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Volume 39 No. 35
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Tigers in first By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen
That local sound Owen Riegling was one of the hottest tickets of this year’s Music in the Field festival, held last weekend in Lucknow. The Mildmay native didn’t just do his thing on
stage, but spent plenty of time with fans, signing autographs and taking pictures at a festival that has been in his life for many years. (Scott Stephenson photo)
After spending nearly all of the season in second place, the Brussels Tigers have climbed into the top spot in the Huron County Fastball League standings with a record of 18-2 and 36 points after winning their last eight games. The Belmore Stingers, who have spent much of the season in first place, will not lay claim to a poleto-pole season win, as they now sit in second place with a record of 163 and 32 points. The Wingham Hitmen are in third place with a record of 14-6 and 28 points, followed by the Milverton Millwrights in fourth place with 22 points and a record of 11-4, the Mitchell Mets in fifth place with a record of 10-6-1 and 21 points and the sixth-place Sebringville Sting with 21 points and a record of 10-81. The Fullarton A’s sit in seventh place with the convenient record of 7-11 and 14 points, followed by the eighth-place Monkton Muskrats with an identical record. The Walton Brewers are in ninth place with a record of 6-11-1 and 13 points, followed by the Goderich Grizzlies in 10th place with a record of 6-13 and 12 points, the Wroxeter Rippers in 11th place with six points and a record of 3-18 and the 12th-place Brussels Bangers with a record of 2-17-1 and five points. On Sunday, Aug. 27, the Brussels Continued on page 8
Strategic planning continues in North Huron By Scott Stephenson The Citizen Rob Browning from Capstone Project Solutions returned to Blyth on Friday, Aug. 25 to lead North Huron Council and staff in another strategic planning session, following up with results from a previous meeting on Aug. 10. The aim of these sessions is to draft a plan for municipal decision makers to adhere to over the next four years; establish and refine township priorities; and shape the image of the Municipality of North Huron for visitors, current and prospective residents and potential new businesses and investors. Deputy-Reeve Kevin Falconer called the meeting to order before handing things over to the consultant from Capstone. Browning, using rhetoric befitting of a sports team coach, said he was hoping to carry over the energy of the previous session and encouraged participants to adopt a
“game day” mentality when attending meetings as representatives of North Huron. Browning presented three versions of vision statements he had pieced together based on input he’d received at the previous meeting. The first option read, “The Township of North Huron is a prosperous and engaged municipality that welcomes visitors, families, residents and businesses through strong agriculture, development, culture, and tourism.” The second option read, “The Township of North Huron is a prosperous, progressive and engaged municipality that welcomes visitors, families, residents and businesses to its communities founded through strong agriculture, balanced growth, volunteerism, culture, and tourism.” The third option read, “The Township of North Huron is a friendly, progressive and engaging
municipality that welcomes visitors, families, residents and businesses to its growing communities through strong agriculture, balanced development, active lifestyles, volunteerism, culture, and tourism.” Councillor Chris Palmer took issue with the word “progressive” and thought the second and third versions of the vision statement were “too busy.” Councillor Anita van Hittersum shared concerns that the word “prosperous” might not be appropriate to use at this time because of recent turmoil at the Wescast plant in Wingham. Browning offered a reminder that the vision statement is aspirational and present obstacles should not interfere with what the municipality wants to be in the future. Councillor Mitch Wright suggested the addition of “strives to be” to the first version of the vision statement to avoid any unintended insensitivity to those not currently
experiencing personal prosperity. Falconer concurred. North Huron Economic Development Officer Demetri Makrakos wondered if the word “municipality” should be replaced with “community”. Van Hittersum said communities are bigger, in the sense that they extend beyond municipal borders. Browning next moved onto the drafted mission statement: “The Township of North Huron strives to offer an affordable and sustainable high-quality of life by delivering excellent and efficient services to our residents, businesses and visitors.” Palmer did not like using the word “strives” in the mission statement after having just added it to the vision statement, suggesting “endeavours” as an alternative. Instead, Browning swapped “strives to offer” for “delivers”. Makrakos noted that the mission statement now had two variations of the word “delivers”, offering up
“provides” as a replacement for “delivering”. North Huron Fire Department Chief Kent Readman questioned the township’s ability to provide a high quality of life, saying “We can’t control quality of life. We can only provide services.” Browning replied to Readman, saying investors are looking for different things, not just services. The next category discussed by the group was under the heading of “principles”. Browning’s draft read, “Through integrity and responsible leadership, North Huron implements and maintains policies, practices and regulations that are: focused on exceptional and efficient service; designed to be inclusive and accessible; informed through meaningful and transparent community engagement; focused on growth, development and modernization while being fiscally responsible; aligned with our neighbours, fostering fair and Continued on page 16