 a.m.

The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. Rev. Beth Kerr will officiate. The service will be livestreamed and the link is available on the funeral home website. Spring interment will be held at Woodland Cemetery, Kitchener.

Memorial donations to Listowel Legion, the Alzheimer Society, or the Lung Association would be appreciated.

Online condolences may be left at www.eatonfuneralhome.ca.

STEVE SIERTSEMA Steve Siertsema passed away peacefully into the arms of Jesus,

surrounded by his family at Rotary Hospice in Stratford on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. He was 59.

Steve was the adoring dad of Ainsleigh Siertsema and the loving son of Doreen and the late Murray Siertsema (2016). He was the cherished brother of Bert (Betty Ann) Siertsema, Mike (Deb) Siertsema, Anita (Mike) Langdon and Yolanda Culbert. He will be missed by many nieces, nephews, family members and friends.

Steve was a selfless person who showed generosity and encouragement to everyone he knew. No one was ever a stranger to Steve. He was kind and compassionate, loved his family and was always interested and involved in their lives.

Steve loved to work, whether laying brick, driving a truck, milking the cows or working at the feedmill, he always had a smile on his face. He loved sports and played hockey and baseball and enjoyed watching the NASCAR races as well as American Pickers and Counting Cars. He loved going to church and his church family. He loved his Timmy’s coffee. He loved his truck and enjoyed going for drives for as long as he could.

He fought a very brave battle with his cancer, always keeping a sense of humour and humbleness about him. He will be missed very dearly by everyone whom he touched.

Visitation took place at the Blyth Christian Reformed Church on Thursday, Jan. 27. The funeral service was held on Friday, Jan. 28.

United Way centre taking shape United Way Perth-Huron (UWPH) is sharing more about the organization’s planned new Northern Huron Connection Centre (NHCC) serving North Huron, Howick and Morris-Turnberry.

“We’re excited to let the community know more about this project,” said UWPH Executive Director Ryan Erb. “Having a physical space to help address pressing local issues such as chronic homelessness and social isolation is extremely important.

With the NHCC, United Way has an opportunity to make a positive, long-lasting impact on the lives of vulnerable local people.”

“Choices for Change is very happy to be involved with the NHCC,” added Choices for Change Executive Director Catherine Hardman. “We recently helped open this type of centre in Stratford and are very pleased with the early results. Vulnerable people need

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support, and by collaborating with other agencies, we can help ensure people get the help they need to begin or continue their healing journey and rebuild their lives.”

To be located in Wingham, United Way’s NHCC is intended as a welcoming, safe space for the community’s most vulnerable citizens to rest, access basic needs, healthcare services, identification assistance and more. Partnerships with agencies – including Choices for Change, the organization proposed to operate the centre – mean those using the NHCC can access important services and supports under one roof.

As part of fundraising efforts for

the NHCC project, UWPH is bringing the Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY) walk to Wingham on Saturday, Feb. 26.

“The NHCC is a tremendous step forward in local efforts to ensure vulnerable people get the help they need,” added Manager Community Development, Northern Huron and Area, Lisa Harper. “To make this project possible, we are looking to raise $43,768 in addition to our CNOY goal of $35,500. UWPH invites people across North Huron, Howick and Morris-Turnberry to join us in supporting this initiative.

However you give, know that your generosity helps build a stronger local community.”

Yo Y our voice, e your community comm ommunity ty, your neews.

News M Media Canada is a passion ssion ssionate ad dvocate for the news industry. We support our mem mber m publications in their pursuit of quality jo ournalism nalism nalism.

We believe that when society has facts they can trust, better decisions will be made.

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

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Pastor Gary van Leeuwen officiated. Interment will be held in the spring at Blyth Union Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers and as expressions of sympathy, donations to the Huron Hospice or Teen Challenge would be appreciated.

Cards of sympathy may be sent to Box 368, Blyth N0M 1H0.

Condolences may be left at riversidefuneralhome.ca.

TOM ARMSTRONG Tom Armstrong of Wingham passed away at Braemar Nursing Home on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022.

He was 90.

Tom was the beloved husband of

the late Joan Armstrong who predeceased him in 2020; the cherished father of Marion and Roy Taylor, RR 2, Auburn; Marlene and Merv Baker, Wingham; Noreen Walker, Wingham; Terry and Sheila Armstrong, RR 1, Lucknow, and Jeff and Donna Armstrong, RR 4, Clinton and the loving grandpa of 12 grandchildren, 26 greatgrandchildren and two great-greatgrandchildren. He was the dear brother-in-law of Stan and Barb Hiseler, Bracebridge.

Tom was predeceased by his parents Mark and Ellen (née Thompson) Armstrong, greatgranddaughter Amanda Hardy, sisters Mary Taylor and her husband Jack, Donna Craig and her husband Mel, and sister-in-law Eleanor Hiseler.

A graveside service and celebration of Tom’s life will be held in the spring. His final resting place will be at the Wingham Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the Alzheimer Society or Huron Hospice, Clinton would be appreciated.

Online condolences may be left at www.mcburneyfuneralhome.com.

Remembering your loved one Honour your loved one by placing their obituary in

The Citizen.

This is a free service provided by The Citizen. We encourage you to share the story of your loved one in a special remembrance of their life.

Cards of thanks can be placed in our classified section, starting at just $7.00.

Citizen-To-Citizen “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 - Samsung colour LCD video camcorder 220X zoom, 8mmwith leather bag and camera strap (like new), $75. Phone: cell, 519-357-7240 or home, 519-3573608.

05-3 -----------------------------------------FOR SALE - Garmin GPS navigation for vehicles, like new, $65. Phone: cell, 519-357-7240 or home, 519-357-3608.

05-3 -----------------------------------------FREE - loveseat, 64"x34"x24", pattern ranging pale to dark gray with a full-sized brown loveseat cover, first come, first serve. No delivery. Call 519-955-2682. 04-3 -----------------------------------------FOR SALE - Yardmax - 2 stage, walk-behind electric snowblower, 24", brand new, $600. 519-4827262.

04-3 ------------------------------------------

FOR SALE - kids mega blocks, 197 pieces, $20; large quantity of toddler girl’s clothing 12M-24M size, $1 per item. Call Wingham 519-357-2768.

03-3 -----------------------------------------FOR SALE - kittens, tabby, white orange markings, 14 weeks old, one sylvester black and white kitten, 16 weeks old, friendly, using litter box, reasonable. Mornings, Harriston, 519-338-2688.

03-3 ------------------------------------------

PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022.

The noblest of fruit Glimpses of the Past with Karen Webster What do the words Maitland, Taylor Fish, Early Joe and Rhode Island Greenling mean to you? If you said that the answer is “What are the names of some of the apple varieties grown in Huron County in the 1880s?” you would be correct.

Only a few of the varieties grown in that time period, such as Northern Spy, Harvest, and St. Lawrence, are still in existence today.

In 1881, the Provincial government conducted a Royal Commission on the state of Agriculture, drawing on the testimony of representatives of various commodities. It was found that apples were the most popular

and most widely grown of any fruit.

At that time, 84 apple varieties were named in the categories of summer, fall and winter, although it was felt that some individual varieties were known by more than one name.

Producers of apples grew them for sale in markets in the summer, but by winter were shipping them.

The supply was exceeding demand at that time, and the producers were looking to the expansion of rail service and a new method of drying the fruit as ways of improving their businesses.

Apples are fine for immediate use, but are perishable after a while,

so methods of preserving them were devised before the advent of refrigeration and freezing.

Early pioneers would peel apples and cut them into chunks that would then be threaded onto a string. These strings of apples would be hung from the ceiling, where the heat of the room would eventually dry them. The apples could be later reconstituted with water for use in pies, cobblers and stews called compotes.

It is difficult to imagine the scope of the apple industry in our local area many decades ago. Most every farm would have an orchard, not only of apples, but other fruits as

Hard at work Ralph Watson and Betty Graber Watson recently sent this picture along to The Citizen showing a woodpecker doing what it does best in their backyard. If you want to share your photography with The Citizen, send your pictures to Denny Scott at reporter@northhuron.on.ca and they may be included in a future issue. (Photo submitted)

Clear snow for mail delivery PEOPLE AROUND WALTON

By Jo-Ann McDonald Call 887-6570

It surely has been a cold, cold week. Heading outside first thing in the morning is a struggle because of the cold. I can report that school buses do not warm up very quickly.

Children are bundled up for the ride to school because it is cool on the bus. Some days they head right into school because of the cold, and other days they are out playing on the playground. I remind all when we get to the schools to remember their hats and mitts, over and over again as they exit the bus.

The snow was off and on during the week and the snowplows were kept busy. Most roads have been cleaned prior to bussing and are in good shape for the drive.

Sometimes the afternoon runs are a little trickier, but no major problems or complaints about our area, because snowplow drivers get the job done.

The snowplows are doing their job clearing the roads, but that means they are pushing the snow into and around the mailboxes. Mail carriers appreciate the efforts of those who try to keep the snow away from the boxes to make delivery as easy as possible.

Sometimes they do the job and then the snowplow comes along and fills it in again, and makes it impossible to get close enough to the box to deliver the mail. Getting stuck is not high on anyone’s list, definitely not mine. I was stuck twice last week. The first time I was pushed out with a tractor by a friendly farmer and the second time I was able to shovel myself out.

Guaranteed, if the snow looks too deep, I will not be getting too close and getting stuck again.

Groundhog Day will have come and gone by the time the paper is in your hands and we will have either an early spring or six more weeks of winter. We will hear from Wiarton Willie, Balzac Billy, Punxsutawney Phil, Manitoba Merv, Shubenacadie Sam, Fred la Marmotte, Van Isle Violet or Lucy the Lobster and see what they foresee in our future for spring!

We send our congratulations to Evan and TaraLynn Cronin on the birth of a baby girl. They have

welcomed a daughter Lauren to their family. She will be welcomed home by big brothers William and Lucas.

Celebrating birthdays to finish January are Fred Uhler, Ryan Jacklin, Sheldon Lee, Phyllis Coleman, Chris Ryan, Mark Wilbee and Macklin Bernard. We start February with Thys DeJong, Sarah Mitchell, John Braecker, John Driscoll, Marilyn McDonald and Amy Whyte. Happy birthday to all.

well. Marketing of apples and apple products was big business at one time, employing many people.

Many tons of fall and winter apples were packed in barrels destined for Great Britain and other countries in Europe. Some old photos show large crews of men, and the barrels they had packed, in front of the large apple trees. Picking would have been done using long ladders.

In Brussels, in 1909, Alf Baeker was one person who advertised for boys to pick apples. All of those apples were shipped in barrels and thus the cooperages of the area were kept busy.

The drying of apples opened up new markets for apples. Most of our area towns and villages had evaporator plants. In Brussels, the Mahler plant had processed 2,000 bushels of apples by Sept. 16, 1898 and they were willing to purchase “all that were offered”. Later, John Cunningham was in the same business. Auburn apple evaporation was done by Alfred Asquith and in Clinton, in 1896, by Mr. Case who, at one time, processed 300 bushels of apples a day and employed 30 workers. In Blyth, Isaac Brown ran an evaporator plant on the northeast corner of Queen and Hamilton Streets. By 1894, another plant, operated by Jackson and Allen, and later Allen and Stothers, was built further south in the village.

At an evaporator plant, a machine operator would attach the apple to a mechanical devise that would peel and core the apples. They would be passed down a trough to the trimmers, which sliced the fruit crosswise. If there were six peeling machines, then 18 people would be employed in this phase. The apple slices would then go through a chemical bleaching bath to prevent discolouration.

Following this, the slices would be spread on wooden slats above hot furnaces. The furnaces used coke rather than coal so that the apples would not be discoloured.

Firemen stoked the furnaces and also used large flat shovels to turn

the apples for uniform drying.

It took almost 24 hours to dry the apples. The dried apples were sold locally or would be packed for shipping to dealers who sent the apples to European markets.

Evaporator plants ran through the fall and winter until the supply of apples was processed.

Unfortunately, many apple evaporator plants succumbed to fires as a result of the flammable materials and constant fires needed to run those businesses.

Lower quality apples and windfalls were used to make apple cider, apple butter and apple jelly.

Alexander McCreight ran such a business in Blyth.

For several decades, the production of apples and their products provided much work and revenue for not only Huron County, but much of southern Ontario as well. However, a particularly hard winter in 1934 changed that. The low temperatures on Friday, Feb. 9, 1934 were recorded as -44˚F in Wingham, -53˚F in Lucknow and -52˚F (-46.7˚C) in Gorrie. The sap in the fruit trees froze and expanded, causing the bark to burst.

In Andrew Sloan’s 10-acre orchard, just north of Blyth, only 46 trees, sheltered by a windbreak of Austrian pine trees, were saved.

Among the trees destroyed were those bearing “Sloan’s Spy”, a variety developed by Sloan himself.

The local apple industry declined because of many factors: plant diseases, shortages of labour, pressure from other apple producing areas and weather.

Today, Canada ranks 31st in the world in apple production.

It is felt that monoculture of only a few select varieties of apples that are found in our stores these days is not wise, and there are some organizations, notably at the University of Guelph, that are trying to find and grow some of the older varieties of apples. Perhaps some day, people can again enjoy the taste of a Cayuga Red Streak or a Golden Sweet apple.

Ironmen back Feb. 5 The Wingham Ironmen - and the rest of the Provincial Junior Hockey League - are due to be back in action this weekend after over a month of inactivity.

The last league games were played on Tuesday, Jan. 4 with the Amherstburg Admirals beating the Essex 73s by a score of 2-1 and the Uxbridge Bruins beating the Lakefield Chiefs by a score of 5-3.

The Ironmen were due to play in late December, but the game was

cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.

The league returned to action on Wednesday, Feb. 2 with a game between the Mooretown Flags and the Wheatley Omstead Sharks.

Wingham’s first game back will be at the Davidson Centre in Kincardine against the Bulldogs on Saturday, Feb. 5, followed by a home game at the North Huron Wescast Community Centre against Continued on page 19

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Wee believe that when society has factss they can W trust, better decisions will be made.

NEWS FROM WALTON

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022. PAGE 17.

From the Minister’s Study

Learn to see God in the world says Ireland

By Rev. Charmila Ireland Melville Presbyterian Church, Brussels My first summer working with the military, when I was stationed at CFB Borden, I worked with a wonderful chaplain named Glenn.

He was a great guy to work with; very thoughtful and faithful and he loved the bagpipes.

His contract was up and he was leaving to go back home, so I wanted to get him something. I figured I would calligraphy him something and frame it, since I’d been working on learning how. I texted him and asked what his favourite scripture verse was. He replied: “Acts 11:7 is always a favourite.” I thought, hmmmmm, I’m not familiar with that one.

Though you might find this shocking, I don’t actually have the entire Bible memorized. Acts 11:7 says, “Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’”

Well, I thought, that is… interesting. I asked Glenn to explain, because I was pretty sure that wasn’t really his favourite verse. It turns out that back when he was a teenager, there was a Christian youth group-type fad about picking one scripture verse to encapsulate your entire Christian faith or philosophy. Glenn thought that was pretty silly, so he picked this one and would say it whenever anyone asked.

I have to agree with Glenn – I’m not sure it’s the best idea out there.

Because there is no way that one single Scripture verse can summarize a person’s faith. This is not to say that you can’t have a favourite, only that if you boil your entire belief down to one sentence, it’s not going to be very deep. It won’t come close to grasping the complexity of faith or God. Today I’m talking about our image of God. Sometimes, the way that we create and cling to our image of God makes an idol out of that image. The reality is that it is impossible to imagine God truly, because God is so much more than simply an image in our heads or shaped by our hands. Nonetheless, it is the natural inclination of a Christian to hold an image of God dear to their hearts. An American preacher and writer, A.W. Tozer, wrote, “The yearning to know what cannot be known, to comprehend the incomprehensible, to touch and taste the unapproachable, arises from the image of God in the nature of man. Deep calleth unto deep, and though polluted and landlocked by the mighty disaster theologians call

the Fall, the soul senses its origin and longs to return to its source.”

We yearn to know God in whatever limited way that we can.

In this desire to know God, we have all crafted our own images of God. How I see God is not the same way that you do. And it’s not the same as how a new Christian does, or a Christian in Ethiopia, France or China. Our image of God is shaped by our experiences and our culture.

For me, when I think of God, I think of love above all else. God is a loving parent who would do anything for His children, even if they go astray time after time. God is patience, love and forgiveness.

But that’s my image. I’m sure much of that image is informed by how I feel about my own parents and have experienced abundant love from them. Would I imagine God as a parent if my parents were abusive or absent? Probably not. How do you see God? One way to understand our image is to look at our favourite Scripture verses and what they say about God. Take a moment and think of yours. For example, two of my favourites are Psalm 23 and John 3:16. Clichéd, yet powerful.

They tell of a God that protects, guides, shelters, loves and forgives.

A loved one of mine’s favourite is John 14:1-3, Jesus saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where

I am.” These verses tell us of a God that is a parent, a giver of ultimate hope and salvation.

Scripture helps us to know who and what God is. It shows and tells us about God. But sometimes we become too comfortable with our image of God. You might not think that’s a problem, but it is. Because if we’re too comfortable with our image we get angry, or scared, or lose our faith if that image is challenged or destroyed. Those challenges lead to discomfort. It can lead to bias and self protective measures – we start to ignore any contradictory information. We push away people or messages that don’t match our viewpoints. I can tell you right now that we are all guilty of this. Even the people who set the lectionary.

Your faith community might not use the lectionary. In summary, it’s a 3 year cycle of Scripture passages that preachers can follow. It almost always has a reading each from the Old Testament, a Psalm, one of the Gospels and a letter from the New Testament. This article is based on the readings from Year A, First Sunday after Christmas, of the Revised Common Lectionary.

Catchy, I know. The lectionary tries to balance our readings from the entire Bible. However, it picks and chooses, by necessity, since there are limited Sundays. I want us to consider what the lectionary readings for this week, especially Isaiah 63:7-9 tell us about who God is. How it might shape our image of God. Isaiah 63:7-9 says: “I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,

Brussels Mennonite Fellowship

Sunday Feb. 6, 10:30 a.m.

Pastor Ernest Dow - Amos 5-6: “Luxurious Living or Rewards for the Righteous?”

Churches currently closed for in-person worship.

Weekly service live-streamed at 10:30 a.m. on our facebook page or on youtube @St. Paul’s-Trinity Anglican Church Wingham.

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

Trinity

St. John’s

BLYTH 9:00 AM

BRUSSELS 12 NOON

St. Paul’s Trinity

WINGHAM 10:30 AM

COME WORSHIP WITH US!

BRUSSELS

United Church Sunday, February 6 Worship via YouTube Zoom Devotion & Fellowship Wednesdays, 10:30-11:30 Global Covid Vaccine Project Help for countries unable to vaccinate their people Send/give donations to Church treasurer Contact Alex at minister.brusselsandblythuc@gmail.com Website: brusselsandblythuc.ca P.O. Box 359, Brussels ~ 519-887-6259

Services are live-streamed and can be found by searching “Blyth Christian Reformed Church”

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

MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS There will be no in-person worship for January.

Search “Rev. Ireland” or “St. Andrew’s and Melville Sermon” on Youtube.com for a virtual service.

Brussels Soup and More 2 is cancelled until further notice.

519-357-5273

Blyth United Church Global Covid Vaccine Project Help for countries unable to vaccinate their people Send/give donations to Church treasurer

Sunday School during Worship

"Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together.” (Isaiah 40:5)

In-person and online! live.huronchapel.com

Contact Alex at: minister.brusselsandblythuc@gmail.com

119 John’s Ave., Auburn 519-526-1131

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we’re in distress. God’s love and pity redeems us and lift us up. God lifts and carries us. What a beautiful, powerful, and rich image of God. This is the God that many of us are comfortable with; the God that many of us know or think of when we picture God. But this isn’t all there is to God. As with many things in life, critical thinking includes asking about what’s not there? What’s left out?

For example: why does the lectionary start at verse 7? Why not read verses 1 to 6? Let’s read it and find out: “Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his Continued on page 18

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because of all that the Lord has done for us, and the great favour to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. For he said, “Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely”; and he became their saviour, in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”

What does this tell us? God is praiseworthy. God has done amazing things for us in the past and will continue to do so. God is merciful and abundant in steadfast love. God is our saviour when

Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches blythunited@tcc.on.ca ~ 519-523-4224

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

THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH

OUR CHURCHES HAVE RE-OPENED. WELCOME BACK. 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. Facebook: Search for St. Joseph/Sacred Heart/St. Ambrose Live Sunday Mass, Sundays at 10:00 a.m.

PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022.

God is Father, God is Mother says Ireland Continued from page 17 strength? ‘It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.’ Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? ‘I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. It was for me the day of vengeance; the year for me to redeem had come. I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm achieved salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.’

Wow! That’s intense! This is God speaking! God, saying that the blood of nations is spattered on his clothes. God, whose wrath and anger sustained him, who “poured their blood on the ground.” That does not fit with my typical image

of God. This is a God that I don’t know very well. We’re tempted to skip verses like this; ignore them and pretend they don’t exist. Read the pretty and uplifting verses like seven to nine, but certainly not these ones. And that’s a shame.

Because even though I don’t know this God well does not mean this isn’t a side of God worth knowing. Think about it – this is a God that feels the full range of human emotion, even anger.

Haven’t you ever felt angry? This is a God who is real. She is not a cookie cutter figure, lifeless and bland. This is a God that cannot be put neatly in a box. And even though it’s a hard image, isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that powerful and beautiful and sanctifying?

The God that we see in verses 16 is a God who is demanding. He asked for help, searching for nations to be with Him, but there were none. She demanded obedience and support. This is a God who is weary and fatigued –

He searched, but no one answered.

No one was with Her, so She did it alone. This is a victorious God, not because of us, but in spite of us.

God who is mighty to save.

We shouldn’t skip these verses!

We shouldn’t wave off the hard ones, the ones that challenge and convict us. Instead, read them and respect them; pray over them and search them and find what they’re telling us about God and about our lives. A.W. Tozer also wrote, “The greatness of God rouses fear within us, but His goodness encourages us not to be afraid of Him. To fear and not be afraid - that is the paradox of faith.” That God, with His blood spattered clothes, is a God to be feared. But that same God is the one who sent Jesus to be born, live, suffer, and die with us. This is a God who gives us the very best – who gives us Godself.

God is not neat, or easy, or simple. God cannot be summed up in one Scripture verse. Instead, we’re invited on an adventure to get

to know God. We can spend the rest of our lives seeking to know God more, and we’ll never completely arrive. Because God is God. God is not human.

God is Father. But God is also Mother. God is holy, just, merciful, demanding, harsh, forgiving, convicting, blessing, judging, infinite, giving, weary, active and loving. God is all of those things and more. She disturbs us. He takes everything we think we know and dumps it on its head. She changes us. He overwhelms us. She doesn’t do things the way we expect.

If someone who didn’t know God wanted me to explain who God was, I would likely start by saying that God is love. And that’s true.

But though God is love, it is even more than that. God is beyond words or human understanding.

So I challenge you – try to see God in a new way, a way you haven’t before. Did it bother you or disturb you that I referred to God as “She” in this sermon? Why? Did

one of the ways I described God really resonate with you? Or did it scratch against your understanding like nails on a chalkboard? Both of those things are okay. One thing that no one in the entire Bible is when they encounter God is comfortable. It’s O.K. to wrestle with our understanding of God. Read the scriptures – all of them – not only the ones that jive with what you already think. Along with this, learn to see God in the world.

The fancy term for this is “theological thinking”. What it means is practising seeing God in the world in all of the many many ways that She is active. Ask yourself each day, or maybe when you’re sitting around the supper table, “Where was God today?”

I promise, if you do these things, you will come to have a closer relationship with God. You will see Him in new places, in new ways.

You will see that She doesn’t fit into a neat box. And that is fantastic. God is....

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022. PAGE 19.

Century Farm show focuses on farms, Junior Farmers

Long-time farms The Huron Perth Junior Farmers decided to shine a light not only on their own Century Farm project, which identifies farms that have been maintained by the same family for 100, 125, 150 and 175 years (as shown in the signs above), but the farms involved in the project as well with a special online video series available on Facebook. Above are the hosts of the show, Lauren Bos, left, and Jolande Oudshoorn. (Image courtesy of Nick Vinnicombe and Lake Affect Media)

Continued from page 1 program and its local supporters, he said, only made sense and planning then began about a year ago.

In that time, Vinnicombe, Bos and Oudshoorn have conducted a number of interviews and have material for nine episodes of the show, which will be released

monthly throughout 2022. They are still on the hunt for more century farms to feature.

In addition, Vinnicombe says they are actively working to present a variety of farms as well. For example, they will feature cash crop and dairy farms in the early episodes, but are on the hunt for

pork and chicken farms to highlight in the later episodes.

Not only has the experience been educational in regards to the agricultural history of the area, Vinnicombe says, but many of the participants in the program are former Junior Farmers members themselves, so it has proven to be a

great showcase for the organization.

Vinnicombe says that, while the show is definitely a Junior Farmers project, it fits in well with both his business and FauxPop, which is always working to produce local content when possible. As a result, it was a pretty good fit for all.

On a personal note, being part of the Huron Perth Junior Farmers has been a very positive experience for Vinnicombe, he says, and he’s learned a lot through working on the series.

He joined in October of 2020 and once he got started as a volunteer with the organization, he wished he had joined sooner.

Oudshoorn, in an e-mail to The Citizen, said the whole experience has been new to her, but that she’s enjoyed working on it immensely.

“This was a new experience for me, interviewing farm families and being on camera. I’ve found it interesting, learning about what all goes into doing a small documentary,” she said. “It’s been neat meeting with farm families in both Huron and Perth Counties these past months, learning about how farming has evolved in each generation. I was surprised about how open everyone has been, telling us about their hardships, but also about the good times.

“This project has allowed some of the farm families who weren’t

aware of the project to learn about the Century Farm program with the Junior Farmers Association of Ontario, which has been great, as we are doing this project to help promote the Century Farm program too,” she said. “We’ve had good feedback from the families so far, being honoured to be part of our project, but also thankful as they looked through some of their own history, bringing back old memories. I am looking forward to each episode airing and seeing where the show goes.”

To connect with the Huron Perth Junior Farmers, e-mail the group at huronperthjf@gmail.com. To watch the first episode of the show, find the organization on Facebook.

Sudoku Solution

Happy 40th!

Happy 75th!

Aunt Amy

Papa (Ken)

February 3

February 9

Love from your family

Love from your family

Ironmen hold middle of league Continued from page 16 the Hanover Barons on Sunday.

Saturday’s game in Kincardine begins at 7:30 p.m., while the puck drops in Wingham on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. for a rare afternoon game.

The Ironmen remain in the middle of the North Pollock Division of the Ontario Junior Hockey League in fourth place.

They are tied in points with the Mount Forest Patriots with 28, but have suffered one more loss with their record of 14-9-0-0. The Patriots have a record of 13-8-1-1.

The Barons remain in first place with 42 points and a record of 20-3-

1-1, followed by the Mitchell Hawks in second with a record of 19-3-2-0 and 40 points.

The Kincardine Bulldogs will restart action in fifth place with 22 points and a 10-10-1-1 record, followed by the Walkerton Hawks with a record of 4-18-3-1 and 12 points.

The Goderich Flyers are in last place with just two points and a record of 1-22-0-0.

The Ironmen continue the month with a home game against the Kincardine Bulldogs on Feb. 11 before heading out on the road against the Mount Forest Patriots

Council should trust staff suggestions: Seip Continued from page 10 unexpected would be purchased, only assets or projects that were in the budget would fall under these rules.

He said staff currently have to have items approved in the budget by council, then repeat that process if the items cost more than $30,000, creating delays. Under the new thresholds, they would be able to prevent delays and streamline the process.

Chapman pointed to a specific example in the 2022 budget of a dehumidification system that needed to be replaced, saying, if approved as part of the budget, staff could then immediately start replacing the systems which are in disrepair. If council decided to not allow the changes, then council

would need to approve the purchases twice: once in the budget and once at a later council meeting.

Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip said staff know the industries they are responsible for and, unless council members had intimate knowledge of those industries, council should trust staff’s recommendations.

“Regardless of the expense, if it’s over budget, it’s still coming to council,” he said. “We have to recognize that. Staff will have a limit of what council has approved, and we will get quarterly budget reports saying here’s what’s been spent and here’s what not.”

Council did approve the changes unanimously with Palmer commenting that council would be watching to “see where it goes.”

on Feb. 12. On Feb. 20, the Ironmen take on the Patriots at home again, followed by a homeand-home series with the Bulldogs in Wingham on Feb. 25 and in Kincardine on Feb. 26.

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PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022.

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