HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-03-09, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017. PAGE 9.
Accessibilityneeds double cost o pad
splash
Councillor Dan Colquhoun said estimated cost, she said, the
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Central Huron Council has
decided to proceed with a splash pad
for its new municipal park, despite
tender prices that came in drastically
above best estimates.
At council's Monday night
meeting, Chief Administrative
Officer Steve Doherty told council
that the tender of Lavis Contracting
and A.B.C. Recreation Limited of
$283,932.68, plus over $35,000 in
HST, for the splash pad in the park
was over $120,000 more than had
been anticipated.
The splash pad is just one element
of the park that will eventually
include a new playground, skate
park and gazebo in addition to the
splash pad.
Facilities Manager Steve
Campbell explained that with the
implementation of a splash pad,
accessibility upgrades were then
needed to allow all residents to
access the new outdoor public
washrooms that will be part of the
park. Doherty said he hadn't
factored in having to make the area
accessible, which resulted in the
drastically low estimates.
The Clinton Raceway had donated
$150,000 to the splash pad project,
dependent on the park being ready
for the raceway's opening day this
season, set for May 21. With the
extended work, Doherty said it
would be a challenge to have the
park ready for that day.
that the raceway would be willing to
work with the municipality if there
were going to be delays. If the
delays would be an entire year, then
further discussions would have to
take place, he said.
Campbell also said that there will
be further scheduling concerns than
simply the added work of
accessibility upgrades. With two
different companies scheduled to
work on the site (one for the splash
pad and another for the gazebo) that
may further complicate the timeline,
as two construction companies
cannot legally work on the same site
at the same time. So, once the splash
pad is complete, the company
constructing the gazebo will have to
be brought in, which may lengthen
the timeline for completion of the
park.
Deputy -Mayor Dave Jewitt said
that no one on council would make
the case that the park shouldn't be
accessible, so the only decision that
needed to be made was whether the
municipality wanted to pay for the
upgrades now or later. He suggested
taking funds from the Erie -Thames
(ERTH) fund (from the sale of the
former Clinton PUC) to offset the
additional costs and to authorize the
tender to go ahead now.
Councillors agreed, but Councillor
Alison Lobb said she was worried
about other elements of the park
coming in drastically over budget.
If all four elements of the park
come in at nearly double the
municipality would be facing a
significant financial burden as a
result of the park.
Campbell pointed out that the
$160,000 estimate for the splash pad
was pretty close and would have been
completely funded by the Clinton
Raceway ($150,000) and the Clinton
Kinettes ($10,000). It's the additional
labour and materials to make the site
accessible that has resulted in the
additional costs, he said.
Mayor Jim Ginn said that the
ERTH fund began with $800,000 for
projects in the Clinton area and still
has approximately $650,000 in it,
so it would be worth utilizing for the
park. He also mentioned the
Nuclear Waste Management
Organization (NWMO) fund that
could also be used for community
projects such as the park.
Council approved a motion to
accept the tender from Lavis
and A.B.C. Recreation in the amount
of $283,932.68 plus $36,911.25 in
HST for the splash pad, with the
balance of the cost to be paid
for from the ERTH fund. The vote
was recorded, with Ginn,
Jewitt, Colquhoun and Councillors
Adam Robinson and
Burkhard Metzger all voting in
favour. Councillors Lobb and Marg
Anderson voted against the
park, while Councillor Alex
Westerhout was absent for the
meeting.
Shrove Tuesday around the world
PEOPLE AROUND
LONDESBORO
By BRENDA
RADFORD
Call
523-4296
I wasn't just sure what I had to
share with readers this week. Then I
remembered a short item that caught
my attention on the car radio on one
of my short trips last Tuesday. I
decided to follow up the interest on
Google about 'pancake races'. Wow,
the things I learned.
Shrove Tuesday is exactly 47 days
from Easter. It is the eve of Ash
Wednesday which signals the start of
Lent in the Christian faith. Shrove
comes from the word 'shrive' which
means to hear confession and assess
penance. As they enter Lent, persons
are encouraged to self examine,
seek forgiveness from their sins
and ask for God's help in
their lives.
Lent is considered a time to make
sacrifices. It became a period in
which to give up rich foods and in
past ages to stop eating any foods
which came from an animal Ergo,
women were encouraged to use up
their supply of lard, butter, eggs and
flour. So, they made pancakes or
other simple pastries. Thus it became
Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday (Mardi
Gras) or Pancake day and dates back
many centuries.
There are a number of ways to
celebrate Shrove Tuesday besides
eating pancakes, depending on
where you live. One of these began
in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England
in 1445. Many towns across Britain
were in the custom of ringing the
church bell at 11 a.m. calling
parishioners to service. One
housewife was so intent on making
pancakes she forgot the time until
she heard the bell. She ran to the
church for the service carrying her
pan and flipping the pancake as she
went. This was the start of 'pancake
races' which are still held across
Great Britain and especially
England.
The races are a fun means of
raising funds for charities and
peoples of all circumstances enter
teams. The women of Olney must
wear an apron and scarf and flip
pancakes along the way. A race in
London, England finds politicians
donning chef hats, aprons and even
dressing up. Some races are relay
races. Every runner must flip their
pancake at the start of the race and
also at the finish, provided he still
has one. Apparently there are lots of
shenanigans along the raceway.
There can be prizes for the best
dressed and even for the best
behaved teams.
In Spanish-speaking countries, the
day becomes a celebration, or
carnival, which sees street parades
and fancy dress like the Brazilian
Carnival in Rio De Janeiro. Some
countries even have half-day
FROM LONDESBORO
holidays so folk can dress up, visit,
go sledding and indulge in various
rich pastries. Pancake day in some
form is observed in Germany, the
Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain,
Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.
In Lancashire, children go house
to house asking "please a pancake".
Usually they are rewarded with
oranges or sweets. The tradition
dates back to a time when farm
workers visited wealthy farms and
manors seeking fillings for their
pancakes.
Bet you didn't know all that either!
I just really enjoyed my waffles. And
a supply of this year's maple syrup
happened to arrive that day.
Buggy business turns auto shop
Denied
Liam Shortreed may not have been able to block this
particular spike during the Central Huron Secondary
School volleyball tournament on Feb. 27, but the Hullett
Central Public School player didn't need to worry much as
his team posted two wins over their competition from Huron
Centennial Public School near Brucefield and then went on
to win the tournament. Reid Button is shown looking on in
the foreground. (Denny Scott photo)
Boys team wins tourney
The senior volleyball teams from
Hullett Central Public School
competed recently in a tournament
at Central Huron Secondary School.
Congratulations to the boys team
who finished in first place. The girls
came home with a fourth place
finish. Remember that next week is
March Break and the children
will be out on the streets
enjoying a break from classes.
Spring must be on the horizon for
this weekend is the start of daylight
saving time. Remember to turn your
clocks forward an hour.
On Sunday, March 19 the official
board of Londesborough United
Church will hold a short meeting
following the morning service to
discuss the sale of the manse
A history lesson
King Street in Londesborough looked
under a century ago. (Photo submitted)
It is very doubtful anyone reading
this space will recognize the
buildings in this picture. None of
them exists today. They stretched
east from Hwy. 4 along the first
block on the north side. The one of
interest in this column is the larger
one, the one with the board and
batten siding. I would assume this
building must have been situated
about where the Hensall Co-op
trucks back into that western
overhang to be loaded and/or where
some employees' cars are parked.
Originally, a buggy and wagon
manufacturing establishment, in
1929 it was owned by Alex Wells.
a lot different just
The second floor had been used for
lumber drying and storage.
Alex and his brother, Bill, had
both left their father's farm to try
their hands at other occupations.
Alex offered this large building to
Bill who had decided that working
on cars/machinery was what he
wanted to do. Bill set up shop in the
back third of the building where
there was a large lathe, workbenches
and an air supply from the mill. Only
the back part had a stove so the front
would have been used mostly in the
warmer weather. Necessary for his
purposes was to have a grease pit
dug and lined and electrical wiring
installed. Bill, at Wells Garage,
quickly became the man to see for
repairs and full service to all makes
and models of cars and apparently
some farm machinery. The
information I have indicates Mr.
Wells had some employees and
eventually they were hired to wreck
cars as well.
However, unfortunately, on Nov.
20, 1939 the garage caught fire and
burned to the ground. The story goes
that the fire could be seen for miles
and the efforts of three fire
departments, Wingham, Blyth and
Clinton, were required to bring it
under control. Also lost in that fire
were the other buildings in the
picture - a storage shed, a private
garage and the general store on the
corner which was also the post
office. Other buildings were
threatened as well, even the Alex
Wells' chopping mill across the
street.
By this time Bill was a licensed
mechanic and moved into Clinton
where in 1942 he designed and built
the garage that was later sold to
Lorne Brown [Motors]. Some
readers may remember when Mr.
Wells taught small engine repair at
the Clinton High School between
1967 and 1970.
The picture and information about
the building were given to me by
Bill's son, Doug, who attended high
school with me.