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- Huron County News #27
Huron County Newsletter
Week of June 23rd to 29th, 2024
Good day,
We’ve got a jam-packed newsletter this week, so I’ll be brief.
I want to remind readers that next week will be a light week for us due to a wedding in the family. We will be back in full swing soon.
Thank you for checking out the Huron County Newsletter and have a great week.
This week’s Huron County Newsletter is brought to you by:
 Seaforth Golf Club |  Tuckersmith Communications Co-operative |
Huron Welcome Hub for Newcomers Helps People New To Canada Find Jobs And Connect Socially
by Bob Montgomery
The Huron Newcomer Support Association was established in January 2024. It is made up of a group of volunteers who have been assisting Ukrainians to settle in Huron County since 2022.
The group involves several volunteers who are interested in helping newcomers with language skills as well as finding housing and employment for them. Patti Tasko is one of the volunteers and her focus is on communications. She says the group has partnered with Huron County Immigration Partnership and is now the Huron Newcomer Support Association. They started out focusing on newcomers from Ukraine but have now expanded their service to…
Behind the Bars Returns To The Huron Historic Gaol On July 2nd
by Bob Montgomery
Behind the Bars returns to the Huron Historic Gaol on July 2nd.
The popularity of the Behind the Bars event has grown tremendously over the years and Behind the Bars Coordinator Kyra Lewis says this year they have twenty volunteers. Lewis says they've done a lot more research this year and added a few more characters so they've added…
Photo courtesy of Huron County Museum
Goderich By-Law Officers Will Be Wearing Body Cameras This Summer
by Bob Montgomery
Goderich Mayor Trevor Bazinet says the town's bylaw enforcement officers will be wearing body cameras this summer.
Bazinet says they want to make sure their bylaw enforcement officers are safe and providing body cameras for them is one way of doing that. The officers do, on occasion, find themselves dealing with someone who is confrontational when they receive a ticket and the parking metres down at the beaches have resulted in that being more frequent. Sometimes people who didn't know they had to pay to park at the beaches get upset when they get a ticket.
Bazinet says the body cameras will do two things. If a confrontation occurs, it's taped on the body-cam, but if people know the by-law officer is wearing a body-cam that might discourage anyone from becoming confrontational, which would really be the end goal.
Employment Services Grey Bruce Huron Perth And Collège Boréal Have Launched A Program That Provides Employment Support For Newcomers
by Bob Montgomery
There are a lot of employers in Huron County looking for help and there are a lot of newcomers to Huron County looking for work.
Aka Sébastien Kouakou is a consultant working with Huron County's Immigration Partnership, Employment Services Grey Bruce Huron Perth and Collège Boréal to see if he can help put the right employee together with the right employer. He works with job seekers by helping them with job preparation, getting them ready for a job interview, writing cover letters and anything else that would be related to job seeking. He then sits down with the employers to assess their job requirements and tries to fill the gap and match the best person for the job…
Huron Shores Area Transit Bus Shelter Illumination Art Contest
by Bob Montgomery
Huron Shores Area Transit has put out a call to local Indigenous artists to submit artwork for a project to transform two bus shelters into visual expressions of First Nation culture and enhance their passenger experience.
Transit Coordinator Susan Mills explains they had graphically wrapped both of their regular buses so that people would notice them. They were also inspired by the teepee at Points Plaza to do something that would make the two bus shelters on the First Nation stand out. One of the bus shelters is at Points Plaza and the other one is at the entrance of Stoney Point Community on Army Camp Road. The resulting illuminated bus shelters will celebrate community pride, bring vibrancy to the shelter locations, highlight the talent resident within the community and enhance the passenger travel experience…
Members Of The Huron Perth Agricultural Science Centre Hold Annual Meeting For 2023
by Bob Montgomery
The Founder of the Huron Perth Agricultural Science Centre describes 2023 as something like a roller coaster.
Jill Lewis says there was some progress made in the past year but there were also some disappointments. Funding from the Grand River Agricultural Society and Trillium Mutual Insurance was pivotal and they have hired a team of consultants to help them move forward. But, she also says progress has not been as fast as they would have liked.
Steve Dolson is the new Chair of the Board, and Lewis is now the secretary, and they do still have the commitment from North Perth to donate land for the Agricultural Science Centre, but the location has yet to be decided. While the Ag Science Centre Fundraising Committee was successful in obtaining…
Avon Maitland District School Board Introduces New Skilled Trades Handbook
by Bob Montgomery
The Avon Maitland's Pathways Team has partnered with the Four County Labour Market Planning Board and the Technical Training Group to create a new resource for students, parents, educators and community members called The Skilled Trades Handbook.
Pathways Coordinator Jody Froud describes the Skilled Trades Handbook as a one-stop shop that outlines how an apprenticeship works, what different programming is available in high school to support students who are looking to pursue an apprenticeship or learn more about the skilled trades, and then it has a list of the skilled trades and their apprenticeship pathway. There's a page for each apprenticeship and it describes the…
Teeswater Kinsmen Support Caring Together CT Scanner Campaign with $10,000 Donation
by Bob Montgomery
The Kinsmen Club of Teeswater & District has donated $10,000 to the Wingham & District Hospital Foundation’s Caring Together campaign to fund a new CT Scanner.
A significant number of patients from the South Bruce area receive care at the Wingham & District Hospital. Kinsmen President Matt Ireland said, “Having access to good quality healthcare close to home is important to all the Kinsmen. We’re happy to be able to support the new CT Scanner at the hospital.”
The Kinsmen presented their donation to Campaign Team Leader Shelley Reinhardt at…
Campaign Team Leader Shelley Reinhardt (left) and WDH Foundation Executive Director Nicole Duquette-Jutzi (right) with the Teeswater Kinsmen Club. Photo courtesy of Wingham and District Hospital Foundation
Huron Shores Area Transit Is Extending Hours Of Operation For Bluewater’s Route 3
by Bob Montgomery
Huron Shores Area Transit is expanding the summer hours of operation for “Bluewater” Route 3 to include weekends and a late evening service.
The expansion will increase awareness of the public transit system while allowing Bluewater residents, cottagers and visitors more frequent and longer outings. Route 3 travels from Grand Bend to Goderich, stopping in St. Joseph, Zurich, Hensall and Bayfield. In the past, it only operated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons, with two return trips scheduled between noon and 5:12 pm. The expansion will include two afternoon trips on Saturdays and Sundays in July and August.
The late evening bus run allows just over five extra hours for summer diners and patio lovers to…
Huron Perth Catholic District School Board Balances Budget Estimates For 2024-2025
by Bob Montgomery
The Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board has just submitted a balanced and compliant budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Director Chris Roehrig says the ministry does allow some flexibility in certain situations, but generally expects school boards to file a balanced budget so they were pleased that they were able to do that. The biggest challenge they faced was the one all school boards struggled with and that was keeping up with inflation. “There were changes to the revenue bench marks to adjust to inflation in certain areas and to adjust for salary and benefit increases. So our overall revenue is up and it's mostly the result of salary and benefit increases that were part of the central bargaining that's been happening over the last two years.”
Sick leave has also been a challenge across the province and that's…
Blyth Festival’s Deeper Roots Programming Is A Novel Addition To The Fifty Year Celebration
by Bob Montgomery
The Blyth Festival’s Deeper Roots Programming will give theatre-goers the chance to see what goes on behind the scene at the Festival.
General Manager Rachael King explains the Deeper Roots Programming digs a little deeper into the stories behind the making of the shows and how they get to the products that audiences see on the stage. The Deeper Roots Programming invites audiences from the matinee performances to join them in their Lower Hall after the show for a question and answer with some of the cast and crew and what they put into producing the product audiences see on the stage.
It starts on Wednesday with…
Community Safety And Well-Being Plan For Huron County Launches Social Media Campaign
by Bob Montgomery
Huron County is launching a new social media campaign to educate Huron County residents about Community Safety and Security.
The campaign is a part of the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan for Huron County that was established by the lower-tier municipalities in 2021. Central Huron Deputy Mayor Marg Anderson is the Co-Chair of the Community and Well-Being Oversight Committee. She says the goal of this particular part of their campaign is to make the community more aware of some of the issues. In 2023 Huron County OPP had 555 occurrences related to property theft, which is a concerning trend for a small community. So, one of their goals is to encourage people to lock and secure their belongings to deter theft.
During this campaign the OPP will be focusing on the big four issues on the road. They include…
Marg Anderson, Deputy Mayor Central Huron
Central Huron Council Votes To Shut Down The Clinton Swimming Pool
by Bob Montgomery
Central Huron council has decided to permanently close the swimming pool in Clinton.
Mayor Jim Ginn says they looked at a couple of options at this week's council meeting. One was to go ahead with restoring the pool with a few modifications. This would require public fundraising and corporate sponsorship and grants, but, after consideration, that motion was defeated and council ultimately decided the best option was to close the pool and turn the site back into parkland.
Ginn says two things factored into the final decision. The first was…
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Brussels Paramedic Base Lease Agreement Will Improve Service In Brussels
by Bob Montgomery
Huron County's Chief of Emergency Services says the new lease agreement with Huron East for space in the Brussels Fire Hall will improve service to Brussels.
Jeff Horseman says they've had a location in the Brussels Fire Hall for more than fifteen years, but have never had a permanent station there and that's what the new lease will provide. It will give the paramedics a station they can report to and work out of, the vehicle will be stationed there and they won't have to drive into Brussels at the beginning of every shift and out at the end of every shift. Horseman says their new space has been built on…
Next Up At The Blyth Festival - The World Premiere Of The Golden Anniversaries by Mark Crawford
by Bob Montgomery
The third play of the Blyth Festival's Fiftieth season is, fittingly enough, the world premiere of Mark Crawford's The Golden Anniversaries.
Blyth Artistic Director Gil Garratt describes The Golden Anniversaries as a slap down, drag em out hilarious comedy about a couple who are celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary.
“They're back at the same cottage that they've gone to to celebrate every year since they first got married. It was where…”
Mark Crawford, Janet-Laine Green, Jim Mezon and Miles Potter. Photo courtesy of the Blyth Festival
Preventing And Addressing Homelessness In Huron County/Bridge Housing And Stability Program
by Bob Montgomery
Huron County has announced the launch of its Bridge Housing and Stability Program.
The program will begin in November 2024. The program is a collaborative effort with the Canadian Mental Health Association and Huron Perth Addiction and Mental Health Services to prevent and address homelessness in Huron County.
Huron County has worked closely with various community partners in the past to provide temporary emergency shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness. The program initially started with the Congregate Shelter model, known as Out of the Cold, which offered seasonal, overnight accommodation and support from eight in the evening until eight in the morning. In 2022, the program transitioned to the Motel Model, providing seasonal, 24-hour temporary emergency shelter and support.
Building on these successes, the County of Huron is excited to introduce the…
Weekly Trivia Questions
The first commercial summer resort in Huron County was built in Colborne Township in the 1870’s. What was the name of the resort?*
a) The Bluewater Hotel
b) Point Farm Hotel
c) Pinery Hotel and Resort
d) Huronia Hotel
According to articles of incorporation, which of these officially became a village first?*
a) Brussels
b) Blyth
c) Hensall
d) Zurich
Answers to last week’s questions:
Who was the father of Jonathan, the largest man ever born and raised in Huron County? (stay tuned next week for a picture of Jonathan the giant)*
a) George Clinton
b) Donald Hullett
c) Ben Miller*
d) Theodore Beach
The Dinsley House was one of Huron County’s better early hotels. What village or town was home to this establishment?*
a) Wingham*
b) Exeter
c) Blyth
d) Hensall
*According to ‘The Settlement of Huron County’ by James Scott
As promised, here’s a photo of Jonathan Miller.
Photo taken from ‘The Settlement of Huron County’ by James Scott.
