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- Huron County Newsletter #17
Huron County Newsletter
Week of April 14th to April 20th, 2024
Good day,
Here’s your weekly roundup. Stories range from the Central Huron budget, more donations to the Wingham Hospital’s CT scanner, a public meeting to discuss problems at a local hospital, possible new tenants at the old Bluewater Centre location, and more. Top it off with some Huron County trivia and you’ve got yourself a newsletter. Let’s get to it!
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 |
Goderich Council Looking at Options for Memorial Arena
by Bob Montgomery
Goderich council is looking at possible options for the future of the Memorial Arena.
Mayor Trevor Bazinet says there was a costing report done on potential upgrades to the arena in 2018 and they've asked engineers to come back and tour the facility again and determine what it would cost at today's prices to make some of the changes they had considered. Bazinet says once that's done…
Habitat For Humanity Breaks Ground For A New Build in Goderich
by Bob Montgomery
Habitat for Humanity broke ground for a new home in Goderich on Sunday.
The home will be built at 158 Anglesea Street in Goderich and Laurie Nicholson says she and her ten-year-old daughter and thirteen-year-old son are very excited about their new home. Laurie says they hope to be able to move into their new home in about a year. She says it's been a long wait but it's been worth the wait and she's very grateful and excited for the opportunity to provide her kids with a stable home.
Bill Don sits on the Habitat for Humanity Building committee and says the last few years have been challenging in a few ways. He says the cost of building materials has gone sky high, but that's not their biggest challenge. “The biggest thing for us today is”…
The Avon Maitland District School Board Has Announced Its New Director of Education
by Bob Montgomery
The Avon Maitland District School Board’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce Dr. Graham Shantz as their next Director of Education.
Dr. Shantz took on this role after 26 years with the Waterloo Region District School Board. His most recent position with that Board was as the Associate Director. He first joined Waterloo Board as a teacher in 1997 and served in a variety of positions including principal, Executive Officer, Superintendent of Student Achievement and Well-Being and Coordinating Superintendent.
During his tenure, he supported…
Dr. Graham Shantz - Director of Education, Avon Maitland District School Board. Photo courtesy of AMDSB
Exeter Library Getting An Early Start on Earth Day This Year With Seedy Saturday
by Bob Montgomery
The Exeter Library is one of several venues in and around Huron County that will be marking the start of Earth Day a little early this year with a Seedy Saturday event.
One of the speakers at the Exeter Library will be Krystal Brideau from Clinton. Brideau says the environment has always been a passion and a concern for her because it was very difficult for one person to make a difference. One person can only pick up so much garbage. She was also concerned about…
Central Huron Council Ready to Move Ahead With Feasibility Study on the Proposal for the Former Bluewater Centre
by Bob Montgomery
Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn says the proposal would see GreenLab of Denmark lease a significant part of the Bluewater Centre property.
The cost of the feasibility study came in at between thirty and fifty-thousand dollars, and that cost would all be covered by the Danish Consulate, provided their consultant is used, and Ginn says that won't be a problem. So as long as it doesn't cost more than fifty-thousand dollars there won't be any cost to Central Huron.
Ginn says the proposal has considerable potential. One of their goals was…
Huron County Council Says Thank You This Week to All of the Volunteers Who Keep Rural Communities Going
by Bob Montgomery
April 14-20, 2024 is National Volunteer Week in Canada.
During National Volunteer Week, the County of Huron recognizes and celebrates the significant role volunteers play in the community year-round. From welcoming newcomers to the region or supporting programs that help feed and house community members, to coordinating local events and celebrating cultural assets, Huron’s volunteers enrich the lives and communities for all residents.
Without volunteers, rural communities in Huron County and across the country wouldn't function. That is something that is not lost on Huron County Warden Glen McNeil. “We cannot underestimate the value of Huron’s volunteers. Without a doubt, many of our greatest community accomplishments were only achievable because of engaged, caring, and dedicated volunteers. On behalf of County Council and staff, I thank every volunteer in Huron for the meaningful contributions they’ve made in our communities.”…
Central Huron Council Approves Budget
by Bob Montgomery
Central Huron council has ratified this year's budget.
Mayor Jim Ginn says it was the budget that had previously been tentatively approved and reflected an increase of just under 5.2%. Ginn says they started…
Huron County's Economic Development Department is Urging Residents to Consider Working Where They Live
by Bob Montgomery
Huron County's Workforce Coordinator made a presentation to Bluewater council this week outlining some of the challenges in attracting and retaining a labour force in Huron.
Clara Leney says the two biggest barriers for people willing to consider taking a job in Huron County are the lack of available and affordable housing, and…
Nuclear Waste Management Organization Donates $15,000 to CT Scanner at Wingham Hospital
by Bob Montgomery
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has donated fifteen-thousand dollars to the Wingham & District Hospital Foundation’s Caring Together campaign. The NWMO is dedicated to supporting organizations that serve the regions surrounding South Bruce and North Huron.
NWMO Relationship Manager, South Bruce, Nikole Hagerman says “NWMO is proud to invest in the well-being of the community and the CT Scanner will certainly play a big role in serving this area for a long time.” Campaign Chair Mark Foxton accepted the donation with sincere thanks…
A Public Meeting to Address Some Issues at the Clinton Public Hospital Attracted over 100 People This Week
by Bob Montgomery
The public meeting was organized by retired Clinton Physician Doctor Maarten Bokhout and held at the Libro Hall in Clinton.
Doctor Bokhout stressed at the beginning of the meeting that the concerns were not about the quality of the services provided at the hospital, but about the availability of those services and specifically the availability of services in the Emergency Department. Doctor Bokhout says he organized the meeting to find out how…
Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health and the Royal Canadian Legion in Goderich Have Announced an Exciting Collaboration
by Bob Montgomery
The Gateway Centre of excellence in Rural Health is pleased to announce an exciting partnership with the Goderich Legion Branch 109.
Amy Sturgeon is a Research Assistant with the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health and explains they are delivering two programs that target seniors in the Goderich area fifty-five years of age and older. She says the program is actually two programs merged into one. “Legion Learning is just connecting seniors and technology. Within Goderich we're seeing a lot of people moving in from the GTA so there's a disconnect from their families in the cities, so they can help them with facetime, among other things, to help them stay connected with their families.”
They've also found they can help with things like online banking, how to avoid being caught in a fraud or scam and…
Amy Sturgeon, Research Assistant at the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health
Weekly Trivia Questions
In the 1830s, apart from a few private schools, the county of Huron had practically no schools. In 1836 a school was built of cedar logs on the banks of the river in what Huron County settlement?*
a) Wingham
b) Goderich
c) Blyth
d) Bayfield
Who was the first elected Warden of Huron County? Hint: This person also resided in the first brick house built in the Township of Tuckersmith.*
a) John Galt
b) William Chalk
c) Donny Brook
d) Anthony Van Egmond
Answers to last week’s questions:
Where can you buy a copy of Huron County author and historian David Yates’ new book titled “Gothic Huron: Heroes, Rogues, Murders, Daring, Bawdy Houses and Other Tales”?
a) Finchers’ Gift Shop, Goderich
b) The Blyth Citizen, Blyth
c) The Bayfield Village Book Shop, Bayfield
d) All of the above*
What are the names of the other books in this series about the history of Huron County written by David Yates?
a) Out of the Woods: Chronicles and Characters of Huron County
b) Out of the Blue: Further Discoveries in Huron County History
c) That Freedom Might Survive
d) The Times of Our Lives
e) All of the above*
*According to ‘The Settlement of Huron County’ by James Scott