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The
THIS WEEK
Citizen
Huron County’s most trusted independent news source -
Thursday, May 5, 2022
$1.50 GST included
Volume 38 No. 18
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, ON N0M 1H0
Dinning tournament returns after two-year hiatus By Denny Scott The Citizen With a slightly smaller roster of teams than normal, the Matthew Dinning Memorial Rugby Tournament went ahead last week, with the top spot being claimed by Kincardine District Secondary School. The tournament typically welcomes a number of junior rugby teams to F.E. Madill Secondary School from across the country and around the world. Organizer LeAnn McDonaldEllis said that, with the late start to school sports this year, it was a challenge to pull the tournament together, which led to the three teams taking part: Kincardine, St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School and Madill. This is the first year the tournament has been held since the pandemic started. “The tournament was very successful in the purpose we had of getting the juniors some time on the field,” she said, explaining that Madill’s junior team had only played one game before the tournament. “We wanted to get more experience for the boys, and reinforce the spirit of rugby and the spirit of the game.” The Madill team will play another four season games and take part in the Miller Cup in Stratford on May 3. “The team is learning at a fast pace, and we have all new players, so it will be an interesting season,” McDonald-Ellis said.
Back at it The F.E. Madill rugby team was one of three that took part in the annual Matthew Dinning Memorial Rugby Tournament hosted by the Wingham high school. The St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School team made the trip from Clinton and a team from Kincardine District
Secondary School rounded out the trio of teams competing last week. Above, Madill took on Kincardine in one of the day’s games. It was the first time since the pandemic was (Denny declared that the tournament was able to go ahead. Scott photo)
Garratt clarifies Festival’s 2022 plans By Denny Scott The Citizen In response to frustration aired by local business owners regarding the lack of performances at Blyth Community Memorial Hall, Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt addressed the Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) on the matter last week. During the BIA’s April 28 meeting, Garratt said that there was “wonderful” and “difficult” news on the matter, saying that he understands the concerns. “Nobody in this community wants Memorial Hall open more than [Festival staff] do,” he said, explaining that he’s been working
in Blyth since 1998, summer after summer, and would love to see performances back on the community’s main street. He also addressed the fact that other theatres are opening. “Folks are looking around and seeing what appear to be theatres open all over the place,” he said. “They think there’s a lot.” Garratt said what people may not see is that those theatres are either employing numerous levels of understudies, cancelling performances or both. “The Stratford Festival opened Chicago and, of the eight performances that [were scheduled to take place] so far, four of them have been cancelled,” he said.
“That’s half of the performances. “What needs to be understood about our decision is the Stratford Festival, more than any local company, has a deep bench of understudies,” he said. “You have so many people sick that even the understudies couldn’t cover the gaps, so they had to cancel four performances.” He said other theatres, like the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, have spent significant amounts of money on air filtration, UV lights and vaccine passports, as well as requiring masks and there have been “rolling outbreaks” through the troupe, requiring cancellations and delayed shows. Garratt also said that
approximately one-third of the artists coming to the Blyth Festival this year have already had COVID19 and, with the concerns swirling about reinfections, the Festival staff want to take every step to protect them. “There is a big question mark about how many times a professional artist can get it… and still perform,” he said. “We have the luxury of living in one of the safest places in the country [as far as COVID-19 is concerned] and there are still [an estimated 40-50 new cases] in Huron and Perth Counties every day.” Garratt said there were also problems with outbreaks at Continued on page 2
Hopefuls file for election With the provincial election set for June 2, local candidates have put their names forward in the hopes of becoming Huron-Bruce’s next MPP. Incumbent Lisa Thompson of the Progressive Conservative Party has submitted her application in hopes of winning a fourth term at Queen’s Park. Shelley Blackmore will be representing the Liberal Party, while Laurie Hazzard is representing the NDP. Matthew Van Ankum has registered as part of the Green Party, while Matt Kennedy is moving ahead as part of the New Blue Party. Candidates had until Tuesday at 5 p.m. to register, which is after press time, so it’s possible additional candidates may have registered since The Citizen went to press Tuesday morning.