3 • Terry Fox Run 4 • Editorials 8 • Sports
15 • Obituaries
The
THIS WEEK
Citizen
Huron County’s most trusted independent news source
Friday, September 8, 2023
$1.50 GST included
Volume 39 No. 36
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, ON N0M 1H0
Season winding down By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen
Into the sunset With another Labour Day weekend comes another Driver’s Challenge at the Clinton Raceway, the annual tradition at the storied track that brings some of the province’s top drivers to Huron County for some topnotch horse racing and a golden opportunity to raise
money for the charity of their choice. It’s been another successful season for the raceway, which has held a number of themed days over the course of the summer and raised thousands of dollars for many charities both local and farther afield. (John Stephenson photo)
The Brussels Tigers remain in first place in the Huron County Fastball League standings with just two games left to play. The Tigers sit with 36 points and a record of 18-2, riding an eightgame winning streak as the regular season draws to a close. The Belmore Stingers, who have just one game left to play, sit with a record of 17-3-1 and 35 points. After the top two teams, there is a six-point gulf. The Wingham Hitmen sit in third place with a record of 14-6-1 and 29 points with just one game left to play, followed by the fourth-place Milverton Millwrights with a record of 12-5 and 24 points, but with five games left on their schedule. The Mitchell Mets are in fifth place with a record of 11-7-1, 23 points and three games left to play, followed by the Sebringville Sting in sixth place with 21 points, a record of 10-9-1 and two games left to play. Below .500, the Monkton Muskrats are in seventh place with a record of 8-11 and 16 points with three games left on their schedule. The Walton Brewers have climbed into eighth place with a record of 711-1 and 15 points with three games left to play and the Fullarton A’s are in ninth place with a record of 7-12 and 14 points with three games left to play. The Goderich Grizzlies are Continued on page 8
ACW Council closing in on new strategic plan By Scott Stephenson The Citizen Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (ACW) Council held a special meeting on Friday, Aug. 18 to discuss the progress of ACW’s fiveyear corporate strategic plan, which was presented by Jesse Burns, Jason Wong and Katia McDougall of Optimus SBR. At the meeting, community input was brought to the attention of council and senior staff for consideration. Concerns, ideas and thoughts from the public were collected online and during an inperson town hall event held at the Kingsbridge Centre on July 19. Over 100 comments regarding the future of ACW were collected, which is a high level of engagement, according to the consultants from Optimus SBR.
In addition to public comments, input from interviews with ACW councillors and staff were used to draft concepts for the corporate strategic plan’s vision, mission and values. The intended goal of the special meeting was to further refine these ideas into a focused and practical plan to act as a roadmap for decision making over the next half-decade in ACW. In creating a vision, eight main themes were identified as being important to ACW’s future success. Agricultural heritage, improving infrastructure and focusing on environmental sustainability was top priority for some, while balancing rural living with urban expectations was key to others. Responsible development along the shoreline was highlighted, as was the desire for economic development, the creation of an
inclusive community, and a need for an infusion of young families to the area. Council and staff discussed which of these themes they most valued. Optimus SBR presented several drafts of possible vision statements, each focusing on a balance between tradition and modernity with an emphasis on inclusivity and community. Councillor Anita Snobelen enquired about the possibility of using a term like progressive, to which Clerk Florence Witherspoon responded that the word had too many meanings to different people. Some consider the term to be specifically political, while some consider it to simply mean moving forward. This opened up the conversation into a discussion about the importance of wording that
continued throughout the meeting. Mayor Glen McNeil spoke in favour of moving forward as a community, and was concerned that using the term tradition would indicate that the township should do things the way they’ve always been done without innovating, while Deputy-Mayor Bill Vanstone advocated for the use of the term tradition, believing it would be interpreted as a strong foundation upon which to build. Optimus SBR also presented several drafts of possible mission statements, which focused on serving the community today while planning for tomorrow, in an efficient and transparent manner, with an emphasis on community connection, trust building and shared prosperity. The meaning of each individual word of the mission statement was
weighed carefully in a spritely discussion, led by McNeil. Words like proactive, progressive, transparency, engagement, communication, partnerships, trust, connection, wellbeing and respect were all examined. Through conversation, councillors and staff compared their personal definitions of each word and found many subtle differences in their interpretations of their meanings. Philosophical questions such as, ‘Is respect more inclusive than integrity?’ were discussed. McNeil liked the inclusion of shared goals and prosperity, saying that “as our municipality prospers, our 6,000 citizens benefit.” Councillor Jennifer Miltenburg wondered if appearing to be too prosperous would create a lack of action and engagement, and spoke Continued on page 10