The Citizen - Sept. 30, 2021

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• Editorials • Agriculture • Obituaries • Theatre

The

THIS WEEK

Citizen

Huron County’s most trusted independent news source

Thursday, September 30, 2021

$1.50 GST included

Volume 37 No. 39

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0

H. Dam removal process begins By Denny Scott The Citizen

Spring Fair, fall destruction The organizers of the Clinton Spring Fair pushed several events to the fall due to COVID-19 restrictions in place when the events were set to be held earlier this year. Called ‘The Clinton Spring Fair Springs into Fall’, the event featured the fan-favourite demolition derby

on Sept. 24 and the car show and mini tractor pull on Sept. 25. Above, the drivers get rocked and the cars get knocked to pieces during the demolition derby while a packed crowd takes in the spectacle. Early reports indicate that more than 1,500 people took in the event. (John Stephenson photo)

North Huron Township Council decided to take the next step to removing the Howson Dam, leaving a community group hoping to fundraise for a pond-sustaining structure to start their efforts at square one. During council’s Sept. 20 meeting, Director of Facilities and Public Works Jamie McCarthy presented the results of a request for proposals for the engineering of the removal of the structure. In her report, she noted that there was a wide disparity between costs quoted by the two firms that had replied. GSS Solutions provided a price of $95,325 to complete the threephase project, which would see the firm provide engineering consulting to decommission the bridge, plan out the naturalization of the Middle Maitland River and finally provide documents as to which option the municipality wanted to pursue: rehabilitation of the slopes and river bed or provide reporting, costing and a Continued on page 2

Staff shortage could cause temp. arena closure By Denny Scott The Citizen North Huron Township doesn’t have the necessary staff to operate two arenas this year, meaning that, if more staff can’t be found, both arenas may not be able to open. During North Huron Council’s Sept. 20 meeting, Director of Recreation and Facilities Vicky Luttenberger said the municipality is facing a dire situation. “We’re at a critical level for staffing,” she said. “We don’t have enough staff to run both Blyth and Wingham facilities.” Luttenberger said that previouslyapproved recruitment initiatives had proven unsuccessful. She said that two positions were advertised in August: a full-time seasonal position and a part-time position. She said eight applicants expressed interest in the part-time position and one for the full-time, but the only qualified applicant withdrew their interest. She said she had attempted to find other solutions, but the need for

certified employees who could operate the arena’s facilities, deal with emergency situations and handle equipment failures couldn’t be found. She said the major issue was the hours of operation for the facilities, which can operate 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. On top of that, COVID-19 requirements were resulting in more staff hours necessary for cleaning and disinfecting spaces and surfaces, with the added need of checking vaccination status for those entering the arena. Luttenberger said she wanted to try one more solution: hiring a fulltime recreational operator in Wingham and increasing a current part-time operator’s hours to fulltime in Blyth. She said that, thanks to the arenas being closed earlier in the year, the financial impact from the changes would be absorbed in the budget, but in 2022, there would be a noticeable difference. Finding these staff members is important, she said, because her department is going to see seven

staff eligible for retirement in the coming years, with two people already expressing interest in retiring next year. Councillor Kevin Falconer asked if the vaccination checks couldn’t be the responsibility of the users, however Luttenberger was leery of that because, as the owner of the facility, North Huron would be liable if an unvaccinated individual was found on the premises, not the renters of the ice surface. Falconer also suggested creating a full-time position in Wingham

that would see a staff member work in the pool area during its busy season and in the arena the rest of the year, however Luttenberger said the certifications for those positions were different. Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip said the problem was that “workers are in the driver’s seat” in the current economic climate and North Huron needs to make the positions attractive. He also said that any discussion about closing either arena would likely result in a negative backlash from the

impacted communities. While Reeve Bernie Bailey agreed with Seip, he said staffing dictated this, not a desire to close a facility. “We don’t want to find out we’re operating anything illegally,” he said, adding that could lead to a lawsuit. “I agree with Trevor - we don’t want to open the can of worms [of shutting down the arena] or cancelling hockey, but it’s not our fault if we can’t get the people.” Seip went on to say that, after the Continued on page 10

Schools report COVID-19 cases By Denny Scott The Citizen Huron and Perth Counties continue to see COVID-19 case numbers climb, with 37 being reported over the past week, resulting in some classes being cancelled at local schools. As a result of the pandemic, three more individuals have been

hospitalized in Huron and Perth Counties over the past week, bringing the cumulative total to 96. No new COVID-19-related deaths have been reported. While the outbreak at Knollcrest Lodge in Milverton has been declared over, it saw 13 individuals infected, resulting in four deaths according to Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH). The Blue Water

Rest Home in Zurich is still in outbreak, its second since the pandemic started, with one resident and two staff testing positive. Listowel District Secondary School is also listed as being in an outbreak scenario, however it is just one of several schools reporting COVID19 cases. Listowel District Secondary Continued on page 8


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