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- Huron County Newsletter #23
Huron County Newsletter
Week of May 26th to June 1st, 2024
Good day,
Welcome to the new subscribers, and thank you all for taking the time to read the Huron County Newsletter. Have a great week!
This week’s Huron County Newsletter is brought to you by:
 Seaforth Golf Club |  Tuckersmith Communications Co-operative |
Huron County's Immigration Partnership Manager Presented A Report On The Huron Perth Immigrant Survey To Huron County Council This Week
by Bob Montgomery
Immigration Partnership Manager Mark Nonkes explains the survey looked at the experiences of newcomers to Canada who moved to Huron and Perth communities.
“It gives us a snap shot of some of the experiences that people had. 195 people filled out the survey, 105 from Huron and 90 from Perth. Sixty-five percent have been in Canada for five years or less and they came from forty-nine countries around the world.”
Nonkes says newcomers have met with some challenges but there was good news as well. One of the good news stories is that about sixty percent of the newcomers are volunteering in their community. Most of the newcomers have jobs or are self-employed, but Nonkes says there were…
Fire That Started Early Saturday Night Destroys Home Hardware Store in Goderich - (part 1 of 3)
by Bob Montgomery
A few police officers and firefighters were still on the scene of a fire at the Home Hardware Store in Goderich late Sunday afternoon.
It's believed the first started around six o'clock Saturday evening and crews were still on the scene at eight o'clock Sunday morning. At this point there's very little information on the cause of the fire or an estimate of the damage.
More information is expected in the coming days, and we will keep you up to date as this story unfolds.
Goderich Fire Chief Says They Hope To Have Information On Cause Of Home Hardware Fire Later Today - (part 2 of 3)
by Bob Montgomery
Goderich Fire Chief Jeff Wormington says they still don't what caused the fire at the Home Hardware store on Saturday.
Wormington says an investigator from the Fire Marshal's office is on the scene this morning and they're sifting through the debris to see if they can determine a cause. He says it's a total loss to the structure and the contents inside. The heat from the fire and concerns about the structure of the building prevented fire fighters from going inside the building but they were on the scene for about 13 hours Saturday night and into Sunday before they were able to suppress it.
Wormington says they hope to have more information about the cause later today.
Jacob Memorial Building Being Renovated For The Creation Of A Child And Family Centre Space
by Bob Montgomery
Part of the Jacob Memorial Building south of Clinton is being renovated to create space for a Child and Family Centre.
Ontario Works and Children’s Services Manager Cheryl Patience says they already have a Child and Family Centre space with Clinton Cooperative Child Care but the space is quite small. So, they're looking at renovating space that they're no longer using for programs at the Jacob Memorial Building. This would include the community kitchen area, and they'll create some outdoor play stations. She also said, it's not a daycare program but a program for parents to attend with their children up to six years of age…
Retired Physician Supports CT Scanner At Wingham Hospital
by Bob Montgomery
Doctor Marie Gear and Larry Cerson are donating $50,000 to the Caring Together campaign to bring a brand-new CT Scanner to the Wingham & District Hospital.
Wingham & District Hospital Foundation Executive Director Nicole Duquette says that donation brings them to within $100,000 of their goal of around three-million dollars.
Doctor Gear retired in 2018 after 38 years in practice and has remained an advocate for the hospital, local healthcare and the Wingham community. As a physician Dr. Gear knows better than anyone the value a CT Scanner brings to a hospital and she says she's very pleased to see the hospital prioritizing diagnostic imaging…
Pictured: WDHF Executive Director Nicole Duquette-Jutzi, Larry Cerson, Dr. Marie Gear, Caring Together Campaign Chair Mark Foxton Photo courtesy of Wingham and District Hospital Foundation
From Aging To Eldering: Exploring The Development Of The Elder
by Bob Montgomery
The Keynote Speaker for June's edition of the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health Lecture Series is Doctor Al Lauzon.
He's a Gateway Board Member and the Chair of Rural Change and Development, and the topic he'll be discussing is From Aging To Eldering: Exploring The Development Of The Elder. Doctor Lauzon says research from the World Health Association indicates that by 2050 twenty-two percent of the global population will be sixty years of age or older. But he also points out what used to be old isn't old any more, and not everyone wants to retire at the age of sixty-five.
But, he adds, one of the challenges we're facing is we live in an ageist culture and it's very easy to convince ourselves that we're old before we are. He says we are meaning-making creatures but when…
Dr. Al Lauzon -Gateway Board Member and Chair of Rural Change and Development Photo courtesy of the Gateway Centre for Excellence in Rural Health
Central Huron Council Votes To Disband CNR Sloman School Car Advisory Committee
by Bob Montgomery
Central Huron council has agreed to disband the CNR Sloman School Car Advisory Committee.
Mayor Jim Ginn says Sloman family members had been involved with a committee that looked after the maintenance and the promotion of the School Car. But, they're at an age now that prevents them from participating, and they stopped meeting a couple of years before COVID arrived. Since then it was left to the Curator of the Car and the municipality's Facilities Manager to decide what had to be done. So, council decided at their last meeting that there was really no longer any need for a full committee if those two people were making the decisions.
Ginn says any maintenance on the Car or the land around it has always been done by municipal staff and the committee actually hasn't met for several years so the decision merely acknowledges the reality of the current administration of the CNR Sloman Car.
Goderich Fire Deemed Accidental Electrical Fire - (part 3 of 3)
by Bob Montgomery
Goderich Fire Chief Jeff Wormington says investigators have determined that the fire on Saturday night that destroyed the Home Hardware Store in Goderich was an accidental electric fire.
Chief Wormington says they found a couple of spots that confirmed there was no arson involved. He says there were six fire departments for a total of one hundred firefighters on the scene from Saturday evening until Sunday morning. The fire got right into the ceiling and the walls and that prevented them from sending firefighters inside the building.
Chief Wormington says the owners and their insurance people are working on an estimate of damage at this point but he says the building and its contents were completely destroyed.
More Than Fifty People Attended Public Meeting On Central Huron Official Plan Review
by Bob Montgomery
Over fifty people attended this week's public meeting to review Central Huron's Official Plan.
Mayor Jim Ginn says the issue that attracted most of the attention was people wanting to live year-round in homes that were not meant to be lived in year-round, but were meant to be seasonal dwellings. Ginn concedes there are people who have been living year-round in lake shore areas and camp grounds that were not meant to be year-round residences but it hasn't been enforced because they…
Huron County Extends Gratitude To The County’s Accessibility Advisory Committee During National AccessAbility Week
by Bob Montgomery
This year's National AccessAbility Week runs from May 26th to June 1st and this year's theme, "Forward Together: and Inclusion for All," perfectly aligns with the mission and dedication of the Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee. The Committee plays a vital role in assisting Huron County Council and participating municipalities in creating more accessible and inclusive communities. Through their vision, guidance, and advice, they have been instrumental in identifying and removing barriers that hinder accessibility…
South Huron Chamber Of Commerce, Municipality Of South Huron and Huron Economic Development Hosting Job Fair
by Bob Montgomery
The South Huron Chamber of Commerce, Municipality of South Huron and Huron County Economic Development Department are jointly hosting a job fair in June.
South Huron Community Relations Manager Stacey Jeffery says the free job fair will be held on Thursday, June 13th, from two until six, at the South Huron Rec. Centre in Exeter. Jeffery says employers from throughout the county have registered for the job fair so there are a wide range of jobs open and people looking for a job are invited to bring their resumes with them and hopefully go home with a new job.
Jeffery adds, as we move into summer, there are definitely opportunities for people looking for work in the hospitality and tourism industries. She says it's been several years since South Huron has hosted a job fair so they're hoping this can be the beginning of a series of job fairs in the future. More information about the job fair can be found on the South Huron website.
Eco Exeter Receives Grant From Sunset Community Foundation
by Bob Montgomery
The Eco Exeter Environment Team has received a grant from the Sunset Community Foundation.
Eco Exeter is a team made up of students from the South Huron District High School and their teacher Amanda Keller. They applied for a grant of $1,000 so they could start up a community market this fall. “The idea is that the students would contact people in the community that sell either eco-friendly products or local products and then we would set up in the large gym at South Huron District High School, free of charge to the vendors. We're hoping that the community members would come in and see it as a fall market, getting ready for the Christmas season where they can purchase local and environmentally-friendly items.”
Keller says the idea is a new one but came out of the idea that…
 Amanda Keller - South Huron District High School, Science Department, Student Services, Teacher Adviser for Eco Exeter |  Grace Theophilopoulos - Member, Eco Exeter |
Blyth Festival Launches 50th Season In June
by Bob Montgomery
Artistic Director Gil Garratt says the first play of the fiftieth anniversary season for the Blyth Festival is exactly what you would expect it to be – a huge celebration piece looking back at how it all started – called The Farm Show: Then & Now.
Garratt says in 1972 a group of artists lead by Paul Thompson, who had been working at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto spent a summer living and volunteering with farmers in the Clinton area. They got to know all of the farmers and gathered several stories and created scenes that they performed in a barn. “The whole community came out and there's photographs of it with people sitting up in the rafters and on hay bails and it absolutely changed the landscape out here. You had these friendships that had just blossomed between the artists and farmers and a lot of these relationships would go on to last fifty years.”
Garratt says what they wanted to do was…
The Farm Show: Then & Now.
Front row: Angela Mae Bago, Alison Lobb, Gil Garratt
Back row: Jennifer Triemstra-Johnston, Fiona Mongillo, Landon Doak, Jamie Mac, Geoffrey Armour, Hallie Seline, Sandy Plunkett (production stage manager) Photo courtesy of Beth Kates
Trillium ROOTS Council Grants $10,000 to Wingham Hospital
by Bob Montgomery
The Trillium ROOTS Council, the charitable branch of Trillium Mutual Insurance, has donated $10,000 to the Wingham and District Hospital Foundation to benefit the Caring Together campaign for a new CT Scanner.
Trillium Mutual has a strong legacy of supporting the communities where their policyholders and staff live and work. They are particularly dedicated to supporting healthcare initiatives because not having access to these services would be detrimental to the well-being and sustainability of rural communities…
Pictured L to R: WDHF Executive Director Nicole Duquette-Jutzi, ROOTS Council Member Derek Mendez, Trillium Mutual President & CEO Tracy MacDonald, ROOTS Council Member Doug Bell, ROOTS Council Member Raisa Abrahim and Caring Together Campaign Chair Mark Foxton
National Barrel Horse Association At the Reach Centre In Clinton This Weekend
by Bob Montgomery
The National Barrel Horse Association is at the Reach Centre as part of the Clinton Spring Fair this weekend.
Ontario Director Denise Stoddart says the National Barrel Horse Association is an international association that is mostly based in the US, but Italy, China and Australia are some of the other countries that are involved as well. Stoddart says they had hoped to have about two hundred people competing in this weekend's event and she's pleased to say they have reached that number. She's been…
Weekly Trivia Questions
What was the name of Clinton's Drive-In Theatre?
a) The Mustang Drive-In
b) The Sunset Drive-In
c) Brownie’s Drive-In Theatre
d) Star-Lite Drive-In Theatre
What world famous live theatre festival is celebrating 50 seasons this year?
a) The Livery Theatre in Goderich
b) The Famous Players Theatre of Wingham
c) The Cardno Hall Playhouse in Seaforth
d) The Blyth Festival Theatre
Answers to last week’s questions:
Shania Twain made her television debut on what CKNX-TV show?
a) Circle 8 Ranch
b) Good Time Country*
c) Hymn Sing
d) The Tommy Hunter Show
What Nobel Prize winning author was born in Wingham?
a) Alice Munro*
b) Margaret Atwood
c) Margaret Laurence
d) Joyce Shields
Trivia questions courtesy of local author and historian David Yates