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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1972-12-07, Page 1BEST IN HURON 4-H — At Friday night's annual Huron County 4-H Achievement awards the Robert McKinley Citizenship trophy went to Beth Passmore of Usborne township. Above, Beth named the top all-round 4-H member in Huron for 1972 receives the trophy from the Huron MP. T-A photo Ninety-eighth Year JOHN PAYNE JOE HOFFMAN . keeps resort spot . . . wins close Hay fight •a • Ca 44€4 ft, o t HELEN JERMYN . . . off to county council FRED DOBBS HAROLD CAMPBELL . winner in Biddulph . . , new Hay deputy Hay, GB reeves returned • Chiefs 'Big Toe' comments prompt letters and debates Three bands featured in Saturday's parade • Reaction has varied somewhat to comments made last week by Police Chief Ted Day on the Big Toe coffee house. Chief Day, himself issued a further press release stating he has been ap- proached by several concerned parents in town. "I am glad that some parents read the article in last week's T-A regarding the number of un- wanted characters that were hanging around Exeter and frequenting the Big Toe Coffee House," he said. He continued: "It is very gratifying when parents take notice of what their terfering too much with his other posts as assistant arena manager and recreation director. Middleton said council may soon have to consider hiring a fulltime chief and possibly a son or daughter is doing and assist the police in an effort to cut down the use of drugs and nar- cotics in the community. Several parents have taken advantage, and have come to the police for assistance. "Please, if you have any in- formation, come into the police office and let's talk it over," he concluded. One of the organizers of the project, Fred Simmons was not unduly upset about the public criticism. "It indicates our concern as well," he said, "but not all of it". He said their main concern lies with the possibility that the coffee house is a health hazard, "These are problems we were going to have to cope with anyway," he continued. "But now everybody, not just a few people are aware of them". "The thing is," he said, "there was so much of this going on before the coffee house." The problems named were all in existence, with or without the coffee house, he said, and are not peculiar to it, "There are problems to be faced. It is no simple thing to run an operation of this kind. But it is important now that we regain the confidence of the community; that we can cope with the problems at hand, and that it is not a health hazard." Fred said that even following the article, he received several encouraging remarks from people who support the idea of the coffee house, while at the same time realizing its limitations, and special problems, "For the people who favored the idea anyway, it didn't do any harm", he said. "For the people who were against it, it gave them an opportunity to say, "I told you so". Several persons were critical of the manner in which Chief Day presented his comment regar- ding the coffee house. The Times-Advocate received two letters this week from sup- porters of the facility who complained about him using circumstantial evidence. The situation came up for a lengthy debate at Monday night's couple of fulltime firemen. He said the chief had to handle building inspections, fill in numerous reports and was asked almost daily by contractors for advice regarding fire standards. Reeve Derry Boyle said it would be unfortunate to lose Middleton as fire chief because he was doing a most( con- scientious job. It was also indicated some internal problems relating to RAP personnel was aggravating the situation and would be aired at Monday's meeting of that group, "RAP has things to straighten out from our end," Boyle stated, and said he could assure council things could be ironed out. Middleton had discussed the matter with Boyle and was going to tear up his resignation, but Boyle said he told him to present it, Councillor Helen Jermyn, a member of the Exeter area fire board, said a special meeting should be called to discuss the matter, The resignation was not dealt with by council, but will be turned over to the fire area board, which has representatives from Exeter, Usborne, Stephen and Hay., council meeting after Councillor Ken Ottewell broached the subject by saying he was disturbed with the headlines regarding the drop-in centre, He said he couldn't see where anything was accomplished by the Chief's comments and said the allegations could precipitate a problem, "I feel the report didn't do anything for any sector — the kids, the public or the town," he stated. Councillor Helen Jermyn said she agreed, but Reeve Derry Boyle said he could see no reason for anyone getting up tight about the Chief's comments, Ottewell suggested the Chief should have discussed the matter with the police committee before issuing his public statement, but Boyle said the police couldn't come to the committee every time there was a problem. Councillor Bruce Shaw then entered the debate, saying the comments had done a lot of harm and seriously undermined the coffee house, Mrs. Jermyn said some of the youths frequenting the Big Toe were very hurt as the comments reflected on all of them. "Some of them are good kids," she added. Boyle said the police had not been getting the cooperation asked from the coffee house. Shaw said the effect was to Want technician for emergencies The Union Gas Company will be asked to have a technical representative located in Exeter to handle emergencies that may arise over gas lines. The action was taken following a suggestion by Mayor Jack Delbridge at Monday's council meeting. He noted that a snowmobiler had knocked off a meter late Sunday afternoon on Mill St. and the fire department had to stand by for over half an hour while someone was dispatched from London to repair the problem. Works superintendent Glenn Kells said it took the company longer than that to handle an emergency a couple of weeks ago when a contractor pulled out a line on Andrew St, "I told you people about the problems before you allowed them (Union Gas) to come," Reeve Boyle commented. Mayor Delbridge said he thought the company had promised that some trained personnel would be located in Exeter. Council will write the company and ask them to come to a future meeting to discuss the matter, Request licence for area cable Cable TV may be coming to the area! Exeter council learned this week that Bluewater Cable has applied to the Canadian Radio and Television Commission for a cable system to serve Exeter, Centralia and Huron Park. The firm already has cable systems in Strathroy, Goderich and Clinton, with the latter two soon to start operating. Mayor Jack Delbridge said the company had presented their plans to the PUC and would pay a fee of $3.00 per year for each pole rental. Little discussion was held on the matter because council ex- pected an official of the firm to attend the council meeting. None arrived. polarize the situation. Those people who were against the kids had their stands reinforced, while the youths say it as another at- tack by the establishment. He said the coffee house was being supported by ministers of three churches and he termed them "sincere men", Mayor Jack Delbridge and. Councillor Tom MacMillan said they could not see where the Chief's comments had done any harm. However, Shaw replied that many of the points raised by the Chief were circumstantial, such as his report that a stolen car had been found in the vicinity. "The inference is that it's a place of corruption," he said, but noted that the stolen car could have been said to have been found in the vicinity of Mac- millan's store, Ottewell admitted there were undesirable aspects to the coffee house, but explained that the blanket indictment of Chief Day had hurt all the kids. He said some of the inferences were not factual. "Ted is only trying to save the good kids in town," commented Mayor Delbridge. Reeve Derry Boyle may have had the last word when he in- dicated the Huron County health department would be closing the coffee house down because it has no washroom facilities. "I know what we can do, and we'll do it at the county level" Boyle said during the debate. Santa Claus comes to Exeter Saturday to once again be among the featured performers in the Board of Trade parade, Chairman Jim Hennessey reports this year's parade has again attracted a large number of entries, some from as far away as London. It's expected to retain its title of the largest parade in Western Ontario. In addition, there will be extra bands. The Exeter Legion pipe band and the Zurich Centennial band will be back in action along with the championship girls' drum and bugle corps of Durham, That band consists of oo marching members from ages five to 19. In three short years, the band has travelled across the province on several occasions. They are presently the Canadian girls' standstill champions and the provincial champions. During the national competitions at Ottawa last year, they won the girls' street parade title. The girls will be appearing in their winter uniform which Snowmobiler badly injured A 19-year-old Strathroy youth was badly injured Monday evening when the snowmobile he was driving ran into a fence on Sanders St. East in Exeter. Randall William Denning hit the fence around 7:30 p.m. and managed to make his way to a nearby house where he collapsed on the porch. Police and an ambulance were called and he was rushed to South Huron Hospital by Hoffman's Ambulance. He suffered severe facial lacerations and it is believed he may also have broken an arm and several ribs. The youth was later tran- sferred t9 Strathroy Hospital. The front of his machine was badly smashed. consists of navy slacks and jackets with white hats and scarves. Santa Claus will again ride on the London Free Press float, He'll hand out treats along Main St. following the parade, Hennessey reports over 30 floats have already been entered and more are expected to line up at the arena on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The parade will proceed south on Main to Huron, west to Carling, north to Victoria and Exeter council decided Monday to turn over to RAP a request from the local snowmobile club to build ramps for easier access to the bridge located east of the darn in Riverview Park. The request was presented through Chief Ted Day, who indicated it could lessen the chance of an accident on the bridge approach. Reeve Derry Boyle, a member of RAP, suggested the matter be turned over to that group and then indicated he would like to keep the park closed off from snowmobilers. Councillor Mery Cudrn ore voiced the opinion the town may be liable for accidents if ap- proaches to the bridge were allowed. Council learned there have been some complaints regarding snowmobiles already, and it was decided to publish the bylaw in this newspaper. A discussion indicated mem- bers of council weren't aware of many of the rules. During the discussion, Chief Day explained that snowmobile licences fall due on October 31 and many snowmobilers are operating with an outdated licence. Some confusion arises because the plates indicate they are for 1972, east to the fairgrounds. Police Chief Ted Day said no parking signs would be erected on several streets to provide ample room for through traffic and the parade. A couple of new floats this year will be entered by the Union Gas Company and the visitors and convention bureau of the London Chamber of Commerce. Many local organizations and private individuals will be competing for the $380 in prize money. Chief Day's report for November was given to council with Cudmore terming it "the worst report you've read to us yet", He went on to point out that "everything" seems to be escalating. Chief Day agreed, saying the accident statistics for the month were terrible. He said other occurrences "were slowly going up". During the month there were 17 accidents with total damage of $9,845 and four injuries, 22 warned and 13 charged under the — Please turn to page 3 Police investigate three area thefts Three thefts are being in- vestigated by the OPP this week. A spare tire and rim were taken from a truck owned by Ed House, Huron Park. The truck was parked at his residence. Another Huron Park resident, Ron Harvey, reported the theft of over $200 worth of tape recor- dings from his car, also parked at his residence, On Friday, thieves made off with light socket fixtures from Hall Lamp at Huron Park. Loser questions • interest conflict The defeated candidate for the reeve's post in Monday's election in Grand Bend, David M. Jackson told The Times-Advocate at noon Wednesday he was planning to ask the Department of Municipal a Affairs of the legality in the re- election of Reeve John Payne, In a telephone interview, Jackson said, "I'm going to ask Ontario officials if Reeve Payne has any conflict of interest through his position. He continued, "Mr. Payne • holds the insurance on the Grand Bend Public Utilities Com- mission building and receives a commission thereof, He also receives a commission from Frank Cowan and Company, who hold the insurance on the village hall, garage and fire hall." Jackson added "some in- formation in a letter by Mr. Payne to ratepayers which they received Friday was not fac- tual. "The beach lease from the Ministry of Natural Resources • was not renewed in 1972 partly because of council action in removing the posts in front of the Monetta Menard pror.erty on Government Road." A similar situation arose two years ago when defeated coun- cillor Ian Coles threatened to • upset the election of Reeve John Payne and councillor Murray Des Jardins but action was not taken. Fire Chief Gary Middleton this week tendered his resignation. • He said the job was becoming too demanding and was in- Middleton resigns as area fire chief EXETER, ONTARIO, DECEMBER 7, 1972 Price Per Copy 20 Cents Worst report ever' cites snowmobilers Elections produce several new faces SANTA'S PIRST VISIT — One of the first visits of Santa in this area was made Friday night to the Lucan 'United Women's bazaar. Shown above with the jolly old fellow are Paul and Carol Lankin and Stewart Melanson, T-A photo Exeter Mrs, Helen Jermyn, the first woman to sit on Exeter council, now becomes the first woman to represent the town at county council. In Monday's election, she defeated incumbent Don MacGregor for the post of deputy -reeve by a majority of 109 votes, Mrs. Jermyn polled 580 to the 471 recorded by her opponent. After the first four polls, MacGregor had a four-vote margin, but it was quickly erased as the fire hall polls reported. Ted Wright, who resigned from council due to work pressures four years ago, found himself in a "Usual" position after the voting for council members was tallied. Wright headed the polls with 899 votes, He's been in that, same top spot for Most of the elections in which he's been a candidate. Sitting members Tom Mac- Millan and Bruce Shaw followed in order, while the three new members of council are Bob Simpson, Ben lloogenbOom and Harold Patterson, Defeated were Glenn Northcott and Garr Rice, both making their first bids for public office, Mrs. Jermyn and the six council members will join Mayor Jack Delbridge and Reeve Derry Boyle in administering the town's affairs for the next two years. Neither Delbridge nor Boyle were challenged at the polls this year. Openings on council came available with the resignations of Mery Cudmore, Ken Ottewell and veteran Ross Taylor. Hay Voters in Hay township had the opportunity to vote for all positions on council. Reeve Joseph Hoffman repelled a strong bid by deputy- reeve Lloyd Hendrick to retain the chief magistrate's position. Hoffman with only a 11 vote lead with one poll remaining won the battle by a count of 440.413, The election of Hay's deputy- reeve was a bit more decisive as councillor Harold Campbell defeated former reeve John Corbett, 531-291. In the council election in- cumbent members John Tinney and Lionel Wilder led the polls with newcomer Joe Miller placing third. The defeated candidate was Tony Bedard, also making his first attempt at municipal politics. Grand Bend Grand Bend reeve John Payne Sr, was returned to office Mon- day for a second two year term, Payne, a Grand Bend and London insurance executive defeated present councillor David Jackson for the reeve's post at the area summer resort by a count of 330- 191. Three men, seeking election to council for the first time were successful. They were realtors Walter Crumplin and Bob Sharen and druggist Ted Flint. The three new councillors join incumbent Murray Des Jardins who led the polls with 409 votes. A record number of voters, 547, turned out to participate in Monday's election. Another member of the present council 13111 Cochrane was defeated. The fourth man on the 1971-72 council Paul Panet did not contest the election, Two members of the Grand Bend Public Utilities Com- mission were returned by ac- clamation. They are Cam Chapman and Prosper Van Bruaene. Dashwood The first election for trustees in the police village of Dashwood for more than 20 years saw a veteran campaigner defeated, Clifford Salmon, a long time member of the Dashwood trustee board was defeated by newcomers George Tiernan and Doug Riddell and incumbent member Harold Schroeder. The third member of the present trustee board, Ervin Rader did not seek re-election, Stephen Stephen township electors Monday returned two members of the present council to Office and named a new man. Back for another two year term are councillors Kenneth Camp- bell and Stephen Dundas, They will be joined by Dave McLure who was successful in his second attempt. The defeated candidate was Jesse Reid of Centralia. Campbell, a township farmer led the polls with 642 votes. He was followed by McClure, a teacher at South Huron District High School with 550 votes. Dundas, a retired farmer placed third with 530 votes. Reeve Joseph Dietrich and deputy-reeve Cecil Desjardine were returned to their offices by acclamation for the 1973-74 term. Biddulph Fred O. Dobbs will be the first Deputy Reeve in Biddulph township for about 30 years, He defeated another former coun- cilman, Jim Ryan, for the honor with 419 votes to Ryan's 359. Nine men vyed for the three positions as councillmen, Incumbent Joseph Haskett was returned to the council, but the only other incumbent contesting a sea t, Douglas Tuttle, was defeated. The polls were led by — Please turn to page 3 Three new area deputy-reeves 4