Loading...
The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1942-02-19, Page 3• Page 3 THE EXETER TIMES-ADVQCATE Thursday, February 19th, 194$ Report of the Engineer to the Huron County Council During the latter part of 1941 many difficulties made their appearance, and road authorities iu 1942 will have many unusual problems to solve, as war purposes absorb an Increasing share of labour and material. Since the war started our program has been scaled down so that we have been doing only,.about one-half of the construction previously planned; but the scarcity of farm labour and of rubber and other materials demands that we study the commitments more closely than ever. It cannot be expected, however, that the demands upon the roads will be lighter, or that the demands for improvements will become fewer, so that those having to do with road matters have many headaches in prospect. Transportation is: a most important item in all business and in all war work, and neglected roads would be a serious handi­ cap, while it would not be in the best interests of the people to permit our roads to deteriorate. We have about sixty miles of hard surface road and this has had a minimum of maintenance. It is imperative that we provide a aeal .coat for sections of this road. Much of our gravel road must have the required mainten­ ance to keep the traffic moving. It would appear that our main­ tenance expenditures should be higher, In 1941 we built a section of road to the Centralia Airport. The Airport authorities are asking to have the work extended and request attention be given to the road leading to the Grand Bend Airport. There are always certain jobs to be completed left from the previous year, and emergency jobs are appearing constantly. This County has always had a low road rate, and during the past it has been found that the money provided would not quite cover the expenditures, and we have been carrying a modest deficit from year to year. It would be better to carry a small surplus sufficient to .pay for the work at the beginning of the year, until the Government subsidy is received so that the account would be even with the bank once a year. Considering these things, even though construction is kept to a minimum, it is not Certain that a reduction in rate > will be in the best interests of the County. It would appear that some of those who recommend that no snow clearing be done would have .their wishes carried out by force of circumstances. We have been unable to secure, new snow-plowing equipment, and one of our principal units has wait­ ed two months for parts that are apparently needed worse in Russia or Lybia. It would seem, unfortunate to tie up whole machine on account of'one part, but, if that part is needed to repair a tank, I think there will be no complaint. No municipal ■ reports that I have ever seen have shown the value of the roads as among the assets of the Corporation. Reads are undoubtedly assets, and it must be of interest to the public • in general to know how the. value fluctuates from year to year. It should also be of material interest to the people that may buy eond issues. I have, therefore, extended the accounting system to show figures of this nature. Naturally,, figures on deprecia­ tion are based on estimates, but so are the figures in the reports ' of commercial corporations. In order to. make a beginning, I have made an estimate of the value of the roads on December 1, 1939, having regard to present costs, obsolescence, etc. . department 1949 'Const. 53,386.60 2'0,650.86 1940 ASSETS OF COUNTY ROADS Inventory of Dec. 1, ’39 1940 Deprec. etc. 6,000.00 10,185.11Roads ............... Machinery ......., Gravel Pits ..... Shop & Garage Snow Fence ... 1,200,000.00 39,320.94 2,000.00 8,000.00 1,000.00 5.051.37 2,256.01 As at Dec. 1, ’40 1,247,386.60 49,786.69 2,000.00 5,051.37 9,256.01 $1,313,480.67 Receipts Levy ............................ Estimated Subsidy ............. Receipts for stocks and rentals Deficit . Total of Vouchers * $183,046.61 2,461.17 $185,507.78 Howick Councillor was recently sent to and newspapers in this County. This letter The work com- Interest on Depreciation Depreciation Maintenance Cost of Roads for 1940 $1,200,000 at 4% ...............$ of Roads ............................. on Snow Fence ..... .......... 48,000.00 6,000.00 1,000.00 80,441.45 $135,441.45' Inventory of Dec. 1, ’40 1941 Deprec. etc. Const.Plus O’head Roads ........: Machinery Gravel Pits . Garages Snow Fence 1,247,386.60 49,786.69 2,000.00 5,051.37 > 9,256.01 12,0010.00 13,729.23 Less Excess Rentals 4,748.68 1,256.01 Cost of Roads for 1941 $1,247,386.60 at 4,% ..................Interest on Depreciation’, etc., on roads ...... Depreciation, etc., on snow fence Maintenance .................................. A lettei’ from a published by many complained of road work <foeing done in wartime, plained of was needed, was well and economically done, and is a credit to the County. Those who bought the machinery can Show that its purchase was among the best investments the County has made. The programcPf work proposed before the war has been reduced by one-half since the war started, and with labour becoming scarce, it probably will be pared as far as possible this year. The road authorities of the County did not take on the worry of carrying out . this work for their own pleasure, but because they considered that it was the best thing to do for the County, but because of it this Council is accused of being indifferent to the war effort; Jack of patriotism, and'of doing road work for the benefit of Hitler. No other County Council has a better re­ cord for promoting the war effort than that of Huron, and the accusations in the letter are most unwarranted and unjust, and. if it were not that some people might be misled, they would not be worthy of attention,, The writer stated that the Council of which he is a member carried on only maintenance work since the war started. I have seen considerable new road grading being done on Howick roads since that time—consuming gas, and presumably discouraging the war savings campaign. No doubt the councillor’s vision was obscured by his many outside interests. Anyone wishing to criti­ cize road expenditures could Pick on much better subjects than the Council of the County of Huron, Respectfully submitted, * ’ T. ROY PATTERSON, County Engineer. Goderich, January 21, 1942. THAMES ROAD and ROYS The roads at the time of writing are yery slippery. Motto—The most you can lend is the least you can do. A Victory Loan concert is being held this Wednesday night at the Thames Road church. The rising sun of Japan may be shining brightly just now—-but ev­ ery sup has Its sunset. The Red Cross unit of Thames Road have made and sent a h'^m- her of quilts in the past few weeks. Mr. and Mrs. Roland Williams and Onah were in Toronto last week attending the Ontario Plowing Con­ vention. Mr. and Mrs. William Ferguson, Wilbur and Roy attended the fun­ eral of their aunt, Mrs. George Leary, at Mitchell on Saturday. Mrs. (Rev.) Anthony will dress the Day of1 Prayer at Thames Road church on Friday, Red Cross meeting will follow Word has been received that Harry Anderson is missing after the big air fight over the English Channel last week. We all hope Harry will yet be found. The Y.P.U. of Centralia were guests of the Thames Road Young People last Friday. Some sixty were present. The Centralia group had charge of the program and Thames Road the games and refreshments. THOMPSON--*-RINN A quiet wedding wap solemnized at the United church parsonage at Woodham when Rosie Maud, daugh­ ter of John Rinn and the late Mrs. Rinp, became the bride of William Lloyd Thompson, son of Mr. and Mrs, Fred Thompson, of the eighth concession, Blanshai’iL Rev. A. Laing officiated. The bride wore a gown of brown and turquoise printed silk with beige and brown coat and hat and accessories and a corsage bouquet of carnations. Miss Erma Knox, wearingturquoise crepe with black coat and hat, was bridesmaid. Harvey Dunnell was best man. A wedding dinner was served at the home of tjie groom’s Wien of 30,40,50 PEP, YIM. VIGOR, Subnormal? Want nonn&l pep, vim, vigor, vitality? Try Ostrex Tonic Tis-pkts. Contains Ionics, stimulants, oyster elemental- aids to normal pep after 30, 40 or £0. Get a special introductory size for only 35<. Try this aid to normal pep and vim today. For sale at all good drug ctores. parents. Mr. and Mrs, Lloyd. Thompson will reside on the eighth line of Blanshard. '‘You ought to feel honoured young man. Do you know that to­ day I have refused to see seven in* surance men?" "J know," said the agent, 'Tm them/’ ad- the The this Painful, Pus Filled Boils the Cause of Much Misery If you suffer from boils you know how sick and miserable they made you feel. Boils are an outward indication of impurities in the system,, and just when you think you are-rid of one another crops up to take its place and prolong your misery. A1J the lancing and poulticing you can do may not stop more coming. To help overcome boils you should purify the blood, so why not give that old, reliable blood medicine, Burdock Blood Bitters, a chance to show what it will do in helping you get rid of them? Thousands have used it for this purpose for the past 60 years.- Why not you? The T. Milburn Co., Limited, Toronto, Ont. a As at Dec. 1, ’41 $1,388,553.71 $139,984.86 By considering the costs from this angle, jve see that the County is little more than paying each year for the cost of that year’s service. Ratepayers of previous years paid for a lot of permanent improvements of which weznow .have the use, and is represented by $1,311,559.81 in the statement, The earnings that this capital should show offsets a large proportion of the amount spent for capital improvements, and it. is fitting that the saving made possible by these former Councils should be handed down to future generations. The annual report to the Department of Highways following: shows the A •>< ' & Bridges ............«.... Boundary Bridges Snow clearing .............. Dragging ......................... Grading .......................... Resurfacing .................. Culverts ......................... San di rig .......................... Tarring .......................... Trees ............... ....... Drains ............................. Ditching ....................................................... Snow Fence ................... Signs ...................................................................... Guard 'Fence ................ Weeds ........................... Calcium Chloride ....................... .... County Boundaries ..... Boundary Accounts .......I,............ Snow Fence ................. MAINTENANCE $17,901.21 14,845.71 v 1,426.47 ,17,879.07 1,235.19 719.05 3,427.60 35.25 599.70 , 895.44 2,180.79 35.83 339.33 3,326.14 7;035.97 483.60 186.66 1,176.10 3,096.82 7.46 ■ i / Road and Bridge Construction ............... Overhead ........................«........................ . Rebates to Towns and Villages .............» Drainage .... .................................... Gravel Pits ..............................».«..»*«.«.«» New Machinery not on rental basis ....... Stock Balances arid Balance fwd. 1940 Land Purchases ................................. Less sales and receipts not credited to jobs .......... Less Machinery operations ledger—credit balances $180,508.39 2,747,26 13,385.87 TOTAL tor SUBSIDY Amount of Subsidy .... /$164,375.56 $ 82,187.63 VICTORY LOAN SUNDAY FEB.22. Pinky-white dimples; a button of a nose; wee, slender fingers clutching at your coverlet—what kind of a world is this to which you will awake? Your life, we hope, will be rich in love and laughter. God forbid that your Canada should ever come under the heel of a ruth­ less barbarism, where babies are born to be the future shock troops, or the mothers of a brutal, military race* We promise that you shall inherit a Canada blessed with the liberty our fathers bequeathed to us* You shall be free as we are free. So we gladly lend our money to our country in this crisis. We will buy Victory Bonds to the very limit. We must and we will make sure that the threat of a brutal way of life is banished forever. MOW TO JEW Y—Give your order to the Victory Loan salesman who calls On you. Or place it in the hands of any branch of . any bank, or give it to any trust company. Or send it to your local Victory Loan Headquarters. Or you can authorize your employer to start a regular payroll sav­ ings plan for you. Bonds may be bought in denominations of $50, $100, $500, $1,000 and larger. Salesman, bank, trust com­ pany or your local Victory Loan Head* quarters will be glad to give you every assistance in making out your order form. A41 SUMMARY Amount submitted for Subsidy .$164,375.26 New Machinery Ph a rental basis 12,550,90 'Miscellaneous items not subject to subsidy 507.57 Accounts Receivable ..... ....... 16,758.12 Deduct—re machinery on rental basis Amount of Voucher Payments ,$185,507.78 F^lfl^VADV DAM AC^vlvTvKl BONUS National War Finance OlfaWfii; Canada