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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1975-05-22, Page 1311 BEACH CROWDED — Thousands of area residents and tourists flocked to the sandy beaches at Grand Bend on the Victoria Day weekend although, as can be seen, not too many were brave enough to take a dip in the chilling waters. Longtime residents of Grand Bend have termed the holiday weekend crowd as "the biggest in a long time", T-A photo Drainage problems and river bed improvements discussed Police protect people By TED ROWCLIFFE ' •$":' "X. ]•,>. AT THE ZOO — Undo RiAselo of Goderich feeds a llama of Pioeridge Zoo in Grand Bend during the Vic• toria boy holiday weekend, T-A phqto Members from seven United Church Women locals met at Parkhill U.C. on Monday evening for their annual regional rally and smorgasboard, hosted by Parkhill' U,C,W. The theme chosen for the meeting was in keeping with the Fiftieth anniversary of the United Church of Canada, "Forward Together". Following the excellent smorgasboard, the local junior choir, under the direction of Mrs. Bill Waters, presented a short program and Carol Morris sang a lovely solo. Mrs. Basil Romphf Welcomed the delegates on behalf of the hostess group. A service of rededication was conducted by the Regional vice-president, Mrs. M. H. Hodgins, who chaired the meeting, "Nelly McLung" was brought to life in a skit presented by Mrs. Murray McRae as Mrs. McLung and Mrs, Gordon Robson, as the interviewer. A second skit was the story of the first U.C. woman minister, ordained in 1936, Rev. Lydia Grouchy, played by Mrs. Llyle Harrison, as Lydia and Mrs. Tom Lanceley as the interviewer. Those taking part were guests of the region from Vanneck & Ivan UCW's. Mrs. Marie Campbell, president of Ailsa Craig UCW thanked all those who helped make the regional successful and invited the member groups to meet in Ailsa Craig United Church in 1976. •Presbyterial president, Mrs. M. E. Comfort, spoke to the members advising them of, various events on Presbyterial and Conference level, par- ticularly Westminster Weekend, May 30, 31 and June 1. Mrs. A. B. Kilb find MrS. Marshall Dearing presented a publicity skit regarding Alma College School for Women in August, which ended with Mrs. Dearing rushing off to pack her suitcase! The delegates from the region to attend these two events are Mable Yorke, Parkhill UCW to Westminster and Mary ' Scott, • Clandeboye UCW to Alma. Winners in the banner com- petition for the Presbyterial were Mrs. G. E. Elliott, Lambeth, first prize, who will be the guest of Middlesex Presbyterial at Alma. Second prize went to Mrs. Andrew Morton of Mt. Brydges who is being sent to Westminster, Closing worship and offeratory were taken by members of Brinsley & Carlisle UCW's respectively. MIDDLESEX PRESBYTERY MEETS -- The annual meeting of the North-West Region of the Middlesex Presbytery United Church Wormer was held in Parkhill recently. Shown admiring the Oxfam exhibit of trading arf and crafts from developing countries are Mrs. M, H. Hodgins acting regional vice president. Mrs. M. E. Comfort, Presbyterial president and Mrs, Basil Romphf, acting president Parkhill UCW. Parkhill Gazette photo Biggest Victoria Day crowd in years enjoyed hot 'sun and sandy beach Victoria Day weekend, traditionally a young people's weekend at Grand Bend, saw the largest crowds in recent years flock to the centre's sandy beaches as hot humid weather with temperatures soaring to 30 degrees Celcius drove everyone from the cities. Althoughmost accommodations were booked ahead with reser- vations, the impact of the SECOND SECTION weekend was not realized until Friday afternoon when camping enthusiasts jammed kical parks ahead of schedule, Friday evening the main street was busy as those who came to Grand Bend for the night life gathered, Saturday, Sunday and Monday were all record •days at Grand Bend. The beach was filled to capacity each day as the sun rose to its heights although those enjoying the water did so a little timidly due to the chilly tem- peratures. Business places in Grand Bend were very busy all three days and one place of business reported a 100 percent increase over the same weekend last year when less favourable weather was experienced. A quick survey of business places indicated that it was indeed one of the best THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE Weekends in recent years. Chamber of Commerce manager Tom Webster termed the weekend "tremendous," lie said business was good with the crowd .behaving themselves, He credited the presence and action of the Grand Bend Ontario Provincial Police with keeping the crowds under control. Mr. Webster mentioned that Grand Bend was featured on the national news from coast-to-coast in a good light. Mr, Webster mentioned that the new Chamber of Commerce informnation chalet was open weekends until June 2. He also said that the official program for the Buffaloburger Fest was now available at the Chamber office, just behind the Public Utilities Commission office. GRAND BEND • AND DISTRICT NEWS EXETER, ONTARIO, MAY 29, 1975. FLEA MARKET — A popular spot in Grand Bend each Sunday is the Pinery Flea Market located three miles south of Grand Bend on Highway No. 21, The market has' a different theme featured each Sunday. T-A photo VMEMOTAVASONFEWPMENAEREICON The village of Grand Bend will negotiate with the Lambton County Planning and Develop- ment Committee and the owners of the Eisenbach Museum in Grand Bend to determine if the museum would fall under the guidelines set for the provincial legislation covering Historic Conservation Areas. Reeve Bob Sharen suggested that the museum was an asset to Grand Bend and the legislation might help the community maintain the museum for the future. It is now owned and Don Reid, consultant with the Ministry of Culture and Recreation, discussed the future roles of the Grand Bend Recreation Committee at the May meeting on Wed- nesday night. Mr. Reid stressed that it was important to set down the aims and objectives of the committee. This will not only give members an idea of what fellow members feel is important but will give the committee a basic outline of its purpose to impart to council and other interested groups. The recreation committee, Mr. Reid said, is actually an arm of council to deal with the public exclusively in matters of recreation. "People will approach the committee, usually looking for money," said Mr. Reid. "People have a stereotyped idea of the duties of a recreation committee and tend to think you are at their said the reeve, "But we have to start some serious thinking about parking and traffic." The reeve suggested that the overhead parking garage could provide a roof for the firehall and other municipal offices in the area of the old firehall. Councillor Harold Green thought that the short season in Grand Bend might cause a financing problem and it was suggested that the parking building could be used for boat storage in the off-season, Reeve Sharen explained that the mall idea needed some operated privately. Councillor Harold Green agreed that the museum was a big drawing card for the community and all efforts should be made to insure it remains in Grand Bend in the future. The village received an ap- plication from SWEEP, a provincial program entitled Students Working in Environ- mental Enhancement Program, asking if the village had any projects. It was decided to apply to have the area along the north boundary of the dump cleaned up. Papers and other debris blowing out of the dump have created a problem. Councillor Bill Baird also mentioned that snow fence was to be installed along the wire fence in the area to contain the blowing material within the dump itself. Prosper Van Bruaene and Cam Chapman of the Grand Bend Public Utilities Commission appeared before council to in- form them that details regarding an agreement for Maintenance work in Thedford had been premature, The PUC had done some work for Thedford and hoped an agreement could be reached but as yet nothing definite has been settled. Answering a query from the Lambton County building in- spector, council agreed to stick with the existing legislation Which restricted buildings to an area 50 percent of the lot size for residential and 'Al percent of the lot size for commercial, Building permits will be issued up to that limit as long As alterations or improvements do not encroach any further on the lot lines. Council read and approved a copy of a property leaSe for Manore Marine Limited. The lease will be sent to the firm with beck and call. Many people think of recreation in terms of hockey and baseball but you must not forget the senior citizens, women, and the middle aged." Mr. Reid gave each of the members a questionnaire to complete at their leisure and suggested that at a future meeting the results be tabulated to give the committee an overall picture of its attitude towards many of the subjects which will be encountered. The Grand Bend recreation committee learned Wednesday night that a grant of 25 percent of the $8,000 purchase price 'of the park near the Legion Hall may be available through the Ministry of Community and, Social Services. The park was purchased by Grand. Bend council almost three years ago and has been used for many purposes including a soccer pitch. thinking but in his opinion, it would solve two problems, motorcycles and cruising, im- mediately. He said that each intersecting street would have to be kept open and the mall area would have to be opened every morning for service vehicles as is done in other communities. A suggestion that all the in- tersecting streets be one way met opposition from councillor Green. He felt the streets one-way off the main street would receive un- bearable amounts of traffic while the streets onto the main street would have little traffic. suggested it would be a good idea to have portable toilets on the site for the two days. "You're going to have a good crowd even if there's a snowstorm," suggested coun- cillor Baird in making the recommendation. Councillor Robert Simpson reported briefly on a meeting of the 'Sarnia-Lambton Tourist Council which he attended. He outlined the adVantages of sending information for inclusion in a booklet made up by the council listing all events in the county, If events are known three months ahead, they may still be included in the council's promotion although they would be too late for inclusion in the booklet. Councillor Harold Green reported that council will be applying for a grant on the purchase of property for the park near the Legion Hall, Work at the bath house, the men's washroom and the docks were also discussed under councillor Green's report, Buoys will be purchased to rope off the swimming area and the owner of a fish tug parked at the dock will be notified regarding moving it, In his report, deputy-reeve Rollie Grenier praised the village works crew, as doing a "great job". He mentioned that road patching had taken place and the village was in good shape. Council will approach 'bo'utiques' at the casino regarding a charge for garbage pickup. Council felt that these commercial establishments should be covered under the town's policy for charging for garbage pickup in fairness to the other commercial egtablish- rnents already assessed. Consultant advises recreation group Despite the big crowds around the Bend on the weekend, all was quiet, or at least relatively so. One of the reasons was probably the presence of the boys in blue under the direction of Sgt. B. F. Burch, 'CO' at the Grand Bend OPP detachment this year. I dropped into chat with Sgt. Burch last Thursday as he was busy preparing for the first big weekend of the summer. For the past two years, Sgt. Burch has been stationed at the Belle River detachment. The sergeant is a `no nonsense' type with a tough job to do and he's determined his tenure in Grand Bend will be a peaceful one. He invited the public to call into the OPP station, located next to Grand Bend municipal office, and get to know the 'people helpers.: "We need the full co-operation of everyone," said Sgt. Burch. He said three of his officers stationed at the detachment during the summer have been trained f in marine patrol and anytime a special event involving the water is coming up, a patrol will be carried out. Talking to a - couple of policemen walking the beat on Grand Bend's main street, I got the distinct impression they held their sergeant in high regard. Asked if any trouble was an- ticipated at the Bend, they both answered negatively and they believed it. + + + BITS 'N' PIECES . . Last week, under a photo I mentioned that the Chamber tourist chalet would be open later this month. In fact it went into operation for the Victoria Day weekend . . . Did you notice (how could you miss it) the picture on the front page of the Free Press Monday morning. I think I missed the point of it. If that's the type of pictures they want though, I'm throwing a party Saturday night . . Fans of the fiddle should reserve June 20- 21 for the Hensall Kinsmen fifth annual Ontario Fiddlers Contest. The contest was actually started 25 years ago but after being dropped for a few years, was started up in 1971 by the Kin- smen . . . Bingo, bingo, bingo! If Iry Shuster of Toronto can get things together, those words might be 'ringing out across Grand Bend's main street later this summer. Iry purchased the former BP station across from the M & R Shoppe and hopes to run a nightly bingo in the Bend. He currently has a similar operation at Wasaga Beach but will be opting for Grand Bend once things are set up. The bingo will be held on weekends during the nice weather in the spring and fall as well as nightly during July and August.... Will the main street of Grand Bend eventually become a pedestrian mall closed to vehicular traffic? The possibility was suggested at Tuesday night's meeting of Grand Bend village council. Reeve Bob Sharen indicating that the parking situation in Grand Bend was becoming desperate, suggested an overhead parking garage to the east of the traffic lights with the main .street completely closed off to traffic, at least part of the distance to the beach. "This is actually premature," Mall, overhead parking suggestions for traffic a time limit of 14 days for signing. Reeve Bob Sharen reported receiving a letter from MPP John A. MacDonald regarding the burning of leaves. The letter referred specifically to the Environmental Protection Act. Mr. Sharen suggested that the act forbid burning anything which would create a nuisance but wondered who would enforce the act. He suggested that perhaps the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Ministry of the Environment would be respon- sible . Bert Albertson, chairman of the Grand Bend Chamber of Commerce Buffaloburger Fest committee, appeared before council to discuss potential problems which may arise during the Fest June 13-14. The main item of concern was garbage and a suitable solution was agreed to, The Chamber will insure that garbage is placed in plastic bag containers and the village will provide a truck to remove the accumulated debris on Saturday morning and again later in the weekend. Mr, Albertson outlined that parking will be in the east end of the village, centering around the Legion Hall, with three tractor drawn wagons to provide tran- sportation to and from the tent site at the beach. He soothed fears expressed by councillor Harold Green by stating that all beer in the tent would be poured from the bottles into paper cups and the area for consuming would be controlled. "We're trying to make this a family day and we want good control,"said Mr, Albertson, Although the site, with existing washroom facilities, has been approved by the Liquor Control Board, councillor Bill Baird, Efforts are being made to solve any drainage problems caused by dredging of the old river bed in Grand Bend. Don Southcott of Southcott Pines Limited appeared before Grand Bend village council Tuesday night in response to communications from council, Mr, Southcott explained that the firm was claiming ownership of the river bed under an old deed but at the present time was only claiming to the waterline, not including land on the shores. The waterline, however, was changed by the dredging according to Mr. Southcott. He said the firm had spent about $30,000 on im- provements to the river and' would resist' any encroachments on ownership. Prior to 'dredging the riverbed, Mr. Southcott said he had con- sulted with the village and with the Ausable Conservation Authority. We didn't go in there irresponsibly," said Mr. South- cott. He stated that the firm has made every effort to solve problems which may have been caused by the dredging and requested co-operation from property owners and council in informing the firm of difficulties. "If people are having problems, we will help them Eisenbach museum may qualify as historic grant site every way we can," said Mr. Southcott, "We will not go to unlimited means but we will make every effort to be fair." Mr. Southcott said his firm would honour any existing drains but felt that anyone wanting to install a drain should receive their permission since it was draining onto their property. "We don't want septic tank effluent and we feel we may need some help in this regard," said Mr. Southcott. He said that there was a large amount of phosphate causing problems. The firm is treating the phosphate problem chemically although they fear a reaction from chemical treat- ment. Mr. Southcott said the river had been dredged to a depth of nine to ten feet Where possible and to "a minimum of six feet for a 'Forward theme at Together' U.C.W. distance of a mile and a quarter, from Lake Roadto ,the dam. He said Southcott Pines were con- sidering methods of raising the level of the river to provide a flushing action by removing part of the dam at certain times. "We will control the use of the river," said Mr. Southcott, "allowing canoes but no power boats due to the possible pollution problems from oil and gas in the slow moving water and also due to possible erosion from the wash of power boats." Mr. Southcott suggested that the firm was considering pum- ping water into the river from the lake but the cost was "staggering". Reeve Bob Sharen stated that it was obvious that'Southeett Pines- were aware of the problem of drainage and were acting on it.