The Citizen (Blyth/Brussels) - March 24, 2022

Flying into the semifinals

The Wingham Ironmen will now face the first-place Hanover Barons in the semifinals of Provincial Junior Hockey League’s North Pollock Division playoffs after storming past the Kincardine Bulldogs in six games. The locals posted back-to-back wins over the weekend

to claim the series, but on Wednesday, the Ironmen came up just short, losing by a score of 3-2 in overtime. Above, Josh Lorenz scored his team’s second goal, which tied the game, sending it to overtime. The semifinals began on Tuesday in Hanover, returning to Wingham on Friday. (John Stephenson photo)

The Citizen’s Salute to Agriculture

See special section inside

Budget passes in M-T

By Denny Scott The Citizen

Morris-Turnberry Council has officially adopted its 2022 budget by bylaw after approving the final draft earlier this month.

After incorporating the changes council had flagged during its budget review on March 1, Director of Finance Sean Brophy said the municipal tax levy, the amount of money necessary for balancing the budget after taking into account assessment-based taxation and other non-taxation forms of revenue, is $4,461,205 in 2022, up from $4,103,093 in 2021. That increase of $358,112, or 8.73 per cent, comes after a tax assessment increase of nearly $7 million or 1.33 per cent over the 2021 weighted taxable assessment of $521,794.264.

Taking into account the municipal tax rate increase, which works out to 7.3 per cent, the increase by Huron County of 2.13 per cent and no change for education taxation, the total tax rate increase will work out to 4.8 per cent, Brophy said, down from his original estimate of 4.9 per cent.

He said an average single-family home in Morris-Turnberry, which is assessed at $226,031, would see its annual taxes increase from $3,164.21 last year to $3,316.08

Continued on page 3

Central Huron closes in on budget approval

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen

Central Huron Council is close to approving its 2022 budget, eliminating its next scheduled deliberation session and jumping straight to a public meeting for approval.

Council is moving forward with a 3.5 per cent increase to the municipal tax rate, which, when considered alongside the Huron County and education portions of the budget, will result in an overall tax rate increase of 2.57 per cent for Central Huron residents.

Director of Finance Jeff Boyes presented the consolidated budget to council at a special budget meeting on March 15. He offered a number of tax rate alternatives, ranging from a municipal increase of 2.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent. That range would equate to about a one per cent swing in the overall tax rate, with a 2.06 per cent overall

increase in the event of a 2.5 per cent municipal increase and a 3.09 per cent overall increase in the event of a 4.5 per cent municipal increase. The budget Boyes presented that night included a four per cent municipal tax rate increase.

The Huron County tax rate for 2022 represents a 2.13 per cent increase in Central Huron, while the education rates have remained stable, resulting in no increase for this year.

To trim the municipal tax rate increase from four per cent to 3.5, council needed to eliminate just under $40,000 from the budget. Council eventually opted to push the widening of Melena Beach Road at a cost of approximately $39,000 to 2023. Mayor Jim Ginn said he was comfortable with that decision because he didn’t even think the project would end up going ahead this year anyway, and would naturally end up being pushed to next year as a result.

Before council came to that decision, there was some discussion about scrapping the creation of a new Clinton dog park this year, but several councillors pushed back on that recommendation, saying a dog park is an amenity that most people

come to expect in a community.

Furthermore, Councillor Adam Robinson said that when he’s out on the street in Clinton, the development of a new dog park is one of the only things people will discuss with him.

In his presentation, Boyes said that a levy increase of nearly one per cent had been made possible due to a grant received for the municipality’s Albert Street project in the amount of just under

Continued on page 16

Man dies in river near Ethel

Jose Ariza-Gudiel, a 32-year-old Huron East resident, has died after police say his vehicle left the roadway and ended up in the Maitland River on Friday night near Ethel.

Huron County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the West Region OPP Traffic Incident Management and Enforcement Team continue to investigate the incident.

The OPP reports that, at approximately 11 p.m. on Friday, March 18, Huron County OPP responded to Ethel Line just south

of Ethel after receiving information about a vehicle that had left the roadway and ended up in the Maitland River.

Police say the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit and the OPP Urban Search and Rescue, Chemical Biological, Radiological Nuclear and Explosives Response Team members successfully recovered the deceased from the submerged pickup truck on March 20.

Any person with information regarding this incident is asked to

contact Huron OPP at 1-888-3101122 or 519-482-1677.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been arranged for Ariza-Gudiel’s family, as he left behind his wife and two daughters. To help the family, visit the fundraising website at https://www.gofundme.com/ f/help-the-arizagudiel-family

Stevenson, Badgers bound for national championship

Nicole Stevenson of Walton is there studying biological sciences.

Over the weekend, the Badgers played in the McCaw Cup Ontario University Athletics (OUA) finals for the first time in the school’s history. The Badgers, who finished third place in their division, took on the Nipissing Lakers, who had finished second, in the final, but it was Brock that would claim victory by a score of 2-1.

Brock’s Cassidy Maplethorpe, the province’s regular season scoring champion, scored a powerplay goal for the Badgers in the second period to give them the lead, followed by another second period powerplay goal, scored this time by Paige Cohoon, to put Brock up by a score of 2-0.

Brianna Gaffney of the Lakers would score in the third period to cut her team’s deficit in half, but that was as close as Nipissing would get as Brock would claim the 2-1 victory.

Champion

Allison Stevenson of Walton can now add McCaw Cup winner to her list of accolades as she and the rest of the Brock University Badgers claimed provincial victory over the Nipissing Lakers last weekend. The team is now headed to the national championship this weekend in the Maritimes. (Courtesy photo)

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen

The Brock University Badgers, including Walton’s Allison Stevenson, are now Ontario women’s hockey champions,

earning them a spot in the U Sports Women’s Hockey Championships in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island this weekend.

This is Stevenson’s first year playing for the university. As a student, the daughter of Ron and

This came after the Badgers upset the Guelph Gryphons to open the playoffs earlier this month. Brock won the winner-take-all game by a score of 2-1, making it the first playoff game a Brock University women’s hockey team had won since 2009.

The Badgers would then take on the University of Western Ontario Mustangs in the OUA semi-finals, shutting them out by a score of 3-0.

The 2022 U Sports Women’s Hockey Championship will run from March 24-27 in Prince Edward Island. The eight-team tournament welcomes two teams each from Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and the western provinces to determine a national

women’s hockey champion.

From Ontario, Brock will be joined by their OUA opponents, the Nipissing Lakers. Concordia and McGill Universities will represent Quebec, while the University of British Columbia and University of Saskatchewan will represent the west and the University of New Brunswick and the University of Prince Edward Island will represent the Maritime provinces.

Action gets underway on Thursday, March 24 with the first two quarterfinal games. Seventhranked McGill will take on the second-seeded University of New Brunswick at 3 p.m., followed by the sixth-ranked Nipissing Lakers taking on the third-ranked University of British Columbia.

On Friday, March 25, the Brock University Badgers, ranked fourth, will play the fifth-ranked University of Saskatchewan at 3 p.m. and the eighth-ranked University of Prince Edward Island will take on top-seeded Concordia at 7 p.m. in the final quarterfinal game of the tournament.

On Saturday, March 26, two consolation games will be played at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., while the semifinals will be played at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The fifth-place game goes ahead on Sunday, March 27 at 11 a.m., followed by the bronze medal game at 2:30 p.m. and the gold medal game at 6 p.m.

All times are local Atlantic Time.

The games will all be played at the University of Prince Edward Island’s MacLauchlan Arena and streamed online at cbcsports.ca.

Stevenson has one goal and two assists on the season, serving 14

minutes in the penalty box on seven infractions.

This success comes after Stevenson earned a spot as a member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Rangers of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) for the 2019/2020 season when she was just 17 years old. She competed in the women’s sister league to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) while attending full-time classes at St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School in Clinton. In that season, Stevenson played in 38 games, scoring three goals and six assists, notching an additional assist in one of the team’s four playoff games.

Allison grew up playing in the Brussels Minor Hockey system alongside boys for a number of years, distinguishing herself before being scouted by the Saugeen Maitland Lightning, where she would remain from PeeWee to Midget.

Just as scouts for Saugeen Maitland had their eyes on Stevenson in her early days in Brussels, Ron, Allison’s father, said he could see familiar faces from the PWHL begin to pop up at Lightning games and it was clear they were scouting some of the team’s players.

A lover of hockey since her very young days, Allison played in Huron County throughout the winter, but she would also play in showcase tournaments, invitationals and rush camps throughout the province in the spring and summer as well, further placing her in the consciousness of scouts.

For more information on the tournament or to follow this weekend’s games, visit usports.ca.

May 14th - 15th

All proceeds from the Run Around The Square go towards the Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund and the purchase of life-saving defibrillators.

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen

Huron East Council is supporting the proposed naming opportunities that have been developed by the Brussels, Morris and Grey  Community Centre Renovation Fundraising Committee. Council discussed the issue at its March 15 meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom. Chief Administrative Officer Brad McRoberts presented a report on the topic, saying the committee, under the direction of Nicole

Duquette Consulting, will soon be launching its formal fundraising campaign. One aspect of the campaign will be naming opportunities in exchange for “sizable donations” to the renovation and expansion of the centre.

McRoberts presented the proposed price list to council that night, with opportunities ranging from $25,000 in the case of existing dressing rooms or referee’s rooms to $1 million for the entire facility. Several councillors voiced

Continued on page 8

Spinning a yarn

The Fashion Arts and Creative Textiles Studio (FACTS) in Blyth held a community yarn exchange over the weekend as it prepares to move to a new location further south on the village’s main street. The event proved to be a popular one, attracting the crafty and creative on Saturday afternoon. (John Stephenson photo)

(Mary Winslow)

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will or your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered!”

Matthew 10:29-30

How unspeakably precious and sweet it is when we can believe that God our Father in Heaven is absolutely directing the most minute circumstances of our short sojourn in this wilderness world! That nothing, however trivial, takes place, whether it relates to the body or the soul — but is under His control, in fact is ordered by Himself!

But how hard to believe this, particularly when things look dark, and we cannot discern the way we should take. It is, then, the providence of faith to wait upon the Lord, keeping a steadfast eye upon Him only; looking for light, help, and deliverance, not from the creature, but from Jehovah Himself. Well may it be called precious faith!

How happy do those travel on, whose faith can discern God’s hand in everything. But I fear the number is very small, who so live.

I cannot imagine how those who deny God’s particular providence can get comfortably on, for they must perpetually be confronted with minute events in their history, as mysterious and baffling to them as greater ones.

A Grace Gem

Submitted by: Immanuel United Reformed Church, Listowel, ON 519-492-1359

Naming costs passed Budget approved

Continued from page 1 this year, or an increase of $151.87 over the year.

Deputy-Mayor Sharen Zinn congratulated Brophy and the rest of staff on bringing the budget in lower than anticipated, saying every little bit helps before council passed the budget.

Brophy did walk council through a number of highlights of the budget, including capital projects scheduled for 2022.

He highlighted the expansion of the Brussels fire hall, which is set to cost approximately $1 million. Brophy explained that MorrisTurnberry, as 45 per cent owners of the fire hall, is responsible for 45 per cent of the $333,333 assessed to the fire department. He said MorrisTurnberry’s portion works out to approximately $150,000, 25 per cent of which ($37,500) will be paid in 2022 with the remaining $112,500 to be paid next year. Reserves earmarked for fire protection will be used to cover Morris-Turnberry’s portion of the cost, he said.

The municipality is also undertaking a number of paving projects this year costing $685,000. Included is six kilometres of paving on Glenannon Road ($150,000), 4.1 kilometres on Clyde Line ($460,000) and a three-kilometre stretch of third coat for Salem Road ($75,000). Funds from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund will cover $232,257 of the Clyde Line project, Brophy said, leaving the net cost to ratepayers of $452,743.

Morris-Turnberry will also be working on a number of bridge projects throughout the year as well, totalling $1,904,105.

Included is the completion of the Smuck Bridge on Abraham Line ($1,389,105), a culvert replacement

on McCall Line ($500,000) and design work for a bridge on Moncrieff Road ($15,000).

Brophy estimates that $1,265,209 will be provided through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) for the Smuck Bridge project, as well as $217,464 to offset the McCall Line project, leaving the net cost for ratepayers at $421,432.

The Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre renovation will have a net cost to ratepayers of $64,180 in 2022 after council approved using $63,500 in reserves to offset the $127,680 the municipality is paying towards the multi-million dollar project this year. Brophy said he anticipates paying $75,000 per year for the project from 2023 to 2027.

Morris-Turnberry will also be providing $5,000 to the Bluevale Community Centre and $10,000 to the Belmore Community Centre from COVID-19 funds, which are meant to offset shortfalls experienced by the volunteer-led centre boards due to the pandemic.

The budget also includes a $115,000 grant to North Huron Township to offset usage of North Huron recreation assets by MorrisTurnberry ratepayers. The funds are broken down by centre, including $45,000 for the North Huron Wescast Community Complex arena, $35,000 for the Wescast centre pool and $35,000 for the Blyth and District Community Centre arena. When initially discussing the issue during its March 1 meeting, Morris-Turnberry Council decided not to support staffing and administration costs at the North Huron sites, the gym at the Wescast centre or the upper meeting hall at the Blyth centre.

Bad timing

As if the supply chain disruptions and food inflation costs caused by a global pandemic, natural disasters and a Russia-Ukraine war weren’t bad enough, now a work stoppage at Canadian Pacific Railway threatens to halt transportation of goods across the country.

The timing couldn’t be worse. Farmers rely on the rail system to move 75 per cent of all fertilizer. That fertilizer is crucial to the planting season, and this season’s North American crops are going to be crucial to world food security with Ukraine’s spring planting under threat and Russian and Belarussian fertilizers sanctioned. With so much of our economy under threat from external forces, it seems the last thing we need is a threat from within. Many industry and farming associations, along with provincial leaders, have called on Ottawa to declare the railway an essential service and to enact back-to-work legislation.

While a negotiated settlement is always preferred, the two sides couldn’t even agree on whether this stoppage was a strike initiated by the union or a lockout by the company. Each issued press releases on the weekend blaming the other. Since the two parties have been without a contract for over six months and the sides unable to agree on an arbitration process, it seems that the federal government will be left with no choice but to intervene. – DS

It is happening again

As governments here at home and around the world forecast (and hope for) a more normal year than we’ve had with the past two, it can be scary for some, but there is also a distinct optimism in the air as a long Huron County winter slowly turns to spring.

In the past month or so, The Citizen has carried stories about many organizations planning for in-person events, augmented from their previous form or not. There has been the Blyth Festival season, the Huron County Plowing Match, the reunion of the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association, the Rutabaga Festival, the Brussels Fall Fair and the Brussels 150th Homecoming celebration, while many others are working their way towards welcoming people back in one way or another.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a long haul for many and, unless you’re one of the few who simply didn’t change their lives whatsoever as a result of the pandemic, you have suffered in one way or another. Hearing the news that events you know and love are planning a comeback has to bring a smile to the faces of many.

Governments and public health agencies will continue to monitor things (at least many of us hope they will) and, after two years, we all have the knowledge and the tools to keep ourselves and those around us as safe as possible. The efficacy of vaccines have turned infections for many into mild or asymptomatic brushes with the virus, so it seems the time has come to return to what has been casually called the new normal, albeit cautiously.

Be safe, conscientious and caring, but also allow yourself to be excited about the possibility of seeing friends again, reconnecting with your community and doing the things you love. – SL

Help, not views and clicks

While Kanye West may seem far removed from the fields and streets of Huron County, the fact that anyone with internet access has a chance to hear about him on a weekly, if not daily, basis highlights a problem that modern society has: not turning away from the train wreck, whether it be literal or metaphorical.

If you’re interested in his kind of music, West is an incredibly talented individual. If his music isn’t your cup of tea, you’re likely still aware of the fact that he was famous long before he married into the Kardashian family, whose members seem to be famous for being famous.

West is famous now for another reason: his zany antics. However, when you take a step back you might realize that his antics are likely an expression of his self-professed mental health issues.

It’s a problem that people are hanging on West’s every Tweet, Instagram post and recorded video because those viewers are all fueling the idea that his mental health problems aren’t problems at all, but some kind of gift that allows him to entertain the world. West isn’t the first celebrity to become famous not despite battling mental illness, but because of it, in a way. Robin Williams often went off his medication to produce some of his most memorable performances, just as one example in recent years.

However, as a culture, we need to do a better job of not enabling these people by tuning in, and instead encouraging them to get the help they so clearly need. We’re all responsible for helping our neighbours, be they next door or a world away, and watching them spiral out of control without lending a hand is tantamount to setting them on that spiral in the first place. – JDS

Looking Back Through the Years

March 25, 1965

The Brussels Curling Club held a bonspiel to end its season and it was Don Dunbar’s rink, including Marie Turnbull, Dan Pearson and Mrs. Alex Pearson who claimed victory in the 9 a.m. draw. Jack McDonald’s rink, including Rea Vallance, Ross McCall and Glenn Rathwell, won the 11 a.m. draw.

A fire at the Morris Township farm of Roland Marks destroyed his barn on the morning of March 22. However, 25 head of cattle were saved thanks to the combined efforts of firefighters from both Wingham and Blyth.

March 26, 1975

Another report on changes to the provincial Electoral Boundaries Act had been tabled in the Ontario Legislature, which would put half of the county in Jack Riddell’s riding and the other half in Murray Cardiff’s riding.

The new bill would see voters in Tuckersmith and Seaforth returned to the Huron riding, while the riding would lose Lobo Township and Strathroy to Middlesex. The new Huron-Middlesex riding would include Goderich, Clinton, Seaforth and Exeter, as well as Tuckersmith, Stanley, Goderich, Hay, Stephen and Usborne Townships, in addition to Adelaide, Biddulph, McGillivary and East and West Williams Townships and the towns of Lucan, Alisa Craig and Lucan, all from Middlesex.

The remainder of Huron County, including Blyth, Brussels and Wingham and McKillop, Hullett, Colborne, Grey, Ashfield, Howick, Morris, Turnberry and East and West Wawanosh Townships, would be in the Huron-Bruce riding.

March 26, 1997

A cool spring in 1997 meant a

slow start to the maple syrup season for Huron County producers.

One of them, Susanne Robinson, said she and her team would boil sap for a week and then have to take the next week off, which certainly slowed down the process.

Bryce Wedow won the Don Higgins Memorial Award as the goalie with the best record in the Brussels minor hockey season.

The Wingham Legion PeeWee hockey team won the Western Ontario Athletic Association crown, defeating Lucknow in the final by a score of 2-1, needing overtime to clinch the championship in three games.

The team wasn’t done, however, as they would then play Port Stanley in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association semi-finals, though the team had lost the first two games of that series.

As planning for the Brussels 125th homecoming celebration continued, local Don McNeil was working on “Cruisin’ Brussels”, which he hoped would be one of the biggest events of the weekend. He told The Citizen that he would like to see at least 400 cars take part in the show, as well as some antique fire trucks and motorcycles.

Members of the Seaforth Girls’  Marching Band, including Amber Parkshaw, Nicole Lowe and Nicole Bernard of Brussels and Melissa Grisdale and Missy Engel of Cranbrook, all travelled to Florida and, along the way, they were able to meet members of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The members also attended a hockey game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Islanders.

Also attending the hockey game was Huron MPP Helen Johns, who

took the time to speak with the band.

March 22, 2012

Bob Trick, an animal control officer for numerous Huron County municipalities, warned that the warm weather experienced in the area had created ideal conditions for deer overpopulation.

The Ontario Provincial Police had already been seeing the situation play out, with an estimated 65 collisions involving deer occurring in the previous two months, compared to just 35 incidents over that same period the previous year.

The mild winter, Trick said, allowed the deer to eat comfortably with corn and soy beans being more accessible to them due to the lack of snow cover. In addition, the deer would be able to travel faster through the area due to the lack of snow, meaning they would have a better chance of avoiding predators like coyotes over the winter and making it into the spring.

He added that, because the deer were likely in better health over the winter due to the aforementioned factors, there was a greater chance that they would have twins during mating season, which would also increase the population.

Opponents of industrial wind turbines were in the midst of planning a rally in Toronto on April 3, with locals chartering buses from Huron County to make the trip to the provincial capital to be part of the protest.

The Huron County maple syrup harvest was not exactly one for the record books, as local producers said the weather fluctuations had resulted in a yield of between 50 and 80 per cent of that of a typical year.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright

Other Views

Balance means giving both sides!

There was a time when I thought the world would be a better place if everyone had the ability to have a voice in the media. Okay, I was wrong.

Today’s online blogs, newsletters and access to self-generated opinion sites means virtually anyone has an ability to speak to, sometimes, thousands of others.

These thoughts arrive after reports that court documents revealed to media that Nathaniel Veltman, the 20-year-old man accused of killing four members of a Muslim family in London on June 6, 2021, had what appeared to be “hate related material” on a device and may have consumed white supremacist content on the dark web.

Also in the news last week, Globe and Mail columnist Doug Saunders revealed that lawsuits by Alberta-based Rebel Media against him and other media outlets had been thrown out by a judge, and Rebel Media was required to pay $250,000 toward the legal costs of those companies that had been prevented from attempting to do their job. The judge agreed with the defendants that the suits were simply attempts to silence the media.

Saunders had evidence that linked Rebel Media to the killer of 51 women and men in mosques in New Zealand in 2019. The accused killer had, for eight months, read right-wing literature on the internet by Martin Sellner, an Austrian extreme-right figure who popularized a racial conspiracy theory known as “the Great Replacement”, which holds that people in Western countries from racial or religious minorities are not simply fellow citizens, but the subjects of a plot to “replace” white and Christian people.

Rebel Media wanted to prevent publicity of the fact that on June 22, 2016, it published a

Keith Roulston

From the cluttered desk

post headlined, “Leader of Generation Identity Austria: We want to stop what we call the Great Replacement”, devoted to a video interview between a Rebel staffer and Sellner. The post remained visible until at least March of 2019, and carried the tagline, “Martin Sellner of the Austrian chapter of Generation Identity joined me to talk about Europe’s disastrous immigration policies, and why more people like him are fighting back”. Rebel Media’s main Twitter account promoted it with the line, “We want to stop the Great Replacement”, and a photo of Sellner with one of Rebel Media’s staff.

The New Zealand killer made a donation of $106.68 from his personal bank account to Rebel News Network Ltd. of Canada, using PayPal. He also made donations to other, similarly right-wing outlets.

Still, in the name of free speech, Rebel Media continues to spread its poison. So do Tucker Carlson and other right-wingnuts on Fox News opinion programs and other rightwing outlets that even voiced support for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, whose actions in attacking Ukraine are killing and displacing millions. If the easily attainable media isn’t enough, there are dark web sites that promote even murkier ideas.

It’s a different world than the media existence of 50 years ago when I was an

idealistic graduate of the Ryerson school of journalism. Because we had near-exclusive access to what people could read or hear in the media, we were told we had to seek out both sides of the issue. It wasn’t a perfect situation, of course, because our own opinions varied from Conservative through Liberal and NDP to one guy who was a Marxist. Yet it was drummed into our brains for three years that we had a responsibility to all sides because we had the privilege of controlling peoples’ access to information – although even then, of course, we had letters to the editor for people to correct us or give alternate facts.

But with so many versions of the “truth” these days, it’s possible for people to hear only voices with which they want to agree. During the long blockade of downtown Ottawa, I heard reporters do what I’d been taught: try to give both sides, including those of anti-vaxxers who took over the streets. In fact, if there were missing voices, it was of those whose businesses were closed because of the blockade. And yet the reporters were often abused because they were giving a side of the issue that the protesters rejected.

Recently, I saw an interview with Brian Karem, a reporter for Salon.com who left a comfortable studio in the U.S. to report directly from Ukraine. “There are facts out there that people need to hear,” he said in an interview. That’s what reporters do. They go out and face the danger to actually see the facts happening, they don’t sit in a comfortable studio like Tucker Carlson and spout their opinions as if they were observers of fact. They also realize that free speech brings power, and power brings a responsibility to make sure people are given as many sides as possible.

A stroll through my winter clothes

Early last month, the news broke that the cost of many Canadians’ traditional winter wear had increased to more than four times its traditional cost as Lululemon unveiled its Team Canada Olympic gear with rather high price points.

The biggest disappointment for many was the Team Canada mitts (no, Google, not mittens, mitts, get with the times) - a traditional gift for many and a great way for people to support Team Canada both in spirit and financially.

When the gear, which included the iconic mitts, was made by the Hudson’s Bay Company, the price point was far more reasonable. The mitts, for example, cost $15. Under new producer Lululemon, the mitts price shot up to $68.

Lululemon’s representatives said that was due to the high-quality material and craftsmanship, but failed to comment on the fact that Hudson’s Bay donated from every sale of the more-reasonably priced mittens, raising $30 million over the years, according to a 2017 CBC article. Lululemon, in comparison, only contributed from a crossbody bag sold for $40, which has neither the affordability or the universal appeal as the iconic red mitts, in my opinion.

There were a lot of complaints about the bag, and in this reporter’s opinion, they were justified. Many complaints focused on the design of the monocolour bag which, aside from a leaf emblazoned on the bag in the same colour as the bag (how striking, am I right), showed little to support Team Canada.

I’m not one of the folks who got a new pair of Team Canada mitts every Olympic year (though I understand the appeal), but I am a person with some Team Canada gear and I’ll tell you, I never had a problem with the Hudson’s Bay craftsmanship, which was offered at a much lower price point.

As a matter of fact, if you see me out on my

The Irish Rover

Last week was St. Patrick’s Day, as you all know. Being half-Irish and not minding a drink here and there, I’ve always embraced the holiday as my own.

Over the years, I’ve always gone out of my way to do something on the most sacred of days to the Irish. I’ve spent it in Boston, one of the most Irish cities in the world outside of Ireland, seeing the Dropkick Murphys; Toronto, of course, and here in Huron County. Never in Ireland, unfortunately, but perhaps one day. Last year, we even partook in a virtual Flogging Molly concert live from Dublin and my daughter Tallulah loved it.

So, in the middle of a long work week, I got home ahead of Jess and Tallulah, so I put on some Irish music (The Pogues, for anyone wondering) to greet them when they arrived.

It was not well received.

Just a minute or two into “Dirty Old Town”, Tallulah bobbled into the house and, after she shed her jacket, hat and shoes, she asked, more or less, what exactly in the hell was the sound coming from the television?

Readers will remember that Cash Cab is her favourite television show, though she did take a shine to figure skating during the Olympics. But, whenever that taxi cab isn’t cruising the streets of Toronto (or Vancouver), Spotify is playing music. But not just any music - that staple of every household in 2022, especially houses full of children. That’s right. You guessed it! Otis Redding.

Denny Scott

Denny’s Den

morning walks between the months of October and May, odds are I’m wearing a pair of 12year-old Team Canada sweatpants that a family member bought me around the time of the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. I also have a Team Canada toque that’s likely around the same age that I wear out most cold mornings as well.

I’m not trying to knock Lululemon here because I know a lot of people enjoy what they make, but, as far as I’m concerned, the material and craftsmanship of Hudson’s Bay clothing items have always been high quality.

Beyond all the complaints, there is just something right about the Hudson’s Bay Company, which was founded in 1670, outfitting not only Canada’s athletes but a good number of Canadians in gear to support those athletes. Did you know it’s the oldest company in North America? And the Olympics are argued to be among the oldest organized sporting events in the world?

(Though it bears noting they were relaunched in the 19th century closer to the modern events we see today.) Doesn’t that pairing just make sense?

Aside from that, there’s something to be said for tradition, even one that’s younger than me. When Lululemon decided not only to eschew tradition (by not having the mitts support Team Canada), but to also put them out of reach of the average Canadian (as one woman who received the mitts every year said, $68, plus shipping, is an unreasonable cost for a family of four), the company seemed to put financial

gain ahead of not only tradition, but the wellbeing of the athletes themselves (since I doubt those gaudy cross-body bags are going to raise what the mitts did).

I know, a lot of people weren’t happy about the Canadian Tuxedos (denim jackets) that Hudson’s Bay provided to our summer athletes for the 2020 games, but at least they were better than those all-white uniforms Team USA wore to the same Olympics that made them look like a spoiled rich protagonist in an 1980s teen movie.

Actually, you know what, those jean jackets are growing on me after researching this column and seeing the Lululemon lineup. At least Hudson’s Bay didn’t put its gaudy logo near front-and-centre on every piece of gear they sold. Seriously, look at the 2018 Team Canada jackets and compare them to the Lululemon ones with the Lululemon badge on the right hand side of every piece. Or better yet, check out my sweatpants and toques, with the only Hudson’s Bay logo is on the tag. While many of us may be happy being walking billboards for our athletes, making us walking billboards for some trendy clothing company goes a step too far.

Regardless, we all make mistakes and the Olympic and Paralympic committees should have known better than to jump ship from Hudson’s Bay after one lukewarm launch after years of successes (some of which came before Roots took on the job, officially, in the late 90s and aughts).

My best hope now, however, is that Lululemon learns from its mistakes and brings out some reasonably-priced gear for the next Winter Olympics. The company has the contract with Team Canada until 2028, encompassing four Olympic games in total (two winter, two summer). By then, those sweatpants will be old enough for a driver’s licence and likely in need of a reasonablypriced replacement.

My daughter will only listen to Otis Redding. Even when one of his albums ends and Spotify starts playing music very similar to Redding, like Irma Thomas, Al Green, The Four Tops, etc., she knows and she tells me to get the television back to doing what it does best - playing Otis Redding’s music.

If memory serves, we first started playing Redding for her when we’d play “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay” for her during bath time and I guess it just grew from there. It was the only music she wanted to listen to and it evolved into her meal-time music (though she still listens to it during her baths, even though she’s since transitioned to the big bath tub).

Now, she loves it. She has her favourite songs and she’ll dance to the faster numbers, starting to boogie a second or two before the song actually starts (yes, she knows the song sequence at this point).

Jess and I count ourselves lucky that it’s Otis Redding with whom Tallulah has fallen in love. It could be something much, much worse and it’s music that Jess and I would listen to on our own before Tallulah was born. I grew up listening to Motown and soul music, so I’d listen to Redding all day every day if I had to. However, I do like to mix in some of the other folks from that era, but Tallulah just hasn’t grasped onto Aretha Franklin or Mavis Staples or Gladys Knight and the Pips like she has with Redding.

Just like I wrote about Cash Cab, we’re likely pretty lucky right now. Soon enough, it’ll be Disney songs (or, more likely, the same Disney song over and over and over again) 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so I suppose we should cherish this time.

So, for this St. Patrick’s Day, in the Loughlin home, it was Otis Redding to get everyone in that merry, Irish mood celebrated the world over. One day, Tallulah will likely move on, listening to whomever is popular at the moment. I’ll become the dad who has no idea about the musicians my daughter’s talking about and likely complain that the music is too loud, but for now, we can all agree on Otis Redding.

Pizzeria aims to join main street in May

By Denny Scott The Citizen

Hometown Pizza, located in Teeswater, is expanding its business to downtown Brussels, with the owners hoping to open a new site at 515 Turnberry Street in just over a

Helping out

owners of Hometown Pizza, told The Citizen that she hopes to open the new location on May 1 if everything goes according to plan, though she admits there may be delays due to COVID-19.

“We have to get more equipment,” she said, adding they were moving

the oven as well as sinks. It’s just an empty space right now, so we have to get everything we need in there.”

Schummer worked at the restaurant in Teeswater before buying it in 2020 and said, recently, she is interested in expanding. She said she was visiting Brussels

Local signs of spring abound

By Betty Graber Watson Call

The daffodils are sprouting, the snowdrops are blooming, the snow is melting and the robins are back and saucy. Ah, yes!

After a confined winter, the warmer days with sunshine are offering us a lot of hope. The tundra swans are in transit, letting us know, that spring is here. March

Break offered some spontaneous fun with bikes out, sleepovers and road hockey ready to rumble. The day for green put an extra spring in the step as we celebrated another quiet St. Patrick’s Day.

Tax time is moving along. Time to review the past year and wonder about the numbers on the pages.

Time to realize how fortunate we are to see numbers at all, and that for many in the world, income may not exist. As much as we mutter about taxes of the many levels, we know that we live lives of privilege. For every complaint you offer, add a note of thanks for the life you’ve been given.

Many people have taken the COVID-19 pandemic to clear drawers and sort things. Pictures seem to be the common denominator in the sport of sorting. Smiles happen, stories are recalled and incidents remembered and shared. Brother Clif in Edmonton sent a picture and comments, of

course, of our Bluevale school group from the 1960s. He had done a good job of recalling names like Robertson, Thompson, Lillow, Hall, Bitton and Campbell, just to name a few that he captured from our past. I was able to provide Sanderson, Hamilton and Moffatt to the rows of our very young friends. More good memories.

As we determine our safety and comfort level with the province lifting the mask order, we need to take big breaths as we go on with life. We live in community and we all think uniquely. Do what you

Still in play

need to do and no judging. We remain in a worldwide pandemic and until the majority of the world has multiple shots, the virus will live. The last number I saw was 15 per cent of the global south has received their protection. We need to improve that number for the safety and lives of the whole world. Many service groups, including the United Church, have a vaccine program to improve those low numbers. Check the options and help if you can. Take care. Be safe.

Bye now, Betty G.W.

as there wasn’t a pizzeria in the village.

Aside from a number of different and unique pizzas, the restaurant serves nachos, salads, submarine sandwiches and chicken wings.

Since buying the Teeswater restaurant, Schummer said things have gone very well and she expects the same in Brussels. The community must feel the same way as Schummer said the feedback has been more than encouraging.

“We’ve had an overwhelming response over e-mail, on Facebook and through phone calls,” she said, adding they already feel welcome in the community. “It was more than I expected…. We have had a lot of people come to Teeswater to try our pizza, which has given us some really good feedback.”

For more information, visit Hometown Pizza on Facebook.

At the Branch Lions

NEWS FROM BRUSSELS

Club meets in person at branch

By Jo-Ann McDonald

The week at the Brussels Legion Branch began with the first inperson Lions Club meeting at the Branch since late 2021. It was held downstairs due to the refinished floor needing one more day to dry. The group enjoyed a dinner of meat loaf and the Lions members were dressed in their St. Patrick’s Day finest. Helping out for the Branch were Sandra Brown, Kathy Burkholder, Deb Ross and Judy Lee. Great job ladies.

Tuesday was the funeral luncheon for the late Linda Albert. The ladies in charge included Sandra Brown, Deb Ross, Linda Bird, Kathy Burkholder and Deb Seili.

Tuesday evenings are the Brussels Cadet Corp meetings. They are back and are now accepting pop cans for their fundraising efforts. Please drop off any donations on Tuesdays at the front door of the Branch. The Branch still collects pop tabs. They can be left also or can be brought to the Branch anytime. The Branch has just sent over 200 pounds of tabs to Elora for processing. The Elora Branch uses the funds raised from the tabs to purchase wheelchairs for those in need.

The Branch was busy Friday evening with the beginning of the new Catch the Ace draw. The first winner of the new draw was Nicole Noble, winning $202. She chose envelope number 16 to reveal the seven of spades. The estimated jackpot for next week, March 25, will be over $600. Team McDonald, Overholt and replacement Ducharme were in charge of the draw.

Get your tickets at the Brussels Variety, Brussels Pharmacy,

Brussels Legion and McDonald Lumber.

The evening had a great crowd arrive to enjoy the wing night. Over 600 wings were served and enjoyed by the crowd. The evening had entertainment provided by Jelly Bean Blue Band and was enjoyed by all. It was a busy fun night. Comrades making it all happen included Lisa Glanville, Deb Ross, Nanci Ducharme and Jayne Ross. Looking ahead, the Branch will host another music night in May. Keep May 14 open and watch for more information.

The Brussels Leo Club held its monthly can drive earlier this month as well as offering a chance for people to get an early jump on their gardening by buying flower bulbs. (John Stephenson photo)

Jo-Ann McDonald of the Brussels Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion picks the first lucky winner of the newest round of the progressive “Catch the Ace” fundraiser. Nicole Noble won the weekly prize of $202, but the ace and the jackpot are still up for grabs. (John Stephenson photo)

Rutabaga Festival set to return to Blyth in June

weekend is family focused with events scheduled to entertain people of all ages.

The 2019 event featured bed races and the “Rutabaga Roll” down Gypsy Lane, which will be returning, as well as a cooking contest so locals can show off what they can do with rutabagas.

Also returning will be the kids’ zone, which was located at the Lions Park in 2019 and will likely be held there again, Hubbard said.

The youth ping pong tournament will also be returning, Hubbard said, as it was a success among students last time, she said.

The event will also feature a community stage which will allow locals to showcase their talents as well as serve as a space for a special educational program called “Orbax and Pepper Do Science,” Hubbard said.

Back at it again

The Blyth Rutabaga Festival will be returning to the village this year, as was the plan when it was revived in 2019. Organizers originally planned for the event to run in 2019 then in 2022 and then every five years after, coinciding with five-year anniversaries of the founding of the village. Will the Baga Bunch, left, return this year to defend their bed racing title? Find out on June 18 at the festival. (File photo)

By Denny Scott The Citizen

The Rutabaga Festival will be returning to Blyth later this year and, alongside centralizing the event at and around the Blyth and District Community Centre, there are few other changes being made.

Big winner

Chair of the Blyth Community Betterment Group Susan Hubbard, who also runs Blyth’s rutabaga factory at G.L. Hubbard Limited, told The Citizen that the event will be held on June 18 at the community centre and will include a concert featuring local musician Adam Cousins the

night before the actual festival. Hubbard said that most of the events will happen at the community centre, located at 377 Gypsy Lane, or on the surrounding grounds at places like the Blyth Lions Park.

The concert will be an age of majority event, but the rest of the

“They’re something else,” she said, adding the duo will be performing three sets.

For adults, a beverage tent will be set up at Lions Park, Hubbard said.

A catered dinner will also be provided, she said, put on by Pine Ridge Barbecue. The take-out-only meal will run between 5-7 p.m. with tickets costing $25 each. They are available by e-mailing blythcommunitybetterment@gmail. com.

Hubbard said the entire weekend will be a good one for local families as the concert, the events on Saturday and the Londesborough Lions Father’s Day Breakfast on Sunday will make sure there’s something to do each day.

There will also be a co-ed baseball tournament held at both the Blyth baseball diamonds at the community centre and at the Walton baseball diamond. Teams can sign up through the e-mail above. Camping will also be available at the Blyth Campground, which is on the grounds of the community centre, on a first-come, first-served basis Hubbard said.

The Blyth Community Betterment Group is looking for volunteers to help both with the event and to serve as members of the board, Hubbard said, and those interested can reach out via the e-mail above. For more information on the festival, look for the event on Facebook.

Syrup running light: producers

will celebrate March 28 and Matt and Aaron Popp, March 30. Happy birthday everyone.

By Marilyn Craig Call

The village was saddened to hear that long-time resident Mae Ritchie had passed away on Thursday, March 17. Mae will be missed by her many friends. Our sympathy goes out to her family.

Happy birthday to Paul Popp who

As I am writing this column, it is the first full day of spring. The snow has disappeared, but we are still in March. The older generations always have said that we have to get through the first week in April before we can have spring. Reports from a lot of people who have been making maple syrup

is that the sap isn’t running as well as it has in other years and it is pretty light. They are all expecting a short season. The temperatures are staying above zero and not going below very often. Maybe by next week we will have the rakes out and the green grass will be showing.

Stay safe everyone and give someone a phone call just to say hello.

The Blyth satellite office of The Goderich Bike Shop ran a scavenger hunt along the community’s main street last week. Those who found all the green seasonal decorations were entered into a draw for a cycling prize pack. The winner was Ava Nonkes, who posed with the shop’s owner, Brendan Sowerby, late last week. (Denny Scott photo)

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen

The Seaforth Centenaires have struck first in the “Battle of Highway 8” as they take on the Clinton Radars in the Western Ontario Athletic Association (WOAA) Senior A.A. finals, which began on Saturday night in Seaforth.

The best-of-seven series began on Saturday night at the Seaforth and District Community Centre and it was the home team that came away with the victory by the slimmest of margins, by a score of 1-0.

Lucknow native and Olympian

Julie-Anne Staehli placed 18th in the women’s 3,000-metre race at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships, held last weekend in Belgrade, Serbia.

Staehli ran the race in 8:58.73, just 0.05 seconds behind Meraf Bahta of Sweden, who finished in 17th place with a time of 8:58.68. Ethiopia’s Lemlem Hailu won the race with a time of 8:41.82, which was a season’s best time for her.

Staehli finished ahead of Australia’s Lauren Ryan and Bolivia’s Jhoselyn Camargo Aliaga in the 20-woman field.

Before the games, Staehli said,

The series continues this weekend, with game two going ahead on Friday, March 25 in Clinton at the Central Huron Community Complex and game three back in Seaforth the following night on Saturday, March 26.

Game four is scheduled for April Fool’s Day, Friday, April 1 in Clinton. If necessary, game five will be on April 2 in Seaforth, game six will be on April 8 in Clinton and game seven will be on April 9 in Seaforth. All Seaforth home games begin at 7:30 p.m., while the start time for the Clinton home games is 8:30 p.m.

The Radars made their way to the finals through the Ripley Wolves, defeating them in five games in the semifinals.

Clinton won the first two games of the series by scores of 5-2 and 32, respectively, but lost game three by a score of 4-1. They battled back the following weekend, however, winning game four by a score of 32 and game five by a score of 5-1, launching them into the finals. That came after a best-of-seven quarterfinal series against the Minto 81’s that went the distance.

The Radars lost game one of that series in overtime by a score of 4-3.

They won game two by a score of 5-4 and then lost game three by a score of 6-2.

Game four went to overtime and the Radars came up just short, losing by a score of 4-3, but the locals would roar back, winning the final three games and the series, topping Minto 5-2 in game five, 4-3 in game six and 4-1 in game seven.

The Seaforth Centenaires defeated the Tavistock Royals in their semifinal series, taking just five games to do so.

The Centenaires won game one by a score of 4-2 and then defeated the Royals by a score of 4-3 in

Centenaires beat Radars in WOAA game one Staehli places 18th at Indoor Championships

game two. Seaforth would lose game three 4-2, but come back strong in games four and five with 7-4 and 2-1 wins.

The team faced the Durham Thundercats in the quarterfinals, also triumphing in five games. Seaforth lost game one by a score of 5-4. However, they would win the next four games to take the series by scores of 3-2, 5-2, 4-2 and 2-1 to claim victory.

For more information or to track the teams’ progress, visit the Clinton Radars at clintonradars.com or the Seaforth Centenaires at centenaires.ca.

via her Instagram page, that qualifying for this specific team had been one of her goals for a number of years.

Despite the unrest in Ukraine, not far from Serbia, the event was able to move ahead safely. It was the first time the bi-annual event had been held since 2018, with the 2020 event being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ahead of the event, Staehli said that the events taking place in the rest of the world had weighed heavily on her as she awaited an announcement on the team selection.

Staehli specializes in the 5,000-

metre

Centre naming to raise money

Continued from page 3 concerns with the high costs of some of the naming opportunities. McRoberts echoed their concerns, saying he was surprised at how high some of the numbers were when they came in, but said Duquette had provided comparable examples in similarly-sized communities that showed those goals were attainable. The proposed naming

opportunity for the entire facility would come at a price tag of $1 million, followed by the auditorium and ice surface, which are each listed as $250,000 and the foyer, heated viewing area and gym, which each could be named for a donation of $100,000 each.

The first two bleacher sections, the kitchen, lobby seating area and all six of the new dressing rooms

come with a price tag of $50,000 each. All remaining opportunities, including the third, smaller bleacher section, the visiting team and home team benches, both penalty boxes, the timekeeper’s booth, the concession stand, the mechanical room, the two referees’ rooms and the two existing dressing rooms are all listed at $25,000 each.

race and represented Canada in the event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which were eventually

held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). She finished the race in 17th place with a time of 15:33.39.

She was ranked 20th in the world heading into the Olympics, so her finish improved upon that ranking.

Sports Ironmen win quarterfinal series against Bulldogs

14-6 in those two periods, and 22-15 over the course of the game.

While the Ironmen came out ahead on home ice, it was the Bulldogs who struck first with Steven Grant scoring less than 1:30 into the game. Gavin Downs and Bryce McFadden assisted on the goal.

Less than five minutes into the second, Wingham responded, with Dawson Fahrer scoring a powerplay goal, assisted by Kyle Stanbury and Coleson Fischer.

Kincardine took the lead again with a marker scored by Downs, assisted by McFadden and Grant, before the end of the second.

Wingham claimed the third period, however, with Nate Bloemberg tying the game with a goal assisted by Trevor Klee. Evan Visser then won the game for the Ironmen with a solo effort.

Big win

The Wingham Ironmen celebrate winning the first round of the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s North Pollock Division playoffs. In the best-of-seven series, the fifth-place Ironmen downed the fourth-place Kincardine Bulldogs in six games, winning back-toback games on Friday and Saturday to seal the deal. (John Stephenson photo)

By Denny Scott The Citizen

After trading wins with the Kincardine Bulldogs over the first four games of their playoff series, the Wingham Ironmen pulled out all the stops for games five and six, winning back-to-back games and their quarterfinal playoff round of the PJHL playoffs.

Over the last week, the fifthseeded Ironmen posted three wins and one loss to claim victory in the first round of the North Pollock

Division playoffs against the fourth-seeded Kincardine Bulldogs.

On Saturday, on home ice, the Ironmen posted a 3-2 win over the Bulldogs, preceded by a 4-1 win over the Bulldogs on Friday in Kincardine. On Wednesday, the Bulldogs posted a 3-2 overtime victory over the Ironmen in Wingham and on Tuesday the Ironmen claimed their own 3-2 overtime victory in Kincardine. Prior to that, the teams had traded 2-1 victories following home ice advantage the week before.

Draw two, winner one

The Brussels Curling Club’s second draw was captured by the team of Dona Knight and Brad Knight, above, as well as (absent) Tyler Jutzi and Charmila Ireland. The club celebrated its year-end recently with a banquet and awards. (Courtesy photo)

The Ironmen will now take on the first-seeded Hanover Barons in the semifinals. The Barons posted an impressive record of 25 wins, four losses and one overtime loss in the regular season, earning 53 points to claim the top spot and a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Wingham’s series against the Barons started on Tuesday with a game at the Hanover P&H Centre. A score was not available as of press time.

WINGHAM 3 KINCARDINE 2

The Ironmen posted a 3-2 win over the Kincardine Bulldogs on Saturday, March 19 thanks to dominating the second and third periods, outshooting the Bulldogs

Devon Carson backstopped the Ironmen, stopping 13 of 15 shots, while Joshua Jacklin was in net for the Bulldogs, stopping 19 of 22 shots.

The game was a relatively clean one with only a handful of minor penalties assessed to the two teams. Kincardine players served four penalty minutes on two infractions, while the Ironmen served six minutes on three infractions.

In the first period, Wingham’s Jonah Burley was called for hooking, followed by Fahrer being called for tripping. Kincardine’s Carter Servais was assessed a twominute tripping penalty.

The second period saw Tanner Reid of Wingham serve two minutes for hooking, while Kincardine’s Grant served two minutes for interference.

There were no penalties in the third period.

WINGHAM 4 KINCARDINE 1

Despite only outshooting the Bulldogs by a margin of 31-28, the Wingham Ironmen scored a 4-1 win over Kincardine on Friday,

March 18 in Kincardine.

Wingham’s Josh Pham opened the scoring for the game with an unassisted marker in the first period.

The second period saw Burley score, assisted by Klee, followed by Fahrer, assisted by Visser.

Stanbury scored his second goal of the playoffs in the third period, giving the Ironmen even more insurance in the match. The emptynet goal was assisted by Burley.

Kincardine’s Ben Nauta scored his team’s only goal late in the third, assisted by Wilson Shipp.

Carson was in net for the Ironmen, stopping 27 of 28 shots, while Jacklin stopped 27 of 30 shots for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs served nine penalties totalling 26 minutes while the Ironmen served six penalties totalling 12 minutes.

Wingham’s Trevor Donaldson had the first penalty of the game with a two-minute cross checking call halfway through the first period.

Kincardine’s McFadden was assessed the second and final penalty of the first period with a two-minute slashing penalty.

Kincardine’s Nauta had the first penalty of the second with a twominute boarding call.

Wingham’s Dana Smith was then called for interference, followed by Kincardine’s Jordan Beisel, who served a two-minute tripping call. Wingham’s Burley was called for interference, serving two minutes.

An incident with 11 seconds left in the second period saw Wingham’s Tanner Reid called for roughing after the whistle (two minutes), while Kincardine faced three penalties: a two-minute cross checking call against Carter Servais and 10-minute and two-minute head contact penalties against Austin Waite.

The third period saw Wingham’s Fahrer serve a two-minute holding

Continued on page 10

Youth Winter Sports Pages

1. Please submit team photo A.S.A.P.

2. Please include players’ and coaches’ names for under the photo. Please

Sports

Ironmen head into semifinals on winning streak

two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, followed by teammate Gavin Gibbons who was assessed a two-minute boarding call.

Wingham’s only penalty of the first went to Pham, who was called for interference (two minutes).

Kincardine’s Beisel served the final penalty of the first period with a two-minute slashing call.

The second period saw Wingham’s Smith serve a twominute slashing penalty.

Kincardine’s Kent Ribey was called for interference (two minutes), followed by Shipp, who was called for slashing (two minutes).

Valiant effort

The Wingham Ironmen are heading to the North Pollock Division semifinals after downing the Kincardine Bulldogs, despite an impressive effort put forward by Kincardine Bulldogs goaltender Joshua Jacklin, shown here making an daring attempt to stop the Ironmen from finding the back of the net. The Ironmen will next face off against the first-place Hanover Barons. (John Stephenson photo)

Continued from page 9 penalty, Kincardine’s Joseph Pringle a four-minute kneeing penalty, Wingham’s Bloemberg a two-minute too many men penalty and Kincardine’s Grant a twominute high sticking penalty.

KINCARDINE 3 WINGHAM 2

Despite being outshot 34-31, the Kincardine Bulldogs pulled off a 32 overtime win over the Wingham Ironmen on March 16 in Wingham.

Wingham took an early lead with Brandon Stewart scoring, assisted by Visser. Kincardine’s Downs evened things up with a goal assisted by McFadden.

In the second period, Kincardine’s Beisel scored a powerplay goal, assisted by Servais and Sparling. Wingham’s Josh Lorenz evened things up with a marker assisted by Stanbury.

After a scoreless third period,

Kincardine’s Liam Colhoun scored the game-winning goal, assisted by Downs and Jeffrey Fritzley.

Wingham’s Carson saved 28 of 31 shots while Kincardine’s Jacklin saved 32 of 34 shots.

The Bulldogs served 22 penalties on seven infractions, while the Ironmen served 14 minutes on the same.

Kincardine’s Koetsier was the first to visit the penalty box on a

Curling club wraps up year

place, Doug Bremner, Jeff Cardiff, Dona Knight and Barbara Cadotte, 32; and third-place, Don Chesher, Diana Dolmage, Reg Vinnicombe and Charmila Ireland, 28.

The second draw began on Feb.7 and again there were eight teams hoping to capture first place. Winners were: first, skip Brad Knight, Tyler Jutzi, Dona Knight and Charmila Ireland with 44.5 points; second, Mike Alexander, Steve Bowers, Reg Vinnicombe and Barbara Codette, 44; and third, Matthew Cardiff, MaryAnn Thompson, Chris Jutzi and Danielle Jutzi, 38.

First draw, first place

The winners of the first draw for the Brussels Curling Club were, from let, skip Mervyn Bauer, vice MaryAnn Thompson, second Brendan Howson and lead Andrew Fear with 37.5 points. (Photo submitted)

By Jo-Ann McDonald

The Brussels Curling Club held its year-end banquet and presentations on Saturday evening at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. There were over 30 in attendance who took part in the shortened season of just nine games, due to the interruption of play due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The evening included a social time prior to feasting on the delicious array of potluck foods

with all safety protocols in place.

President Doug Bremner welcomed everyone with their guests to the evening and, following the meal, announced the winners of the draws.

The first draw held in December and the last Monday in January, had eight teams playing for the fourgame draw. First draw winners were: first, skip Mervyn Bauer, vice MaryAnn Thompson, second, Brendan Howson and lead Andrew Fear with 37.5 points; second-

Due to the difference in the number of games, the math was done and the overall winner for the year, and the recipient of the D.A. Rann Memorial Trophy was Merv Bauer’s team from the first draw.

President Doug thanked all for coming and said he hopes to see everyone back again next year, asking everyone to bring a friend. The evening finished up with some playing euchre and the rest playing a rousing game of Chase the Ace. The club now looks forward to next year with new President Tyler Jutzi leading the group. Draw committee personnel remain the same with George Zwep, Mike Alexander and Steve Steiss.

Anyone interested in curling can call or approach any of these gentlemen or any curlers and ask about joining the Brussels Curling Club for the 2022/2023 season.

After a scoreless third period, Wingham’s Adlys scored the gamewinning overtime goal with a solo effort.

Carson got the win in net for the Ironmen, stopping 44 of 46 shots, while Jacklin took the overtime loss as Kincardine’s netminder, stopping 34 of 37 shots.

The Ironmen served 16 penalty minutes on eight infractions, while the Bulldogs served 15 minutes on seven infractions.

The final three penalties of the period went to Wingham’s Chris Adlys (interference, two minutes), Tanner Reid (boarding, two minutes) and Smith (roughing, two minutes).

Ben Wyatt of Wingham served the first penalty of the third with a two-minute hooking call.

Jason Taylor of Kincardine then served a 10-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, while Colhoun served Taylor’s twominute cross checking penalty.

Wingham’s Kyle Smeltzer had the last penalty of the game and the only penalty in overtime with a two-minute tripping call.

WINGHAM 3 KINCARDINE 2

Despite being on the wrong side of a 46-37 shooting deficit, the Wingham Ironmen bested the Kincardine Bulldogs in a 3-2 overtime win.

Wingham’s Visser struck first with a powerplay marker, assisted by Stanbury and Fahrer.

Kincardine’s Koetsier responded with a marker assisted by Grant and Ryan Litt.

In the second period, Stanbury put the Ironmen back on top with a powerplay marker, assisted by Fahrer. Kincardine’s McFadden then scored a powerplay marker to tie the game. Grant and Jordan Mouton assisted the goal.

Kincardine’s Parker Miller served the first penalty of the game when his team was called for too many players on the ice, resulting in a two-minute penalty. Miller’s teammate Shipp was the next to visit the penalty box after a twominute boarding call.

Wingham’s first penalty of the game went to Klee, who served a two-minute tripping penalty.

The first penalty of the second was called against Wingham’s Adlys who served a two-minute slashing penalty.

Kincardine’s Servais and Waite then served back-to-back twominute slashing penalties.

Wingham’s Smith served a twominute tripping penalty, followed by Kincardine’s Servais going to the penalty box again, this time for cross checking.

Wingham’s Adlys then served his second penalty of the game, a twominute slashing minor.

Kincardine’s Brennan Long was assessed a head contact game misconduct, with Taylor serving a five-minute penalty on Brennan’s behalf.

The third period saw penalties called against only Wingham players including Matt Tolton (interference, two minutes), Klee (cross checking, two minutes) and Fahrer (interference, two minutes).

For more information, and to follow Wingham Ironmen’s semifinal series against the Hanover Barons, visit winghamironmen. pjhlon.hockeytech.com.

Green day

North Woods Elementary School celebrated St. Patrick’s Day just before March Break. Back row from left: Madeline Kuepfer, Abby Thompson, Mya Zed, Isla Fischer, Wes Leis, Olivia Cochrane and Mrs. Hemingway. Front row: Cooper DeWit, Landry McDonald, Alexis White, Katie Somers, Layne Milinkovic and Parker Sheppard. (Photo submitted)

H. East suspends vaccination policy

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen

In light of recent events and provincial decisions, Huron East Council is suspending its vaccination policy.

Council made the decision at its March 15 meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom. Chief Administrative Officer Brad McRoberts raised the topic, preparing a report on it for council, saying the suspension of the policy was being proposed in a way that would allow the municipality to bring it back with very little notice, should the COVID-19 pandemic situation change in the future.

McRoberts told council that the municipality enacted its policy with council approval after Huron Perth Public Health issued a letter of instruction that required all businesses to have a vaccination policy for its employees. On Jan.

31, the public health agency rescinded that letter of instruction in co-ordination with the provincial government lifting capacity limits and proof-of-vaccination requirements on March 1 with the province’s mask mandate also due to fall later in the month.

In his report, McRoberts said the municipality still “strongly supports and encourages” people to get vaccinated to protect them from the need for hospitalization or critical care, but that the need to mandate vaccination through a formal policy was no longer needed at the time.

He reiterated that staff was suggesting merely suspending the policy, rather than eliminating it, in the event that it needs to be reactivated quickly in the event that circumstances surrounding the pandemic change.

Council passed McRoberts’ recommendation with little discussion.

COVID-19 outbreaks, fatalities up in Huron, Perth

recognized COVID-19 vaccine (84.2 per cent of eligible recipients).

The number of individuals with two vaccine injections rose from 81.1 per cent of eligible recipients (112,799) last week to 81.3 per cent (113,083) this week.

More than half the eligible residents of Huron and Perth Counties have received a third dose (52.7 per cent or 73,013 up from 72,676 last week) while only 1.7 per cent have a fourth dose (2,324 up from 2,253).

Klassen said, during the press conference above, that HPPH anticipates scaling back vaccine clinics starting next month, but still “ensuring Huron Perth residents are aware of local vaccination opportunities.”

Continuing to rise

While the provincial government, in light of stabilizing COVID-19 case counts, has lifted most pandemic control measures, Huron and Perth Counties continue to face new outbreaks and additional fatalities linked to the virus. Above, all 95 fatalities over the course of the entire pandemic are represented by where they occured, with the majority being community residents (light blue) or long-term care residents (gray). The rest fall to retirement home fatalities (green) or hospital fatalities (dark blue). (Citizen image)

By Denny Scott The Citizen

In the last Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) press conference set to be held on the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, Huron Perth Medical Officer of Health Dr. Miriam Klassen encouraged everyone to continue safe practices.

Starting early in the pandemic, Klassen and the HPPH hosted weekly press conferences to advise local media of changes in the pandemic and local virus case counts, vaccination statistics and information about local outbreaks, which were changed to bi-weekly last year.

Now, those press conferences have been discontinued with Klassen noting that, even though public health measures are being lifted, the pandemic is continuing.

“COVID-19 continues to circulate and remains a potentially serious illness,” Klassen said, adding that specific groups could still face long COVID,

hospitalization or death as a result of infection. “HPPH encourages business and individuals to reduce risk through vaccination, selfscreening, staying home if ill, physical distancing and working from home if possible.”

COVID-19 continues to circulate in Huron and Perth Counties with several new outbreaks being declared across the two counties in the past few weeks, including two outbreaks at Goderich retirement homes.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, which, according to Klassen, is far lower than the actual numbers due to testing being limited to high-risk situations, increased from 5,853 to 5,987, an increase of 134. One new COVID19-linked fatality was also reported in a long-term care setting, bringing the total fatalities in the two counties to 95.

The outbreak at Spruce Lodge in Stratford, a long-term care facility, which was declared on March 13, continued this week. The number of

people infected grew from three residents upon declaration to six residents and four staff as of Monday.

The outbreak at Listowel Memorial Hospital also continues with nine patients and one staff member testing positive, down from the 14 patients who tested positive when it was declared March 12.

HPPH reported new outbreaks were declared at Goderich Place and Harbour Hill retirement homes over the past week.

On March 14, the Goderich Place outbreak began with 10 residents and five staff members testing positive, while Harbour Hill’s outbreak was declared March 17 with two residents and one staff member testing positive.

One unidentified congregate living outbreak is also active in Huron and Perth Counties. Vaccination efforts continue across Huron and Perth Counties, with 117,317 people having received at least one dose of a

“We will be offering mobile clinics to businesses/organizations who have eligible staff and/or volunteers needing a first, second or third/booster dose,” she said.

Klassen also said HPPH will soon be receiving a limited supply of protein-based COVID-19 vaccine Novavax Nuvaxovid and to contact HPPH for more information.

The vaccine is approved for those over 18 who have had an allergic reaction to other mRNA vaccines and who have not received any doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

The “Vow” Factor Wedding Package

HE declines road allowance purchase, wants report

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen

Huron East Council has declined a request from the Yundt family of Cranbrook to purchase an unopened road allowance, but asked for a staff

report on potential support for the family.

At council’s March 1 meeting, Chief Administrative Officer Brad McRoberts presented the Yundt family’s request to council, asking to purchase the unopened road

Starting them young

allowance at the end of Kent Line, adjacent to the Middle Maitland River in Cranbrook. He asked that he be given two weeks to prepare a report for council, which he presented at council’s March 15 meeting.

McRoberts recommended declining the request and provided a number of reasons to back up his opinion. McRoberts said that, as a rule of thumb, staff would not recommend the disposal of any public access point to a recreational feature. The road allowance in question, he said, provides the general public with an access point to the river, allowing for fishing, kayaking, canoeing, bird watching, swimming and more.

He also noted that the municipality’s public works department piles snow at the end of the road, saying there were also drainage concerns and emergency services access issues if the property were to be sold (both due to firefighters needing access to the river for water in the event of a fire and rescue concerns about accessing the river in the event of an emergency).

the Yundts when it came to the new development of 17 residential lots along and to the west side of Kent Line, but said selling the property would impact those properties. In their March 1 letter, the Yundts detailed trespassing and littering concerns, among other things.

“While staff recognize some of the concerns expressed by the Yundts, the new residential development will likely create a community of individuals that will police the area and any activities, deter misuse of the public access and collect/dispose of any errant refuse,” McRoberts said.

He also suggested that the municipality ensure that the public portion of the access be well marked to ensure that users of the municipal property do not trespass onto the Yundts’ property.

Earlier this month, the Wingham Golf and Curling Club hosted its annual elementary school bonspiel, welcoming three teams from Wingham, two from Palmerston and one from Listowel to compete. The winning team was skipped by Sadie Merkley from the Wingham club and prizes were awarded to all of the teams that participated. (Photo submitted)

“The municipality recognizes and commends the Yundts for their stewardship of the lands over the years. While the Yundts have [had] unimpeded and, for the majority of the time, private use of the municipal road allowance for several years, it has been at the courtesy of the municipality and not intended to be exclusive. Public access to the recreational features provide significant benefit to the communities where they exist, providing an enhanced quality of life. These benefits attract residents and visitors to Huron East and should be regarded as significant and should be protected as municipal assets,” McRoberts said in his report to council.

He made note of the concerns of

First entrepreneur loan given to shop owner

restaurant, so it was hard to be told I couldn’t work there anymore,” she says. “The store has changed that –I’m excited for life again.”

“This is exactly why Huron Entrepreneur Fund was created,” said Bryan Vincent, chair of the Huron Entrepreneur Fund. “We want to support the resilient entrepreneurial spirit that thrives in Huron County. With the income earned, we will also be able to make grants to local charities – it’s a ‘two-fer’.”

A new career

After an illness made it difficult for her to continue working in her family-owned restaurant, Mary Bruce took some of her other passions, including beauty products, décor items and yarn, to find a new purpose. She started working in a temporary market at the Suncoast Mall in Goderich, but when it ended, she felt she could continue to market her goods. The result is Forever and Beyond, a storefront in Goderich, where she sells the above products. Her endeavour has been aided by a loan from the Huron Entrepreneur Fund. (Photo submitted)

Mary Bruce is the consummate entrepreneur. Mary and her husband Steve operate a restaurant on the square in Goderich. Last year, Mary became ill and could no longer do the hard physical work involved in running the restaurant on a daily basis.

In November, someone told her about a market operating in the Suncoast Mall. Mary started selling her handmade beauty products and then moved into offering yarn for sale.

“The more I did, the healthier I felt,” she says. “Selling on the

market gave me the initiative to get up and move.”

When the market closed at Christmas, she still had product left, so she took over a vacant store in the mall. Soon it was clear that her retail concept was resonating with consumers. Mary found a store to rent at 79 Hamilton Street in Goderich, and applied to Community Futures Huron for a loan to help with renovations and inventory.

The loan was approved and Mary received $25,000. The money is part of the Huron Entrepreneur

Fund, donated by individuals and organizations in Huron County and held at the Sunset Community Foundation. “This was our first impact investment through Community Futures Huron,” says Deb Gill, Chair of the Sunset Community Foundation. “We’re delighted that it has gone right to work, supporting a woman entrepreneur.”

Mary renovated the store and created Forever and Beyond, featuring her own beauty products, décor items, and lots and lots of yarn.

“My heart and soul was in the

Several councillors said they sympathized with the Yundts and understood their concerns, but concurred with McRoberts’ report. Councillor Alvin McLellan, among others, also cited the drowning death of 10-year-old Taleya Paris near Mitchell as a concern when it came to an access point for the river. Paris had been missing for over a week before being found in Whirl Creek the day before Huron  East Council’s meeting.

In a recorded vote, Mayor Bernie MacLellan and Councillors Gloria Wilbee, Joe Steffler, Ray Chartrand, Brenda Dalton, Alvin McLellan, Zoellyn Onn and Justin Morrison voted to decline the request, while Deputy-Mayor Bob Fisher and Councillors Dianne Diehl and Larry McGrath voted against McRoberts’ recommendation.

After the vote, Onn asked that both McRoberts and Director of Public Works Barry Mills produce a report on how the municipality can better aid the Yundts, asking the family for input as to what they need from the municipality.

McRoberts said the report should be presented to council at its April 19 meeting. At that time, he said, the Yundts can also address council and speak to their concerns.

Council passed the motion directing staff to prepare the aforementioned report.

Brussels Livestock report Fed steers, heifers sell

Total receipts for Brussels Livestock ending March 18 were 1,250 cattle and 631 lambs and goats.

On Tuesday, fed steers and heifers sold actively at prices $1 to $2 higher. Choice steers and heifers sold $168 to $177 with sales to $180. Second-cut cattle sold $162 to $167. Aged and medium-fed steers and heifers sold $155 to $166. Holstein steers and heifers sold $108 to $166. Bulls sold $109 to $129. Cows sold steady.

On Thursday, veal, lambs, sheep and nanny goats all sold steady. Kids goats sold higher.

On Friday, calves sold $5 to $10

higher. Yearlings sold fully steady.

Reval Dettman of Clifford, consigned four head. One black white-faced heifer weighed 1,500 lbs. and sold for a price of $180.

There were 250 cows on offer.

Beef sold $97 to $125 with sales to $131; good holstein cows, $85 to $160 with sales to $114; medium holstein cows, $75 to $88.

There were 150 head of veal on offer. Beef veal sold $180 to $233; good holsteins, $155 to $170; SL heavy holsteins, $134 to $150; heavy holsteins, $107 to $137; medium holsteins, $140 to $155; plain holsteins, $116 to $125.

Jim Maw of Forest, consigned six

head. One grey steer weighed 930 lbs. and sold for a price of $233.

John and Cheryl Bennewies of Bornholm, consigned three head. One holstein steer weighed 710 lbs. and sold for a price of $170.

Lambs 50 - 64 lbs. sold $421 to $447.50; 65 - 79 lbs., $388.50 to $427.50; 80 - 94 lbs., $367 to $385; 95 - 109 lbs., $345 to $360; 110 lbs. and over, $284.50 to $340.

Sheep sold $100 to $275.

Goats: billies sold $150 to $400; nannies, $50 to $180; kids: dairy, $400 to $500; meat, $450 to $520.

Dennis McEwen of Monkton, consigned seven head. Six lambs averaged 71 lbs. and sold for an

average price of $412.50. Andreas and Petra Aeberhardj of Neustadt, consigned 15 head. Fourteen lambs averaged 66 lbs. and sold for an average price of $427.50.

Top quality stocker steers, 400499 lbs. sold $259 to $265.50; 500599 lbs., $243.75 to $254.25; 600699 lbs., $214.50 to $232.75; 700799 lbs., $212.50 to $222; 800 - 899 lbs., $202 to $213; 900 - 999 lbs., $191 to $204.50; 1,000 lbs. and over, $179.50 to $199.50.

Top quality stocker heifers, 400499 lbs. sold $221 to $246; 500599 lbs., $185.50 to $243; 600 - 699 lbs., $179.50 to $211; 700 - 799

lbs., $185 to $192.50; 800 - 899 lbs., $180 to $194.50; 900 lbs. and over, $169 to $189.75.

Stewart Farms of Douglas, consigned 79 head. Thirteen charolais heifers averaged 802 lbs. and sold for an average price of $192.50.

Steve Armstrong of Cayuga, consigned 37 head. Eleven charolais heifers averaged 640 lbs. and sold for an average price of $210.

Corey and Jenn Mannerow of Chesley, consigned 30 head. Five charolais steers averaged 753 lbs. and sold for an average price of $218.

Steve Pastoor of Kerwood, consigned 14 head. Eleven simmental steers averaged 980 lbs. and sold for an average price of $204.50.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is threatening to jeopardize the global food supply chain, a risk that could impact the 2022 crop season, drive up prices in the short term and lead to widespread famine in at-risk regions by next year, warn Ontario farmers.

Last week, the Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and the Ontario Agri Business Association (OABA) held a briefing for provincial and federal government officials to outline the risks and challenges facing farmers for the planting of the coming season, and the impact the RussiaUkraine war could have on Ontario’s food supply. The groups also discussed the impact of a potential rail strike, in addition to the challenges.

Farmers in Ukraine and Russia produce about a quarter of the world’s calories, with key regions in North Africa and the Middle East dependent on their production. But this supply chain has been significantly jeopardized by the tragic geopolitical events unfolding in Ukraine. This is forecast to result in a spike in food prices between eight and 22 per cent over the coming months, and many agriculture economists are predicting famine in several African countries within the next 18 months.

How policymakers, farmers and other stakeholders in the agriculture value chain respond to this crisis over the next few weeks is critical, and will determine how much food will be available in Ontario, Canada and around the world. It is vitally

important that Ontario find ways to maximize its production of livestock feed and grain in the 2022 growing season, which will also require strategies to manage the shortfall in fertilizer that is expected to materialize because of sanctions against Russia.

“The Grain Farmers of Ontario stand with the people of Ukraine and the efforts Canada and its partners are making to restore peace in the region. We hosted this event today to share with policymakers the role Ontario’s grain production can make to help address and alleviate the food supply concerns that are unfolding around the world. Farmers in Ontario take seriously their duty to produce food, and we wanted to raise the issues we face completing that task,” said Brendan Byrne, Chair of the Grain Farmers of Ontario’s Board of Directors.

disruptive for farmers. Canada’s food system has already endured supply chain challenges due to the pandemic, and now we must prepare and adjust for global fertilizer supply shortages as well a potential CP Rail labour disruption, just weeks before planting. The situation is dire and needs immediate attention,” said Russel Hurst, Executive Director, of the Ontario Agri-Business Association.

GFO, OFA and OABA have been meeting with government representatives in Canada as well as in the Province, one-on-one over the last few weeks to raise the issues facing the spring planting to find ways to mitigate the risks of input supplies arriving on-time as well as price shocks to key inputs.

Rev. Bill McAuslan (retired United Church minister) was the guest speaker on Sunday, March 20 Lent 3 at Knox United Church, Belgrave. His message was entitled, “Finding Light in the Darkness”. The scripture lessons were from Isaiah 55: 1-9, Psalm 63: 1-8 and I Corinthians 10: 1-13 and Luke 3: 718.

The guest speaker for March 27 is Jim Hess. Everyone is welcome.

We are into our spring season. Our temperature rose to 19˚ C on Thursday, well above expected temperatures for this time of year. I noticed that the snowdrops are blooming and soon other spring flowers will be blooming thanks to Mother Nature.

The students are back in school this week after time off for the March Break. Mask mandates have also been lifted. They are not required in most public places. Consider your own risk when deciding whether or not to choose to wear a mask. Together if we all do our part we can beat the virus.

“The war in Ukraine is tragic, and the OFA is united with our brethren Ukrainian farmers who have had their livelihoods ripped apart and lives put at risk. Ontario is Canada’s most productive region, and Ontario farmers are eager to do what is required to produce the food people rely on us to grow. But in light of these geopolitical matters, compounded by last year’s drought in Western Canada and South America, we can’t do it alone,” said Peggy Brekveld, President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

“The tragic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are creating great concern and uncertainty heading into this year’s planting season. Suppliers are facing several potential obstacles that could prove to be very

Classified Advertisements

Personals Services

READY MADE EASTER

BASKETS! Varieties perfect for grandparents, adults and children! For more information call 519-8350099. Maitside Orchards, 23 Orchard Lane, Brussels. 12-4p

--------------------------------------------

GERBERS FIREWOOD SERVING you for over 10 years. Your number one source of quality slabwood and bodywood. Delivery available. No Sunday calls. 519-656-2057, 519441-2085. 01-50p

--------------------------------------------

REPRINTS OF PHOTOS taken by Citizen photographers are available to purchase. All are in colour. 4x6 – $5.00, 5x7 – $6.00, 8x10 – $10.00. Phone to order 519523-4792 or 519-887-9114. tfn

--------------------------------------------

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

Coming events

PRAYER IN PAINT – COME

MEET the artists March 26 from 7 to 9 p.m. Award ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Wild Goose Studio, 432 Queen St., Blyth. 11-2

WARWICK. I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to my neighbours, friends and extended family at this very difficult time with the loss of Tom. I want to thank you for your kindness and support and all the food I received, plus cards and phone calls. Again, a special thank you to the neighbours and friends who have been there for me to lean on plus the meals I’ve had. Thank you to Rev. Charmila Ireland for the lovely service. I want to thank my cousin Michelle for her memories of Tom and my neighbours Melinda and Murray for their thoughtful words and memories too. Thank you to the paramedics and Brussels rescue service. To Zoey at Riverside Funeral Home – thank you for your guidance and care. And thank you to the Brussels Legion ladies for the lovely lunch. – Sincerely, Brian. 12-1p

Help wanted

BACHERT MEATS INC. – FARM worker, hogs, no experience needed, fast-paced environment, physically demanding, $15 per hour. Email résumé to bachertmeatshiring@ gmail.com 12-3

--------------------------------------------

WINGHAM MEMORIALS IS looking for a full-time, longterm computer-friendly assistant. Résumés accepted at andgranite@bellnet.ca 12-3

--------------------------------------------

NOW HIRING – MEAT MANAGER for Brussels Foodland. Full-time hours with benefits. Apply in store with résumé or email fld6746brussels@sobeys.com 11-2

--------------------------------------------

Card of thanks Card of thanks

TEN PAS. It was sincerely meaningful to our family to receive the outpour of support with food, flowers, well wishes and presence at the funeral of our mother, Agnes. To say goodbye to a loved one is never easy, so we are deeply grateful for the comfort during our grief. Mom was not only special to all of her family, but to so many in the community of Brussels and the Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Listowel. She will be missed by so many, but we know that her suffering is now over. The kindness and care was like a refreshing wind to our saddened spirits. Thank you. Special thanks to the staff at Caressant Care for gently helping us. Also thank you to Pastor Meinen, Riverside Funeral Home and Brenneman Funeral Home. –Sincerely, Paul, Patricia, Linda and families. 12-1b --------------------------------------------

ARE YOU PREGNANT AND unsure about your future? Contact Ramoth House. We can help you discover your parenting potential. You can get more information about our services on our website www.ramoth.ca or by phone 519-323-3751 or email: office@ramoth.ca e6w

INCOME TAX PREPARATION –farm, business, personal. Stephen Thompson, 519-482-3244. 07-10b

WANTED - OLDER MODEL wooden forage wagon with metal roof. Dion or other makes and models. Phone Tim Butson 519-8710989. 11-4

Spring Lawn Care

“SWAP SHOP” ad

- freshly painted rims, 5/100 mm bolt pattern - $125. Call 519-482-5243.

FOR

trained, friendly. Call for details, mornings, Harriston 519-338-2688. 12-3

Call 519887-9456. 10-3

FREE - loveseat, 64"x34"x24", pattern ranging pale to dark gray with a full-sized brown loveseat cover, first come, first serve. No delivery. Call 519-955-2682. 10-3

FOR

- female Jack Russell border terrier-cross, six months old. Price negotiable. Phone 519357-3117.

Lowe marks 59 years of barbering in Brussels

PEOPLE AROUND WALTON

By Jo-Ann McDonald Call 887-6570

It is hard to believe how the landscape can change in just a matter of days. As I wrote this column, it was only eight days after driving through blowing snow and roads building up with at least six inches of snow on them. A week later, it is 17°C outside with beautiful sun shining and very little snow left anywhere. Roads are clear, but they are very soft and muddy in places. Rain hit on Saturday and the rest of the snow disappeared quickly.

The baby news continues and little girls are winning in numbers. Chris Bernard and Katie Schoemaker welcomed a little girl in February. Marla Marie is welcomed home by big brother Macklin. Grandparents Carman and Mary Bernard are happy to add grandchild number seven to the family. Congratulations to all.

Another February baby girl is welcomed by Taylor and Jennifer McMillian. She is welcomed home by big brother James. Happy grandparents are Jim and Kathy Butson and great-grandparents are Gord and Irma Pryce of Walton.

Congratulations to all.

The third baby girl to arrive is the daughter of Brandon Blake and Amanda Balon. The bundle of joy named Lauren Rae is welcomed home by big brother Lucas. Happy grandparents are Bruce and Michelle Blake and they are excited

to have a third little granddaughter to love. Congratulations to all!

Congratulations to Murray Lowe for the milestone of barbering for 59 years. The village of Brussels is lucky to have such a “pillar” of a business in the community. Murray has seen lots of changes, had lots of fun, served generation after generation after generation, and his shop has always been a great place to drop in and pass the time chatting with him. Congratulations Murray and keep on cutting! Our sympathies are extended to the Ritchie families on the passing of Mae Ritchie. She will be missed by her children Ron, Gary, Ken, Terry, Karen and Kevin and their families. She will also be missed by her sister Florence Machan of Brussels and her other siblings. Our condolences to all. Beautiful warm weather has brought out many of the wild animals from their winter sleep.

Lots of dopey raccoons have had trouble crossing the roads, along with skunks, rabbits and squirrels. Keep watch because they can cause quite a bit of damage to a vehicle, especially the raccoons, when hit. I have had to slow down so wild turkeys could cross the road and the deer have been out and about in the fields. The groundhogs must still be sleeping.

I don’t know much about the maple syrup business, but I do know that warm days and cold nights are optimal conditions for the running of the sap. Unfortunately, we have had warm days and warm nights this past week, so it may be a shortened season for syrup.

I mentioned tundra swans last week and I have finally seen quite a few. On one beautiful day, there were four different groups of swans flying over our place. A couple of big groups and two smaller groups. They were heading northeast at the time. The next day, I did see a group of about 50 in a field down St. Michaels Road. They are beautiful birds and magnificent to watch when flying over.

Another sign of spring is that those who love to ride have been out on their motorcycles. I have only seen a couple, but yes, they are on the road.

A group of six local men headed north to get in one last ride on the snowmobiles. They headed to the

Sudbury area and were able to ride for two days on great, fast smooth trails, and then the warm weather and rain closed the trails. The group headed home a day early but reported a great ride. Enjoying the trip were Scott McDonald, Chris and Devon Blake, Jason Gemmel and Darryl Young.

Celebrating birthdays this past week were Art McNaughton, Carol Henderson, Keith Wilbee, John Gillis, Kennedy Ann Huether, Cathy Regele, Randal Linton, Dave Watson, Kerrisa Eckert and John Van Vliet. Happy birthday to all!

Remembering

Honour your loved one by placing their obituary in The Citizen

This is a free service provided by The Citizen. We encourage you to share the story of your loved one in a special remembrance of their life. Cards of thanks can be placed in our classified section, starting at just $7.00.

Trust us, it’s green!

Before they headed off for March Break earlier this month, students at North Woods Elementary School celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, which was observed while they were on break, by donning green and taking part in special themed activities. From left, showing off their seasonal attire, are Aiden Lefor, Jordyn Laffin and Jacob Beirnes. (Photo submitted)

Obituaries

passed away peacefully with family by her side on Thursday, March 17, 2022. She was in her 89th year.

Mae was the beloved wife of the late Mervin Charles Ritchie (2010) and the loving mother of Ron and Liz Ritchie, Blyth; Gary and Joan Ritchie, Markham; Ken and Debbie Ritchie, Wingham; Terry and Cathy Ritchie, Bayfield; Karen and Dave Schieckoff, Bayfield and Kevin Ritchie, Blyth. She will be missed by many grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.

MAE LOUISE RITCHIE

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Mae Louise Ritchie of Blyth. Mae

Mae was the dear sister of Roy Dawson, Florence Machan and Murray and Sonja Dawson. She was predeceased by her parents Phil and Jenny Dawson, sisters Jean Nethery, Lois Dawson and brother

SUDOKU

Harold Dawson, her in-laws Matilda Dawson, Alex Nethery, Doug Machan, Lorne and Marg Ritchie, Harold and Irene Ritchie, Leonard and Bernadean Ritchie, Gordon and Lila Ritchie, and her granddaughter Nicole. She will be greatly missed by her friends and family.

Cremation has taken place. Friends and family are invited to attend the celebration of life at the Blyth Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, Blyth on Saturday, April 2, from 2-4 p.m. Memorial donations to the Huron Residential Hospice or the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.

Here’s How It Works:

Fun By The Numbers

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

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

County ‘Sunshine List’ increases by 10 per cent

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen

Huron County paid 54 of its employees a salary of $100,000 or more in 2021, according to its annual Public Sector Salary Disclosure report, presented to Huron County Council at its March 9 meeting.

Treasurer Michael Blumhagen made the presentation at the meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom, and there was no discussion about the list. This represents an increase of five employees, as, in 2020, Huron County paid 49 employees $100,000 or more, an increase over the 39 names on the list for 2019 or the 30 people on the list in 2018.

Chief Administrative Officer

Meighan Wark was the county’s top-paid employee with a 2021 salary of $189,248.09. Director of Planning and Development Sandra Weber was next with $145,786.55, followed by Director of Operations Steven Lund at $145,786.54, Blumhagen at $145,783.48 and Director of Social and Property Services Barbara Hall with $137,618.78.

The rest of the list is as follows:

Clerk Susan Cronin, $134,891.52; Director of Care - Homes for the Aged Angela Hartin-Riley,

Sharpening up

$134,725.20; Director of Human Resources Lara Vanstone, $132,294.09; Homes Administrator

Angela Steadman, $129,831.27; Registered Practical Nurse

Kimberly Mostrey, $129,261.87; Emergency Services Superintendent David Wagner, $127,562.07; Homes Administrator

Connie Townsend, $126,161.77; Emergency Services Chief Jeff Horseman, $126,094.55; Information Technology Manager

Kimberley Reid, $122,255.11; Primary Care Paramedic David

Ludwig, $121,852.92; Patrol Foreman Gary Pipe, $120,079.86; Museum Curator Elizabeth FrenchGibson, $117,318.89; Child Care and Ontario Works Manager Cheryl  Patience, $116,631.52; Primary Care Paramedic James Hickling, $114,946.49; (former) Director of Economic Development Cody

Joudry, $113,922.72; Emergency Services Superintendent Brad Watters, $113,696.65; Emergency Services Superintendent David Campbell, $113,377.28; Director of Care Dana Mellor, $112,844.49;

Primary Care Paramedic Joel

Siebert, $111,408.34; Charge Nurse

Kara Daw, $111,379.25; Public Works Manager Cameron Harper, $111,033.66; Primary Care

Paramedic Melvin Andrews, $110,803.98; Deputy-Chief of

Operations Robert Taylor, $110,355.62; Deputy-Chief of Professional Standards William Lewis, $109,718.78; Technical Services Manager Jeff Kerslake, $108,763.52; Primary Care Paramedic Adam Robinson, $106,963.96; Primary Care Paramedic Kody Tapper, $106,813.87; Primary Care Paramedic Miranda Greidanus, $106,808.30; Housing Services Manager Christine Hoffman, $106,003.67; Emergency Services Superintendent Cassie Crawford, $105,945.45; Registered Nurse Cathy Dack, $105,176.74; Primary Care Paramedic Madeleine Gallaher, $104,827.33; Human Resources Senior Manager Jane Anderson, $104,565.50; Primary Care Paramedic Phil Waldie, $104,275.06; Primary Care Paramedic Kelsy Long, $104,182.49; Primary Care Paramedic Benjamin Melchers, $103,845.91; Primary Care Paramedic Taryn-Lee Gutjahr, $103,329.80; Senior Planner Denise Van Amersfoort, $103,310.82; Information Technology Client Services Supervisor Robert Barlow, $102,252.28; Network and Security Architect Mike Mason, $102,201.76; Primary Care Paramedic Angela Elford,

$102,198.52; Primary Care

Paramedic Jasmine Thompson, $102,024.34; Emergency Services Superintendent Mark Crawford, $101,672.04; Primary Care Paramedic Sean Gelber, $101,461.94; Huron County

Librarian and Director of Cultural Services Beth Rumble, $100,510.42; Senior Planner Craig Metzger, $100,452.57; Provincial

Offences Manager Lavonne Maize, $100,452.50; Primary Care Paramedic Douglas Allinson, $100,051.29 and Registered Nurse Keresa Linton, $100,002.58. The provincial government passed the Public Salary Disclosure Act in 1996, stating that any employee being paid $100,000 or more in public funds had to have their salary reported publicly.

Barnett leads United Church worship

week of Lent is prayer – to God, with God, for others or for the world. She encouraged congregants to make a concerted effort to be with God this week.

March Break is over. Children are back in school. But they will be enjoying the spring air, so be careful while driving in the area of the school in particular.

Flavia Weedn tells us: “Today is unique. Do something wonderful with it for it will never come again.”

How sweet it is to have light over the supper hour? The days that were sunny last week were good for the soul, the mind and the mood. Now that the snow is gone, I am seeing lots of snowdrops. Spring is coming and likely so are the April showers, so take advantage of the sunny warm days. Do something wonderful in your world on those days.

I’m not ditching my mask yet. To wear or not to wear a mask –that is now the question. Remember, it is a personal decision and criticism should not be made if the other person chooses differently than you.

Licensed Lay Worship Leader Sue Barnett led the Sunday worship at Londesborough United on March 20. The word for consideration this

Winter sports are winding down and the kids will be preparing for the sports of summer.

The Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre sponsored a pair of children’s cooking classes over March Break, which filled up quickly. Two Brussels Leo Club volunteers, as well as centre manager Abi Corbett and local Epicure consultant Pauleen Kerkhof led the classes. They covered topics such as kitchen safety and cleanliness, preparing wellbalanced meals and the importance of a home-cooked lunch. They rounded out the day with a game of pickle ball and a take-home bag from Epicure. (Photo submitted)

C. Huron budget set for review

Continued from page 1 $600,000. Further increases to the levy were being driven, he said, by a rate of inflation over five per cent, new information technology manager and planning co-ordinator positions, a new loan payment of just under $70,000 for the purchase of the former Bluewater Youth Centre and the finance, clerk and facilities departments budgeting for operation at a full staffing complement.

The entire levy for the year is proposed to be over $8.1 million, Boyes said, though it would be reduced slightly as a result of council’s decision on the Melena Beach Sideroad widening project.

Boyes also noted that he had already included upgraded municipal enterprise resource

planning (ERP) software and a facilities assessment in the budget.

The software will cost $421,795 with grant funding covering 75 per cent of the cost up to $420,244, with the rest being funded from taxation. In addition, a full upgrade, which is what Boyes proposed, would also add $60,000 in additional annual costs.

The facilities assessment is estimated to cost $60,000.

Capital funding in 2022 will come to $2,373,602 in general capital and $18,809 in utilities capital. Just over $1 million of that will be funded from taxation and $236,437 will come from the municipality’s reserves.

With the 3.5 per cent municipal tax rate increase, Boyes said the average single family home in

Central Huron will see an increase of $44.77 in the municipal portion of taxes in 2022. He also listed the tax rate impact on a median assessment for a seasonal recreational dwelling ($64.44), residential condominium unit ($50.87), farm house ($37.44), farmland ($193.81), managed forest ($20.35), apartment building ($123.68) and small office building ($52.00).

As a result of council finding a consensus and having very little discussion in regards to potential changes to the budget, council cancelled the scheduled March 29 budget session. The final draft of the budget will now be presented at council’s April 19 meeting for official approval and presentation to members of the public.

From the Minister’s Study Christ is good for the rich and poor alike

By Jason Hovius Brussels Community Bible Chapel

Everything we have and see around us has a limited lifespan. A well-maintained building might last a couple hundred years, at best. The rare structure that is older than that usually has some sort of cultural or historical significance, and great energy and resources are expended in its upkeep. Our cars have a little more rust and a few more dents than they did a few years ago.

Eventually the engine will be irreparable or not worth repairing.

Our shoes don’t keep the water out anymore. Wear them long enough and the heels and toes will disintegrate until they’re little more than sandals. The food we put in the fridge or freezer usually has an expiry or best-before date. Chair legs break off, couch cushions wear through and appliances stop working. Plants and animals around us die, and are replaced by younger flora and fauna.

It is not nice to talk about, but our physical bodies are wearing out too. As a society, we generally feel that

we reach our best-before date in our 20s, and it’s all downhill from there. At least that’s what we’re told by Hollywood and advertising media. Fortunately, what we lose in physical strength and stamina as we age, we gain in wisdom, and so there is still some semblance of balance if you’re willing to roll with it.

Look around you; of everything you actually own, what will last the longest and how long do you have before it’s worthless? To invest in land and gold starts to look attractive, except that even land and gold can be lost or stolen.

In 1 Peter, the apostle Peter contemplates often on the true value of things. In most of these cases, Peter attributes value to things that last a long time. By “long time”, I mean “forever”. Pure gold doesn’t even make the cut! Three times he mentions the lacklustre performance of gold on the value charts when compared to other more important things.

“These [trials] have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold which perishes even though

Applications wanted

May 1 is the next deadline for individuals and organizations to submit applications for the Huron Heritage Fund. Established in 2007, the purpose of the Huron Heritage Fund is to encourage the preservation of heritage assets and activities of heritage importance to the County of Huron and its residents.

Many initiatives from throughout Huron County have been supported by the Huron Heritage Fund since its inception. In recent years, projects have included support for the Van Egmond Foundation, Bayfield Historical Society, local Historical publications, and the Huron Perth Junior Farmers.

“The county will contribute up to 50 per cent of the costs of a project to a maximum of $5,000 based on applications received,” according to Beth Rumble, Director of Cultural Services. This investment encourages other groups or individuals to invest in Huron County’s heritage as well.

Projects will assist in the preservation and restoration of heritage landmarks, historic

BUY?

buildings, and objects of historical significance not owned by the County of Huron. Heritage publications and events also qualify for support under this program.

More information about the application process can be found on the Huron County Museum’s website at huroncountymuseum.ca/ huron-heritage-fund/.

refined by fire – may be proved genuine...” (1 Peter 1:7)

“It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed…but with the precious blood of Christ.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

“Your beauty should not come from…the wearing of gold jewelry... Instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (1 Peter 3:3-4) Gold is one of the basic chemical elements that form the building blocks for matter. As such, we don’t think of gold as perishable, but that’s what Peter calls it. Everything must have a beginning and an ending at some point. In light of eternity, even gold is temporal. Peter doesn’t deny that gold has value. However, he unequivocally states that its value pales in comparison with the value of Christ’s redemptive blood and your faith and your good character.

If Peter was offered the choice between all the silver and gold in the world and faith in Christ, he would have chosen the latter. Of course, being offered a choice like this is hypothetical, but 1,000 years earlier, King Solomon had actually been confronted with a similar option. Instead of choosing power or riches or other temporal things, he asked God for wisdom to govern Israel and to discern between right and wrong. I think that he proved he was already wise by making the choice that he did.

Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet

forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

(Mark 8:36). These are rhetorical questions. Jesus is saying that there is nothing that can make it worthwhile for you to ignore your soul’s destiny. All the gold or property or cars in the world are worthless when you die and stand on the doorstep of eternity. This is the season of Lent. Many Christians temporarily, or permanently, give up something that they are fond of during these six weeks prior to Easter. Sometimes doing without our creature comforts is good for us because it reminds us of more

important things, such as our dependence on God. It prods us to focus on the Giver rather than on the gifts.

It’s too easy to focus on the less valuable because that’s all we see around us. Aside from peer pressure, the barrage of advertisements and the world’s false definitions of success, we also have bodies that crave comfort and senses that crave stimulation. Don’t forget to take your eyes off your bank account or your empire and make sure your eternity is secure. Salvation from sin through Christ’s death and resurrection is good news for rich and poor alike.

The Regional Ministry of Hope

Churches are now open for in-person worship. Weekly service live-streamed at 10:30 a.m. on our facebook page or on youtube @St. Paul’s-Trinity Anglican Church Wingham.

Rev. JoAnn Todd, Rector 519-357-7781

email: revjoann@hurontel.on.ca

BLYTH 9:00 AM BRUSSELS 12 NOON Trinity St. John’s

The­Regional­Ministry­of­ Hope St. Paul’s Trinity WINGHAM 10:30 AM

COME WORSHIP WITH US!

BRUSSELS United Church

WELCOME to Worship March 27

4TH Sunday of Lent, at 9:30 am

Masks are required, social distancing encouraged Also on YouTube Sunday afternoon

Lent Devotional Service Fridays at 10:30 am

Contact Alex for Zoom link

Global Covid Vaccine project continues Send or give donation to Church Treasurer

Contact Alex at minister.brusselsandblythuc@gmail.com

Website: brusselsandblythuc.ca

P.O. Box 359, Brussels ~ 519-887-6259

Join us for our 10:00 am and 7:30 pm services

Services are live-streamed and can be found by searching

“Blyth Christian Reformed Church”

BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH

Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen

Hwy. 4, Blyth 519-523-4743 www.blythcrc.ca

Indoor Worship 11:00 am every Sunday

As per HPPH Unit requirements, masks are mandatory to be worn during worship services and social distancing practiced. In addition, all other meetings held in Melville require proof of double vaccination.

Brussels Soup and More 2 is cancelled until further notice.

Evangelical Missionary Church

Sunday March 27, 10:30 a.m.

4TH Sunday in Lent

Guest Preacher - Henry de Roos, Open Air Campaigners Canada

Sunday School & Nursery care during Worship

In-person and online! live.huronchapel.com

119 John’s Ave., Auburn 519-526-1131

519-357-5273

Blyth United Church

Join us for worship in person at 11 am or online later

Global Covid Vaccine Project continues Send/give donations to Church treasurer

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

Contact Alex at: minister.brusselsandblythuc@gmail.com

Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches

NORTH PERTH OUR CHURCHES HAVE RE-OPENED. WELCOME BACK.

Brussels: St. Ambrose

Saturday ~ 6:00 p.m. 17 Flora Street

Wingham: Sacred Heart Sunday ~ 9:00 a.m.

220 Carling Terrace

Listowel: St. Joseph’s Sunday ~ 11:00 a.m.

Wallace Avenue

Productive 2021 for Bruce Power says Peevers

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen

At its March 9 meeting, Huron County Council received its annual update from Bruce Power, courtesy of John Peevers, the company’s Director of Community, Media Relations and Economic Development.

Peevers spoke to council at its March 9 meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom, saying that the company was continuing its work of putting safety first and protecting employees. He said that nearly 9,000 vaccinations had been administered to employees at the site and over 115,000 COVID-19 tests had been performed. In addition, over 11,000 test kits had been provided to employees through the company’s voluntary rapid testing program.

Beyond the site, Bruce Power had also worked with local health units and public health agencies throughout the province to establish

“hockey hub” mass vaccination centres at arenas, providing full support to vaccination hubs in Grey-Bruce, Peel and Lambton, as well as logistical and financial support to hubs in Waterloo, Norfolk, Hamilton and Halton.

Peevers told council that the company recognized it had a provincial responsibility to help keep Ontarians safe that went beyond the Bruce Power site and its immediate community, which is why it worked to establish vaccination hubs all over the province.

In addition to investing $1 million in public education, community protection, shop local initiatives and support for organizations that promote mental and physical health, the company also provided over three million pieces of personal protective equipment to frontline workers, businesses, Indigenous communities and schools.

Bruce Power also erected 18

billboards encouraging physical distancing, mask wearing and limiting gatherings during the pandemic, while running “stay home” advertisements on television networks and radio stations.

As for the work at the power plant, Peevers said the plant’s Unit 6 major component replacement project remains on track and the company is currently rebuilding the Unit 6 reactor. Additionally, planning is underway for Bruce Power’s Unit 3 major component replacement project, which is set to begin next year.

In 2021, Bruce Power also conducted two Cobalt-60 harvests, which is an isotope that’s used to treat cancer and sterilize medical equipment.

Peevers also touched on Bruce Power Project 2030, which has increased the company’s power generation peak from 6,300 megawatts in 2016 to 6,550 megawatts, with a goal of producing upwards of 7,000

megawatts by 2030. That power generation, he said, is enough to power an additional 250,000 homes in Ontario, the equivalent of adding an entire full nuclear unit through optimization of existing assets without building any new infrastructure.

Last year, the company also introduced a commitment to being net zero from its site operations by 2027, which Peevers called an “aggressive” target, unveiling the Carbon Off-Set Coalition, which is a net-zero carbon reduction community partnership program.

He also touched on renovations

made at the Bruce Power visitors’ centre and over $2.5 million the company invested in the community through its Community Sponsorship Fund ($1.26 million), Indigenous Community Fund ($400,000), Environment and Sustainability Fund ($400,000) and Supplier Sponsorship Fund ($600,000).

Council received Peevers’ presentation, with Huron County Warden Glen McNeil thanking him, adding that the county is lucky to have such a great employer and community partner in Bruce  Power.

$55,000 funding helps county approve cycling plan

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen

Huron County Council has approved the development of a new cycling master plan for Huron County thanks to over $55,000 in funding from Regional Tourism Organization 4 (RTO4).

Huron County Planner Jenn Burns and Tourism Development Officer Rick Sickinger presented a report on the topic to council at its March 9 meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom. The pair told

Strong end

council that $75,000 of the Economic Development Department’s budget is set aside for the cycling master plan, with $55,295.95 offset by funding from RTO4. Additionally, the Planning and Development and Public Works Departments have also budgeted a total of $22,000 for implementation of the recommendations to be made by the plan.

“The number of people cycling as a recreational activity has greatly increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report

stated. “Its popularity as a ‘safer’ outdoor activity has resulted in an equivalent increase in demand for cycling tourism experiences.”

The key objectives of the plan, according to Burns’ and Sickinger’s report, would be improved safety for all road users; stakeholder and public engagement; identify a network of cycling routes throughout Huron County with consideration to commuter cycling and tourism opportunities; alignment with provincial cycling initiatives and route connectivity to

broader cycling networks; opportunities for expanding walking and cycling networks near schools, parks and community centres; develop performance measures to evaluate and assess ongoing capacity to meet public need; educational and other initiatives for county social media platforms, website or at public venues; a sound financial strategy to implement the cycling master plan recommendations and a terms of reference for the Cycling Advisory Committee for the next five years.

The tourism deliverables to be included in the county’s request for proposals (RFP) are: the development and printing of a cycling map, integrated with online map platforms; the development of four cycle tourism itineraries or “experiences”, such as the Goderich-to-Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, mountain biking, gravel biking or a food and beverage cycling tour and a marketing plan for cycle tourism in Huron County.

Council approved the resultant strategy in January of 2017. Developed with input from stakeholder groups, local municipalities, and residents, the strategy aimed to improve cycling safety and enjoyment in Huron County, providing recommended actions to be completed over a fiveyear period.

Since then, however, Burns and Sickinger said there are now a number of new opportunities and cycling assets within the county.

“The grading work on the G2G Rail Trail in the summer of 2020 resulted in a massive increase in usage of the trail, the largest percentage of new users being cyclists,” the report states, adding that the trail has also become a year-round cycling attraction with fat-tire biking.

In the team’s last scheduled game of the season on Saturday, the Blyth Brussels U15 Rep Crusaders posted a convincing 4-1 win over the BCH Ice Dogs. (John Stephenson photo)

NH votes to support UW centre

By Denny Scott The Citizen

North Huron Township Council has decided to support the United Way’s Connection Centre in Wingham, while also encouraging the next council to do the same.

During council’s March 7 meeting, Ryan Erb, Executive Director of the United Way PerthHuron, and Lisa Harper, Northern Huron Area Manager of Development for the United Way organization, briefed North Huron Council on the good the organization does and how close The United Way is to achieving the needed operational funding for the centre.

Erb said that, in the past year, the United Way had seen a significant increase in those seeking help, likely due to the pandemic. He explained the group had directly helped 37,660 people across Perth and Huron Counties and aided an additional 7,059 with accessing pandemic relief dollars.

Specifically, he said the United Way had helped 12 families find emergency shelter after escaping violence, 95 seniors connect with transportation services and 169 people connect with supports to combat chronic homelessness issues.

The group focuses on what Erb called “unignorable” issues, including poverty, homelessness, mental health, domestic violence, hunger and social isolation.

Harper explained that the centre

would be a one-stop site for people to come to for help from service providers and volunteers to aid in people’s “wellness journey”.

She said the key ways the centre will help people is through providing accessibility to basic needs like washrooms, showers, access to clean water and the ability to use it as a cooling/warming centre, adding it will be a place for people to build social ties and access formal support programs.

The centre requires $75,000 for its first operational year and, after donations and the Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser, Harper said the United Way had just under $60,000 already raised. She and Erb requested $10,000 from North Huron.

Erb said the centre, which will be in a rented space, is a pilot project and the United Way Perth-Huron will have a better idea of how much it will cost to run it in subsequent years after this first year.

Reeve Bernie Bailey immediately spoke in favour of the project, saying that, while it’s to be located in Wingham, it’s not a North Huron amenity, but one for the entire northern part of Huron County and southern Bruce County.

“This is not pertaining to a small population,” he said. “It’s open to everybody and anybody that needs help.”

Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip was also in favour of the project, saying it “checked all the boxes” for the Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan that was pursued by Huron

County and the United Way PerthHuron. He said municipalities have been waiting on the province to direct them on how to address the plan, and this would give North Huron a head start.

Not all council members were so enthusiastic, however, with some questioning the amount of money.

Councillor Anita van Hittersum said the project is connected to a good cause, but money is tight. She

Continued on page 20

Active transportation and infrastructure deliverables to be included in the RFP are: an inventory of existing cycling infrastructure and facilities within the county, including on-road and trail options; cycling infrastructure best practices in the county’s rural context; a road rehabilitation policy as it relates to cycling infrastructure; a consultant to identify and support active transportation funding application opportunities; collection and review of traffic data, existing infrastructure, service and maintenance levels on county and local roads identified as potential cycling routes and develop potential options to address transportation concerns, based on a review of existing transportation infrastructure and feedback from the consultation process.

In their report, Sickinger and Burns noted that while cycling has grown in popularity since the beginning of the pandemic, the county has been actively working on cycling development since 2016. At that time, the county developed a cycling strategy with staff from the county’s Planning and Development, Public Works and Economic Development Departments, as well as employees from the county libraries and the Huron County Health Unit (which merged into Huron Perth Public Health in 2020).

The report also mentioned the opening of county-owned tracts for recreational purposes, meaning the county now offers “new trails and challenging terrain” that would be ideal for mountain biking. In addition, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail recently added a section through Huron County, connecting the area to a 3,600kilometre trail around the Great Lakes, which travels through over 150 Ontario communities.

Because of all these new opportunities, county staff consulted with numerous county cycling stakeholders last year and the consensus was that the county needed a new cycling master plan, which is why the departments were making the recommendation.

Council approved the recommendation by Sickinger and Burns, moving ahead with the creation of a cycling master plan for Huron County, with much of the funding coming courtesy of RTO4.

Sudoku Solution

Brighten Their Day with our Celebration Special

Brussels Fall Fair committee works on event plans

By Shawn Loughlin

The Citizen

The Brussels Agricultural Society has met again and hammered

out a few more details for this September’s Brussels Fall Fair, which will will be held at the Brussels Four Winds Barn and mark a return to an

NH donates to centre

Continued from page 19 asked if the United Way was going to ask other municipalities to support it.

Erb explained that North Huron’s neighbouring municipalities in Huron County had been asked, including Morris-Turnberry and Howick, and both had declined to support the project, prompting van Hittersum to say she finds it frustrating how much social responsibility seems to fall to North Huron.

Councillor Kevin Falconer said North Huron is “notorious” for “doing the right thing” in situations like this, which results in the responsibilities of neighbouring municipalities falling on North Huron.

Bailey agreed, but said it was more of a benefit than a curse.

“North Huron is well known for its generosity,” he said. “We are the [most populated area of northern Huron] and we’re always there, front and centre, to help.”

Coming soon

He said he wished other municipalities would join in, and was disappointed they had said they wouldn't, but he felt North Huron shouldn’t follow their example.

“I fully believe we should help,” he said. “We are North Huron. We’re always there. It’s at the point where it’s expected. When our ratepayers say taxes are higher, we can proudly say we didn’t throw it away.”

Councillor Chris Palmer said he would support the project, but not at the $10,000 amount requested.

Seip said that, just because the neighbouring councils of today declined to participate, doesn’t mean they will continue to do so, and made a motion for North Huron to provide $7,500, with a recommendation for the next council to consider supporting the project as well and to address the issue with neighbouring councils and staff to understand their trepidation.

Council approved the motion.

in-person event for the organization.

Society President Zoellyn Onn, in an interview with The Citizen, said that the planning process is now underway for the first in-person fair in the past three years, which coincides with her presidential term. Some details have been worked out, she said, while others are yet to be determined.

She said plans for hosting the fair at the Four Winds Barn are moving ahead. Onn is working on a floor plan for the barn in regards to exhibits, attractions and other amenities for which the fair is known. In addition, there will also be satellite locations for the fair at the Brussels Library as well as the Brussels Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, the latter of which will play host to a program for children. The Legion will also be hosting a fish fry dinner on the Tuesday night of the fair.

She also said that plans for the fair’s parade had changed slightly. Onn said the membership has decided that it will be more of a procession, making its way from the Legion to the Four Winds Barn,

featuring society members, the fair ambassadors and the children taking part in the programs, rather than a parade that calls for floats from local businesses and service groups. She did say that Don McNeil’s famous parade car may also be included in the procession.

The 4-H achievement days at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre grounds will also be going ahead, despite the centre not being accessible due to a planned renovation and expansion project later this year.

On a personal level, Onn says she’s just happy to be able to plan for a traditional, in-person fair after two years of pandemic-related cancellations.

Onn was elected to a third year as president of the society earlier this year. Her first two-year term directly preceded the declaration of the pandemic, so the society has not held a fair during her time at the helm. This year’s elections were based on a one-year term, rather than the traditional two-year term. She just says she’s happy to be able to host an event this year and she’s looking forward to welcoming the

community back to the fair.

She hasn’t done it alone, however, adding that she had only just returned to the community two years before taking on the society presidency, so Onn says she has leaned heavily on more senior society members for help and they have all been willing to pitch in.

As part of the fair’s big return, Onn says she’s hoping that exhibition entries will be high this year. Most of the annual Brussels Fall Fair book is available now online, with some categories still to be added in the coming weeks. She says she hopes the entire book will be available within the next month.

The 2023 Brussels Fall Fair has also already been scheduled with a date set for Sept. 19-20, 2023. The theme for the fair is “Bank Barns and Spinning Yarns”.

A theme for the 2024 Brussels Fall Fair will also be chosen at a meeting sometime this year.

The 159th Brussels Fall Fair, with the theme of “Twist and Sprout” will take place on Sept. 13-14 at the Four Winds Barn. For more information, visit the society online at brusselsfallfair.ca. or on Facebook.

101 Things For Kids To Do Outside

Let them go outside and play! 101 Things For Kids To Do Outside is ideal for parents, teachers, and all those working with youth. This book is ideal for the children who like gaming, TV and movies. Even kids who believe "there's nothing to do outside" can learn and be encouraged to experience the joy of outdoor play. Perfect for rainy days, sunshiny days, even snowy days. $19.95

The Verces Guide to ATTRACTING NATIVE POLLINATORS

Bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, flies and some beetles pollinate more than 70 per cent of flowering plants. Here’s a complete action plan for protecting these industrious creatures. $44.95

PARENTING WITH PATIENCE

Positive discipline has to begin with positive stress management. Author Judy Arnall offers realistic advice for handling the stress of parenting and understanding the steps of normal child development $19.95

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN GREENHOUSE

Enjoy beating the weather, working in the warmth of your own greenhouse when it’s still cold outside. 250 pages of plans and tips for various types of greenhouses, plus tips on maintaining and using them. $37.95

Blyth-based artist Kelly Stevenson will have a piece of her new embroidery-based art featured in the Annual Juried Exhibition at the Latcham Art Centre, which is located in Whitchurch/Stouffville. The piece, entitled “I’m still trying to put myself back together” will be part of the annual exhibition, which runs from March 25 to April 23 this year with an opening reception set for March 25 from 7-9 p.m. Speaking with The Citizen, Stevenson said this new art medium has been a welcome challenge for her and it has formed the basis of much of her recent work. (Art image courtesy of Kelly Stevenson)

THE MAPLE SYRUP BOOK

The reward for surviving a Canadian winter is the sweet tradition of maple syrup. This richly illustrated book explores the history and lore of maple syrup, how it’s made, helps you judge the best and gives recipes. $24.95

MAPLE SUGAR From sap to syrup, the history, lore and how-to behind this sweet treat

The book provides information on maple tree varieties and suitability, tips on making your own syrup and sugar, a time line of developments in maple syrup and recipes. $19.95