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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1972-07-20, Page 1ai A WET CHORE - Trying to hook a chain to a vehicle well submerged in water created quite a problem at Riverview Park, Friday morning. Above, Kim Robertson of Graham Arthur Motors is shown trying to fasten a chain to a station wagon owned by John Rogers, It was reported stolen Friday morning and found a few hours later in the river. T-A photo Parents to 'sign off' for outdoor activities TOWING VEHICLE FROM RIVER A car belonging to John Rogers, Andrew street was stolen Thursday night and found the following morning in the river at Riverview park, Above, Exeter police chief Ted Day hooks up a cable while two wreckers prepare to pull the station wagon out. T-A photo Huron County parents will have to accept more responsibility for their children while taking part in certain outdoor activities offered • through the schools, Where swimming is a possibility or where participation involves use of a boat, canoe or other small water craft; where transportation is by other than (or in addition to) regular transportation provided by the • board; where students are transported out of the province; or where there is any "potentially hazardous" situations, parents will be required to sign a waiver absolving the board of any responsibility in case of accident • or death. Board member Cayley Hill said he didn't think it was necessary for the board to assume this kind of responsibility. "Parents should be aware of a potential hazard," said Hill. "If they are in favor of their child • participating, they should say so. If they are not in favor, they should say so." Vice-chairman John Broadfoot who conducted the meeting in the absence of Chairman Robert Elliott, noted that any parents who don't sign the form will • automatically prevent their sons or daughters from taking part in the program. He wondered what would happen if the signature of the parent was simply forgotten Receive petition against playhouse Taxpayers of Stephen township have made payment of 79.5 percent of the 1972 interim taxes due June 30 and 3.76 of the final payment due in December, O This report was given by tax collector Wilmer. Wein at Tuesday's regular meeting of council. Wein said $160,700 had been received from the first payment and $10,839.69 for final taxes, mostly from summer property owners in the area north of Grand Bend. Council learned recently from the Department of Tran- sportation and Communications that supplementary bylaws for road expenditures would not be available this year. • Supplementaries will be granted only for emergency projects. Stephen had made application for the purchase of a new tractor replacing a machine that is 20 years old. A petition was received from three property owners in the a,' Concession A and B area op- posing the Huron Country Playhouse being operated this year in that area. The petition said they were against a commercial enterprise in their small residential area and felt traffic on the gravel roads would create a problem. r. Burkley Restaurant engulfed in smoke and flames at height of blaze GB delays issue on posts, lawyer advises settlement SILO STILL STANDS — Five blasts of dynamite failed to move this silo on the property of Gib Dow, just north of Exeter Community Park. Checking effects of the blast are Ontario safety inspector Tom Smith and Exeter police chief Ted Day. T-A photo Blasts damage homes, intended target standing CEILING DAMAGED — A ceiling in the home of Gabby Mol, 64 Wellington Street, Monday morning was damaged when attempts were made to dynamite a silo on the property of Gib Dow, several hundred yards to the east. 'T'-,A photo Ninety-eighth Year EXETER, ONTARIO, JULY 2Q, 1972 Price Per Copy 20 Cents Restaurant gutted by flames; Mayor cites interest in land Owner says he won't sell Fire started in basement Grant announced for dam repairs The Honourable Leo Bernier, Minister of Natural Resources and Huron MPP Charles Mac- Naughton announced Wednesday approval of a provincial grant of $4,500 to the 'Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority for maintenance Work on the Darn at Exeter's Riverview Park. The work costing about $6,000 was completed a few Weeks ago. The surface of the spillway was severely eroded, exposing soft end badly deteriorated concrete. The entire surface of the darn was chipped to sound concrete and Was then resurfaced with reinforced concrete, The Town of Exeter as the beriefitting municipality bears the Authority's share of the cost Of the project. by the student. "Would that student not be permitted to participate in the program?" asked Broadfoot, "If he's 18, he can sign his own form," answered Hill, "If he's 16 and his form is not signed, I guess he'd stay at the school." "If parents are in favor of the program, they'll sign," reasoned Hill, "If they are not in favor, they shouldn't sign, After all, how far does educatiorl go?" Wilfred Shortreed suggested that a better solution would be to require the parents of each student to sign a "blanket waiver" at the beginning of the year, to cover all activities. Hill suggested the director of education study the feasibility of such a form. A dynamite blasting project in Exeter Monday morning may have had more ,repercussions than percussion, An attempt was being made to drop a silo at the residence of Gib Dow at the eastern end of Wellington St. and five blasts were set off. The blasts broke several windows in the house on the property and cracked the ceilings at the nearby home of Gabby Mol and in addition, frightened a number of people who were unaware of the planned blast, The silo itself? It was left standing. Police Chief Ted Day reported the incident to Exeter council Monday evening, asking for approval and to prevent further use of dynamite in town Without a permit and proper approval. He said the contractor engaged to do this work had received no permission and hadn't told of- ficials or neighbors of the planned blasting. Reeve Derry Boyle noted the dangers involved, pointing out the proximity of the local playground activities at com- munity park to the blasting area. Chief Day said he had con- tacted Thomas Smith, a con- structioe safety officer with the Two theft investigations are underway this week by .officers of the Exeter police department. Friday morning John Rogers, 226 Andrew street reported his station wagon was missing from its usual parking place in front of his home. The vehicle was found about hour later in the Ausable River in Exeter's Riverview Park. It was apparently driven intentionally into the river and was located in about three feet of water. Car victim of flower power Only three accidents were investigated by the Exeter OPP detachment officers this week, No injuries were reported., Damage was set at $500 by Constable , Don Mason in a single vehicle crash on Sunday at 2:45 p,m. A car driven by Ronald H. Dawe, RR 2 Grand Bend, was turning left off Highway 21 into Highlands 3 subdivision and lost control of his car in the gravel, The vehicle hit a large stone flower pot. On Thursday a single vehicle collision resulted when a car driven by Brian McIntyre, Exeter, skidded out of control on the Mount Carmel Road west of Highway 4 and struck a tree. The car then rolled over and, came to rest on its roof. A second car failed to yield the right of way to McIntyre, who lost control of his car while trying to avoid a collision. Damage was estimated at $2,000 by Constable Mason. The other crash occurred last Tuesday when cars driven by Jean Triebner, RR 1, Exeter, and Henderika Grasman, RR 4, Goderich, collided on Highway 4 north of Exeter. Total damage was listed at $525 by Constable Bill Lewis, During the week, the officers charged 27 persons under the Highway Traffic Act and issued warnings to another 19. One person was charged with im- paired driving, six under the Liquor Control Act and four under the Criminal Code. ministry of labor in Kitchener, who arrived in Exeter Tuesday to view the situation. The project was being un- dertaken by Michael Dietrich, a Dashwood area contractor, who had in turn hired another con- tractor to do the blasting. Mr, Rogers had loaded his vehicle with camping equipment Thursday night and was planning on leaving on holidays the next morning. Several youths have been questioned in connection with the theft, Monday, the theft of a radio from a tractor at the Thames. Road East location of Exeter Ford Farm Equipment was reported. The tractor was owned by Junior Doupe, RR 1, St, Marys. Sometime over the weekend, a number of young trees were uprooted at Riverview Park by unknown persons. Police Chief Ted Day asks if anyone has information regar- ding this infraction to call his department. He reminds the public that Exeter bylaw 14-1962 provides a reward of $25 for any person having information leading to the conviction of persons responsible for damaging or stealing any town. property, The expected settlement of the fence dispute in Grand Bend failed to materialize Monday night when council decided to withhold their final decision until the next regular meeting. Village solicitor Bill Dyer of London presented an agreement from Spindrift Inns Limited, owners of Monetta Menard's Tavern offering to accept $1,000 as an out of court settlement. Solicitors for Spindrift originally entered a claim for $10,000 damages but in meetings with Dyer have agreed to drop the suit for $1,000. The writ of summons was issued shortly after council or- dered the parking posts in front of the property in question torn down for the second time. In his summation to council, the solicitor said he felt council should accept the offer. He went on to say, "I don't think Grand Bend has any right, title or in- terest in this property and never has had," Dyer continued, "Ownership of the property has never been in the name of Grand Bend, The village actually relinquished all rights some years ago when this ateawas rezoned and assessment and taxation put on the proper- ty." In answer to a question by councillor Bill Cochrane as to why the village should pay rent through an Ontario licence of occupation, Dyer replied, "This Jeweller closing out retail store Exeter jeweller Jack Smith announced this week he is closing out his retail business. He has rented his store on Main St, to Simpson's, who also rent their existing quarters from Mr. Smith beside his jewellery shop. He built the building housing the two businesses 22 years ago when he moved to Exeter. Prior to that, he had travelled as a salesman for a jewellery firm. Mr. Smith reported he would be. conducting his watch repair and engraving business from his home on Pryde Boulevard. Convertible is 'pony expres5' Residents of the ieth con- cession of Stephen were sur" prised to see a shetland pony riding in the back seat Of a convertible Friday afternoon. The pony was owned by Russell Kirk, RR 2 Dashwood, and had been stolen while tethered in a ditch near the Kirk home. The thieves returned the following day with the pony — again riding in the back seat of the convertible. Constable Don Mason is in- vestigating the theft. It was one of two thefts in- vestigated this week. A boy's bicycle with a blue frame and red seat, valued at $35 was taken from the Hensall residence of Norman Mattson, Two cases of mischief were also investigated, Unknown youngsters ripped up 10 tomato plants and a row of snake beans in the Centralia garden of Roy Soldan, An OPP cruiser was tampered with while parked on the lot of an Exeter service station. The spark plug wires were switched. An Exeter youth has been charged with mischief as a result. Stolen vehicle lands in river property is not included in the 27,5 acres under lease according to surveyors," Replying to Reeve John Payne's question of the village's chances in court, Dyer said, "We're very badly precluded from walking into court. We have a real problem as far as defences are concerned. Thesolicitoradded, "I think it's a fair settlement. We brought it down from $1,800 to $1,000. Yes, we could delay and delay court proceedings, but that won't settle." Councillor Murray Des Jardins stated he was not in favour of a settlement and asked that the matter be deferred at least until the next meeting. ,Coehr ane agreed. Paul Panet, another member of council said, "I can't go along with this thinking, it's legally clear cut that we don't have title, Let's get out as gracefully as possible ." The question was not brought to a vote, At a meeting concerning the same matter on May 1, Dyer Please turn to page 16 — There were indications around the Exeter council table Monday night that some members would be happy not to see the Burkley Restaurant rebuilt and the property acquired for the new town hall complex. Council have already been considering the acquisition of additional land for the town hall, and the land on which the burned out restaurant is located would be ideal, discussion .over the • property' arose when' contractor"" Milt Keller accompanied John Tzavaras to the meeting to request a building permit to rebuild the structure. Keller said the walls would be ripped down and a new building would be built to the specifications required by the Liquopr License Board of Ontario. He said there had been a "lot of rumors" around town and he and the owner wished to find out what the situation was. Council were asked if land could be purchased off the south end of the lawn bowling greens, but Reeve Boyle replied this would be impossible due to terms set out when the Lawn Bowling Company deeded the property to the town. Mayor Jack Delbridge pointed out that a restaurant built on the site would require five parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet, and on the measurements supplied by Keller, this would mean approximately 15 parking spaces. At this point, the Mayor asked Tzavaras how much he wanted for the property, and while Delbridge did not specify the reason for the question, it is presumed he was thinking of the property in terms of municipal ownership. Tzavaras replied he would not sell the property. "Everything must have its price," the Mayor remarked, but the property owner indicated once again he would not dispose of the property. Reeve Boyle said there was no way council could take any action until the property was surveyed, although Keller pointed out the Please turn to page 3 — Hundreds of spectators lined Exeter's Main St. Wednesday night to watch the Burkley Restaurant being devoured by flames. The blaze broke out around 5:30 p,m. and roared out of control for over two hours before Exeter firemen, assisted by the Hensall brigade, brought it under control. Only the walls remained. The building was owned by John Tzavaras and the business was leased .by Gus Pittas and Angelo Pappas: They also owned the equipment. Exeter fire chief, Gary Mid- dleton who was on holidays and returned to assist, said total damage has been estimated at $55,000. The building owner and the two operators indicated they were fully insured. Robert Kaufman, an inspector for the Ontario Fire Marshal office, viewed the gutted building on Thursday and reported the blaze apparently started from a short circuit in a freezer located in the basement, The flames from this raced up the wall and ignited grease and propane gas in the pizza oven. Employees and persons nearby reported hearing an explosion and the building was a blazing inferno when firemen arrived, despite their close proximity to the blaze. Mary Holubowicz, a waitress at the restaurant, said there were about eight customers in the building at the time and the smoke and flames "chased us right out the door." Everyone escaped the building without injury but nothing was saved. Firemen and spectators managed to get most of the furniture out of a rear apartment occupied by one of the business owners. Another waitress, Joan David, was forced to flee the building and watched on as it devoured the contents, including her purse. A fireman attempted to find it for her, but was unsuccessful. Mrs. Holubowicz said two of the customers came over to her during the fire and paid for their meals. "Now isn't that something!" she noted. Although there wasn't time to get the money out of the cash register, the latter was rescued later and the owners counted out the soggy money. The Exeter brigade appeared to have the fire almost under control at one stage, but they couldn't get at it as the structure had three false ceilings and the fire was between them. The dense, searing smoke also caused problems for the firemen and five of them had to be given oxygen by Hoffman's Ambulance attendants, All returned to the battle after the assistance and rnostwerestill at the scene at 2:00 a.m, before they went home, Hundreds of people lined the streets to watch the blaze and those with good viewing points were the lawn bowlers in Exeter for a tournament. They adjourned with the bowls on the greens near the restaurant and resumed play for a time before the dense smoke again drove them off the facilities,