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• Election • Brussels Fall Fair • Obituaries • Theatre
The
THIS WEEK
Citizen
Huron County’s most trusted independent news source Volume 37 No. 37
Thursday, September 16, 2021
$1.50 GST included
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0
Arena costs rise, cuts proposed By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen
A reunion by another name The Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association held a special drive-through event on Saturday at the Blyth Campground, inviting people to drive around the grounds and view special exhibits and demonstrations from the safety of their vehicles in lieu of a traditional reunion. Association President Judy Sloan says the event was a success, attracting nearly 100 vehicles on a beautiful day in Blyth. (John Stephenson photo)
After Huron East Chief Administrative Officer Brad McRoberts presented a report detailing soaring costs and several cost-saving alternatives, a public meeting has been set for Wednesday, Sept. 15 to discuss the renovation and expansion of the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. The issue was set to be discussed at Huron East Council’s Sept. 7 meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom, however, several councillors felt the issue was important enough to warrant a faceto-face discussion. Chief Administrative Officer Brad McRoberts had just begun his presentation on the project when his location suffered a power outage. As McRoberts worked to get back online, several councillors expressed their concern with discussing such an important issue online, on a stormy night when further power interruptions were likely. In his report to council, McRoberts detailed the latest estimate for the project, which was now over budget by $3.25 million. Feltz Design Build Ltd. prepared the cost estimate for the project, which came out to $8,727,481. With the HST rebate for the project, the total cost would be just
under $8 million, but would not include engineering and permit fees. In his report, McRoberts estimated 4.5 per cent of the project for engineering fees, which would bring the total cost of the project up to $8,357,000, which is $3.25 million over budget. McRoberts said much of the increase is due to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID19 pandemic, including longer material delivery timeframes, higher material costs and higher labour costs. As a result, the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre Management Committee has made a number of recommendations in an attempt to bring down the cost of the project by nearly $750,000. These include: deletion of corner bleacher seating; deletion of the second-floor sound room modifications; elimination of the asphalt in the parking lot on the north and south sides; replacement of aluminum composite material cladding with flat profile metal cladding; changing the new roof on the addition to thermoplastic polyolefin as opposed to modified bitumen roofing; removal of cementitious thermal barrier; deletion of the west cold storage room; deletion of pricing to heat existing building areas with new addition boilers; deletion of a new service to the facility, but include Continued on page 16
NH takes no action on street renaming request By Denny Scott The Citizen After significant discussion, including community members arguing whether the term “Gypsy” is racist or not, North Huron Township Council took no action during its Monday night meeting as a result of the request from the Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) to review infrastructure names. The BIA board initially made the request, citing the negative impact racist names, like Gypsy Lane, may have on businesses, especially with traffic being routed to the aforementioned street for the Blyth Festival’s outdoor shows on the Harvest Stage. Before council discussed the issue, Nathanya Barnett, a longtime employee of the Blyth Festival, spoke to the term. Barnett, who identifies as Romani, shared the story of her great-grandfather, a Romani individual, who fled persecution and came to Canada.
She said that the naming of Gypsy Lane is upsetting, as it is a slur, though not a particularly wellknown one in Canada. “That doesn’t negate the fact that it is and has always been derogatory,” she said. “It’s a word used by concentration camp officers [and] doesn’t have any business being a street name.” She said Blyth is typically a welcoming community to both immigrants and tourists and the name goes against that view of the village. Barnett went on to say the name embarasses her when she directs tourists there and makes her uncomfortable before urging council to make the right decision. Rick McInroy, a resident of Drummond Street in Blyth, then spoke to the issue, asking if anyone had actually spoken to a [Romani] individual. He then suggested that changing the name may be “swinging… the pendulum… too far the other way” which could result in residents of Gypsy Lane or other streets with controversial or
racist names having to change their identifications and other legal documents. “Is it worth it?” he asked council. “Is it worth the costs of changing maps and names? The people making these excuses don’t have a pound of flesh in it.” Frances Horvath, who lives in Goderich and works in Blyth, said that she was recently re-educated on how damaging the racist terms being discussed were, pointing out
that other locations like Toronto were going through similar, but more expensive name changes as a result of negative connotations with infrastructure names. She went on to say that council needed to recognize the greater good of the Romani people. Margaret McInroy, a resident of Drummond Street, next spoke to the issue, saying that as a taxpayer she didn’t believe that erasing the racist term was worth the money. She
then argued that the term should be a proud name because her relatives told her stories about the excitement that followed the Romani people to local communities. After the public comment section was closed, Ray Hallahan, a resident of East Wawanosh, spoke on behalf of concerned citizens of Blyth regarding the change. Hallahan, a former North Huron Continued on page 7
Run set for Sunday in Brussels This year, the Brussels Terry Fox Run is going ahead once again as a virtual event, inviting people to take part on their own and pound the pavement to raise money for the Terry Fox Foundation. Last year, marked the 40th anniversary of the first Terry Fox Run. It also came on the heels of an anniversary year for the Brussels run, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2019. Since its inception, the Brussels
Terry Fox Run has raised over $175,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation and cancer research. For several years, the local iteration of the run has been cohosted by the Brussels Lions Club and the Brussels Optimist Club. For the second year in a row, the event will be virtual and organizers are encouraging residents to register for the run, collect donations and get outside and run, walk or cycle on Sunday, Sept. 19. Traditionally there
have been two-, four- and eightkilometre routes available. To take part in the run, register at terryfox.ca. There, you can pick a location, one of which is Brussels. Several people are already registered under the village’s banner. There you can either collect donations for the foundation online or find a pledge sheet to take in donations physically. The Terry Fox Run builds on the Continued on page 19