Submitted photo

BLYTH – Hibernation has ended early in Blyth and seven writers have arrived to get a head start on the Blyth Festival 2013 season.

This week, the writers’ best friend might just be the rubber boot – and not just The Blyth Inn, which is known locally as The Rubber Boot.

The writers have been visiting Huron County farms, veterinarians, Community Supported Agricuture, and other stop in between, all in the name of research. The information they are collecting will eventually become the 2013 Blyth Festival mainstage production Beyond The Farm Show.

It has been an intimate experience for some. Jamie Robinson, new father, stage performer and writer, had the opportunity to become more familiar with the southern end of a cow. Attending the ultrasounds of unborn calves was considerably different than the appointments he had attended with his wife.

“They reach in and do the ultrasound,” he said, with a look of surprise. The collective will meet again in early April to visit farms throughout the spring for more research.

Director Severn Thompson will pull the play together in time for the opening night.

To hear and see more of these experiences as they happen, be sure to bookmark the new Blyth Festival website, which is expanded to include blog posts, videos and pictures as they become available.

NORTH HURON – A North Huron man is dead following a three-vehicle collision northwest of Blyth this morning.

Shortly after 11:15 a.m., Huron County OPP officers were dispatched to a three-vehicle collision on Blyth Rd (Huron County Road 25), west of Cemetery Line.

Wilmer Glousher, 85, was driving a minivan in the westbound lane on Blyth Road when he was struck from behind by a full-sized livestock transport truck.  The impact forced the minivan into the eastbound lane, where it was struck by an east bound dump truck.  At the time of the collision it was snowing hard and visibility was extremely poor.

Glousher was pronounced deceased at the scene.  Both truck drivers did not sustain any injuries as a result of this collision.

West Region OPP technical traffic collision investigators are on the scene and are continuing their investigation into this crash.

Blyth Road between London Road and Currie Line is expected to remain closed until at least 9:30 p.m. to allow for the safe investigation and removal of the vehicles.

BLYTH – A partnership that sees thousands of visitors flock to Blyth for the annual Huron Pioneer Threshers Reunion will continue for at least another five years.

The Township of North Huron and the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association (HPTHA) signed a five-year agreement to maintain the Blyth Campground, which will all a 51-year tradition of festivities in September to continue.

“There are 800 RVs that come to the campground for the event and many of them shop downtown Blyth,” said Tom Dickson, who is president of the HPTHA. The week following Labour Day, a show celebrates heritage with steam engines, antique tractors and cars, working displays, steam shovel as well as horses and equipment. People gather for music, step-dancing and fiddle competitions as well as dances on Friday and Saturday nights.

Local churches and service clubs raise funds by selling food, parking cars, providing security and other tasks.

The partnership agreement was passed at the Dec. 17 meeting of North Huron Council.

“Municipalities rely on community partnerships to thrive and grow.  Without volunteers, such as the Threshers, we could not boast the tremendous services and events Blyth and North Huron have to offer.  This show has been around longer than most of us can remember, and we will support their efforts for years to come,” said Neil Vincent, who is reeve of North Huron.

For more information, visit www.blythsteamshow.on.ca and www.northhuron.ca.

BLYTH - The stories for this season at the Blyth Festival come from right around the corner at the local garage, to just down the road to the farms of Huron County, up the highway to the heart of the big city and stretch all the way out to a rural hospital in Saskatchewan. 

Artistic Director Peter Smith is excited about the season as much for the stories being presented as the collection of artists, technicians and staff who will put it all together for the audience.

“Where we’re from is filled with terrific story and peopled by great characters. I’m excited about this season because the plays will have the audience laughing, tapping their toes, and hooked on the heart of what they’ll be seeing,” he said.

Dear Johnny Deere (June 11 – June 22) by Ken Cameron, based on the music of Fred Eaglesmith, directed by Eric Coates.

The hit from summer 2012 is back by popular demand and for a limited run. There will be more drivin’, shootin’, cheatin’, schemin’ and boozin’ down on the farm complete with a whole lot more singin’ as the cast rock it with Fred Eaglesmith’s biggest hits. The Blyth Festival’s former artistic director, Eric Coates, will return to direct this revival.

Beyond the Farm Show (June 26 – August 16) Directed by Severn Thompson and developed by the company from the Farms of Huron County.

Inspired by the original Farm Show, these are the stories of the men, women and families who work the farm now. Led by Severn, a group of actors have gone out along the concession roads and built a play based on the sights, sounds and characters of the barns, fields and homes of Huron County – a world-premiere play about the incredible and ever-evolving culture of agriculture.

Yorkville – the Musical (July 3 – August 11) Book and Lyrics by Carolyn Hay and music by Tom Szczesniak.

Think “Green Acres” in reverse. Instead of the city folks coming to the country without a clue, this play focuses on pair of country gals who move to the heart of the city. They’re seeking love, fame, and fortune. Their gift: step-dancing. What could possibly go wrong? Off the rails, back on the rails, and off the rails again, Yorkville-the musical is a whole lot of singing and step-dancing fun all the way to the final kiss in this world-premiere play.

Garrison’s Garage (July 31 – August 31) A Comedy by tTed Johns.

Premiered in Blyth in 1985 – the play was an instant hit. A field officer from Revenue Canada has his car break down in the ‘middle of nowhere.’ In the process of trying to get it fixed at the local garage, a place run by an eccentric mechanic, he discovers what he thinks is the scam of the century. What he finds out is something else entirely. A play filled with humour and a great cast of characters – characters you may know – one of them might even look like you.

Prairie Nurse (August 7 – August 31) by Marie Beath Badian.

It’s November 1969. Two nurses just off the plane from the Philippines arrive at a rural hospital in Arborfield – population 500. No one in town can tell them apart, including the lab tech at the hospital whose real job is to play goalie for the Arborfield Flyers. He falls in love with one nurse but accidentally courts them both. It’s a comedy of errors with a great heart in this world-premiere play.

New Adventure Passes are now on sale at the Blyth Festival. For a minimum $85 pre-Christmas price, by one ticket to four different main stage shows and book seats later in the spring. The traditional flexible passes are also still available.

For more information about the 2013 Season or to take advantage of the early bird prices, visit online or call the box office at 1-877-862-5984.

BLYTH – This nation’s official poet who writes poetry for Parliament is coming to Blyth on Thursday.

Canada’s fifth Parliamentary Poet Laureate, Fred Wah, brings his innovative and collaborative literary style to the national task of drawing Canadians’ attention to the reading and writing of poetry.

“My work as Parliamentary Poet Laureate will continue to engage poetry as it represents our homes and migrations, our questions of history and identity,” he said.

Wah, who is also professor emeritus at the University of Calgary, has been writing and publishing since 1965.

The son of parents who ran a series of Chinese-Canadian cafés in the West Kootenays of B.C., his early poetry is improvisational and experimental, based partly on his interest in jazz, but was also rooted in the geography of the Nelson area. By the ‘80s, he was explored his mixed-race heritage, with writings that included the publication of Diamond Grill (1996), a biofiction based on his experiences working in his father’s café.

His recent publications include two collections of poetry, Sentenced to Light (2008) and is a door (2009). A selected poetry edited by Louis Cabri, The False Laws of Narrative, was published in 2009 by Wilfrid Laurier University’s poetry monograph series.

Wah has received major literary awards in three genres: Waiting for Saskatchewan won the Governor General’s award, So Far won Alberta’s Stephanson Award, and is a door won the Dorothy Livesay prize for poetry; Diamond Grill received Alberta’s Howard O’Hagan Award for short fiction; and his essay collection, Faking It: Poetics and Hybridity won the Gabrielle Roy Prize for Literary Criticism in English Canada.

This event is being supported by Huron Arts & Heritage Network and the Avon Maitland Foundation for the Enrichment of Education.  Through this partnership, Wah will visit secondary school classes as well as offer presentations to audiences interested in developing their poetry skills, and hearing one of Canada’s foremost contemporary poets.

Poetry and Poems for Canadians Today, with Canada’s Poet Laureate Fred Wah, will take place at Queen’s Bakery, downtown Blyth, on Thursday, Oct. 25, starting at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to this reading and discussion about Canadian poetry, creativity and where it all fits in everyday life.

To confirm your participation, please call 519-524 1156 or email: [email protected]

Huron County Crime Stoppers and the Huron County OPP are asking for your assistance in solving the following break, enter and theft to the Blyth United Church on Mill Street in Blyth.

Sometime between 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 and 9 a.m. Sept. 15, 2012 unknown culprits forced entry to the church through a north side window.  Once inside, the culprit(s) stole approximately $3,500 in property. Some of the stolen property included:

• black Lenco portable projector and monitor;
• Dell laptop computer;
• black Toshiba laptop computer;
• black audio amplifier; and
• black “Splashworks” duffle bag.

If you have any information regarding this crime or any other crime, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or submit a tip online. All tips are anonymous, you will never have to go to court and you may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000. We need your information, so make the call…for your community!

Photo courtesy of Mark Nonkes.

Bullet News BLYTH – Used bicycles discarded by people in Huron and Perth are key to improving the quality of life for people who live in Namibia, a country in southern Africa that borders the Atlantic Ocean.

“We know that a bicycle can be maintained anywhere in the world with minimal tools and spare parts,” said Mark Nonkes, of Bicycles for Humanity Huron Perth, which is asking folks to check the basement, garage and barn for old bikes to donate by Sept. 29.

“A bike allows someone to travel twice as far, twice as fast and carry four times the load. In the countries in which we work, a bike can mean access to education, health care, fresh water, economic opportunity and community,” said Nonkes, in an email to Bullet News Huron.

According to a 2008 study done by the United Nations Development Program, more than one in four households in Namibia live in poverty. Furthermore, the poorest 10 per cent of households command just one per cent of the country’s total income whereas the wealthiest 10 per cent control more than half.

Nonkes lived in Namibia from 2007 to 2010. During that time, he coached a cycling team of teenage boys, training on donated bikes that were shipped to Namibia from the West. In 2008, his parents visited and tremarked there were many unused bikes in Huron County. They decided to organize a bicycle drive when they returned to Huron County.

Bicycles for Humanity Huron was born in the fall of 2008, linking with community groups, churches and individuals to collect 400 bikes and enough money to ship the bikes to Namibia. BHH has a volunteer-based board and works closely with the Blyth United Church and Blyth Christian Reformed Church.

A year later, a group of home-based care volunteers, who visit people with HIV in their homes, asked to receive bikes to distribute to their rural community in Namibia. Five people were trained to fix the bikes as they arrived. One worker, a man who couldn’t find a job for 20 years because he was HIV positive, said he was once again able to contribute and feel a tremendous sense of worth. Click here to read Lavinia Friedrich‘s letter.

A year later, in 2010, the program was expanded to include Perth County. Due to generous people in the community, 800 bikes were collected. They were sent to Namibia again, where they were distributed mostly to schoolchildren, who used the bikes to pedal to school.

“We know about the importance of mobility in developing countries. Imagine if you didn’t have a car. Where we work in Namibia, the distances are similar to those in Huron County. But there are fewer services, due to the country’s poverty,” Nonkes said.

“It’s a kilometre or so to get water. It’s 5 km or more to the nearest school. It’s 15 km or more to the nearest hospital. If you have to walk, a huge part of your day is lost. Imagine what else you could do with that time?” he said.

When Nonkes visited Namibia earlier this year, he met with a school principal who said his students who started riding to class after bikes were distributed to their community now attend school more regularly, are able to attend extra-curricular studies, arrive to school on time and focus better as they are not tired from a long walk.

He also met Albanus, a farmer whose 20 cattle went missing earlier this year. The farmer said when the grass is finished, the cattle go to town because there is water there and there is still grass, but if the municipality catches cattle, they will corral them and force farmers to pay a lot of money per cattle to get them released. As soon as he realized the cattle were missing, Albanus jumped on his bike, donated from the Huron-Perth bicycle drive in 2010, and pedaled to town. After two hours of searching, he saw his herd and drove them home.

BHHP donated 383 second-hand bikes to people in Namibia in 2009. That number has modestly risen to 424 in 2011. Nonkes said they are aiming to collect 400 bikes and some money in this fall drive.

They are looking for donations of:

• Adult sized Mountain bikes, in working condition;
• Hybrid bikes with wide tires in working condition;
• Children’s Mountain bikes, in working condition;
• Good quality spare parts, such as tubes and tires; and
• Good quality tools

Bikes with flat tires are acceptable.

They do not accept road bikes, tricycles, tandems, bikes without wheels, bikes with major rust, major damage or child carriers.

People can drop off their bikes at:

Saturday Stratford Farmers’ Market, Stratford Fairgrounds
Rotary Complex,
353 McCarthy Rd,
 Stratford, Ont.,
from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; or

Blyth United Church,
442 Mill Street,
Blyth, Ont. from 9 a.m. to noon.

For more information visit the website, or, if you live in Huron County, contact
Gary Clark
in Blyth at
519-523-4224 and if you live in Perth County, contact
Lora Curtis
of Stratford at
519-271-5168.

Sculpture in the Alice Munro Literary Garden in Wingham. Photo courtesy of Beth Ross.

WINGHAM – An upcoming festival in Wingham provides a forum for writers to develop their craft.

The Alice Munro Festival of Writing, hosted by Huron Arts and Heritage Network, will take place in September, during the county’s Cultural Days. It features guest readers, developmental workshops for emerging and experienced writers, a book fair, a gala dinner and awards presentation event and a brunch with an author.

On Friday, Sept. 28, starting at 8 p.m. in the Blyth Memorial Community Hall, author Doug Gibson tells Stories About Storytellers, introducing the audience to writers he met as their editor and publisher, including Alice Munro, Pierre Trudeau, Robertson Davies, Alistair MacLeod, Mavis Gallant, Hugh MacLennan, Peter C. Newman, Brian Mulroney, Morley Callaghan, John Kenneth Galbraith, Paul Martin, James Houston, Peter Gzowski, W.O Mitchell, and more.

This is followed by a panel discussion on The Influences of Alice on Literature. Hosted by Eric Coates, artistic director of the Blyth Festival, the panel will include Gary Draper, a retired associate professor of English at the University of Waterloo, playwright/actor Marcia Johnson and branch services librarian Jennifer Zoethout of the Huron County Library.

Reserve tickets, $30, online at blythfestival.com
or call 
519-523-9300 or 1-877-862-5984.

Saturday, Sept. 29 features three workshops led by authors.

Poetry Performance Workshop,
with
Daniel Kolos 

Saturday, Sept. 29,
from 10 a.m. – noon, North Huron Museum, 273 Josephine Street, Wingham.

Reading and writing poetry are private pleasures.  Reading poetry in front of an audience is a performance. No matter how good a poet you are, if you come across weakly or with anxiety, enjoyment of your poems will be compromised.

With a few simple exercises you can transform your presentation into a delightful performance that will benefit both you and your audience.

Chapter One, Page One:  How to start your crime novel with impact,
with Vicki Delany

Saturday, Sept. 29, from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
at North Huron Museum, 273 Josephine Street, Wingham.

Publishers and agents are busy people. They will decide whether or not to read your novel submission in the first few pages, perhaps even the first page. If that gets their interest, they might read another 20 manuscript pages and then decide whether or not to continue. Modern readers aren’t prepared to spend a lot of time slowly getting into a story. You need to get them hooked. And FAST.

This doesn’t necessarily mean a gun fight on page one or a dead body in the first paragraph. But it does mean creating a dramatic opening, introducing interesting characters and avoiding common pitfalls that lead to a dull start. Vicki Delany, one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers, will discuss ways of starting your book off so readers just have to keep on reading.

E and Me:  A Writer’s/Reader’s Guide to e-Books, with A.R. Grobbo

Saturday, Sept. 29, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Huron County Library, 281 Edward Street, Wingham.

e-Books: What and why they are, how to write one, how to read one … workshop leader Anne Grobbo draws from personal experience as an e-published author. Included are tips on how to use the internet to become a better writer; websites that are a “must” for a fledgling author, where to look (and lurk!) for useful information about publishing and marketing electronic books.

Costs: $30 adults; $20 teens, aged 13 to 19 years.

Also planned for the festival:

Saturday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Wingham Town Hall – book fair, with free readings by Anne Grobbo at 1 p.m., Daniel Kolos at 1:30 p.m. and Vicki Delany at 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 29, at 5:30 p.m. at the Wingham Golf and Curling Club, A Gala in Appreciation of Alice. Guest speaker, Mary Wolfe, of the Village Bookshop.  Awards for short story competition. Tickets, $40.

Sunday, Sept. 30, brunch at Fireside Café. Networking and What’s Next, Planning for 2013. Cost is $16.99, pay at the restaurant. Tickets for other events available by calling the Blyth Festival at 519-523-9300 or 1-877-862-5984.

The festival is produced by Huron Arts and Heritage Network, a not-for-profit organization mandated to: educate and engage communities; embrace and advocate the every day work of art; build awareness and audiences for locations, sites and celebrations; and enhance and enrich our creative community spirit.

Peter Smith.

BLYTH – Peter Smith is back at the Blyth Festival.

The board of directors announced his appointment as interim artistic director to replace Eric Coates, who will join the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa as artistic director in September.

Wendy Hoernig, who is the board’s president, said the decision came after a review of a large number of impressive applications.

“It speaks very highly of the calibre of theatre talent in our country,” she said. “It also made the final choice extremely difficult. However we feel that we’ve made the right decision for this interim position. Peter is passionate about our community, our theatre and the importance of telling our stories. We are delighted to have him returning, and are all looking forward to an exciting theatre season next year.”

Peter Smith sees the position as a bridge and with his history of collaborative work across the country he will be the ideal person to lead the company through a year of transition, as the organization embarks on a search for the next artistic director.

Blyth audiences will remember Smith’s work in the community with plays such as Many Hands by Dale Hamilton during his previous turn at the helm in the early 1990s.

More recently, he guided the collaborative play Hometown, premiered at the Blyth Festival in 2011, which brought together six playwrights, one composer and a translator.  Smith is an actor, director, producer and writer.

“It’s an honour and a privilege to be coming back to the Festival and to be working with (theatre manager Deb Sholdice), the board and the community at this fabulous theatre company. I look forward to seeing you in the audience in our exciting 2013 season,” he said.

Coates will leave Blyth at the end of September, after programming the 2013 season.

“I have a terrific relationship with Peter and I am delighted to work with him during this transition. He is truly a man of the theatre: a wonderful writer, director, community leader and advocate for our beloved festival,” he said.

The board will begin a search for the next artistic director in late fall.

The Blyth Festival is a summer repertory company with a specific interest in new Canadian work that reflects life in rural communities. The company operates in Blyth Memorial Hall, a 450-seat heritage building.

WROXETER – Continuing dry conditions have prompted the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority to step up its notice of low water flow across its watershed from a Level 1 to a Level 2 today.

In July, a Level 1 Low Flow Bulletin was issued for the Maitland watershed. Continuing dry conditions across the watershed and declining flows in the river system have caused the local Water Response Team to upgrade the bulletin to a Level 2 Low Flow Bulletin.

Level 2 bulletins are issued when stream flows are approximately 50 per cent of their normal flow or the watershed’s precipitation for one month falls below 60 per cent of average.

The Lower Maitland River sub-basin is being particularly hard hit by low flows.

The long-term average flow at Benmiller is 9.2 cms (cubic metres per second) but during the first eight days of August the flow rate averaged 1.9 cms, according to a press release issued today.

On Aug. 8, the flow rate was just 1.49 cms.

This may have a significant impact on water quality in the area and is detrimental for aquatic species. Levels this low make it very difficult for fish to move freely and may restrict their ability to find food and shelter. Lower water levels also leads to higher water temperatures and this in turn may create algae blooms in the river.

With the implementation of the Level 2 Low Flow Bulletin, watershed residents are strongly encouraged to reduce activities that remove water directly from watercourses. In a Level 2 situation, municipalities and the provincial government may implement or increase restrictions on non-essential water use.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has developed a Low Water Response Strategy to assist areas experiencing low water conditions. Under the strategy, Water Response Teams are formed so local communities can carry out actions to reduce and better manage water use.

The Water Response Team in the Maitland watershed includes representatives from municipalities, agricultural groups, Ministries of Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the MVCA.

The MVCA monitors precipitation, stream flow and water levels in order to recognize and measure the severity of low water conditions. Staff at the MVCA is working to develop a more comprehensive understanding of flow levels in dry conditions. It would like to get a more accurate picture of how landowners are using river water. For example, it would like to learn more about how much water is being used and when it’s being used.

In addition staff would like to hear how shallow wells are holding up during this dry period.

Anyone who would like to share information about low flows in their area is asked to contact Mat Shetler at [email protected] or call 519 335-3557.