The Citizen - January 7, 2021

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Thursday, January 7, 2021

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Volume 37 No. 1

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Coronavirus cases surge over holidays

By Denny Scott The Citizen

The ultimate ride Over the holidays, Huron County was gifted a White Christmas by Mother Nature and many were out and about taking advantage of a good, old-fashioned winter in rural Ontario. Among them were Bodhi, back, and Kai, front, of Bayfield, the grandchildren of Andrea Stevenson of Belgrave who took to the hills on their sled in search of the ultimate ride. (Photo submitted)

After significant spikes on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) reported the area’s cumulative COVID-19 cases has increased by nearly 225 since the last issue of The Citizen was released.

As of Monday, there are a total of 755 cumulative cases and 106 active cases across the area according to Huron Perth Medical Officer of Health Dr. Miriam Klassen. She said, during a press conference on Monday, that 50 cases had been added over Saturday and Sunday alone and that, over the entire holiday period, the area’s case count was high.

“We had new peaks reached on Christmas Day, over 30 cases, and New Year’s Day,” she said.

Klassen also reported there are currently two people hospitalized in the area due to COVID-19 and several outbreaks.

Exeter Villa’s second outbreak includes 23 confirmed cases so far split between 16 residents and seven staff members in the long-term care wing of the facility. In the retirement wing of the facility, there has been one confirmed case in a resident.

Other long-term care facilities and retirement homes outbreaks include Braemar Retirement Centre (two staff members); Hillside Manor in Perth East (one staff member) and Livingstone Manor in North Perth (two residents and one staff member).

Two outbreaks, that at the Listowel Memorial Hospital which saw five patients and nine staff

infected and at Cedarcroft Place in Stratford, which saw 24 staff and 50 residents infected, were declared over on New Year’s Eve. Klassen said declaring the outbreak over at Cedarcroft was the result of many individuals and groups working together, including HPPH, the Local Health Integration Network, the Southwestern Pandemic Leadership Group and the Huron Perth Pandemic Triad, as well as volunteers, including primary care physicians, who supported the situation.

During the press conference, Klassen said she understands many have been following the COVID-19 response measures and it may be hard to keep going, but that not following the rules would negate all the “hard work” the area has undertaken since the pandemic began.

She said that the reality of burnout and fatigue shouldn’t be ignored, but people need to continue to work towards the end of the pandemic.

“You do make a difference,” she said. “Every action counts.”

She said people need to continue to keep distancing and wearing face coverings as well as washing their hands.

Klassen said the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine continues to be administered to staff from local long-term care and retirement home facilities in partnership with the London Health Sciences Centre, the Middlesex London Health Unit and HPPH. She said that exact dates or numbers of additional vaccines for the area have yet to be determined, Continued on page 2

Blyth Festival fundraiser exceeds $200,000 goal

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen After enacting an ambitious fundraising campaign in the wake of cancelling its 2020 season, the Blyth Festival has exceeded its goal, raising over $220,000 for new play development.

After the Festival was forced to cancel its 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two couples

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came forward and contributed $50,000 each to the Festival in the hopes of attracting matching funds from others willing to give. The Festival reached that goal, raising $200,000 just before the holidays.

However, at that time, another donor came forward with $10,000 and challenged supporters to match it, resulting in the $220,000 figure, which is still growing.

Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil

Garratt said he has been blown away by the support from the community, not just through this campaign, but through the recent art auction that raised thousands for the Festival. He said the amount raised is “gamechanging” for the Festival.

The support from the community, he said in an interview with The Citizen, also comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility that he doesn’t take lightly.

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When the Festival launched the campaign in hopes of raising just $100,000, Garratt and Festival staff were dubious as to whether they could raise that much. However, with the generosity of the community and some large donations, used creatively to leverage further funding, that goal was “blown out of the water” in just a few months.

As far as how the money will be

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spent, Garratt says that new play development essentially covers everything the Festival does, from commissions to holding actors’ workshops. Right now, however, he’s working on getting creative in terms of outdoor shows for 2021 before it’s again safe to hold shows at Memorial Hall.

For more information, visit the Festival’s website online at blythfestival.com

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COVID-19 cases spike in North, South Huron Continued from page 1 but once they are, HPPH will continue administering vaccines based on directions from the province.

As far as how cases continue to increase, Klassen said many cases continue to be linked to household spread as well as some workplaces where exposures are occurring because public health rules aren’t being followed rigidly.

She also said that, while she hates to speculate, the provincial lockdown could be extended.

“If case counts don’t improve significantly, I would see that as a reasonable decision,” she said.

Klassen said she anticipates more cases being reported as a result of the strict lockdown measures being implemented so late into the holiday season and it could take two to three weeks to see the impact of the lockdown.

“Things could get worse before they get better,” she said.

Once the lockdown is lifted, Klassen said Huron and Perth Counties could be under the “red” response framework as far as case

numbers are concerned. However, she said the area has had case numbers that would constitute red classification for some time, though due to hospital capacity being sufficient and contact management being manageable, the area was kept in the “orange” level.

“We’re still having high case counts now,” she said. “We’re hoping we can turn that around.”

As far as specific numbers are concerned, several municipalities in Huron County have seen significant spikes over the holidays, including North Huron which increased from 10 cumulative cases to 28, while South Huron has increased from 22 to 41, many of which could be tied to the outbreak at Exeter Villa.

Central Huron increased from 18 cases to 28 over the past two weeks, while Howick climbed from 18 to 24 and Bluewater climbed from 21 to 18. Huron East has accrued 10 new cases, increasing from five cases to 15, while Morris-Turnberry has increased from 11 cases to 16. Goderich has increased from six cases to 10 and Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh has

increased from six to eight cases.

North Perth, Perth East and Stratford continue to drive the majority of cases for the Huron and Perth area, with the three municipalities being responsible for just shy of 68 per cent of all cases (a total of 512 cases).

Stratford increased from 170 to 221 cases over the past two weeks while North Perth climbed from 113 cases to 176. Perth East gained 14 cases, increasing from 101 to 115.

Perth South doubled its case count from 11 to 22, while West Perth climbed from 14 to 18 and St. Marys climbed from eight to 15.

Active cases are being reported in Stratford (35), North Perth (20), South Huron (16), North Huron (eight), St. Marys (six), Perth South (five), Perth East (four), MorrisTurnberry (three), Huron East (three), Howick (two), Bluewater (two) and Central Huron and Goderich (one each).

December proved to be the worst month for the pandemic in the area so far with 352 cases being reported through the last month of the year.

That represents a 34 per cent increase over the previous high of 232 in November.

Household contact continues to be the single-highest identified cause of infections at 26.3 per cent across Huron and Perth Counties.

Outbreak-related exposure is

responsible for 21 per cent, close contact with a known case accounts for 19.4 per cent and travel accounts for 1.9 per cent. The majority of cases still stem from unknown exposure, however, at 31.4 per cent.

For more information, visit hpph.ca.

Local ag. security firm opens

Security Whether it’s biosecurity initiatives, including keeping everything clean, or cyber security, EthoGuard, a Blythbased company, is ready to help agricultural businesses with all forms of security. (Photo submitted)

By Denny Scott The Citizen Blyth’s Mark Beaven is bringing his 25 years of experience in agriculture and business to a new venture focused on security of all types in agriculture with the new company EthoGuard.

Beaven announced the opening of the business earlier this week, aiming to fill a gap in agricultural services not just locally, but across a wider service area as well.

“Most of my experience is in the biosecurity field,” he said. “But we’re expanding by learning other security platforms to combat risks and threats that agricultural operations are facing, whether it’s cyber [security] or just an increase in rural crime.”

Currently based out of Blyth, Beaven said the company is going to

focus on four basic fields of service: three forms of security and one new initiative, an emergency response team.

For biosecurity, the company will offer training and planning for biosecurity systems, as well as reviews, audits and biosecurity products.

Cyber security will also be a major focus for the company.

“We’re very fortunate to be able to build a team of cyber security specialists,” Beaven said.

“Agriculture is really overexposed and underprotected when it comes to cyber [security risks].”

He explained that there are multiple ways the company can help from the basics like virus protection right up to complete cyber protection security packages.

Facility security, the third pillar of the company, will be completed through a partnership with a

company out of New Jersey, Beaven said, which will allow for entrance control, asset tracking and a whole range of products that will, among other things, help combat increasing rural crime incidents.

Beaven explained that fleet management will be available, alongside the ability to track equipment, including four-wheelers, trucks and tractors, at a moment’s notice to help deter crime or recover stolen equipment.

The fourth initiative, the emergency response team, is a smaller component of the business right now, Beaven said, but he hopes it will continue to grow.

“There is a real need for a small crew that is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in case of emergency,” he said.

The crew could help with anything from animal health emergencies to transportation problems.

EthoGuard coming into being in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic is no coincidence, Beaven said, as the pandemic had him thinking about biosecurity.

Initially, he said he was considering putting his biosecurity experience into practice for the general public, saying that agricultural biosecurity could be applied to helping contain the disease. In the end, however, he decided to expand on security in the agricultural field, focused on primary production, agricultural businesses and agri-food processing.

“We want to make sure that we can do what we can to reduce or eliminate threats that the industry is facing,” he said.

“At the same time, though, there are technologies that aren’t in the agriculture sector that the industry could benefit from,” he said. “That’s our plan. We’re really focused on developing strategic partnerships with companies focusing on other industries. We’ll see if their technology can be implemented or adapted to benefit agriculture.”

Beaven said there will be more announcements regarding partnerships between EthoGuard and other security and technology companies in the coming weeks.

For more information, visit www.ethoguard.com.

Happening holidays Tucker and Ellie Wilson of the Blyth area helped to get their home ready for the holidays last year and their mother Anna shared the experience with The Citizen. (Photo submitted)

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021. PAGE 3.

Widowhood during COVID-19 Part 2

By Marguerite Oberle Thomas These columns are mostly about what other bereaved persons shared, plus my own personal experiences. I have co-authored this piece with several other mourners.

“I’m hungry for Annie’s potato salad,” said my long-time friend Ken. It was summer and not a surprising statement. His mother-inlaw and my mother would have used the same homemade salad dressing recipe that made it so good. Had we lived closer, the mumsy in me could have bustled about and whipped up a batch of potato salad. But then, COVID-19 means that we don’t travel. More quickly, the nursy in me heard not just that potato salad would be a treat, but that it was code for, “I miss Annie. I miss the good times we had in the summer when potato salad was part of the menu and I want to talk about Annie”. So, we did.

During my years as a psychiatric nurse, we had a motto “Don’t just do something, sit there”. It is way easier – 1,000 times easier – to bustle about and whip up a batch of potato salad than it is to sit and share ourselves with someone who is experiencing pain. We generally tend to be uncomfortable when someone cries in front of us, or on the phone, and we feel an anxiety to move them past that obvious pain and to a less emotional conversation. Pain is such a part of the human condition, yet our skill at dealing with it in others is not something that we generally do well.

Thank you for reading that uncomfortable opening. When the first widowhood article was published in early December, we didn’t know what the response would be. I asked for readers to send feedback and I was amazed and

gratified to see the huge outpouring that followed.

There were approximately 200 Facebook likes, comments, e-mails and personal contacts that expressed just how many people are mourning, how they felt and how they would like others to treat them.

I asked readers to share what was annoying, horrible and helpful. The most repeated theme from those mourning was the inability of others to comfort or to comfort graciously.

They despised, “he’s in a better place” when the only place they wanted him to be was right here.

They really found it difficult how others were so uncomfortable with a tear or a choke in the voice. Often, mourners just wanted to be heard and didn’t need a response, just not a pulling away. So, do talk about the person lost if you sense that the mourner wants to do that. The lost love is always on the mind of mourners and great memories are greatly appreciated.

During these times, sometimes offering a virtual hug can be a strong thing to do. Losing a spouse is more than losing the person who hugged you. It is losing the future you thought you had and the daily routine that you did have.

It can be really hard to be told to have a wonderful day or a great day when your heart has just been ripped out. Almost eight months later, I am ready to have some wonderful parts in my days, but it sure didn’t feel right in the earlier days. Other annoyances others mentioned included the loss of being a couple, which meant not being invited to social functions by other couples. COVID-19 has dampened social functions for sure, but this comment also came from

the era before the pandemic.

Along with that, widows miss all the little jobs that husbands used to do readily. The new reality is a reluctance to ask someone else’s husband to do a small job that needs to happen. The saving grace for me here in Brussels is that a community resident, Peter Jaycock, has taken over the role that my late husband Bob had in being a local handyman, lawn mower and snow shoveler. I have counted on my brothers-in-law, Murray and Kevin for car and home issues. I had other helpers, but, like many widows, I find it most comfortable to hire and pay someone who charges very reasonable rates.

Handy helpers are heroes.

In the early days, it is difficult to make decisions. So, if you are a helper, please find ways so that choices are not onerous. It may be helpful to simply ask, “do you want to decide on a lunch menu or would you just like me to do it?” Mood varies by the minute and the bereaved may want favourite items or may simply not care. The pandemic precludes big gatherings, but even in the intimate bubble, people still do need to eat.

Other simple helpful communications are not to say, “I know exactly how you feel”, because you can’t. And please don’t follow it up with your own problems, whatever they may be.

Early days just mean getting by, not being able to give back. And in that vein, just be forgiving if the bereaved says or does something that is repetitive or could be taken wrong. Early days are about surviving, not being highfunctioning. Those left behind spoke about feeling a fuzziness and not being able to concentrate. It was hard to do even simple things like following a recipe.

Difficulty with being able to focus was a problem for many of the

logistical items, such as decisions around the funeral, cancelling a cell phone or questioning car maintenance. It can be a true gift to ask to go along to help with those appointments, even when the pandemic complicates these interactions. Those newly bereaved have said, “my head just isn’t working right”, especially when it comes to remembering everything.

Brain fog makes it hard to respond appropriately to sympathy and kindness from others. Don’t take it personally.

Although each loss is different, mourners shared some things that they liked to hear: • I think of you – please accept my sincere condolence. I am so sorry for your loss • I know it is difficult and I just wish you the best. My heart goes out to you • I feel for you and know that you lost a wonderful person. He was so happy with you • I know that it is tough, and I am here for you. Is there something that I can do for you today • I brought you these groceries and a hot meal • I can sit with you for a while if you wish. Please tell me how things are with you today • I am just calling to see how you are doing. I think of you fondly and

If any ingredient is left out (Thomas Watson, “The Doctrine of Repentance”) “Unless you repent, you will also perish.” Luke 13:5 Repentance is a grace of God’s Spirit, whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and outwardly reformed. Repentance is a spiritual medicine made up of six special ingredients: 1. Sight of sin 2. Sorrow for sin 3. Confession of sin 4. Shame for sin 5. Hatred for sin 6. Turning from sin If any ingredient is left out, it loses its virtue.

“I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” Acts 26:20 A Grace Gem Submitted by: Immanuel United Reformed Church, Listowel, ON 519-492-1359

Have We Got Your Number?

Helping out Despite not being able to hold its annual reunion, the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Associaiton was able to make donations to local community groups as it typically does every year. Above, the Huron County Food Bank, represented by board chair Willemien Katerberg, left, received $500 from Association President Judy Sloan.

Below, the Tanner Steffler Foundation, represented by John Steffler, also received $500. (Denny Scott photos)

you are on my mind.

The last one is especially important. Don’t treat your relationship as if the widow died when the spouse did. Remember the most beautiful five words in the English language that you can say and mean, are “How can I help you?” And then do it.

As for those early day sad times – don’t be fooled. Ken and other mourners will tell you that those sad times visit often and unexpectedly even much later: sometimes strong, sometimes bittersweet and sometimes with tenderness or humour, but they never really go away.

We learn to live with loss, but we don’t get over it.

As singer/songwriter Jann Arden recently posted, “you have to have had a vast love in order to miss somebody. Grief is the lingering gift of love”. It is also the loss of love.

Please – just be present, just be a friend.

Want to contribute to the next column? The topic will be how the bereaved can help themselves. To contribute to these columns, please e-mail me at marguerite@tcc.on.ca or contact Citizen Editor Shawn Loughlin at 519-523-4792 to leave your phone number. I promise to call you back. Advice can be shared anonymously with confidentiality.

The Citizen is now planning its 2021 Telephone Book.

Is your number correct in the recently delivered Bell Canada phone book?

Do you have a new listing since that book was compiled?

If so, please let us know so we can make our phone book as complete and useful as possible.

WANT TO ADD YOUR CELL PHONE LISTING INSTEAD? JUST PROVIDE US WITH THE CORRECT INFO EVERY YEAR.

PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021.

Editorials & Opinions

Founding Publisher: Keith Roulston Publisher & President: Deb Sholdice Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld • Heather Fraser 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 $40.00/year ($38.09 + $1.91 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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The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. N0M 1H0 N0G 1H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Phone Fax 519-523-9140 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.huroncitizen.ca Member CCNA

Member of the Ontario Press Council We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright

When is it enough?

At some point, even the gang that backs up a schoolyard bully begins to question when a line has been crossed. As United States President Donald Trump refuses to concede the election and continues his lastditch attempts to hold on to power, several key Republicans (including Mitt Romney and Mitch McConnell) have finally indicated that they will deplore any attempt to deprive Joe Biden of the presidency.

President Trump is grasping at straws, including calling for a 10-day audit by state legislatures (which are controlled by Republicans in the critical swing states in which he is seeking to overturn results). His desperation was evident on the weekend when he spent his time badgering election officials to “find” him votes.

Trump should be spending his final days in the White House soothing a nation ravaged by a global pandemic and ensuring the country remains an international leader and a beacon of democracy by ensuring a “smooth transition of power”, just as its constitution has upheld for centuries. Instead, he has been on the golf course and his Twitter feed, pushing misinformation to convince followers the election was stolen.

By now many of his supporters, even those who previously admired his brash disregard of protocols, surely must be wondering where the line should be drawn. – DS

Do as I say, not as I do As many Canadians sacrificed their traditional holiday celebrations or cancelled once-in-a-lifetime vacations in the name of stopping the spread of COVID-19, several high-profile politicians eschewed their own governments’ advice and travelled to luxurious destinations.

There was the widely-publicized trip to St. Barts taken by Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips, during which Phillips planned social media posts making it appear he was home with his family for the holidays. (Phillips has since resigned from the cabinet and is facing further calls for him to resign as Ajax MPP.) Since then, other trips have come to light, including MP Niki Ashton of the NDP, who travelled to Greece, and at least eight Members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and staffers from Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party who travelled internationally over the holiday break.

Ashton has been stripped of several roles, while Kenney has fired his chief of staff, accepted the resignation of his Minister of Municipal Affairs and demoted five others as a result. Federal Liberal MP Kamal Khera has stepped down from her parliamentary secretary role after travelling to Seattle, while her fellow Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi travelled to Delaware. Conservative MP David Sweet has resigned from his role as chair of the House of Commons Ethics Committee after travelling to the United States over the holidays. And there are more.

While Canada is sure to see a spike in COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks, our leaders must be held to a higher standard. A politician asking constituents to adhere to rules they themselves don’t follow is the heart and soul of why people refuse to trust the government. Furthermore, those who have not been punished solidify the feeling of many that there are different rules for those in power than there are for the general public.

If those leading us through one of the deadliest pandemics in history want to stake their reputations on the message that we’re all in this together, they need to make the same sacrifices they’re asking of us. And if we are all in the same boat, that boat needs to be safely docked here in Canada, not gracefully bobbing in waters off the coast of St. Barts. – SL

Reaching new heights Just under two weeks have passed since the second provincial lockdown was enacted to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and case numbers both locally in Huron and Perth Counties and across Ontario continue to spike.

In Huron and Perth Counties, those spikes occurred on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day and Huron Perth Medical Officer of Health Dr. Miriam Klassen says we could be weeks away from seeing the impact of the lockdown. As of Monday, however, Huron and Perth Counties have 106 active cases between them and nearly one third are in Huron.

With the cases where they are, Dr. Klassen said during a press conference on Monday, Huron and Perth Counties continue to be in the “red” framework zone when considered only numerically, however other factors may keep the area in the “orange” zone if the lockdown is lifted on schedule. This comes after Canada set a new record with well over 8,000 cases of COVID-19 on New Year’s Eve. As a province and as a county, we all need to hunker down to prevent the spread of this virus before we can all benefit from the vaccines that may finally bring an end to that pandemic. Keep washing your hands, physical distancing, listening to the experts and ignoring the people whose advice will just keep this pandemic raging longer than it needs to, causing more deaths. – JDS

Looking Back Through the Years January 9, 1964 Rev. A. Johnston was a special guest for the inaugural meeting of Brussels Village Council to begin 1964 at the Jan. 6 meeting.

Councillors and Reeve Cal Krauter took the declaration of office and Johnston followed with an address to council, urging the importance of inviting constructive criticism, sticking to their judgment and being faithful to the job.

Mr. and Mrs. Milton Fraser of RR5, Brussels celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on New Year’s Day. They marked the occasion with a special turkey dinner at the New American Hotel in Brussels.

In The Brussels Post, residents were warned of local boys taking part in a “dangerous” new activity.

“A number of boys in this village are engaging in a dangerous pastime. They are hanging on to the backs of moving cars,” the article read. “Many have expressed concern that some of these boys are going to be killed or seriously injured.

Parents should warn their sons to stop before tragedy results.”

January 3, 1974 The Blyth Standard looked back on an eventful 1973 in Blyth, which included the return of professional theatre to Blyth with Theatre Passe Muraille’s The Farm Show.

In addition, the Blyth Little Theatre produced its first-ever play in the form of Green Fingers. The Blyth Standard reported that the company was in the midst of planning to produce another play in the village in 1974.

January 3, 1996 Huron County’s New Year’s baby belonged to Sheri and Michael McIntyre of RR1, Brucefield, who were surprised when their baby girl arrived 11 days early. She was born

at 2 a.m. on Jan. 1, 1996 at Seaforth Community Hospital. Not only was she the New Year’s baby for the county, but she was also the first to be born in 1996 in all of midwestern Ontario.

The girl was the third child for the McIntyres, who had twin two-yearold boys at home.

Brussels councillors expressed their frustration over a jurisdictional dispute that would see its fire department go unpaid for fighting a fire on the edge of the village in Morris Township.

At the first meeting of the year, held on New Year’s Day, councillors raised the subject after receiving a letter on the issue from Morris Township Council. It warned Brussels Council that Morris Council would refuse to pay the Brussels department for any fires fought in the township unless the Brussels department notified either the Wingham or Blyth departments, telling them they were responding.

While the Wingham and Blyth departments have responsibility for the main coverage in the township, the Brussels department has first response for the area closest to the village.

Plans for the 1997 Brussels Homecoming were underway and organizers needed a theme for the celebration. Murray Cardiff, the Homecoming Committee Chair, brought the issue to Brussels Village Council, saying he was happy with the “enthusiastic” group of people charged with making the event a reality, but added that the committee needed a theme and a logo by the end of the month.

January 6, 2011 Central Huron Council got its first look at John Black, the Fire Department of North Huron’s new

fire chief as part of a long-awaited meeting between council and the chief.

This came after Black had to cancel two previous scheduled meetings and while North and Central Huron Councils were embroiled in tumultuous fire coverage discussions.

As part of the meeting, Black said he would be forwarding monthly fire reports to Central Huron Council to keep councillors up to date on what was happening with the department and any costs that could be on the horizon.

Huron East Against Turbines (HEAT) members asked Huron East Council to hold another information meeting on wind turbines and invite councillors and residents from neighbouring municipalities to attend.

Blyth-area native Mark Nonkes was due to have his photography from his time in Namibia featured at the Goderich Co-op Gallery through the months of January and February.

Two men very familiar to Citizen readers passed away over the holidays. Eric John Dowd, a longtime Queen’s Park reporter and contributor to The Citizen, passed away on Dec. 25, 2010, succumbing to cancer at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. He was in his 80th year.

Stewart Ament, who had lived in both Blyth and Auburn, passed away on Dec. 31, 2010 at Wingham and District Hospital in his 91st year.

Ament was a decorated soldier, spending several years overseas in World War II. He was a truck driver for the Canadian Armed Forces upon landing in Europe and he took part in the D-Day invasion, moving through the beaches of Normandy in France just one day before the invasion began on June 6, 1944.

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021. PAGE 5.

Other Views

We gain so much from newcomers

I

f there’s one thing that should have become clear during the current pandemic it is how much Canada has gained from immigration.

Many of those leading the fight against deadly COVID-19 are, if not immigrants themselves, then children or grandchildren of people who made the brave decision to leave behind the world they knew to take a chance on a better life in Canada. It appears that both they and Canada benefited from that difficult choice.

From Dr. Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, through her deputy Dr. Howard Njoo, to the Chief Medical Officers of Health of some provinces to local Medical Officers of Health in several regions, names and skin colours show people in charge who would not have occupied those positions if, decades ago, Canada hadn’t changed its immigration policies to recruit people from the entire world, not just white-skinned Europe.

As well, many of the doctors commenting on the pandemic on television news broadcasts are obviously this country’s reward for an open immigration policy. Less glamorously, in many urban areas many personal care workers trying to keep our seniors safe and comfortable are recent arrivals in Canada.

There are always those who resent and fear immigration. Many perpetuate an image of new immigrants happily sitting idle collecting government support instead of finding jobs.

But the reality is most new immigrants bring with them the same drive to succeed that made our own ancestors here in Huron County tackle the clearing of 100-acre, tree-covered farms with nothing more than an axe.

What’s more, listen to new Canadians at a citizenship ceremony, and you’ll likely hear expressions of joy about newly-gained citizenship that the rest of us take for granted.

Keith Roulston From the cluttered desk I was reminded of all that the other morning when I happened to switch to Your Morning, CTV’s morning show, and catch the tail-end of Ben Mulroney’s interview with Mohamed Fakih. What I heard was so inspiring and moving that I simply had to learn more about this extraordinary Canadian-by-choice.

Mohamed Fakih was born in Lebanon and trained as a gemologist when he immigrated to Canada in 1996. Ten years later, the owner of a Mississauga restaurant serving Middle Eastern food begged him to invest in the business.

Instead he bought the restaurant and ran it himself under the parent company Paramount Foods.

Since then, Fakih has grown Paramount Foods into an 85-restaurant chain, with locations in dozens of provinces, states and countries. But his business success only provides Fakih with the means for a remarkable number of his efforts to give back to his new country.

In 2017, after a well-armed gunman targeted Muslims praying at a Quebec City mosque, killing six and wounding 19, Fakih felt he had to do something. He paid for funeral expenses for the victims and for repairs to the mosque.

In December of 2017, Toronto experienced a stretch of -30°C weather. With Toronto’s housing shelters at capacity, Fakih helped pay for dozens of hotel rooms for the homeless

and, years later, continues to financially support ongoing efforts to get families off the streets.

During the Syrian refugee crisis in 2016, Fakih travelled to Syria to the front lines to better understand relief efforts. Since then he has hired more than 150 refugees in his restaurants.

When fire swept through a rent-geared-toincome apartment building in 2018, Fakih spearheaded the raising of $125,000 in 24 hours for the families that had been displaced.

A year ago, after Iraq accidentally shot down Ukraine Airlines Flight 957, killing dozens of Canadians and even more people bound for Canada, he spearheaded the CanadaStrong campaign: the raising of nearly $6 million, including matching funds by the Canadian federal government, for the families of victims.

This past summer after a horrific explosion that leveled much of Beirut, causing at least 204 deaths and 6,500 injuries, Fakih returned to the land of his birth to see what he could do.

The result was the Lebanese-Canadian Coalition which raised $17.2 million.

Then there’s the story of Soufi’s, a popular downtown Toronto eatery, which closed because of threats. After their eldest son was part of a protest outside a Hamilton event featuring People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier, racist harassment made the family afraid to run their business so they closed it.

Fakih pledged to help the Al-Soufi’s reopen the restaurant, saying the family would retain ownership and all profits. “We’re going to send a message that hate will never win in Canada,” said Fakih.

Seeing the gifts we receive from new and relatively new Canadians, we multi-generation Canadians have a lot to live up to.

From scratch: putting the extra effort in

I

t was a baking holiday at the Scott house over the past couple weeks as I spent days with my daughter Mary Jane testing out new recipes, discovering the joys (and horrible smell) of molasses and then enjoying the efforts of our labours.

It started with gingerbread horse-head cookies (for my equine-obsessed wife and for Mary Jane who is learning to follow in her footsteps) and then followed with traditional gingerbread men, both of which were decorated with frosting, icing and sprinkles.

Then came more of the same without the icing and sprinkles, mostly for me as I’ve never been big on icing, frosting or fondant.

From there we went to gingersnap cookies, cinnamon buns and some other experiments here and there.

It might not have been the best practice for my waistline, given the amount of snacking that traditionally follows Christmas, but with the lockdown in full effect for most of The Citizen’s holiday break, and my wife Ashleigh working through a good chunk of it, I was looking for new and unique ways to keep Mary Jane engaged while teaching her a little bit. Unfortunately, alphabetical and numerical worksheets from the internet only kept her busy for so long. Fortunately, she’s always loved helping out in the kitchen: from making breakfast to doing the dishes, she loves getting hands-on.

It was fun and the family finally got some sustained use out of some very nice appliances that Ashleigh and I got for our wedding years ago, though it inevitably led to a messy kitchen. Ashleigh would come home to multiple sink-loads of non-dishwasher-safe dishes for us to do and cooling racks strewn throughout the house with dozens of cookies on them.

With that mess in mind, when we approached the end of our holiday break, I

Denny Scott Denny’s Den stopped with the “from scratch” recipes and bought some of those pre-made cookies and cinnamon rolls that really only dirty a few sheets of parchment paper and a couple cooling racks.

It was when I was ripping into a pack of premade chocolate chip cookie dough that I saw something that really inspired this entire column: a splash of colour on the corner of the package that proudly stated the cookie dough could either be cooked or eaten raw.

I’ll be honest – I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a tube of raw cookie dough. Sure, I may have cleaned off a cooking utensil or five, but I’ve never split open a cylinder of cookie dough with the intent of eating it as is. When I was younger, people always said it would make you sick to eat raw dough and, when I got older, I realized that, aside from cookie dough ice cream, it was likely better to bake the product as intended.

It struck me as odd that a company would make its cookie dough edible uncooked because that seemed like the wrong way to do things, especially since it’s so simple and easy to make. We’re talking 30 minutes from opening the pack to enjoying the slightlycooled cookies, not some half-day long process that starts with the horrible smell of molasses.

Regardless of the reason why, the whole situation struck me as wrong because it flies in the face of what we should be doing as a society: teaching these life skills to our young

people so they have them for the rest of their lives.

Mary Jane’s got a good head start because she loves being in the kitchen. She enjoys cooking and baking, which I’m extremely happy about because working in the kitchen was something I came to later in life.

Learning to work in the kitchen was something I never paid much attention to in my youth and, if I’m being honest, something I wasn’t really prepared for when I left the nest and started living on my own. Before anyone comments on that to my parents: it wasn’t their decision that my kitchen experience was limited to making cereal and tea – that was all on me.

It wasn’t until my third or fourth month of post-secondary schooling that I realized that I really enjoy cooking, baking and experimenting in the kitchen.

Like my holiday baking, realizing how much fun can be had in the kitchen likely had a negative impact on my caloric intake in general. Baking and cooking, however, led to some great moments and memories, including meeting my wife, being (jokingly) hit on by one of my favourite professors at a pot-luck meal and years of culinary experiences.

I’ve dabbled in everything from preserves to pickling, from pancakes to paninis and from casseroles to croque madames and I’m happy to pass on a love for working in the kitchen to my daughter.

So how does this all tie back to that “safe to eat raw” label on the cookie dough? It irked me when I noticed that label because pre-made dough is lazy enough, let alone not cooking it.

The label did, however, lead me to my New Year’s resolution: whether it’s cooking or DIY projects, I plan on starting from scratch this year. Starting from scratch always makes the final product that much more fulfilling.

Shawn Loughlin Shawn’s Sense

The art of surprise

S

urprising someone with something can be a true joy. Seeing their face light up thanks to something you did that they just did not see coming is something you both will remember for the rest of your lives. It’s these kinds of surprises I hope to experience with Tallulah in the years to come. However, sometimes they don’t go quite as well as you’d hoped, and you leave feeling a bit foolish.

Jess organized a surprise birthday party for me once, at a pub I really liked in Pickering. In true old-man-telling-a-story fashion, it’s no longer there, but it had the best wings in the city and it was one of the few pubs that served Guinness on tap. The surprise went just fine, but Jess and I had skipped going to a baseball game I really wanted to see to go to the party, which Jess told me was for someone else.

Well, I spent the whole drive to Pickering mouthing off about said person and lamenting my mandatory attendance at his get-together, only to find out once we arrived that about 40 of my friends and family members were there waiting for me.

Jess, unfortunately, was my sounding board for another such instance. I lived in Goderich at the time and Jess lived with her parents. My mom and sister were coming up for a visit and were, as they had told me, just minutes away from my apartment when Jess called me in a panic, saying she had clumsily dropped one of her rings through the boardwalk in Goderich to the sand below and needed my help to find it.

I helped her look, all the while complaining about her clumsiness and I likely called her inconsiderate once or twice, as here I was rummaging around on the beach after dark while Dana and my mom were likely waiting to be let in to my apartment. When I returned, I saw a brand new TV hooked up, a gift from Dana and my mom. They had arranged to get me out of the house, so they could surprise me.

Felt like a pretty big jerk that time as well.

Jess got me back later in life though. In late 2016, I knew I was going to propose to her on Christmas Eve. In fact, I was already having the ring made and my family and a few friends even knew. We went to a soccer game in Toronto and were enjoying dinner before kickoff. The topic of marriage came up and, knowing what I was planning, I turned up the misdirection knob, really playing down any urgency in getting married, knowing I’d propose in a month.

Well, that didn’t go so hot. We had a fight and I did everything I could to get out of the fight without having to spill the beans that I’d be going to pick up her engagement ring in a few weeks.

The good news is that the actual engagement went well and somehow landed as a complete surprise, despite the fact that we had been dating for a decade.

Speaking of Christmas surprises, last year around the holidays we were able to surprise our families at Christmas and then our friends on New Year’s Eve with the news that Jess and I would be having a baby. That went well too.

However, when we told them, by way of a card for our niece Addyson, my sister began taking video with her phone. No doubt, when we had visited them a month earlier, as Jess was in the throes of morning sickness (which doesn’t discriminate and only happen in the morning, despite the catchy name), Dana recognized the signs and symptoms and had an inkling as to what was coming at Christmas.

Ah yes, the art of the surprise. In life, there are good surprises and there are bad surprises, just try not to be a jerk about it like I was. You feel pretty bad about it for a while afterwards.

PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021.

2020 pity party is now over says Graber Watson A NOTE FROM BETTY

By Betty Graber Watson Call 887-9231

Happy New Year! And then a big pause followed by a sigh and another sigh. Our long-lasting COVID-19 reality was not a good holiday time, but we did it. We thought of others and our own health and stayed in our wee bubble for the festive season.

We repeated, it’s only one Christmas or we’re lucky, or our kids are all healthy. It helped a little, but like many in this time of love and family, it really did suck!

The pity party is now over. On to the positive side of life, lots of good things happened and many good deeds were delivered, all helping to rescue the season. Christmas and music used to just fit. In a pandemic, it takes a little more effort. Music was available at different times and connections and being at home, you could sing along as you liked.

Nativity stories, concerts, services were available in many forms.

Grandchildren hold a special spot, so the Trinity Listowel United Church did an offering that touched hearts, especially of some grandmothers I know. Relatives of ours, Audrey Cardiff and Beth Earl, were seen presenting their versions of the familiar stories of the angels, the stars and cattle and even what Joseph might have been like.

It was so good to hear 2020 language and see clothing and mannerisms to tell this ongoing story. Each generation hears and sees things with their own take and we need to celebrate the fact they see the Nativity as relevant. Christmas Eve by Zoom with Brussels United Church student Minister Alex Jebson was another new experience; another reminder that good things come in many forms.

The picture-perfect snow falling on Christmas Day and on into the night made things not so good for delivery people. We have the best Toronto Star delivery fellow in normal times, but he outdid himself

NEWS FROM BRUSSELS

Celebrating Before Christmas, students, community groups and individuals across Huron County sent Christmas greetings to the residents of Huronlea and Huronview Homes for the Aged. Letters and artwork helped to mark a tough Christmas when those in the homes couldn’t visit family face-to-face. (Photo submitted)

At the Branch

Renovations completed over year

By Jo-Ann McDonald Happy New Year to all and goodbye to 2020. We will have faith that this new year of 2021 will be better for all. Although the Brussels Legion Branch is starting with a government lockdown for the month of January, we hope it will not be for much longer than that.

The past year saw the Branch closed from March until September and then reopened with limited hours of operation. During that time the Branch hosted two drive-thru fish fry dinners, an outdoor pub night with wings and chicken fingers and fries and a turkey dinner. The Catch the Ace draw was suspended from March until September with the final draw just before Christmas and the big winner of Dennis Adlington taking home $11,982. He generously donated $1,000 back to the Brussels Legion and Comrades thank him for his donation.

A new Catch the Ace licence will begin in this year. The first draw is scheduled for Feb. 5, unless the shutdown is extended. The tickets will be in the outlets next week: Brussels Variety, Brussels Pharmacy, McDonald Home Hardware and some Legion members. We will keep everyone informed as we are kept up to date.

The Branch year in review for January 2020 began with the Branch hosting the Brussels Fire Department Christmas party in January. The Branch also made a donation to the Brussels Community

on the morning of Dec. 26. Our paper was resting on the porch. In amazement my eyes followed the driveway to the road to see footprints, nearly blown in. Service above and beyond I think.

Phone calls, FaceTime, cards, garage visits and drive-by visits have all kept the connections in this COVID-19 Christmas. As the new year progresses, it’s very important to keep track of those same folks and more to remind them they are important. It’s good for everyone.

If annual meetings are usually part of your normal January life, adjust now. The big annual will not happen.

Your work will still need to be filed, budgets passed and reports compiled. Each group will adjust, as their rules allow.

Bye now, Betty GW

Development Trust of $1,000 for the new medical building sign. The catering group also catered to the Lions Club and Huron County Beef Producers. Monthly Sunday night dances, Cadet meetings, mixed darts, monthly karaoke with Stubby D and Lions meetings resumed in January. District darts saw Ron Schmidt finish second and, in zone euchre, Brussels had the first-place team of Eric Ross, Bob Richardson, Barry O’Krafta and Norm Dobson. The Huron County Men’s Darts held a day at the Branch, which was also the venue for a farm meeting with farmers, concerning bio security on the farm.

February arrived and again our sports teams did very well. Zone mixed darts were won by Comrades Bob Richardson, Linda Bird, Ron and Daisy Schmidt. The Schmidts also won the doubles darts division.

In senior district competition, the Brussels team of Kathy Burkholder, Linda Bird, Jim and Sandra Brown finished fifth and Bob and Eric finished fourth in doubles. Youth public speaking was held with 13 speakers. The primary winner was Vaughan Bachert, the junior winner was Holly Huffman and the senior winner was Maradith Shuit.

It was the first time it was held on a Sunday afternoon and there was an excellent turnout. The Branch catered to the Lions Club, a funeral luncheon and a Brussels Agromart meeting. The executive all attended a leadership seminar

conducted by District Command.

The month of March began with uncertainty, but events were still hosted to start, including weekly Thursday darts, Cadet meetings, the Catch the Ace draw and monthly Lions meetings and dinners. The karaoke was cancelled due to bad weather. The general meeting was held with the entertainment committee disclosing some interesting fundraising ideas. The first night of fun and fitness was held and Jelly Bean Blue provided entertainment after the Catch the Ace draw. By March 23, the provincial government had closed down everything due to the COVID19 pandemic and the Catch the Ace draw was suspended, along with plans for new entertainment.

The month of April saw an indepth cleaning of the Branch and the completion of the office reconstruction.

The outside maintenance was completed thanks to Don Jacklin doing the lawn sweeping. President and piper Jamie Mitchell, joined pipers from around the world in playing “Amazing Grace” in support of the healthcare workers working tirelessly for the health of all on Easter Sunday out front of the Branch.

The Branch held its first Zoom meeting and the Comrades were directed to contact our veterans to offer any assistance they could.

Provincial Command communicated that all elections should be cancelled Continued on page 19

Brussels Legion 218 Catch the Ace Draw begins February 5th Tickets available at Brussels Variety, Brussels Pharmacy, McDonald Lumber and Brussels Legion.

Sales begin next week.

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021. PAGE 7.

Blyth Lions resume pandemic grocery delivery service

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen With Ontario back under lockdown orders from the provincial government, the Blyth Lions Club has revived its grocery delivery partnership with Blyth Food Market.

The initiative was first offered to

residents of the village in April, but was then scaled back when the province began reopening and COVID-19 cases were relatively controlled. However, with cases now rising dramatically and the lockdown in place, the club is again offering the service to senior citizens and quarantined Blyth residents.

Those wishing to buy their groceries from home can simply call the market at 519-523-4551 and place the order. Market staff will then collect the requested items and assemble the order before calling the shopper back with a total order cost. Shoppers will then pay by credit card over the phone and the

market staff will provide an approximate delivery time for the order. It will be a member of the Blyth Lions Club who will deliver the shopper’s order, leaving it on their doorstep.

Long-time Lions Club member John Stewart said there had been unofficial discussion among club members in April about serving the community in some way during the pandemic and it was member Fred DeBoer who suggested a grocery delivery service.

Stewart brought the suggestion to the Blyth Food Market a few weeks ago and there were some technological kinks to work through before the service could be rolled out.

“It goes back to the root of our organization and its motto, ‘we serve’ and we thought this was something we could do to help the community,” said Stewart in an interview with The Citizen.

With the high number of senior citizens in the community, Stewart said DeBoer felt that keeping people at home and delivering groceries would be a helpful service to provide.

As for the logistics of the deliveries, Stewart said the store will field and fill orders over the course of the day and Lions Club members

will pick up orders destined to be delivered later that day.

The deliveries will be contactless, Stewart said, with payment having been arranged prior to the delivery.

Upon arrival, the Lions Club members will drop groceries by front doors, not entering homes or apartments.

For more information or to place an order, call the Blyth Food Market at 519-523-4551.

NEWS FROM BLYTH

Warmer weather leads to fast winter From Marilyn’s Desk

By Marilyn Craig Call 523-9318

That first stride June and Murray Bromley aren’t letting the pandemic and lockdown stop them from lacing up the skates and getting some practice in on their home rink in Blyth. (Photo submitted)

N. Huron’s Heffer joins committee The Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Committee (SPC) has welcomed its newest municipal member. As the new Central Grouping municipal representative, Paul Heffer represents the Township of North Huron, the Municipality of Huron East and the Municipality of MorrisTurnberry, filling the position formerly held by long-time member David Blaney from Huron East.

Paul Heffer and his wife Gail have lived in Wingham for 40 years where they have raised three daughters. “We have enjoyed having safe, potable drinking water, which makes sitting on this committee very meaningful,” he said.

Paul Heffer is a Wingham resident and Township of North Huron councillor. “Working in the agriculture sector for more than 40 years, I got to realize how important water is to every farmer,” he said.

The SPC creates local source protection plans that are approved by the Province of Ontario. The planning policies manage risk from 22 potential threats to drinking water such as fuel, chemicals, salt, waste oil, nutrients, pesticides and other activities near municipal wells.

These policies protect our

residential drinking water sources as one of several barriers of defence that keep our water safe and clean.

Matt Pearson, SPC Chair, welcomed the new municipal representative, who attended his first video conferencing meeting on Nov. 25. With David Blaney able to attend remotely from his new home in Pembroke, Chair Pearson thanked David, once again, for his years of service to the committee and wished him well in his future endeavours.

There are 12 members of the source protection committee. The 2020 committee includes Chair Matt Pearson and the following members: Municipal, Allan Rothwell (East); Paul Heffer (Central); Myles Murdock (North); Dave Frayne (South West); Economic, Rowland Howe (Industry); Philip Keightley (Commerce); Bert Dykstra (Agriculture); Mary Ellen Foran (Agriculture); Other, John Graham (Environment); Jennette Walker (Environment); Ian Brebner (Property Owner); and Alyssa Keller (Public-at-Large).

Committee members are working on a new series of videos to help people understand more about their drinking water. In the first video, Alyssa Keller, water operator at the

Seaforth water treatment plant, takes you on a virtual tour. You may watch the Seaforth open well video now at https://youtu.be/M3CVovxmSI4.

To find out more visit sourcewaterinfo.on.ca

Happy New Year everyone. Here’s hoping 2021 will be better than 2020.

Happy birthday to Josie MacDonald, who celebrates Jan. 7; Jaxson Bromley, Jan. 8; Hanny Meier, Jan. 9; Lexi Daer, Barrie and Marion Young, Huronlea, Brussels,

Jan. 11 and Grant Sparling, Jan. 13.

Hope everyone will have a good time being one more year older.

Mother Nature is really being kind to us with mild temperatures sticking around 0°C. With these mild temperatures the days are flying by and this is making the winter go faster than normal.

Remember to stay safe everyone and give someone a phone call just to say hello!

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

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PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021.

Obituaries GREGORY PERRY SARACHMAN Jan. 5, 1945 - Dec. 16, 2020 It is with profound sadness that we announce that our father, Gregory Perry Sarachman of Blyth, passed away suddenly on Dec. 16, 2020 at the age of 75.

Greg was the cherished soulmate of Roberta (née Andrews) of 51 years, whom we lost just seven months earlier. He was a wise and caring father of David, Jonathan (Sally) and Amanda (Andrew Hostler). He was also the much beloved Gida to his grandchildren, Sophie and Liam Hostler. Greg is sadly missed by his siblings: Roseann Moyer (Lorne), Joanne Kelch (Dwayne) and Allan Sarachman (Sheree), brother-in-law William Andrews (Donna), and sister-in-law Mary Andrews; his nieces and nephews, many friends, and extended family.

He was predeceased by his parents, John and Elaine Sarachman of Sarnia, his parents-in-law, Orest and Minnie Andrews of Lively, his brother-in-law Terry Andrews of Lively and his nephew Dana Andrews of Kitchener. He will also be missed by his King Street family of Blyth, to whom the family wishes to extend its love and gratitude for their unending love and support.

Greg will also be sadly missed by his puppy, Farley whom he adopted after the loss of his wife. His grandchildren make the promise to love him and take him on many walks, and give him lots of meatloaf.

Greg was born in Port Arthur, and was a graduate of Laurentian University (1965-1971), where he met the love of his life, Roberta.

They were married in Lively on Sept. 6, 1969. Greg’s loyalty and unending devotion to his wife was respected by all right up until her death earlier this year.

Greg achieved many accomplishments that were a testament to the people and things for which he was passionate.

At the beginning of his career he travelled the world on behalf of Simpson Sears. From there he moved to Cochrane Dunlop where, when the company downsized due to the economy, he donated his severance to his co-workers who had also lost their jobs. For a brief period he helped run the front end of a local pharmacy which then led him to Drug Trading, a path that would place him in the perfect position to start his own consulting firm GPS and Associates.

One of the places Greg was strongest, however, was in his love of the community of Blyth, where he became an active participant in all manner of causes. He petitioned against the closing of Blyth Public School and joined the Blyth Festival board for directors. After meeting with neighbours on many puppy walks, Greg engaged the group by creating a puppy play group and even made up business cards for the members to stay involved during COVID-19 lockdowns.

His passion for politics and his love of “engaging the conversation” attracted quite the following on Twitter. Greg did not limit his political insights to social media, sharing his political beliefs and opinions as a frequent contributor to his local newspaper, The Citizen, where he was published numerous times. He did this all while continuing to successfully operate his consulting firm well into what should have been his retirement.

Greg was many things to many people: to some he was a wise mentor, to others an engaging conversationalist with a deep philosophical outlook towards the world and the people within it, and to some he was a loyal friend. To his children and his grandchildren he will always be a towering figure who worked tirelessly to provide for his family, loved his wife with a passion that transcended all adversity and a father who loved his children and grandchildren unconditionally.

Due to COVID-19 limitations, a private family gathering and cremation has already taken place. A joint memorial for both our parents will take place at a later date.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, we ask for donations in his name to the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society at ontariospca.ca.

LAURA MAY CHAMNEY Sept. 30, 1935 - Dec. 25, 2020 With profound sadness, Gordon ‘Bud’ Chamney of Auburn announces the passing of his treasured wife of 67 years, Laura May (née Leatherland). After a hard-working lifetime dedicated to family and community, Mom’s faith now leads her to her next reward.

Also left to mourn her passing are her children Larry (Deb), Paul (Lynda), Lorraine, Doug (Lynn) and Eldon (Elaine). Mom will be greatly missed by her grandchildren Patrick (Wendy), Kathryn (Josh), Alison (Brad), Ryan (Amy), Dan, Justin (Jacquelyn) and Meagan (Jarryd).

Mom was also blessed with nine great-grandchildren, Audrey and Theo, Madison and Kaden, Breslyn, Ella and Wren, and Jadyn and Presley.

She also leaves behind her sisters Marie (Wayne) Millian, Joyce (Ernie) Unruh, brother Edgar (Sally) Leatherland and sister-in-law Lois Chamney.

She was predeceased by her parents Alvin and Lillian Leatherland, her in-laws Robert and Clara Chamney and her sister June (Bill) Patterson and Bud’s siblings and their spouses Herman (Margaret), Elwyn (Roberta), Graham (Jean), Stuart and Verna (Ernie) Doerr.

Laura May spent a lifetime in and around the village of Auburn and created a large circle of friends, including her 65-year friendship

with Shirley Andrews. Laura May’s family is also thankful for the support and thoughtfulness of neighbours Ken and Heather Morrison, who have made it easier for Mom and Dad to remain independent in their home these last few years.

As a child during the Great Depression and Second World War, Mom knew the value of hard work and the importance of family and community. She enjoyed over 60 years as a member of both the Auburn United Church Women (UCW) and the Auburn Women’s Institute. Mom was a 50-year member and Past Worthy Matron of the Order of the Eastern Star, serving in the Blyth, Clinton and Exeter chapters.

After raising her family and managing the family business, Mom enjoyed the company of family and friends and had many hobbies during retirement. She was happiest with old-time country and western music playing while she created her magnificent quilts.

Walking, reading, knitting, music and collecting glassware and ceramics are just a few of the activities about which she was passionate. Family gatherings and dinners, however, were her happiest times, especially during the Christmas season when the joy and sounds of her family and children filled her home. Her grandchildren and greatgrandchildren will also forever cherish those memories.

Laura May’s family would like to acknowledge the care and compassion received by paramedics, doctors and nurses at the Goderich Alexandra Marine and General Hospital Emergency Department, London’s University Hospital Stroke Unit and, especially, the Huron Hospice Residence. We will be forever grateful for our Minister Susan McIlveen who helped prepare Mom for her next journey.

Cremation has taken place and a celebration of her life and interment of her ashes will be held at Ball’s Cemetery, Auburn when it is safe to do so. In lieu of flowers, please honour Laura May with a donation to the Auburn UCW, the Huron Hospice Residence or the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Arrangements have been entrusted with Falconer Funeral Home, Bluewater Chapel, Goderich.

Messages of condolence for the Chamney family are welcome at www.falconerfuneralhomes.com.

KENNETH JOSEPH “KEN” WAECHTER Kenneth Joseph “Ken” Waechter of Walkerton, passed away suddenly at home on Friday, Dec. 25, 2020.

He was 71. He is now fishing on the eternal shores.

Ken was the beloved husband of Catherine “Cathy” Waechter (née Benninger), who predeceased him on Nov. 29, 2018. He missed her deeply every day.

Ken was the dear father of Dwayne Waechter (Jacquie), Brussels; Joanne Robertson (Dan), Varney and Jeff Waechter, Walkerton. He will be missed by his grandchildren, Tyler Robertson, Timothy Waechter, Tristan Waechter-Hayes, Derrick Waechter, Joshua Robertson and Kyle Robertson and great-granddaughter Blakley Kaye Waechter.

Ken will be remembered by his siblings, Geraldine Lehman (Edward) of Baden, Florence Lehman (Frank) of Kitchener, John Waechter (Sharon), Wally Waechter

(Connie) and Alfred Waechter (Diane) all of Formosa. He is also survived by in-laws, Bob Weishar (Eileen), Chepstow; Yvonne Benninger, Formosa; Lloyd Benninger, Blyth; Roseann Steffler (Len), Cargill; Linda Weber (Lloyd), Mildmay and Jerry Benninger (Pauline), Formosa, along with many nieces, nephews, cousins, neighbours, co-workers and friends.

Ken was predeceased by his parents, Edward and Marie (née Flachs) Waechter, sisters Margaret Weishar and Helen Miller, brothersin-law David Miller, David Cassidy and Carl Benninger and sister-in-law Jan Benninger.

Following Ken’s wishes, cremation has taken place. A memorial mass and celebration to honour his life will be held at a later date when family and friends can safely gather to reminisce and share memories. His final resting place will be Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Cemetery, Formosa.

Memorial donations to Diabetes Canada or the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.

SHIRLEY MAE SNELL Shirley Snell of Wroxeter passed away at Wingham and District Hospital on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020.

She was 92.

Shirley was the beloved wife of Glenn Snell, Wroxeter and the loving mother and mother-in-law of Elaine and Ron Elliott and Kathy and Dave Wilson, all of Palmerston; Murray and Donna Snell, Bluevale and Sherry Snell, Wroxeter. She was the cherished grandma of eight and great-grandma of 13.

Shirley was predeceased by her parents William and Emily Dettman, her son Gerald Snell, and her in-laws Jean and Jeffrey Marston, Vern and Hope Snell and Larry Snell.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a private funeral service was held at McBurney Funeral Home, Wingham on Wednesday, Dec. 23. Rev. Larry Skinner officiated.

Interment will take place at Wroxeter Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Wingham and District Hospital Foundation or the Knox Presbyterian Church, Belmore would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.

Online condolences may be left at www.mcburneyfuneralhome.com

ROBERT JAMES (JIM) POLLARD Robert James (Jim) Pollard, 73, passed away at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, just prior to Christmas.

Jim is survived by his son Michael Auburn, Washington and daughter Carleen (Austin), Seattle, Washington. He is also survived by his sister Jayne Dunlop and brothers Steven (Laurie) and David (Annie) Sparling, all of Blyth.

A private family celebration of life will occur as COVID-19 travel restrictions permit.

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021. PAGE 9.

2020 began with protests, Junior Citizen awards Canadian Mixed Doubles National Championship later in 2020.

The Blyth Lions Club was working towards several celebrations in the coming year. Not only would the club be hosting a golf tournament to honour the late Charlie Shaw, a long-time member of the club, but it would also be marking its 75th anniversary that summer.

The Blyth Brussels Atom Rep Crusaders won their Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) semifinal series against Mariposa and earned a spot in the finals against the East Lambton Eagles.

The Blyth Festival Singers were in the midst of planning for their 40th anniversary concert, set to be held on March 28 at Memorial Hall in Blyth. The Singers planned to welcome past members and conductors to the show to celebrate four decades

of music throughout Huron County.

The Blyth Brussels Atom Rep Crusaders began their Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) final series against East Lambton with a 6-1 loss, but that would be the team’s last game of the season, with COVID-19 being declared a worldwide pandemic and shuttering everything from stores to arenas to concert venues across the province, the country and much of the world.

Huron Perth Public Health found its first case of the deadly virus in St. Marys in the form of a 64-year-old man who had just returned from Mexico.

The provincial government shut down all non-essential businesses as a result of the pandemic, saying the lockdown would remain in place for at least 14 days.

With his restaurant, Part II Bistro in Goderich, closed, owner and chef Continued on page 10

Busy place In late 2019 and early 2020, Blyth was a popular location for teachers’ union protests in front of the office of Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson as several organizations had their say on the streets of the village, like this demonstration in late January. (File photo)

2020 y r a u n Ja The merger between the Perth District Health Unit and the Huron County Health Unit was finalized, coming into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.

The new entity would be named Huron Perth Public Health and it would operate under the guidance of Dr. Miriam Klassen as the newlyformed entity’s first-ever medical officer of health.

The Blyth Festival’s first-ever Holiday Show and Sale raised $6,300 during the months of November and December of 2019.

Most of the money raised went to artists, but $2,000 of the proceeds would be donated to the Festival.

Continuing with the Christmas season at the Blyth Festival, Artistic Director Gil Garratt said over 4,000 tickets were sold to A Huron County Christmas Carol, the Festival’s first attempt at a holiday show. Garratt said the success of the show all but guaranteed that a holiday show would return to Blyth in 2020.

The Brussels Fire Department handed out the John D. Pennington Award for 2019 at its award night, honouring Jamie Mitchell with the accolade, named for the former Brussels firefighter.

The Blyth Brussels Atom Rep Crusaders claimed gold in the Fort Erie Winter Challenge tournament, sweeping through their games without a loss.

The Brussels Agricultural Society held its annual meeting, installing Zoellyn Onn as its new president.

Monique Baan would serve as the home craft president, while John Lowe would serve as the treasurer and Crystal McCallum would be the secretary. Both took over for Brian Schlosser, the departing secretarytreasurer, by splitting the position into two jobs.

Nearly 40 volunteers were honoured by Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson at her annual New Year’s Levee in Teeswater. Those being recognized by Thompson included Jane Smyth and Mikayla Ansley of

Blyth, Zoellyn Onn of Brussels, Karen Redmond of Auburn, George and Ruth Townsend of Seaforth and others.

With various teachers’ unions regularly striking in front of the Blyth office of Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson, they said they were planning provincial strike expansion. The unions said there would be weekly provincial strikes if a deal wasn’t reached, in addition to rotating local strikes.

Mikayla Ansley added yet another trophy to her mantle, being named one of 12 Ontario Junior Citizen Award winners. The awards, handed out annually by the Ontario Community Newspaper Association, would be presented on April 3 in Toronto.

Blyth altogether on protest days.

The Citizen was named a finalist for two Ontario Community Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Competition Awards.

One recognized The Citizen’s sports photography, while another honoured the newspaper’s general excellence.

The Blyth Brussels Atom Rep Crusaders opened their Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) semi-final series with a win over the Mariposa Lightning.

2020 h c r a M 020 2 y r a u Febr Huron County Warden and Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn was acclaimed as chair of the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus. Ginn wouldn’t be the only Huron County representative, however, as Huron County Chief Administrative Officer Meighan Wark was named its secretary for the coming term.

The Blyth Festival Art Gallery announced the featured artists for its coming season and there was certainly a local flair. Blyth’s Kelly Stevenson, Lucknow’s Hannah Dickie (also a photographer for The Citizen) and Rob Tetu from Seaforth were among those who would be featured in the summer.

Wingham would be the host for the first-ever mixed doubles championship thanks to Team Cottrill, which was set to host the event at the Wingham Golf and Curling Club.

Despite the Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) working to see teachers’ union protests as an opportunity, several Blyth business owners said the protests were hurting their shops. They said the protests were either making it difficult for shoppers to access their stores or that people simply avoided

Shawn and Katie Cottrill, the two members of Team Cottrill, would be competing in their fifth straight

Winning ways The Blyth Brussels Atom Rep Crusaders would be named co-champions of the province after their finals series was cut short due to COVID-19. Here, the Crusaders made short work of the Mariposa Lightning in late February and early March. (File photo)

PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021.

COVID-19 pandemic takes hold in March The Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story and the annual Barn Dance Jamboree Weekend in Blyth both joined the parade of events being cancelled due to the pandemic.

While the Munro Festival would move forward with virtual events throughout the year, organizers of the Barn Dance said they planned to host the event in 2021 and it would be their last in Blyth.

Though the Brussels Optimist Club was unable to host its annual spring dinner and auction, it went ahead with making donations, handing out $20,000 to local hospitals tangling with COVID-19.

term care homes throughout the county.

The annual reunion of the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association was cancelled for 2020, as were the Six String Music Festival, held annually in Seaforth, and the Brussels Fall Fair.

After two weeks, the Huron-Perth region saw no new cases of COVID19 and, as a result, no cases were being considered active at the time.

020 June 2 20 May 20 Staying home and/or keeping your distance were the names of the game in March and April as much of the world entered lockdown in an attempt to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though Easter was one of these times, the Easter Bunny was still able to find its way to Brussels to spread some joy safely from the main street in April. (File photo) Continued from page 9 Peter Gusso, formerly of Blyth, provided nearly 100 take-out meals for staff at the Goderich Alexandra Marine and General Hospital while they coped with the pandemic.

Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company rolled out its ‘Grateful Bread’ program, providing loaves of bread baked with spent grain from the beer-making process to those in need during the pandemic.

20 April 20 After the first COVID-19 exposure in the Huron-Perth region was discovered in St. Marys, Huron County had its first case in South Huron, as a man in his 60s arrived at a local hospital and was then transferred to London for care.

The Jam Jar Pub and Eatery in Brussels, though closed to the public, used its resources to provide meals to residents of the Highland Apartments at Huronlea Home for the Aged.

The kind gesture began with a call from Florida, looking for a take-out

meal from the restaurant for a resident of the apartments. Due to the pandemic, staff was mandated to discontinue meal service to the apartments due to health and safety concerns.

As a result Jam Jar co-owner Maddy Miller began delivering meals to residents there and kept it going for several weeks.

Marion Stewart, a resident of Huronlea Home for the Aged, marked her 100th birthday at the home, but due to health and safety regulations, she was not able to leave, nor were her family members allowed to enter. The family celebrated with her by the window of her room, marking a milestone few reach.

Huron Area Search and Rescue (HASAR) was chipping in during the pandemic, delivering Meals on Wheels throughout Huron County through OneCare.

While area restaurants were permitted to fill take-out orders, but not host indoor dining, many local restaurant owners said take-out orders simply were not filling the gap left by the pandemic.

For the first time in its history, the Blyth Festival suspended its season, a decision that was inevitable as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to spread.

John Hoonaard was busy throughout Blyth, building glass barriers for essential businesses that

had to remain open during the shutdown. He had placed barriers at the Blyth post office and Watson’s Home Hardware, among others.

Sixteen-year-old Luke Fritz was drafted to the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires after a youth of playing hockey with the Brussels Bulls and the Huron Perth Lakers.

Unsure of the future, the Blyth Festival Art Gallery followed the Festival’s lead and cancelled the annual Student Show. Organizers still hoped the season would go ahead, however, perhaps just later in the year.

The Blyth Lions Club partnered with the Blyth Food Market to deliver groceries to those not wanting to do their own shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several local talented sewers began making masks, headbands and all other manner of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and those at essential businesses, paying their kindness forward.

The Blyth Brussels Atom Rep Crusaders were named provincial co-champions after their series with the East Lambton Eagles was unable to finish due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, local food banks were seeing an increase in usage, but at the same time, seeing an increase in donations as well.

The Blyth Festival officially cancelled its 2020 season after suspending it the previous month.

The Blyth Festival Art Gallery would also follow suit, cancelling its season, but retaining the artists in the hopes of repurposing the season for 2021.

Many service club officials detailed the loss of thousands of dollars due to cancelled events and fundraisers.

A hand sanitizer drive initiated by Seaforth native and Stanley Cup winner Ryan O’Reilly resulted in over $41,000 worth of the product being donated to hospitals and long-

Babies of the Year

Under lockdown

Several local young women, who dubbed themselves the Quarantine Fairies, were spreading joy throughout North Huron and beyond by placing baskets full of goodies on the front porches of their friends, asking them for nothing in return, only to pass the kindness on to someone else.

Despite the pandemic, Auburn’s Huron Chapel marked its 40th anniversary with a special virtual church service and a look back at four decades of history.

The Wingham Knights of Columbus found success by hosting a take-out fish fry dinner that sold out. Other area service clubs would replicate that success.

The Huron County Plowing Match became the most recent event to Continued on page 11

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021. PAGE 11.

Late-night fire devastates Green’s Meat Market Huron County. Dignitaries and those involved with the trail held a special welcome ceremony.

2020 t s u g u A

Starting over Green’s Meat Market in Wingham was devastated by a late-night fire in June, which destroyed its headquarters and has forced the Green family to rebuild. (File photo) Continued from page 10 cancel its 2020 offering.

The Clinton Raceway opened its 2020 season, but with no fans in the stands due to COVID-19 safety protocols.

A late-night fire devastated the Wingham headquarters of Green’s Meat Market. The fire was not being treated as suspicious, but it left 25 local people unsure if they would have jobs in the weeks to come.

20 July 20 Goderich Mayor John Grace said his town was descending into crisis

due to the growing homeless population and a lack of services and places for them to go due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company had recently been certified as one of the greenest employers in Canada, Half Hours on Earth in Seaforth also had reason to celebrate as it was certified as being carbonneutral.

Brussels musician Lyndon John X (also known as LJX) won the 2020 Juno Award for The Warning Track, which was named Canada’s best reggae album of the year. This came after LJX had been nominated for a Juno Award three times earlier.

Blyth Festival alumnis and Huron County native Cam Laurie was one of many winners of the year’s Dora Mavor Moore Awards for excellence in Toronto theatre.

Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn said he would not be seeking a third two-year term as Huron County

Warden, opening the door for a new top politician in the county.

The Belgrave Fowl Supper, the biggest fundraiser on the Belgrave Community Centre Board’s calendar, was cancelled for 2020.

Huron County native and Stanley Cup winner Ryan O’Reilly was nominated for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship.

The Brussels Leo Club cut the ribbon on its new playground in Brussels, after working hard to raise the funds to make it a reality.

A fundraiser for a local transport truck driver who struck and killed a pedestrian during a protest in Burlington topped $100,000 to aid in the man’s legal fees after he was charged with careless driving causing death.

The stone dust surfacing project for the Goderich-to-Guelph Rail Trail hit a milestone in July with those applying the stone dust making their way from Perth County into

Shannon McGavin of Walton was named the new executive director of the Tanner Steffler Foundation.

North Huron Council decided to sell the Wingham trailer park, despite receiving a petition signed by nearly 500 urging council to retain it and keep it a trailer park.

The Blyth and Brussels United Churches announced they would be welcoming Alex Jebson as their new student minister, with his time in the community set to begin in September.

Two men voiced their intent to become the next Huron County Warden: Ashfield-ColborneWawanosh Mayor Glen McNeil and South Huron Mayor George Finch.

After the in-person ceremony being cancelled, Mikayla Ansley was honoured with a virtual ceremony and a special gift box from the Ontario Community Newspaper Association as one of 12 Ontario Junior Citizen Award winners for 2020.

Jolande Oudshoorn of Auburn was named the Junior Farmers Association of Ontario Novice Member of the Year. Since joining the organization in 2019, Oudshoorn had become very involved, being elected the Huron-Perth chapter’s vice-president near the end of the year.

ber m e t p e S ies Bab 020 of 2

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2020

Ryan Van Dorp and Emily van Leeuwan, both employed at the Blyth Tim Hortons, earned two of just 220 scholarships handed out by the company. The two triumphed by writing essays about what the company means to them.

Though a traditional Brussels Fall Fair didn’t move ahead this year, the Brussels Agricultural Society held a special parade and decorating contest that served to bring the community together.

Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt said the Festival would be looking forward to outdoor shows in 2021, utilizing the natural amphitheatre at the former soccer field at the Blyth campground.

Garratt said he hoped the Festival could build a stage and plant trees on the land in the hopes of using it in the years to come.

2020 r e b o t Oc Seven young people were honoured with scholarships courtesy of the 2017 International Plowing Match Legacy Fund.

Peter Smith of the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity said this year’s Rural Talks to Rural conference would be moving head virtually in November.

Joan Vincent was honoured with the Jim McGee Volunteer Award, presented by the Belgrave Community Centre Board, for her extensive work in the community over decades of her life.

Steven Del Duca, leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, visited Huron County, meeting with several farmers at the home farm of the Whyte family, just southwest of Winthrop.

After being shut down early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a long summer, hockey was back on the ice in Huron County, with local boys’ and girls’ teams taking the ice for practices before the Continued on page 12

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Mother Nature at it again A vicious storm ripped through Huron County in late July, tearing down trees and even saw a tornado touch down just north of Blyth. The damage kept public works crews busy for days to come. (File photo)

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PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021.

COVID-19 cases rise sharply as winter comes Middleton-Meadham and Gerrit Sepers who hoped to reopen it in 2021 as Brod Bread and Pastry, a Danish bakery.

After reconsidering the ward system again in the municipality, Central Huron Council voted to retain its ward system moving forward.

Annie Sparling of Blyth and the late Bob Kellington of Brussels were named Citizen of the Year Award winners for 2020.

Sparling was awarded for her relentless work with the Blyth Community Betterment Group, including the resurrection of the Blyth Rutabaga Festival and the creation of the Hometown Holiday Weekend, while Kellington was recognized for his work with the Brussels Lions Club, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and his local church, among others.

cases at long-term care homes and some area schools.

As case numbers rose in Huron and Perth Counties, they too were rising across the province, which resulted in a second province-wide lockdown, set to begin on Dec. 26.

A study presented by University of Guelph researchers showed that the mental and physical health of Huron and Perth County residents was slipping during the pandemic, which was a cause for concern.

Huron County Council pledged to bring this information forward to the provincial government and work to ensure residents stay healthy during the early months of 2021 as the arrival of the vaccine is eagerly awaited by many.

2020 r e b m Dece

Remembrance Remembrance Day of 2020 will go down as the year that people were asked to honour those who fought for their freedom on their own, as local Legions were asked to host Remembrance Day ceremonies that were not open to the public, like in Blyth, above. (File photo) Continued from page 11 season was set to start.

Broomball, however, was shut down for the 2020/2021 season based on direction from the Federation of Broomball Associations of Ontario.

Long-time volunteers and Blyth Festival supporters Laurel Armstrong and Cindy Fisher announced they would be hosting an art auction to benefit the Festival to be run between November and December.

On advice from Huron Perth Public Health, local Legions began the process of organizing Remembrance Day ceremonies that would be closed to the public, but perhaps shared via social media or streaming services.

Blyth won a radio station contest to be featured in a reworked Tim Hicks song thanks to a slick video spearheaded by the Blyth Community Betterment Group and featuring well-known local man Floyd Herman.

A new committee was struck to organize the Brussels Homecoming and 150th anniversary, set for 2022, with Dan Fritz and Mike Thomas named as co-chairs of the event.

Huron Mayor George Finch to become the next Huron County Warden. McNeil took over for Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn, who said he wouldn’t run again after serving two two-year terms in the position.

Holiday celebrations went forward in Huron County with reverse parades, virtual celebrations and distanced visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus filling the void left by cancelled Santa Claus parades and other celebrations unable to move ahead due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As 2020 came to a close, COVID19 cases were rising dramatically in the region, surpassing 500 cases since the pandemic began, including

plenty to be happy about in the budget for families, seniors and small businesses.

Huron East Council considered purchasing the conservation area property in Brussels, which would include the Logan’s Mill property.

Though the municipality would technically own the property, the request being considered would involve several parties, including the Maitland Mills Association and the Brussels Community Development Trust.

After sitting empty for a short period of time, the Queens Bakery building was given new life after being purchased by Karen

Huron County released the terms of reference with a goal of construction in 2022 for a traffic solution for the troublesome intersection of Blyth and London Roads in Blyth. Whether it would consist of a set of traffic lights or a roundabout would be determined over the course of the process.

COVID-19 cases continued to rise in both Huron and Perth Counties, while Medical Officer of Health Dr. Miriam Klassen detailed abuse levelled at her staff as they attempted contact tracing for local infections.

The move online and an expanded schedule benefitted the Rural talks to Rural conference in 2020, according to organizer Peter Smith, who said people were able to engage, watch and take part in the conference from rural areas all over the world as a result.

Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Mayor Glen McNeil defeated South

Remember Last Winter?

Like father, like son The Clinton Raceway was one of the few local entities to have a full season in 2020, safely holding racing and welcoming a limited number of fans while maintaining a positive relationship with its community. (File photo)

No Need To Go Out In That!

The Citizen ber m e v o N

2020

A COVID-19 outbreak at a Stratford long-term care home resulted in a surge of cases across the region, marking a 32 per cent increase in cases in just one week.

The provincial government released its budget, which had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson said there was

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Brussels Livestock report

Cows sell actively, at higher prices at sale Total receipts for Brussels Livestock for the week ending Jan. 1 were 685 cattle and 234 lambs and goats.

On Tuesday, cows sold actively at slightly higher prices. On Thursday, a light run of veal sold steady.

Lambs sold steady. Sheep sold steady. Goats sold steady. On Friday, a light run of calves and yearlings sold actively at steady prices.

There were 380 cows on offer.

Beef sold $50 to $60; good holstein cows, $55 to $66; medium holstein

cows, $48 to $54 and D4 cows, $35 to $55.

There were 75 head of veal on offer. Good holsteins, sold $130 to $148; SL heavy holsteins, $125 to $133; heavy holsteins, $110 to $120 and medium holsteins, $115 to $130.

John and Cheryl Bennewies of Bornholm, consigned four head.

One holstein steer weighed 740 lbs. and sold for a price of $148.

Lambs, 50 to 64 lbs. sold $419 to $431; 65 - 79 lbs., $392 to $396; 80 - 94 lbs., $317.50 to $318; 95 to 109

lbs., $315 to $320; 110 lbs. and over, $291.50 to $292.

Sheep sold $200 to $285. Goats: billies sold $200 to $350; nannies, $150 to $185. Kids: meat unavailable; dairy, $485 to $495.

Chris Brown of Wellandport, consigned 45 head. Twelve lambs averaged 63 lbs. and sold for an average price of $418.

Andreas and Petra Aeberhardj of Neustadt, consigned 32 head.

Thirteen lambs averaged 63 lbs. and sold for an average price of $415.

Lars Steunbrink of Kirkton, consigned 28 head. Five kid goats averaged 60 lbs. and sod for an average price of $495.

Top quality stocker steers, 400 499 lbs. sold $186.75 to $210; 500 599 lbs., $202 to $210; 600 - 699 lbs., $189 to $193.50; 700 - 799 lbs., $182 to $184; 800 - 899 lbs., $162 to $182; 900 - 999 lbs., $168.50 to $173; 1,000 lbs. plus, $159 to $165.

Top quality stocker heifers, 400 499 lbs. sold $159 to $176; 500 - 599 lbs., $156 to $177; 600 - 699 lbs.,

$167 to $179; 700 - 799 lbs., $138 to $148; 800 - 899 lbs., $151 to $156; 900 lbs. and over, $139.50 to $145.

Rodney Husk of Kincardine, consigned 27 head. Seven charolais heifers averaged 604 lbs. and sold for an average price of $179.

David Norman of Jarvis, consigned 14 head. Seven black steers averaged 561 lbs. and sold for an average price of $210. Craig Simpson of Glencoe, consigned nine head. One charolais steer weighed 820 lbs. and sold for a price of $182.

Experts project the future of ‘rural’ at R2R panel

By Lisa B. Pot The Rural Voice Rural communities are not just tiny versions of urban areas. Rural people know this intuitively, but can they articulate exactly what rural is?

Five rural professionals tried to answer that question in a thoughtprovoking panel debating the future of rural as part of the virtual Rural Talks to Rural conference, organized by the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity. One panelist suggested the future of rural is “creative” while another said it’s “green” and another is “healthy” with all agreeing the future combines aspects of all the above.

The future is local The future of rural is local, believes Patricia Latendresse, who shared the story of a town in Manitoba where the local municipal office allowed people to park in the municipal parking lot to access wifi in order to do their school work and conduct business during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Obviously it was not an ideal solution, but it speaks to locals finding solutions for what is needed most,” said Latendresse, a Policy Advisor at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), which focuses on rural, remote and northern policy directions. “It was innovative and necessary, but when you take a step back to look at it, it’s a problem. People should not have to go to their municipal city hall to get wifi to go to school.”

The example speaks to the fine balance of how rural communities can be innovative while still struggling with lack of services and funding that can help rural communities thrive. Latendresse said much of her work involves focusing on innovative solutions in communities while urging the government to apply a rural lens when designing programs.

“When I am advocating in Ottawa, we think the best ideas will be drawn from local expertise,” she said. “We feel the government is hearing us and we see that with funding.” One such program is bandwidth funding to close the digital divide, something Latendresse is passionate about.

“This pandemic has shown us how critical broadband is,” she said, indicating how schooling, business and even the conference itself are all being conducted online. “I wake up at night thinking about it but what keeps me going is that some really incredible people at all levels are thinking

about and working on these issues.”

The future is creative The idea of the future of rural being local was enlarged by speaker Kristin Catherwood, an Intangible Cultural Heritage Development officer with Heritage Saskatchewan who says she does a lot of community engagement work and is excited about the creativity that flourishes there. She is a fan of asking “stupid” questions to explore answers that should be obvious, but are not. Questions such as: “Why do you do that? Why do you eat that food? Why are you here today?

What is important to you?”

“It seems like the answers should be obvious but they are not,” she said, adding that it is our cultural assumptions that define our answers.

“What I do is a sort of widening of the frame to bring things unseen into the frame and into focus. Once people understand their culture and the institutions built to serve them, then it’s hard to neglect that when making decisions,” said Catherwood. “We are all stewing in culture whether we believe it or not.”

When we become aware of our cultural assumptions, which lead to our world views, then it becomes possible to understand other people have a different world view than ours. “Then you can understand other people’s cultural contexts and the culture of their community and how culture can sustain communities. Then, it empowers you to be creative to shape the next stage of your community’s cultural evolution.”

How that creativity manifests isn’t always the same. It can get messy.

But creation leads to new things instead of sitting on your hands and making decisions based on fear.

“What makes me excited is people like Sarah on this panel who show up to be creative. They love rural places. They want to be here. They choose to be here and that choice is powerful and gives me hope.”

Leadership is key.

Thinking locally and thinking creatively can lead to the future of rural as “healthy” which was the idea promoted by Margaret Tromp, a rural medicine physician working in Moose Factory in Northern Ontario.

She is the past-president of the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada.

Working with Indigenous communities, she has found that their level of health is lower than most Canadians, which has a lot to do with social determinants verus

location of health services. Social factors affect our health more than the healthcare system, she believes.

When rural communities encourage exercise through walking paths or start museums so people have a sense of culture and heritage, these initiatives encourage health individually and as a community, said Tromp. So does equity, versus the lack of it. “What are the real things we can do to promote health?” she asked. Adequate housing and social services are two.

Having community is another. Being able to go through major life events such as birth and death surrounded by family, friends and community is another.

“What are we doing so that people have meaning and purposes in life to feel they are achieving that on a daily basis are some of the major topics we address when talking about health,” explained Tromp.

The future of rural is “green” believes Sarah Breen, the Regional Innovation Chair in Rural Economic Development at Selkirk College in British Columbia. She has a PhD in Resource and Environmental Management from Simon Fraser University, a Master’s in Geography from Memorial University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from Lakehead University.

“Our future has to be green or we run the risk of not having a future at all,” said Breen, who laments the carbon footprint each person is leaving, particularly in regards to transportation. Yet she’s also hopeful as she considers how incremental approaches can lead to life-altering change.

“Transportation is a huge source of our emissions, but this pandemic is showing us what is possible. Do I really need to fly to those meetings or drive hours every day to get to the office? The answer is becoming, “no, not every day”, said Breen. As she looks to the community around her, she sees rural residents changing their habits by riding electric bikes and developing driving cooperatives or ride shares.

The idea of “active transportation” is taking hold to reduce emissions which has the benefit of increasing human welfare. “In Canada, people always ask “well what about the winter” but I see parents in my community regularly pedaling ebikes to drop their kids off at daycare. It’s quick and doesn’t require space for parking,” shared Breen.

The key is to focus on improvement. For instance, the

mining sector has been notorious for detrimental waste products in the past. However, there are initiatives such as Metal Tech Alley, a collective of over 80 high-tech companies in Trail, B.C. which is partially funded by a zinc and lead smelting refinery to refine waste products into valuable materials.

“There has been monumental progress with the creation of a stateof-the-art fabrication lab,” said Breen.

However, not everything is about economics when it comes to thinking of the future as green. It’s also about trees and knowing when to cut and when to let them stand.

Engineered lumber and buildings using mass timber have the potential to reduce emissions in the building sector, so cutting trees, a renewable resource, can be beneficial when done with good management practices. There are also times to leave trees standing, as studies have shown that mature tree stands increase tourism, which is more economically valuable in some areas than cutting the trees down. Part of being green is conducting the research and getting information out to people.

Being green is also about technology: emission sensors, electrification of fleets and precision agriculture are all complex and each has its drawbacks and trade-offs, but

they are allowing for “incremental improvement”, a way of moving forward. “We should not hold our breath for a perfect solution,” said Breen. “Neither should we wait for someone else to come up with solutions. This is everybody’s problem and it is 100 per cent possible for everyone to improve.”

These improvements happen where we live and require a future of rural to be “mobile”, which was Heather Mair’s focus on the panel.

Mair is a professor in the Department of Recreation and Continued on page 15

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PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2020.

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SEERS. Thank you to Clinton Public Hospital and Huronview for the care given to Marie, a devoted mom and a caring sister. Thank you for the phone calls, cards, messages and donations – all were greatly appreciated during this difficult time. – Gerrard Gwyn and the Andrews family.

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Coming events THE WINGHAM COLUMBUS Centre would like to invite you to the next Famous Fish Fry – Take-out Style! on Friday, Jan. 15 from noon to -7 p.m. Take-out $16 – your choice of grilled or battered white fish or chicken fingers, baked potatoes or fries and a dinner roll.

Add a salad for $1.50 and/or a tart for $2, all taxes are included. Going back to lockdown pick-up style.

Orders must be made in advance, credit card or etransfer to wc1@bellnet.ca Pick-up times will be scheduled. Also lots of madefresh and then frozen TV-style dinners $8 each and homemade soups 6 x 500mL for $20 available.

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Citizen-To-Citizen FREE “SWAP SHOP� ad ➨ 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.

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01-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------FOR SALE – wooden TV tables w/stand, $20; 28 bottle wine rack, $20; large suitcase, $10; indoor 12" round grill, $20; table with fold-down sides, $15; potato bin, $15. 519-396-1188.

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FOR SALE – 1/2 HP water jet pump, $175; 1/16 HP water piston pump, $150; Wagner portable paint sprayer, $175; assorted scuba diving equipment, $150; box cover - 2018 GMC pickup (5' - 9 1/2" inside / 6' 3" outside), $250. 519-357-8198.

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Continued from page 13 Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo and says she is most interested in the role(s) of leisure, sport and tourism in rural community life. She studies mobility – who can move and who cannot move in terms of transportation, moving for education and transportation as it relates to tourism.

She grew up in an age where many students who grew up in rural areas were told to “get an education and get out� to find opportunities. Some could, some couldn’t, which were issues in themselves. One of her thoughts is that people who move to rural communities can build a great life and use their energy to create opportunities in the place where they live. “They don’t have to leave to access opportunities,� said Mair.

When it comes to tourism, COVID-19 has created a huge shift.

Mair is hearing that people are “poking up like groundhogs� in Italian communities. Free from an influx of tourists, Italians are feeling free to explore their own communities. Mair admits she’s

becoming a person who believes in staying home and making home a place to experience new things. Yet she anticipates that once restrictions and pandemic fears subside, it will be hard to convince those who rely on tourism to make a change. “I am in some ways anti-travel.

How come some people get to change places to grow, nurture and challenge themselves and others don’t?� In terms of planet health, there is a growing movement of people who believe in staying home to reduce transportation emissions. It’s a moral argument and Mair is worried it will be “bound up in economic activity� once the planet returns to “normal�.

Moderator Ashleigh Wheedon, an award-winning rural innovator who is currently completing her PhD in Rural Studies at the University of Guelph, concluded the discussion on the future of rural by quoting a fellow rural activist who said, in essence: ask yourself what seems impossible to do in your community; the thing that would fundamentally change it for the better?

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PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021.

Most locals following guidelines: McDonald PEOPLE AROUND WALTON

By Jo-Ann McDonald Call 887-6570

We wish everyone a Happy New Year and a safe, healthy and happy 2021. There is certainly room for improvement in 2021 after the setbacks of 2020. In our area, we have lost businesses, many have been laid off or lost their jobs, and our small businesses are struggling to survive. I hope everyone tried to shop local to help our Brussels and area businesses survive.

We are lucky in our area that we are respectful of the rules and guidelines set out. The majority of

folks wear a mask and are good at staying home except for groceries, medical appointments or work.

Keeping within our “bubbles” is observed by most and our area shows it by the low numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Keep up the good work everyone.

What shall we do to pass the time during this lockdown? Well, there are always things to do. I anticipated another lockdown, so had the plans in place for some renovations to our home. New flooring was chosen, paint colours too, and countertops and lights are already picked out; I just need to confirm the order.

Christmas decorations are put away, inside and mostly out, but I will leave the outside lights on for a while to brighten the landscape.

Cleaning the basement is on the list, again, with more cleaning and downsizing of drawers. There are new puzzles to do and, of course, we are still walking. We have grandkids

to watch some days, so I am sure we will keep busy.

Sadness for three families marred the joy of Christmas. We send our condolences to the Bernard family on the sudden passing of Harv Bernard.

He will be lovingly missed by his wife Pat, daughter Karen and family and son Kevin and the extended Bernard and Badley families. Harv was a friendly, well-known tree remover, trimmer and stump grinder in our area and across the province.

Always smiling and friendly, he had worked on our property many times over the years. Our sympathy to all.

Our condolences are given to the Voisin family on the passing of Alex Voisin. He will be missed by his loving wife of 69 years and his children Judy, Linda Bird, Leonard, Bradley, Bonnie and Don and their families. A farmer, a hard-working and faithful labourer in whatever job he had, he will be remembered by many. Our sympathies to all.

Our sympathies are extended to Ray and Connie Johnston on the passing of Ray’s mother, Ferne Johnston at the age of 100. She will be missed by her other children Eleanor, Murray, Ken and Joan and their families. Our condolences to all Our family Christmas was small with just two out of our three children and families attending. We have been in our bubble with them since July. Our daughter Kelly and her family have not been here since July, when we could be outside and spaced apart. She works in the health field and respects and follows all the protocols and stays at home when not at work. She has her routine she follows and they are homeschooling their children, so they did not attend Christmas. We delivered their gifts to their front door, had a chat for 10 minutes and then returned home, never entering or hugging anyone.

We talked Christmas Day and Zoomed with them while they opened their gifts, so we could see the kids’ excitement. Boxing Day we Zoomed again when we gathered with the other two families. Merry Christmas! Hopefully there will be changes soon.

Celebrating birthdays to start off the year 2021 were New Year’s babies Dave Linton, Brent Melady,

Claire Mitchell, Alexandra Shahshahani, Brayden Shortreed and Frank Schimanski, Michael Craig, Don Nolan, Blake Brand, Stephen Henderson, Ben Hoegy, Jodi McIntosh Nurse, Marie Blake, Julie Mitchell, Caleb Ringgenberg, Logan Terpstra, Evelyn Blake, Marjory Fraser, Luke Fritz, Rob Mitchell and Lucas Jacklin. Happy birthday to all and happy 2021.

NEWS FROM WALTON

The Citizen wants you to stay connected wherever you are in the world with an

Santa’s helper During a visit to Huronlea Home for the Aged late last year, Santa Claus sent out his helper, Brussels Jacquie Waechter, to deliver some candy canes to residents like Elfriede Klaasen, front, and Donna Gibson, rear. (Denny Scott photo)

Walton looks back at 2020

By Jo-Ann McDonald We would like to review 2020 even though the top story is COVID19. There were happier times to remember for a couple of families last January. Don and Monique Baan and family returned from a large family gathering to celebrate her parents, John and Julie Van Ostaaynen’s 50th wedding anniversary down south. The entire Van Ostaaynen family had a great time.

The family of Marie Blake gathered to celebrate her 94th birthday last year, but will have to wait to celebrate this year. Jordan and Melissa (Glanville) Brand welcomed a daughter, Blake, to their lives. The Walton Inn started some renovating with a new paint job in the dining area and then closed for the month of February for more.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has kept it closed. Last January, there were

still corn and soybean crops in the field.

The Cranbrook Dart Club started its winter of dart playing. Sarah Overholt won the CIBC Achievement Award and she and Andy enjoyed a trip to Mexico as the prize. Rhonda Ryan will be remembering her 12-day trip to Spain as part of her 18-month Advanced Agriculture Leadership Program course.

In February, sadness hit many families in our area. The village of Walton lost a long-time resident in Marjorie Humphries. Keith Clark, formerly of Walton, also passed away. Lorna Fraser of Blyth and Sharon Warwick of Brussels left us.

Stan Bentley and Taylor Long of Cranbrook passed away and Karen Parker, formerly of Brussels, died.

On the happier side of life, Matthew and Meagan Ryan welcomed Rosie Grace and

Christopher Bernard and Katie Shoemaker welcomed a son, Macklin. Our friend Phyllis Coleman reached the milestone of 90 and myself, daughter Kelly and Alicia and friend Alecia went to see Come From Away in Toronto.

A smash-and-grab robbery of the Brussels LCBO took place and Sean Mitchell was guest speaker in Saskatoon at the Canadian Association of Agri Retailers reporting on a research study through the University of Guelph.

The Lehmbruck prize for sculpture was awarded to Janet Cardiff and partner George Bures Miller.

The month of March began with a small storm and snow that made the snowmobilers happy. Sadness hit the vandenBroek family with the passing of Ria vandenBroek. The weather turned mild and fog cancelled the buses. March Break Continued on page 19

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021. PAGE 17.

From the Minister’s Study

Epiphany: The 12th day of Christmas

By Rev. Jo-Ann Todd Blyth, Brussels Anglican Churches As this edition of The Citizen is set to come to you just after Jan. 6, the day Christians know as Epiphany, I thought it might be a good idea to write about Epiphany. This day is also known as the 12th day of Christmas.

For many Christian denominations, Epiphany is the day of gift giving and family gathering, the celebration tied to the gift giving of the wise men—no big guy in a red suit to mess up the true meaning of Christmas in those cultures! Not such a bad idea!

Epiphany, it’s a funny word. It’s one of those churchy sounding words – words that come mostly from ancient languages, in this case from the Greek, and meaning: manifestation, a sign, an appearance or indication of something. When spelled with a capital “E”, it means of course the Feast day of Epiphany; the date given to remember the Wise Men, the Magi, finding the Christ Child. “Magi”, another unusual word, also comes from the Greek, the plural form of “Magus”, meaning sage or wise man. So who were these Magi anyway?

While Christian tradition holds that the Magi were kings… a more precise description might be that the Magi belonged to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism, which paid particular attention to the stars. This priestly caste gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time highly regarded as a science.

It’s the Magi who know that something special has happened, a new King has been born to the Jews, and they go seeking this new King.

Herod and the priests and the teachers of the Jewish law – the scribes – have, until this point, totally missed the event happening right under their noses; in their backyard. How could they have missed this?

In Luke’s nativity story, the angels tell the shepherds; which is interesting, because they were about the lowest of the low in terms of the Jewish caste system. But it was these foreigners, the Magi, who bring the news of the birth of their Messiah to the upper echelon of the Jews, the religious and political power brokers, when they go to Herod, and ask him, “So where is this child who is born to be King of the Jews?”

And how does Herod respond?

Various translations of the Bible translate Herod’s reaction in different terms: “frightened”

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(NRSV), “deeply disturbed” (NLT), “worried” (CEV), “troubled” (KJV), “very upset” (GN). I bet he was all those and more! Why? Well, if these foreign Magi were correct, he could lose his job, his very way of life was in threat – after all he was the King of the Jews—he’d been assigned that job by the ruling Roman government. And then to be asked by foreign wise men where the newly-born King was? Renowned royal astrologers came from afar to bring expensive gifts and pay homage to a new King, born on his watch in his land about whom Herod knew nothing. Yeah, that would be disturbing, to say the least!

Herod doesn’t see this as Good News, which is how the angels explained it to the shepherds. For Herod, this was frightening and disturbing news, it scared him, and probably his entire entourage too.

Plus it was probably a bit of an embarrassment, after all they missed it, and had to be told by foreigners.

So what does Herod do? “He called a meeting of (his wise men) the leading priests and teachers of religious law and he asked, “Where is the Messiah to be born?”’ (Matt 2.4 NLT) They do the research, they go to the scriptures, the books of the prophets—Micah, and Samuel and Isaiah, and confirm the information the foreign wise men give them: Yes, a ruler, a new shepherd of the people of Israel, the Jews, will come from Bethlehem.

The magi leave Herod, and continue to follow the star to Bethlehem, and give the gifts to the Christ child. They do not return to report their finding of this special child to Herod as he

asked, warned by God not to do so.

Imagine their surprise when after months of travel, following the stars, their search for this King brought them to a stable; the King of the Jews, born to humble parents, a carpenter and his wife. But these wise men knew they had reached what they sought.

Matthew tells us they were overwhelmed with joy, and they knelt down and paid homage to the babe, some versions of the Bible say they knelt and worshipped Him. “Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (Matt 2.11b) No one visits a monarch without bringing appropriate and costly gifts, even today. There has been much made about the significance of the gifts the Magi brought to the baby Jesus, besides their expensive nature! Gifts fit for royalty were given to the baby born to be King of the Jews.

• Gold: A valuable metal, the basis of commerce, a most fitting gift for an earthly king. Jesus, God come to us as a man.

• Frankincense: A gift for a priest, frankincense was used in temple worship and sacrifices; Jesus, come to be a priest of the highest order.

• Myrrh: This was used in the oils of holy ointments and also used to embalm the bodies of the dead.

Jesus, born to die for his people.

The Magi’s gifts were gifts of devotion to Jesus, worthy of any king. As I reflected on this giving of gifts, in this season of gift giving, I pondered what gifts do I have that I can give to Jesus?

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situation, living on a sheep farm, I could probably give a lamb. But I’m pretty sure that’s not what Jesus wants from me. I think the carol got it right. Jesus wants us to give Him our hearts. To give of our hearts, is to give our love, and when we love, we give all that we have, all that we can give to those whom we love, it’s a commitment; not just a commitment, but a commandment.

In Mark’s gospel, Chapter 12, one of the teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus answered: “The Lord is one, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength. And the second most Continued on page 20

BRUSSELS

United Church Weekly worship services continue via YouTube “Brussels and Blyth United Churches Contact Alex at minister.brusselsandblythuc@gmail.com Website: brusselsandblythuc.ca Brussels United Church, P.O. Box 359, Brussels, ON N0G 1H0 519-887-6259

Brussels Mennonite Fellowship A 2021 PRAYER FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT BMF May God be with you through this new year and fill your life with comfort, love, and cheer.

May the days ahead hold many blessings for you and yours.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

No in-person services until further notice 250 Princess St., Brussels • 519-887-6388 • Pastor Ken Gazley

Join us for worship 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

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COME WORSHIP WITH US! We will have 10:00 am livestream services.

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

Stay safe and healthy!

Brussels Soup and More 2 is cancelled until further notice.

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THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH

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

Blyth United Church Pastor Ernest Dow, “Members or Mimics?” (Rom. 12:3-13)

What do I have of value to give?

Yet, what does Jesus really want from us? Each Sunday, when we’re in church, we say a prayer over the offering we faithfully bring for work of the Lord’s Church. And yes, it is a good thing to do, a necessary thing and we give them to God as part of our devotion, our worship, our homage to God. But what is Jesus really calling us to give, as individuals and as congregations?

The words of the fourth verse of the carol “In the Bleak Midwinter” came to me. “What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a wise man, I would do my part; yet what I can give him, give my heart.”

Now, given my particular

As you head into 2021 may you continue to feel loved and safe as our worship services continue via YouTube “Brussels and Blyth United Churches”

The Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Contact Alex at: minister.brusselsandblythuc@gmail.com

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

CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

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

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

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

1025 Wallace Avenue N.

PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021.

Reflect on the good after tumultuous 2020 PEOPLE AROUND LONDESBORO

By BRENDA RADFORD Call 523-4296

How naive we all were back in March thinking that in a matter of weeks, or possibly months, we would be free of this virus. Now we are approaching a year of worry and change throughout the whole world.

We are living in a moment in history. Think of the reactions and questions that will come when in the future people look at pictures of these times. Be proud of the efforts you each have made to keep yourself and others safe. Remember those who isolate are also part of the front line of service.

But really, have the last few

months not seemed to have gone by faster? I think in the beginning believing it would not be isolation for long, everyone got busy with projects and adjusting. Although some people feel we are experiencing virus fatigue, I think we are adjusting to a new way of life.

So, as we head into a new year with hope perhaps we each need to reflect on the good that has come out of this difficult time. First and foremost is the speed with which scientists the world over have produced vaccines which will be available to those who want them in the coming months. At no time in history have “cures” come along as quickly.

Be proud of our fellow Canadians who adapted their manufacturing to produce protective equipment, sanitizers, etc. Give a thumbs up to the teachers who have gone back to school to quickly adapt their teaching methods to virtual teaching when conditions demand it. Then

there have been all the kindnesses by children, volunteers at food banks, police officers and average citizens who are looking after the seniors, the disadvantaged and needy.

These months inside have slowed the pace of our lives and given time for reflection about what is really important in our lives. Many of us have found better ways to stay in touch with loved ones using technology, and doing it more frequently than before, which is a good thing. Hopefully we have become more mindful about how we live, more mindful of the needs of others and better connected to family and neighbours.

These are good things to have come out of this experience, to have learned. So keep those thoughts in mind as you think about resolutions for 2021.

Have you heard of SMART goals?

This acronym stands for specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and timely goals; good advice to keep in mind when feeling gungho

about making changes. Remember baby steps have the most promise of success.

With the current provincial lockdown, Londesborough United Church has gone back to online services. Minister Susan McIlveen spoke of signs and wonders on Jan. 3, Epiphany Sunday. Her supporting scripture was Matt. 2: 1-12.

Epiphany is the revelation of God in the birth of Jesus at Christmas.

Epiphany is also the understanding

by His followers that God is revealed all around us every day if we only recognize Him in the signs and wonders of His world. Susan asked that we keep the words of Christmas - love, hope, joy and peace - close as we meet the challenges and people of our world going forward.

The media is overflowing right now with the backward looks at 2020. And, thankfully, there have been news items not related to the pandemic, about which it has been good to be reminded. If

only the U.S. election would go away.

A recent statistic released by the Continued on page 19

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021. PAGE 19.

Looking back on cancelled events, life moments Continued from page 16 for the children began and the government announced an extended March Break for all. COVID-19 cases were on the rise and events all around were cancelled including the Brussels Optimist spring auction.

The community lost two more residents in Doreen Hackwell and Glen “Red” Johnston.

The month of April saw many people laid off from their jobs and area food banks looking for more donations. The church expenses continued and they encouraged members to continue to send monies to pay the expenses of the church.

A combined effort by Wendy Heibein and Janice Machan encouraged children to draw “happy

Giving back Bruce Whitmore, left, vice-president of the local chapter of the Retired Teachers of Ontario, recently donated $1,200 to the Blyth Festival, following up on a $2,500 donation last spring. The organization also handed out funds to other local theatres as well just before the holidays. Accepting the donation is Festival General Manager Rachael King. (Shawn Loughlin photo)

faces” and display in their windows around town. There were prizes for many and the art brightened the town.

Curtis and Lauren Ryan welcomed home Bryce after four months in a London Hospital due to his early arrival. A very popular resident of Brussels passed away in Mary Davidson, who had reached the milestone of 104. She was quite a lady known for her humour. Jeff and Maddy Miller started providing lunches at the Highland apartments after the kitchen of Huronlea Home for the Aged stopped. It was a wonderful act of kindness by them and they received donations from many toward their costs.

Jackie DeWit and helpers started their own act of kindness by sewing masks for the healthcare workers of our area and Dorothy Cummings made gowns for hospitals. The blue ribbons appeared in support of the healthcare workers around the county and province. Parents or caregivers were looking for ways to entertain children and Easter crafts were a popular pastime.

A new priest was appointed to St. Ambrose: Father Vargees Devos who replaced the ailing Father Morrison.

Walton was saddened with the loss of John Gaunt. COVID-19 has not stopped the thieves from being out and about with numerous trucks stolen around the area and the telephone scammers found more people at home, working to defraud them of their monies.

The local Optimist Club made

donations to the four local hospitals and we lost two more area men: Don McCall and John Subject. Reaching birthday milestones were Alice Marks hitting 75 and Jean Davidson turning 85. Judy Emmrich retired after 34 years of delivering mail.

There was happy news with the arrival of a baby girl, Maelyn, to Devin and Sarah Blake and Mary Douma did her part to lift spirits by playing music on the organ chimes from Melville Presbyterian Church twice a week for all to hear and enjoy. It was announced the school would be closed until May 31.

May arrives and it is the busy time for farmers as the planting season gets into full swing. A well-known farmer, Bruno Braecker, passed away. Drive-by birthday parties are popular and we held one for our two grandsons, Wes and Nate, with trucks, cars, combines and tractors.

The McCall MacBain Foundation donated iPads for seniors in nursing homes in Huron County to keep in touch with their families. A former Waltoner, Joan (Ryan) McDonald, passed away and Greg and Nicole Bowers welcomed baby Savannah and Brandon and Holly (Ryan) Priestap welcomed Barret.

June arrived with the happy arrival for Chris and Candace (Ross) of Emmalee. The province was still on lockdown, but the nice weather made it nicer to be outside in the fresh air. The sad news for Brussels was the announcement of the closing of the Bulk and Bargain Store, operated by Wendy Heibein.

The Rolling Car show happened

U.S. pandemic reaction clashes with past Continued from page 18 media is appalling. The number of deaths in the U.S. from the pandemic is greater than the combined number of Americans lost in all the wars in which they have participated in a century. Or as one person remarked, the U.S. is dealing with a 9/11 result every day.

Do you remember how the American public protested against their government for the Vietnam war?

They were angry about the loss of young lives. Now people in the U.S. are rallying against the isolation, distancing and mask wearing to prevent deaths. One can only shake

one’s head about the thinking behind those events.

I came across a suggestion regarding how to look personally at the effect COVID-19 has had on your life using the analogy of a rose.

Let the beauty of the bloom give you cause to ponder on, and be thankful for, the positive or pluses that have happened in your life because of the virus. Then think on the bud, representing the future, as what opportunities or resolutions for 2021 and beyond may have presented themselves as the result of these months of coping. The thorn, of course, stands for the negatives, the

Branch elections cancelled Continued from page 6 and the executive should continue on as is.

The month of May had more work accomplished inside the Branch, including new ceiling tiles in the lounge, Remembrance Day banners hung and a new garbage bin erected.

Command announced that all sports activities had been cancelled and the service officer would not be meeting anyone in person, but could be contacted by phone. The Branch was saddened with the news of the passing of Comrade Lloyd Glanville. All fish fry dinners were being cancelled and the monthly meeting was held again by Zoom.

There was no celebration event for the 75th anniversary of VE Day at many of the smaller Branches and only small celebrations were held in Ottawa and in Europe.

The month of June is the usual beginning of a new year in the life of the Legion. The executive would remain the same and the Branch was still shut down. Sadness again hit the Branch with the news of the passing

of two Comrades: Comrades Bob Kellington and Comrade Doug Logan. Four Comrades took the food safety course and passed. June 6 marked the 76th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, when Canada played an integral role in the victory.

The Branch hosted a drive-thru fish fry dinner and fed 365 folks. It went very well. The annual Brussels cemetery decoration service was live streamed on Sunday, June 28 for folks to watch. Sanitizers were finally available and were installed at the Branch. The monthly meeting was again via Zoom.

This has become the normal way for most groups to do their business during the pandemic and for many of us who are technology disadvantaged it has been a new learning curve.

This was a short recap of the first six months of 2020 and we will recap the next six next week.

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things that one missed. Concentrate on the bloom and the bud but learn from the thorns.

So often I have heard people remark on how living through the Depression changed that generation of people. It is expected all of us will continue in changed ways, too, because of these months. The two World Wars had similar effects. Each of these events has served to reset the world. We need to concentrate on the positives and the learning that have been the result.

We can enter 2021 with the hope that the vaccine will eventually bring the COVID-19 case numbers under control. We can go into the new year with hope and faith recognizing the months ahead will still hold

uncertainty and concern.

Mother Nature seemed to be in tune with the orders from Premier Doug Ford to huddle at home for Christmas. She delivered a pictureperfect world. Mind you, I had no reason to go out and I appreciated the snowfall from my windows.

When I did venture out, I was amazed at how much fluffy white stuff had actually come down over the course of three days. What I didn’t appreciate was the drift that had sealed me in along the garage.

Snowblowers can’t get that close without risking damage so some shovelling is usually required. Ah, but in only three months the snow will be gone, and the daylight hours are on the uptick.

and 110 cars toured the county for all to see. A big storm goes through the area and puts out the hydro for many. The province announced that Stage 2 of re-opening can start with stores opening following all protocols. Walton lost another wellknown resident in Mert Hackwell.

The end of June had many happy events with the arrival of a baby boy, Holden, for Matt and Emily Smith, Adam and Roxanne Braecker welcomed a little girl, Elle Clara, Mark and Kaitlin Gillis welcomed Noah to the family and our daughter LeeAnn and Craig Ellis welcomed Logan to our family. Brandon McGavin and Rachel Cook were married at the McGavin pond and Neil McGavin suffered a serious head injury in a fall but recovered well. Brussels lost a well-known lady in Shirley Wheeler.

This is just six months of 2020 and we will continue on next week. Even with the pandemic, there was lots going on in our small communities.

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PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021.

New book released

Remote learning Bonnie Sitter’s new book, On The Wright Track: Memories from C.P.R. School Car #2, was recently released by the Exeter-area author. The book focuses on a mobile classroom that she says, in some ways, was a precursor to the remote learning taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo submitted)

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Bonnie Sitter of Exeter, a wellknown author and photographer throughout Huron County, has published yet another book, this one exploring the history and memories of C.P.R. School Car #2.

Sitter, a history buff, said she was talking to a friend when she was tipped off to a person who grew up on the school car, which ran throughout Northern Ontario.

Harvey Wright’s parents ran the car and he and his siblings lived on it for much of their childhood, travelling from town to town educating both children and adults in Northern Ontario.

She called him, with neither one knowing the other, but she said he was happy to dig into his past and tell his story. As they spoke, Sitter felt the history she was hearing was too important for a simple phone conversation and that it needed to be committed to paper. She eventually convinced all of the siblings and even a student from the car to document their memories and she compiled them into a book. The book now contains memories from four siblings – Shirley, Harvey, Nancy and Chris – as well as letters and speeches written by their parents, Bill and Helen Wright.

Once Sitter began working with the family on a book, she was surprised to hear some of the stories she was hearing. It was a completely

unique way of life that felt almost like a precursor to the remote learning that has become commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said that one of the main functions of the school car was to teach English to the children of new immigrants to Canada who were working on the railroads in Northern Ontario. Many had to come to Canada, she said, from Russia, Poland, Italy, Finland and elsewhere and were eager to have their children taught English. After hours, in fact, the parents would work there as well, trying to learn the language themselves.

The car, run by Bill and Helen Wright, started teaching children in 1928, just two years after Fred Sloman began teaching on his rail car, carrying on the tradition of bringing education to those who were eager for it.

That was one thing that struck Sitter, she said, was the willingness to learn exhibited from those who were on the car. She said the desks were always neat, tidy and organized, not defaced, and that children were happy when the school car came to town, not dreading having to return to school.

The car is now on display at a museum in Northern Quebec.

On The Wright Track: Memories from C.P.R. School Car #2 is now available at Fincher’s in Goderich or by contacting Sitter by e-mail at bonnie.sitter@gmail.com.

God asks us to give of ourselves says Todd Continued from page 17 important one is to love your neighbor as yourself.” And the scribe responded, “Well said. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other.

And I know it is important to love God…and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offering and sacrifices required in the law.”

Jesus realized how deeply this scribe understood His teachings and told him, he was not far from the Kingdom of God. In other words, he was right on, and he was indeed very close to understanding God’s ways.

If we let the love of the Lord guide our very way of living, our way of being, our way of responding

to the needs of our neighbours, we have given our hearts to God. Just as the light of the star guided the Magi, we too need only look for the way of light, God will reveal the way for those who seek it, like God did for the Three Kings; our faith in Jesus as sovereign and our love of the Lord will light the way and guide us.

And how will we know we’re on the right path? We feel it; we know it within ourselves. Scripture tells us that the Magi, who were guided by the light into the presence of Jesus, were “overwhelmed with joy”.

When we walk the path the Lord has guided us to, we too will know the joy and love of the Lord.

So, what is the gift that the Lord really wants us to give him? The gift of ourselves.

Online learning For many local students, getting back to school happened a day later than expected this week as online learning started on Tuesday. Above is Hullett Central Public School’s Mrs. Moir handing a laptop to Junior Kindergartner Mary Jane Scott that she will use to take part in online classes for at least the rest of this week. (Denny Scott photo)

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