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The
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Citizen
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Thursday, March 17, 2022
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Volume 38 No. 11
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0
Thresher Reunion returns
Regular maintenance The Blyth Cubs have been busy recently, getting out into nature and experiencing all that Huron County has to offer in the waning days of winter. One of their tasks was to clear out a local wooden duck box, clearing out
the old bed and putting in some new shavings. As part of the process, the group had the unenviable task of clearing out some older duck eggs that, according to Leader Lavern Clark, had seen better days. (Photo submitted)
Blyth BIA approves budget for 2022 By Denny Scott The Citizen The Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) set its 2022 budget during its annual general meeting on March 10, with a number of projects set to take advantage of funds in reserves. BIA Chair David Sparling, who was elected for another term during the meeting, explained that the $10,200 levy and $655 from expected associate memberships is already spoken for within the current budget. The BIA is setting $1,200 aside for web hosting and internet costs, and an additional $1,140 aside for updates to the municipality’s website. “One of the asks of North Huron [at a meeting between North Huron staff and the BIA] was that our agendas and minutes be posted online at our website,” Sparling said. “That’s never been the case before, but it makes sense.” He explained that modification would be necessary for the website so that the minutes and agendas
could be easily posted by members of the executive. He said technology projects always cost more than anticipated, but felt the $1,140 would be sufficient. The BIA is anticipating spending $1,500 on signage projects, specifically focused on the G2G trail connectivity as well as, potentially, at the intersection of County Roads 25 and 4 after a significant construction project that will see traffic control lights erected at the intersection. Sparling explained the BIA had eliminated education spending from the budget as the executive wasn’t sure that any education opportunities would come up with COVID-19 concerns still prevalent. The $1,715 administration budget includes $1,000, or nearly 10 per cent of the BIA’s budget, for audit costs. Sparling said he wishes something could be done to mitigate that cost, given the limited amount of work involved with a budget of just over $10,000, however the BIA doesn’t get much say in the issue as it is set by the municipality’s accounting firm.
Other administration expenses include $80 for meeting expenses, $50 for office supplies, $90 for bank charges, $230 for a membership in the Huron Chamber of Commerce and $265 for the BIA’s membership in the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA). The BIA will continue to support the Blyth Outdoor Market to the tune of $1,200, despite it not being a BIA event, Sparling said. “It’s something we support for the good it does our main street,” he said. In a similar situation, the BIA has set aside $1,600 in total to help with the Hometown Holiday Weekend celebration in December and the Blyth Rutabaga Festival, both of which are run by the Blyth Community Betterment Group, a non-governmental organization. Finally, the budget includes $1,500 for new merchants’ welcome packages (three packages including advertising options at $500 each) and $1,000 for miscellaneous advertising costs. The BIA will also make use of $7,294 in surplus, Sparling said, to
prepare for a Chamber of Commerce downtown core project ($3,500) and putting money in a dedicated reserve for Christmas decorations, with Sparling noting that North Huron Public Works advised the BIA that the current decorations are “getting worn down”. The chamber project, Sparling said, will look at enhancing Blyth’s main street, however the BIA didn’t have an exact dollar amount to participate, so the executive had decided to put aside $3,500. In total, the budget includes $10,855 in revenue and $7,294 in reserves, totalling $18,149, all of which is earmarked for specific projects or for reserves for future projects. Sparling explained that, in the past, the BIA had decided to get away from one-time increases to the budget and, subsequently, BIA dues paid by members, instead increasing the dues and budget by inflation every year, resulting in the above budget. The BIA’s membership passed the budget.
After two years of cancellations and holding truncated events, the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association is planning for a fullscale reunion this fall, set for Sept. 9-11. The organization held a meeting last week to discuss the future and decided to move ahead with the event, announcing its return on Facebook on March 8. President Judy Sloan said people were beginning to call members of the executive, inquiring about the status of this year’s reunion and certain planning steps needed to be taken if the event was moving ahead. She said the membership felt the time was finally right to move forward and host the event again. That feeling has coincided with decisions being made by the provincial government that are leading towards what many are calling a return to normal with the lifting of capacity limits, mask mandates and more. Sloan said that if the past two years have taught event organizers anything, it’s that things can always change and they have to be ready if that’s the case. However, she said that many association members really were feeling that it had been too long since hosting a reunion. This September’s event will be the 61st annual reunion in the organization’s history. Last year marked the 60th anniversary, but because it was a truncated, drivethrough affair, the group wasn’t able to fully mark the milestone. This year, Sloan said, the membership hopes to maybe have a special guest or two to help celebrate the anniversary they couldn’t celebrate last year. While many details are still left to be confirmed, Sloan said the hope of the membership is to host a reunion with a schedule similar to the traditional event, including the Stoneboat Pullers on Friday night, and other attractions people have come to know and love, like the step dancing and fiddle competitions, the church service, musical performances and more. Some things may be a bit different, she said, but time will tell and the organizers will have to remain flexible as September approaches. Whether the organization uses the Blyth Festival’s new Harvest Stage for the event, Sloan said, has yet to be determined, but when it was created Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt said he hoped other community groups would be able to use it. For more information, visit the association online or on Facebook.