Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1953-04-09, Page 1Eighty-First Year Head Boards John A. Morrison, of East • Williams township, was re-elect­ ed chairman of the Authority. Freeman Hodgins, of McGillivray, was again named vice-chairman. Members of the executive com­ mittee, all chairmans of advisory boards, were also re-elected. They are; Andrew Dixon, Exeter, pub­ lic relations; William Haugh, Hay, flood control; Wellington Brock, Usborne, reforestation; C. E. Janes, Warwick, parks and recreation; G. C. Henderson, Thedford, finance; J. E. Bryan, Biddulph, farm ponds and farm­ ing practices. Budget Levy $15,145.00 The Authority accepted a bud­ get for 1953 which included a levy of $15,145 from the 24 municipalities which are mem­ bers of the body. This is approx­ imately the same as 1952. In other business, tne Author­ ity: Agreed to subsidize hand plant­ ing trees in any area over one acre to the amount of $10 per acre if the planting appears satis­ factory after one year of growth. Approved a public ’ relations tour of the Port Franks cut and The Pinery. Authorized the Parks and Re­ creation Advisory Board to lease cottage lots in designated areas along the cut at Port Franks. Landmark Disappears Another old landmark eter is being demolished, of men are engaged in down the cement block shed be­ longing to the James Street Unit­ ed Church. It was erected in 1910 and was originally used as ■ accommodation for the farmers’ horses, but of recent years part •of it has been used for storage. in Ex- A gang tearing THE TIMES-ADVOCATE, EXETER, ONTARIO, THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 9, 1953 ~__ The Ausable Conservation Au­ thority agreed Wednesday to spearhead a cooperative effort to acquire the Pinery, by expropria­ tion if necessary, for public re­ creation and reforestation. The Authority wholeheartedly supported a comprehensive report which recommended: 1. Expropriation proceedings be taken at once to get public con­ trol of the Pinery. (An appraisal firm set the value of the pro­ perty at $35,000). 2. The Authority, as the pub­ lic body most vitally concerned, initiate the expropriation pro­ ceedings. 3. The Pinery be divided into two parts: one, almost 3,000 acres in area to be retained as a protective forest under the owner­ ship of the authority; the other, about 1,000 acres in area, to be sold to, and developed under, a six-man commission as a public park. 4. The six-man commission be composed of one membei' from each of the counties of Lambton, Middlesex and Huron, one mem­ bei’ from each of the cities of London and Sarnia; and one member from the Ausable Author­ ity. 5. Over $200,000, most of it Authority Accepts Local Project To Dredge Reservoir At Dam w Price Per Copy 7^ J supplied by the Ontario Govern­ ment, be spent to develoj) the area as a public park. Each of the municipalities represented on the commission would be asked to contribute $5,000 for each of three years, plus a share of the purchase price. The Authority agreed to accept its financial share of the pro­ posal and it instructed its Parks and Recreation Advisory Board to confer with the municipalities involved and the provincial gov­ ernment to see it they would stand behind the project. (A full acount of the contents of the Pinery report appears on Page 5.) If the other bodies endorse the proposal, it timated the Authority start the expropriation ings as soon as possible. All members of the Authority expressed their support of the scheme and urged quick action. They maintained the Pinery was the only remaining lakefront area which could be acquired for public recreation. Each stressed the overcrowded conditions of the beaches and the increasing need for recreation areas. Two members, although they supported public acquisition of the Pinery, expressed disapproval of municipal contribution to the scheme and said it was the en­ tire responsibility of the provin­ cial government. involved was in- would proceed- PINERY TO BECOME PUBLIC PARK? — The Ausable Val­ ley Conservation Authority was advised Wednesday to start expropriation proceedings to acquire, the 1,066-acre Pinery on Lake Huron shore. report submitted by an investigating board stated an outstanding public park could be developed on the property. Appraisers valued the land at $35,000 and the development costs would total over $200,000 over a three- year period. Picture illustrates' a quiet reach of the river which could be used for boating and swiming. See a detailed account on Page 5.—Dept, of Planning & Development Photo Town Taxes Increase 20 Percent, Mill Rate Jumps To Record 60 Exeter’s tax rate for 19 53 will be 60 mills — highest in the town’s history. The new levy is a 20 percent year’s 50 mill Confronted lures in many cil had to budget for a possible deficit in 1953 to keep the rate at an even 60. It chopped $3,000 off its estimated expenditures to present a balanced budget on paper. Almost half of the increase— five mills—will go towards the Memorial Arena. This includes $5,650 to pay off the first deben­ ture on the arena renovation loan and the additional $4,000 which the council granted the board year. Other increases show in public school requisition (up 000 over last year); the county rate (an extra mill); police de­ partment (up $1,500); salaries and allowances (up $1,000); sidewalks (up $700); streetlight­ ing (up $800); and town hall expenses (up $700). The council budgeted for a revenue of $185,980, including $128,282 from taxes, and an ex­ penditure of $185,500. The finance committee submit­ ted a budget which would yield a deficit of $1,500 at 60 mills. Rather than raise the rate above the 60 mark, members decided to gamble that they could keep expenditures within the revenue. increase over last rate. by rising expendi- departments, coun- this They then proceeded to “balance the budget on paper, knowing we’ll probably run. into a de­ ficit,” as Mayor Cochrane stated. Approves Loan Council approved a loan of $5,000 to the Public Utilities Commission for "additional capi­ tal expenditure”. The loan will not show on the tax rate because the PUC intends to pay it back before the end of the year. Mayor Cochrane, in explaining the necessity of the loan, stated the Commission had to refund $4,4 00 to Jones, MacNaughton Seeds Ltd. for overcharges over a seven-year period. A deputation from the arena floor committee petitioned coun­ cil for a loan to pay for the in­ stallation of the floor until such time as the organizations con­ cerned could raise the money. Council declared itself morally behind the project but stated it was not legal for it to make such a loan. A committee of Mayor Cochrane, Reeve R. E. Pooley and Clerk C. V. Pickard was ap­ pointed to meet the floor com­ mittee and discuss plans for rais­ ing the money. Two were dents other street, streets committee. Develop Park A request was read from Beta petitions for sidewalks received—one from regi­ on Nelson street and the from Ralph Hicks, Main They were referred to the i OPENS STEPHEN CENTRE — Alvin W. Kerslake, Hensail, warden of Huron County, cuts the ribbon to mark the official opening of Stephen Township Community Centre. The cere­ mony was held in the building Tuesday night, Stephen reeve Jack Morrissey helps the warden, — T-A Photo Sigma Phi Sorority for assistance in development of a park at the north end of-the Town. The re­ quest was placed in the hands of the Public Welfare Committee. Mayor Cochrane reported the Industrial Committee had not been completely organized but that it would visit Toronto Tues­ day to interview industrial com­ missioners of the Bank of Mont­ real and tia. After the mess at the town hall, council request­ ed the police to lock them up at 10 p.m. Building permits were granted to Eric Heywood, a house; and Harvey Pollen, sunporch. Permis­ sion was given Middleton & Genttner to erect a sign over the street in front of their office building. the Bank of Nova Sco- hearing" complaints of in the public lavatories School will be five, same as last year— decided at a recent the rate at on the six school dis­ District School Levy Stays At Five Mills The 19 53 South Huron Dis­ trict High mills—'the the board meeting. Despite increased expenses in­ curred by the hiring of two ad­ ditional teachers, the board felt it was able to hold the same level. The levjr is made municipalities in the trict—Exeter, Stephen, Usborne, Hensail, Hay and Grand Bend. It covers both operating costs and debenture payments. The board authorized pur­ chase of additional typewriters and fertilizer for the lawn. A committee was appointed to investigate the traffic problem between the fair grounds and the school grounds. Mr. Kenneth Hern, who has been with the Exeter Co-Op, is taking over the management and Mr. D’Arcy Drimmie, of the Unit­ ed Co-Op, Toronto, who has been in charge, is being transferred. Community Centre For Stephen Receives Royal Christening Stephen Township Centre was royally Tuesday night when old participated in opening festivities. Glistening with modern hall showed conveniences to the people who came to inauguration. Every room was vantage for the occasion: official ceremonies and later Community christened young and the official pride, the off its many hundreds of celebrate its used to ad- the ___ . _ . ... a dance were held in the main hall; lunch was served in the banquet room and kitchen in the basement; the library was open to serve those who wanted books; and the cloak room and rest rooms were in full use. Alvin W. Kerslake, warden of Huron County, cut the big red ribbon during the opening cere­ monies. The guest speakers heaped praise upon the residents of the community, all of whom pitched in to transform the old Crediton town hall into the beautiful $40,- 000 community centre. Over $5,000 worth of free labor went into the renovation of the building. Monument To Generation Andrew Y. McLean, M.P., called the centre "a memorial to the community spirit which exists in this district.” I-Ie reminded the audience that in very few countries of the world were the people permitted, either because of their government or their standard of living, to have such a building. Thomas Pryde, M.L.A., said "the transformation is just some­ thing wonderful.” He stated that the type of cooperation shown In the building of the centre was the kind that was needed ter build a united world. Warden Alvin Rorsiake stated that people in the northern part of Huron, who considered Stephen as the "tail end of the county”, should come down here and see what great strides the south is taking. He said Huron county was the third wealthiest county in the province. Rev. W. C. Parrott, United Church minister, promised full support of the building by the churches. Rev. J. V. Dahms, Evangelical U.B. minister /,nd chairman of the Creditor^ Public Library, urged residents to take advant­ age of the new facilities now offered by the library. Stephen deputy-reeve Well­ ington Haist, one of the pro­ motors of the centre, expressed appreciation of the wonderful help the committee had received from the men and women of the community and hoped the hall would be of great educational, social and recreational value. Reeve John Morrissey, chair­ man for the evening, paid tribute to Mr. Haist who, he said, put in over 1,000 hours at the pro­ ject. He also mentioned Harry Beaver, Albert Galser and Law­ rence Hill as men who made large contributions to the build­ ing. Deputy-Reeve William McKen­ zie, of Exeter, called the centre a "great asset” to the township. ,Phil Boulliarine, Crediton trus­ tee and secretary of the centre board, asked the residents to use the hall as much as possible. During the ceremonies, Miss Norma Fahrner, accompanied by Mrs. Emery Vocal solos. Ladies of served, lunch ... .... _ ______ after the ceremony and the youth enjoyed a dance to the music of Steve Dundas and his orchestra. Fahrner, rendered the community in the basement Many Attend Easter Services Easter services attracted large numbers to the ter last Sunday, gregations were bers of visitors ing the day with friends. The triumphant Easter season was song and sermon. Flowers which alters played their part too, in adding beauty to the services. churches of Exb- The regular con- swelled by num- who were spend­ relatives and note of the carried out in decorated the The Ausable Authority has ac­ cepted as one of its conservation projects the dredging and clear­ ing of the reservoir above Exeter dam. Members voted unanimous sup­ port to the project when they met for their annual meeting Wednesday. Authority gave its parks recreation advisory board mission to proceed with the ject and promised a contribution towards the cost. In a report submitted by Charles P. Corbett, authority en­ gineer, cost of excavating and removing the silt from the bed of the reservoir was estimated $7,990. If a market could found for the silt this would reduced to $2,350. Of the total cost, 50 percent would be paid to the Authority by the Department of Planning and Development. The other 50 percent would be apportioned among municipalities of the watershed by a decision of the Authority at a future meeting. Andrew Dixon, Exeter repre­ sentative, appealed for an Author­ ity contribution to the project on the grounds the park and swim­ ming area would benefit a num­ ber of surrounding municipalities as well as Exeter. He stated that Exeter had con­ tributed to all other schemes pro­ posed by the Authority without receiving any direct benefit. “ town was the largest in watershed and probably the gest single contributor. He felt the dredging of reservoir could q’uite justly be classified as a channel improve­ ment project. Wellington Brock, of Usborne, and per­ pro­ at be be The the big- the Grand Bend To Construct $65,000 School Addition Grand Bend will float a $65,- 000 debenture loan to construct a two-room addition to its public school. The school debentures will be the first long-term loan instigat­ ed by the two-year-old incorpor­ ated village. , The public school board award­ ed the contract for the work to the Toten Construction Company Limited, of London, for $63,800. Contract includes the addition of two rooms and renovation of the present school. Board chairman John Manote said he hoped the construction would be completed by Septem­ ber. The school addition -will be built of red brick and will con­ form to the present architecture of the school, which is located near the river on the east side of the Bluewater highway. The old part will be remodeled in the modern trend and new fluorescent lighting, plumbing and heating will be installed. The addition will double the capacity o f the school. When completed it will handle about 125 students. At present, half of the pupils are housed in a summer restau- rant on the Main street. Council Meeting Decision to issue the school debentures was made at the council meeting on April 1. By-law was made to authorize the assessor M. C. Sweitzej* to collect the dog licenses in the village. Mr. Paul Bjornsson resigned his position as caretaker of the utility man. be posted village hall and Sealed tenders will his successor. Two life guards gaged for the coming season. It was decided to engage services of four additional pro­ vincial police officers coming .season. A grant of $50 was the Grand Bend Legion in their Coronation Day celebra­ tion (fireworks, etc.) village. will be for en- the for the made to to assist Suspect Poison In Triple Death The residents of McGillivray township and surrounding com­ munities were shocked to learn of the death of Mrs. Alvin LeMs, 42, life-llong resident of the district and her daughters, Shir­ ley May, 14, and Mildred Jane, 11, whose bodies were discovered by Alvin Lewis, husband and father, when he returned to his farm home three miles northwest of Ailsa Craig at 6 p.m. on Good Friday, Ho had left his family in good health earlier in the day and had been by hush. Mrs. Lewis' a couch, the . davenport in the living room and the 14-year-old girl on a bed in an adjoining room. Dr. H. E. Letts Of Ailsa Craig, Who was called by Mr. Lewis, could not determine the cause of death and he summoned coroner Dr, A. R, Routledge of London. Together with provincial police, they examined the bodies and in- Please turn to Page 12 working in a near- body was found on younger girl on a supported Mr. Dixon’s motion and the project was endorsed. Since it was not determined whether or not the silt is market­ able, approximate cost of the pro­ ject could not be determined. However, since the Authority did. not wish to delay the work, it gave the advisory board au­ thority to proceed with the pro­ ject and call for tenders on the excavation to determine its exact cost. The Authority would then decide how to apportion the cost of the project, ( Seek Federal Gov’t Aid For Flood Control Program The Authority approved a brief to be presented to the provincial and federal governments asking them to participate in a $1,725,- 000 water conservation project to prevent excessive flooding near the Port Franks area. The brief requests that both governments contributute of the expenditure, leave 25% of the Authority. The program, the includes* the construction kona, McGinnis and P a r k h i 11 dams, and improvement of old River Channel and this, it was proposed, would be spread over a period of ten years. The initial project in the pro­ gram is the improvement of the channel, which the Authority wishes to tackle immediately to relieve the pressure of flooding on the Haigmeier farms. Dr. L. C. Haigmeier, owner of the pro­ perty, threatens jto start court action for flood damage if some project is not undertaken shortly. The brief, therefore, requested that the governments make these grants available i $325,000 estimated project. The proposal will to the provincial first and, if approved, will be This cost brief ■ 37J % would to the stated, of Ar- now on the I cost of this be submitted government Businessmen Elect Ken Hockey President Ken Hockey was elected chair­ man of Exeter Businessmen’s As­ sociation at a meeting Tuesday morning. Ted Buswell was appointed secretary-treasurer and Miss He­ len Hardy is treasurer. An executive committee of Jack Smith, Reg Beavers, Mrs. Alda Anderson and Ed Hunter- Duvar was also elected. The executive was instructed to prepare a list of activities the Association might sponsor during the year. sent to the federal government. Up until recently, the federal .government granted no financial contributions toward conservation measures and most projects were constructed on a cooperative bas­ is between the provincial govern­ ment and the conservation au­ thorities. Federal officials have since indicated they would be willing to cooperate if the project could be considered of national benefit. Chorus Operetta Packs School The ever-popular H u r o n i a Male Chorus filled the large auditorium of the S.H.D.H.S. for both the Wednesday and Thurs­ day evening presentation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Operetta, "The Yeoman of the Guard”. The scene is in the Tower of London where Colonel Fairfax, a brave soldier, is under sentence of death. Before the hour of execution he marries a wander­ ing merrymaid to save his estate from a conniving uncle. He escapes from the Tower and is later pardoned and returns to claim his bride. The supporting scenes add to the mystery and the enjoyment of the play. The costumes were magnificent and the stage setting delightful. Col. Fairfax was played by­ Harry Hern. Lieutenant of the Tower by W. G. Cochrane; Yeo­ man of the Guard, Frank Wild- fong; head jailer, Carfrey Cann; jester, Stirling Ince; merrymaid, Mrs. Robert Reilly; Tower maid, Mrs. Robert Younger; Tower housekeeper, Kaye McGill. Sup­ porting characters were Ron Elford, Andrew Dixon, Bob Rus­ sell, Gordon Ford, Ken Johns, Maxine Reeder and Urban Pfile, together' with the yoernen of the guard and numerous citizens. —Please Turn To Page 12 3 B.O. SUCCESS —The Huronia Male Chorus’ third annual operetta^ “The Yeomen-of the Guard”, was an outstanding box office ns well as entertainment success. Crowds filled the high school auditorium for both nights of the operetta’s run last Week. Two singers above are W. G. Cochrane and Sterling Ince. The Junior Farmers are sponsoring a third perform­ ance this Friday night, ——Jack Doerr, .Exeter