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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1973-05-03, Page 1READY TO RIDE TO DASHWOOD — A total of 22 Exeter, Grpnd Bend and area ladies participated in Sunday's Bike-attion from Exeter to Dashwood and return, All proceeds from pledges gained by the girls go to the Canadian Cancer Society. The ladies are shown in the above picture ready to head out for Dashwood. T-A photo Aerial photo of Huron Jail by Jervis Stephen okays ..fire truck, ask for village boundaries Stephen council Tuesday eight gave approval to a request from the Exeter and area fire board to purchase a new fire engine, Stephen will pay 11 per cent of the cost of a new machine ex- pected to cost in the neigh- bourhood of $32,000. Exeter has also given approval to the proposed purchase. The other municipalities in- volved are the townships of IJsborne and Hay, Township clerk Wilmer Wein has been instructed to get proper information from the Huron County Registry office in Goderich to establish the boundaries of the three police villages within the municipality. Recently the township passed a by-law restricting the placing of individual mobile homes within the boundaries of police villages. Some questions have come up regarding the boundary lines. Wein said some of the properties on the edges of the villages could be included but the farm lends were being taxed in the township. The police villages in question are Crecliton,. Dashwood and Centralia. In the More, all applications for land severances and building Ladies' r ide fights cancer permits for properties in the- police village of Dashwood will be forwarded to the village trustees for their approval before being dealt with by township council. Council has decided net to enter into an agreement with the village of Grand Bend on sharing costs for a survey of proposed sewage disposal systems. The township has not received requests from any ratepayers regarding the need of sewage disposal systems, Council is holding off in setting the 1973 tax rates until — Please turn to page One Hundred and First Year EXETER, ONTARIO, MAY 3, 1973 Price Per Copy 20 Cents 0,1W1•••••••••* Term 1972 'frustrating year' for hospital expansion plans Crediton firemen refute goof claim A suggestion by a member of Exeter council that Crediton firemen had "goofed" in calling the local brigade to a fire at the farm of Harry VanOesh has been refuted by members of the Crediton department. The fire occurred in the summer of 1971 and the comment was made during one of the many debates held by Exeter council as they attempted to collect for the call, which was outside their territory. McGillivray Township and Ailsa Craig refused to pay and the account was finally written off two weeks ago. Councillor Ted Wright in- dicated some members of the Crediton brigade were "very perturbed" over the comment made by a member of Exeter council that they had goofed in calling the Exeter brigade. He said the Crediton brigade had not goofed and in fact had not called Exeter, although one of the women who answers the telephone for the brigade had asked for help from Exeter. Budget over five million County clerk-treasurer John Berry presented the 1973 budget at Thursday's session of Huron County council. Members passed the document quickly and easily causing Berry to comment, "I had better luck than John Wh"There ite."is no increase in the demands on local municipalities for this year," Berry told council. "Any extra money has been taken from the surplus. At the end of 1972 the surplus totalled $317,875 and if this budget were followed exactly as presented, by the end of 1973 the surplus would have been reduced to $110,411, in other words, we are using ap- proximately $215,000 of surplus funds in order that the demands onth the taxpayer will not in- crease." The total budget calls for over five million dollars. Of that amount, $3,402,543 comes from county sources; the rest is funded by government. The Hon, John White was mentioned again during the session when the planning board report was read. Chairman Girvin Reed noted that while the official plan had gone to the Ministry of Treasury, Economics and Intergovernmental Affairs it had not been signed and retur- ned. "The Minister's had other things on his mind the last couple of weeks so I guess he didn't get around to signing it," observed Reeve Reed. The chairman also drew at- tention to the fact that John L. Cox has been retained by the planning board for the summer months. Mr. Cox, a student, has been hired under a program called "Experience 73" in which the Province of Ontario pays 75 percent of the student's salary for the summer. He will be paid $125 per week and will be gathering data for secondary plans. Council learned that wage increases have been granted to the engineers at Huronview amounting to 60 cents over a year and a half. By July 1 1974 members of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 772 will be receiving $4.10 per hour. Sunday's bike-athon from Exeter to Dashwood and return received tremendous support from district ladies who par- ticipated in the 16 mile ride. A total of 22 ladies made the trip Sunday afternoon. In the morning Exeter's Cancer campaign chairman Norm Whiting, his daughter Debbie and Gary Baldson completed the ride, Nine ladies from Grand Bend competed in the ride. One of their numbers finished the ride despite a setback, After completing about a mile of the trip, the bicycle ridden by Disa Adelman of Grand Bend developed a flat tire. With the help of Gernot Dauber who was in charge of the af- ternoon activities in the absence of chairman Norm Whiting, another bicycle was secured and the ride for Mrs. Adelman was completed. The amount of pledges received by the ladies for the ride have not been determined as yet but they are expected to swell the campaign coffers by a good amount, Norm Whiting reported Wednesday morning that $6,531.17 had been received as the result of canvassing in Exeter and Surrounding areas. The Fill-ur-up Car Wash at Grand Bend and U-Save Gas Bar in Exeter have offered 25 cents per mile for the youngest and oldest riders in Sunday's bike- a thon. Officials have one problem at the moment. That is in deter- mining who was the oldest rider. Respecting the right of women may not wish to divulge their age, officials ask that the persons eligible call Norm Whiting or Gernot Dauber in strictest confidence, of course. Champions to be feted Pedestrian, driver injured in collision "This census just doesn't seem realistic when you consider that during the first 10 years of this hospital's operation, we averaged 340 babies a year," said Miss Claypole. The total number of births since the opening of the hospital is 5,221. Other statistics presented by Miss Claypole include the following: 4,758 X-ray examinations done in 1972, an increase of 177 over 1971; 208 operations performed, a decrease of 17 from 1971; 2,601 persons treated in the emergency department, 723 less than the previous year; 93,696 meals prepared; and 151,309 pounds of linen processed. Approximately 90 persons, both full and part-time,were employed on the staff of the hospital last year. They performed 154,539 hours of work at a total cost of $580,249. Two people were hurt in area accidents this week, but neither seriously. A five-year-old Huron Park girl sustained cuts and bruises after she ran into the path of a car driven by Ralph Lightfoot, Centralia. The accident occurred Monday at noon when Michelle Ambury ran from in front of a parked truck. Fortunately, the car driver was able to bring his vehicle Exeter's all-Ontario pee wee champion hockey team will be duly honored in the near future. Exeter Councillor Ted Wright said he had been discussing the matter with members of the local Legion Auxiliary, who sponsored the team, and learned the ladies would be buying jackets for the team. They also plan a banquet for players, parents and team of- ficials and asked council to consider paying for the food required for such an event. Wright said the cost would possibly be around $200. Council members agreed to the suggestion. John Irvin, treasurer for the hospital reported a total net revenue covering "In" and "Out" patient services at $576,918 as compared with $524,595 for 1971 or an increase of roughly 10 percent. Other minor income amounted to $6,594, On the other side of the ledger, operating expenditures amounted to $586,823, an increase over the preceding year of $53,000 or again about 10 percent. Mr. Irvin pointed out that the actual operating deficit of $9,905 only exceeded the comparable figure of 1971 by $412. An incentive bonus of $1,877 reduced the net deficit to $1,434, before carrying forward the accumulated deficit of prior years of $60,253 resulting in a total operating deficit of $61,687. This latter figure does not take into account investment interest and accretions, donations and depreciation allowance on fixed assets, totalling in all, $54,100. Mr. Irvin indicated that of the total expenditure of $560,000, roughly $475,000 remained in the local economy. Keith McLean was the only new member appointed to the main board of directors. He replaces Jack Pryde. Dr. Gans took the place of Dr. Donald Ecker as the South Huron Hospital Medical Staff Representative and Mrs. Mel Geiser was replaced by Mrs. T. MacMillan as the Women's Auxiliary representative. James Kneale retains the — Please turn to page 3 Ihieves-get $10 from car wash Only one theft was reported in the area this week, it occurring in Zurich. About $10 worth of quarters were taken from the coin boxes at the Zurich car wash after the locks had been removed from the boxes. A break and enter was reported at the cottage of Mrs. George Fink, Oakwood, but nothing was apparently taken. Entry had been gained by smashing a 4' by 4' window. BIRDS AND BEES — The Birds and the Bees will be the theme for Friday's At Home dance at South Huron District High School. Above Kathy Ryan puts the finishing touches on a big bird. T-A photo To add polls speed returns Exeter backs plea for additional grant The outcome of future municipal elections in Exeter may be known earlier than they were in 1972. In December, election returns were slow coming in and it was 11:30 p.m. before the final out- come was known. One of the reasons was the large number of voters at some of the polls and the fact there were three ballots to count. At their meeting this week, council decided to increase the number of polls from seven to nine at the suggestion of clerk Eric Carscadden. He said there were nine local polls for federal and provincial elections and said this would reduce the maximum number of voters at any one poll from a present 486 names to about 320. Members of council, all of whom waited impatiently for several hours for election results last December, quickly agreed to his suggestion. not equitable, pointing out that the Town of. Forest gets coverage from the OPP and hire only a part-time man for local bylaw enforcement, In comparison, Exeter hires five policemen. Deputy-Reeve Helen Jermyn further noted that the provincial grant this year for Exeter will be about $9,000, while the total police budget will be around $53,000. The resolution dealing with the appointment of school board trustees was circulated by Guelph. It asks for regulations requiring that vacancies on school boards be filled, where possible, by residents of the electoral area in which the vacancy arises. Council members agreed it sounded reasonable and con- curred with it. Exeter council, at a special meeting this week, concurred with two resolutions regarding increased grants for policing and appointing school board mem- bers. The resolution regarding policing is being circulated by the Town of Petrolia, and notes that municipal police forces spend about 20 percent of their time enforcing provincial and federal laws and yet don't receive any portion of the fines levied for infractions. In addition, the resolution noted that neighboring com- munities are covered by the OPPA and don't pay anything directly for this service. Petrolia asked that the province pay 50 percent of the municipal policing costs. Exeter Reeve Derry Boyle agreed the present system was almost to a stop before the child was struck, She was treated in South Huron Hospital. OPP Constable Dale Lamorit investigated. A London man, Alan Stewart, suffered bruises when his car went out of control on Highway 81 at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. He had been proceeding south and the car veered across the road into the east ditch and hit a fence and five steel posts owned by Eagleson Construction, Grand Bend. Constable Lamont set total damage at $575. There was one accident, Sunday, it occurring at 4:05 p.m., involving cars driven by Angela Sweitzer, Exeter and Harold Schummer, Bridgeport. They collided on Highway 83 about two and a half miles west of Exeter and damage was set at $350 by Constable Frank Giffin. On Monday at 4:05 p.m„ cars driven by Sophia MacGregor, Kippen, and David McConnell, Kincardine, collided at themain intersection in Hensall, with damage being set at $900 by Constable Giffin. The final crash occurred on Tuesday, involving trucks driven by Paul Draper, Clinton and Derek Toonk, RR 2, Kippen. They collided at the in- tersection in Kippen at 5:30 p,m. with damage amounting to $500. Constable Don Mason in- vestigated. During the week, the local detachment officers charged 12 persons under the Highway Traffic Act and another 17 were given warnings., There was one charge under the Liquor Control Act. Jail wall is saved! the addition to the assessment building on the present paved parking lot just north Of the existing offices of the Huron- Perth Regional Assessment Office. There were 20 votes iri favor of removing the wall - even though the Town of Goderich has indicated it is unwilling to issue a demolition permit for the project - and building the proposed ad- dition to the east along Napier Street, Reeve Derry Boyle of Exeter and Reeve Allan Campbell of Mc1iilop led the fight to demolish the wall. Both men drew at- tention to the fact that at a previous meeting, council had agreed to take down the wall and build to the east of the present building. Both men expressed feats that the cost of preserving the jail would fall back on the County of Huron sometime in the future. "We have to look at Only 14 votes separated the county councillOrs in favor of retaining the jail wall from the county councillors who would have torn it down . but those 14 votes have preserved the historical old building located at the northern entrance to the Town of Gederieh, possibly for a national monument. It was Reeve Ed Oddliefson who announced the possibility of the former Huron County Jail becoming a national manument. In a lengthy and sometimes heated debate,Oddliefsonpleaded with council to "preserve a memurnen t older than Con- federation", He Said the time may be "very near" when the site will be named a national monument and in that case, no one will be able to touch it, The recorded vote which followed council's deliberations showed 34 votes in favor of retaining the wall and building , WELCOMING THE AGRICULTURE MINISTER — In the above picture, Kim McLean of Exeter, a member of the Huron Liberal Association executive welcomes Eugene Whelan, Canada's Minister of Agriculture to the AtsociatiOn's annual banquet at the Exeter region hall, Friday night. At the right is Benson 'hickey, also of Exoer, t-A photo Owners change at auto agency A change of ownership became effective at Mathers Bros. Ltd. in Exeter, Tuesday. The new owners are Bev Skinner and Eric and Frank 1Kinta. The latter two are also engaged in Huron Produce, while Skinner was formerly employed at Guenther Tuckey Transports Ltd. They will operate the local Chrysler agency under the name of Mather Motors, The firm was established in Exeter 28 years ago by Harry Mothers and his brother, the late Frank Mathers.. They became a Chrysler- Plymouth dealership 16 years ago and took on the full line With the addition of Dodge products lest year. If there was one overall im- pression to be gained from the board of directors of South Huron Hospital at their annual meeting last week, it was one of frustration. Chairman of the board James Kneale called 1972 a "year of frustration". The hospital ad- ministrator, Miss Alice Claypole said it was a "very frustrating report" she had to give and Mrs. J.G. Dunlop, reporting for the administration committee, called 1972 a "busy and difficult" year. The reason for this frustration stemmed from the budget and building restrictions placed on all hospitals last year. The building committee had an ambitious plan for additions to the hospital which were foiled by the restrictions. And the five percent ceiling placed on budget increases limited the work inside the hospital. Dr. M. Gans, representing the hospital medical staff, was most tspoken in his criticism of thee, Situation. "twant to inject a note of urgency into this meeting," he said. The, government spends millions of, dollars on stupid things, he said, and then say they don't have enough money for improvements. "That's the excuse we are getting!" "But there is no excuse for getting poor service," he said. "We deserve a couple hundred thousand dollars and we need it now. We can't and shouldn't take no for an answer when our patients don't get the proper treatment they should have, "I don't know what we can do about it," he continued. "The hospital itself is working fine, but we need things to give good medical care". In her 20th annual report to the board, Miss Claypole said, "It may be that some people will feel that not too much has been ac- complished, but just to remain within the budget yard-stick and still operate was an ac- complishment in itself, and we were able to do this." She went on to explain that in 1971, steps were taken to draw up a 20-year master program for the hospital. This plan was com- pleted and approved in November, 1972, after which the board received a grant from the government for two-thirds of the cost of having the master program made. The board then had hopes of launching a building program in t973. However, all such programs for 1973 have been frozen, Miss Claypole also explained that 1973 will be the last year for training nursing assistants under the Department of Health, The program is being taken over by the Department Of Education. "Personally, I feel sure this will relieve the hospital of many problems," said Miss Claypole. The teachers will be supplied by the Department of Education and students will be required to pay a tuition fee as well as pay for their room and board. If they choose to live in residence, the Money received will be applied to help maintain the residence, since by 1974, they must be self- sustaining. If South Huron Hospital is not able to provide sufficient actual clinical experience for the students, they will receive extra training at hospitals in surrounding areas. The statistical seetion of the administrators report showed the average occupancy rate for the year in active treatment rooms Very -close to 1971: 60 percent in 1973 compared with 70 percent in the previous year, Maternity patients are still on the downward trend. There were 109 births in 1072, as -compared With 155 in 1971. economics," said Reeve Boyle. "History is fine, It was one of my best subjects in school, But I'm afraid someone will be coining to the county to help maintain the jail." "There's no way I'm going to be bulldozed into something like that," complained Boyle," If the rest of county council feels that way, I'm sorry for them." Reeve Campbell asked, "Who 18 going to finance keeping this jail as a Museum? Is this going to come back in for the county to maintain and Staff?" Campbell also reminded council about the water problems which had been encountered at the assessment office basement excavation and could only be rectified with stunts pumps. He also deplored tearing up the asthalt in the assessment office parking lot, laid at considerable expense to the county. —Please turn to page 8 1 4