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The
THIS WEEK • Editorials • Obituaries • Fire Safety • Agriculture
Citizen
Huron County’s most trusted independent news source Volume 36 No. 40
Thursday, October 1, 2020
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NH Council approves pandemic rec. funds By Denny Scott The Citizen
A different perspective Saturday marked the first-ever mini Harvestfest in Clinton, rejuvenating the annual celebration on a smaller scale due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The day included a classic car parade, a farmers’ market, a decorating contest and a special demonstration from the Academy Circus studio in Clinton. Hailey Turnbull, below, and Madyx Carrothers, above, were among the studio’s students who showed off their skills on Saturday. (Hannah Dickie photo)
Ont. cases worrisome: Klassen By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron and Perth Counties now have two active cases of COVID-19 across the region after over a week of no new cases. Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) on Monday reported a total of 129 cases of the deadly virus in the two counties since the pandemic began in March. The two new cases – one in North Perth and one in
Stratford – remain the only cases active in the community. In a teleconference on Monday, HPPH Medical Officer of Health Dr. Miriam Klassen said the two cases are not connected to one another and do not seem to be connected to any of the region’s previous cases either. Klassen also said that both cases are connected to travel outside of the county. The two active cases in the region are now self-isolating at home, Klassen said.
The news of two new active cases in the region came on Monday, the same day Ontario set a single-day record with 700 new cases of the virus throughout the province. Klassen said the provincial numbers were “not encouraging news” for Ontario residents. When asked about a second wave, Klassen said there will be no hard and fast indicator that the region is in a second wave. However, with the Continued on page 24
A discussion regarding the cost behind sanitization required to reopen recreational facilities had some North Huron Council members considering limiting the municipality’s offerings to one arena. Director of Recreation and Community Services Vicky Luttenberger explained that, due to sanitization requirements, new staff hours need to be approved, costing an additional $43,556. In her report, Luttenberger explained a four-stage plan to reopen municipal facilities, adding that North Huron was currently partway through it. In August, the fitness centre reopened, followed by the municipality’s aquatic centre at the North Huron Wescast Community Complex on Sept. 8. The third stage is to reopen local arenas, she said, aiming for later in October. Following that, meeting rooms and the municipality’s community halls will open. Luttenberger said reopening the arenas won’t be the same as it has been in previous years. “The requirement for additional cleaning and disinfection, along with contact tracing and restricting access/limiting participation in programs, etc. will require additional staff and financial resources,” she said in her report. As a result, she said the cost to implement those protocols will be $43,556 plus benefits. “To mitigate these costs, the township may be able to use a portion of the funding received from the province for COVID-19-related expenses,” she said, adding that the municipality may want to apply for more funding when those options become available. She explained that there is interest in reopening both arenas, with sports organizations looking for places to play. Currently, Wingham users are only looking for five fewer hours per week over last year, while users of the Blyth centre would be 4.75 hours short. Her suggestion is to limit usage to minor sports for the time being as other groups, specifically those catering to older athletes, can turn into social times, which wouldn’t meet the standards set out for use of the facility. She said part of making sure the groups aren’t meeting each other is to limit time in the changing rooms to 15 minutes after leaving the ice. This follows practices that have been implemented at other sites, Luttenberger said, saying people need to book times during public swims and staff need different entrances and exits for the fitness
centre and the arena at the Wescast Community Centre. Luttenberger said minor sports organizations and other user groups have been happy to work with the municipality to move forward, and suggested that council approve the $43,556 expenditure to allow sports to go forward. Councillor Paul Heffer, however, said he didn’t know if council needed to open two arenas during a pandemic. “It’s hard enough to sustain two arenas in a good year,” he said. “We could just run one arena until we know what’s going on.” Heffer pointed to the fact that events like the annual Wingham Silver Stick tournament had been cancelled as proof that not as much ice time was needed. Luttenberger said that was an option, but “politics” may result in lost revenue if only one arena is opened. She said the Blyth Brussels Minor Hockey Association wouldn’t want to travel to Wingham if the Wescast centre was the only open arena. Inversely, she said Wingham Minor Hockey may not travel to Blyth and the Wingham Ironmen would definitely not play in Blyth, but they may practise there. “There are some politics there,” she said. She went on to say the danger in only opening one arena is that groups may find they prefer other centres and not return in the future. If council wanted to limit the municipality’s recreation services by opening one arena, she said nonlocal groups could be cut, including the Huron Heat hockey organization and a ringette association. Lutteberger said, however, if only one centre were open, staff would recommend Blyth. “It’s easier to deal with access to that facility,” she said. “We have to keep users separate.” She said, because Blyth only offers the ice surface and not other amenities like the fitness centre and the aquatic centre in Wingham, it would make it ideal to be the only site open. Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip said the issue could have been solved several years ago if Wingham and Blyth’s minor hockey associations had merged instead of Blyth and Brussels. He went on to say that only having one centre likely wouldn’t solve the problem as all the organizations are vying for the same ice time. Reeve Bernie Bailey said he would like to see user fees implemented for organizations that draw from outside the area like the Blyth Brussels Minor Hockey Association. Councillor Anita van Hittersum recommended taking the funds from Continued on page 3