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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-11-25, Page 3HICKS A. COUNCILLOR X Re-Elect HICKS The man who is concerned about all the ratepayers in Exeter. A man who has the time and experience. JACK TINNEY VOTERS OF HAY TOWNSHIP Re-elect Reeve Jack Tinney With 14 years of continuous service to the municipality, two as Reeve, I solicit your continued support. If re-elected I will serve all ratepayers in a fair and conscientious manner. RE-ELECT CLARENCE "KING" McDONALD TO Huron County Board of Education representing Exeter, Stephen, Usborne Eight years experience on Huron County Board of Education. Thirty years business in Exeter For Continued Responsible Representation The Management and Staff of your Exeter Chainway Store Invite you to pre-xmas shopping Wed. Dec. 1 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. 10% Discount on all purchases The last 12 years as your reeve have been spent working for the benefit of all the citizens. Before my retirement, I gladly gave up my yearly vacation to at- tend county council sessions on your behalf. Therefore I am willing to continue to be a full time mayor and be available to serve you the ratepayers of Exeter to the best of my ability. I will always be willing to listen to problems, and with council's help endeavor to solve as many as possible. Recreation costs must not be allowed to escalate any higher. With many years in various recreation ac- tivities, I feel that I can keep a grip on this. There will be cost factors in the next two years that will be very hard to contain but every effort must be made to minimize these. Many more problems wiil arise but I am sure with co- operation of everyone these will be resolved. I therefore seek your support on Dec. 6th in electing me your mayor. With thanks, C.E. (Derry) BOYLE The three new candidates for Exeter council seats found only a few Ronson which to differ with the sitting members when they spoke at Wednesday's ratepayers' meeting at the Exeter• Public School, Less than 50 people attended the event. Ken Ottewell, who is seeking a seat after a four-year absence, said he wouldn't he running if he didn't have some concerns over decisions made in the past two years. He was particularly critical of council's lack of decisiveness in the matter of the old town hall, He said the continual changing of position by council helped to create controversy and a lack of confidence. He complimented the Exeter and Area Heritage Foundation for their work in saving the hall, although he admitted he didn't have much enthusiasm for an- No issues surfaced. between Exeter's mayoralty candidates at Wednesday night's ratepayers' meeting at the public school, Incumbent Bruce Shaw and challenger Derry Boyle, in fact, indicated it would be a friendly, battle and the latter suggested that Shaw had done a good job in his two-year stint, Boyle said his main reasons for seeking the top post were to fulfill his political aspirations of being mayor of his home town and his contention that the top spdt should be contested. Shaw said that two years ago, one of his main platforms was to get as many people involved as possible in community work and he pointed to the town hall and street numbering committees as Only one candidate for the Huron Board of Education at- tended Wednesday night's ratepayer meeting in Exeter. In addressing the audience, Margaret McClure said the position as trustee was too im- portant to fall by default and said she was among these who were concerned about what was going on in the schools. "I would like to see the parents better informed and allowed to take a bigger part in what is taught," she said. She expressed several con- , cerns, saying that attitudes of teachers were poor in that they allowed spelling mistakes and sloppy work from the students. She also questioned the practice of turning students loose at 2:00 p.m, and in providing supplies to them. She said they would be more responsible if they had to purchase some items. The Stephen woman also complained that teachers turned a deaf ear to foul language from students. Mrs. McClure also questioned the vast amount of homework handed out by teachers, saying it left no time for family or church life and she was critical of the fact that vast SUMS of money were spent on uniforms for top athletes and that physical education was not mandatory. She concluded by saying that while she was a teacher, the important role of a teacher was never fully realized until she tique buildings. "But I admire the way they (the Foundation) have carried on," he said. Ottweell also suggested there was a need for more fiscal responsibility on the part of council. He said total cost of projects should be known before they are started and he suggested it was a lack of responsibility which resulted in council hiring a planner to undertake updating the official plan and then firing that planner. "We can't spend like millionaires with public funds," he said. The SHDHS teacher said it would be important to get proper programs operating at the new' recreation centre so people will be enthusiastic. It was suggested the board administering the centre be composed similar to the Exeter Area Fire Board. He said council should try and •two areas where this had been successful. He also told the small audience that he felt he had fulfilled his promise to be a spokesman who could articulate the policies and bring credit to the town. It was noted that he always voiced the opinions of council, even though he did not always agree with the decisions made. In the area of planning, the Mayor said that dust and pot holes had not been a problem this year due to the new road program and he pointed to the sanitary sewer, water tower and Usborne wells programs as projects which had been com- pleted. He told the ratepayers that storm sewers would constitute a position was on'the move to have all hydro billed at one rate. The questioner noted that he was concerned about such a move because he owns an electrically heated home. He also wondered what the position of the Ontario Municipal Electrical Association was on the same matter. Mr. Greene is a vice-president of that group. . However, Greene failed to answer the question, asking PUC manager Hugh Davis to undetake the task. The latter said he would' be "second guessing" if he made a comment at the present time. He said he had not formulated an opinion as yet. became a Mother. Exeter Public School principal. Jim Chapman had several questions for Mrs. McClure and started out by advising her that she should not make sweeping condemnations of all schools and all teachers. He said she preface such remarks with the word "some". He wanted to know her position on the matter of the present difference between grants for elementary and secondary schools ($1,080 for elementary and $1,500 for secondary), the teacher-pupil ratio (23 to 1 for elementary and 17 to 1 for secondary) and also where she stood on the matter of the EPS addition. Mrs. McClure said she was sympathetic to the EPS addition plans but noted that Fluron had been thrifty in the past and had been caught when ceilings were placed on budgets. She said the teacher-pupil ration depended on who was included in the figures and noted that many secondary school classes contained as many as 40 pupils. She said, however, that a lower ratio was desired in the elementary classes, In the matter of grants, She explained that the elementary School was the foundation of the education system and spending should reflect the fact that a good foundation was needed. "I would like to see the gap closed," she remarked. major part of the work of the future, as well as organizing the operation of the new South Huron Recreation Centre. It was cost to the taxpayers. completed without any capital predicted that project would be Shaw suggested that it would be a "hard decision" in coming up with a plan for the formation of an area recreation committee. He concluded by saying he was still enthusiastic and had much to offer the citizens of the com- munity, adding that he felt his contribution in the past had been valuable, Boyle also commented on recreation, noting that he had been among the first to help organize opportunities for young people in town. He said recreation would have to be reorganized and indicated he would back a "hold the line" policy in this regard. He listed some of his ac- complishments in his 14 years' service, noting he had helped in Exeter's original official plan, had represented the community at county council and had pushed for the town's new administration offices. In reference to the latter, he said he was very proud of the new facilities. The Present Reeve remarked that he had helped cut some red tape for people at the county level and had always fought for Veter's interests. The audience was told that while he considered them in his deliberations, he couldn't realist,"lie said,noting that'there couldn't help but be tax increases as long as wages and materials continued to increase. However, he said he would strive for a minimal increase of from one to five mills. In closing, -Boyle said he 'was available to the community on a — Please turn to Page 5 The third newcomer, Steven Pfaff, commended council for the job they had done in the past, terming it a "thankless job" but one he felt the elected officials had conducted to the best of their abilities. His main condemnation was for the lack of interest on the part of the ratepayers. "We're all guilty, because we don't give a damn," he said, adding that the hall should have been pakced for the event. He said it was important for people to know what was going on in their community 'and they should pull together, The SHDHS student concluded by noting that some may consider him too young or lacking in ex- perience, but he said he wanted his youth to be on council "because I'm going to live here a long time". The sitting members outlined some of the contributions they have made over the past two years and looked at areas that would require their attention in the years ahead. Councillor Barb tell noted that many tough decisions had been made in the past two years and explained that there must be a balance between the desires and wants of the community as against the essentials "if the town is to remain a place where people can afford to live". "The taxes can only go so high," she said. Mrs. Bell advised there was a heavy backlog of work to be done on drains, roads and sidewalks and said these would strain the resources in the next few years. "We must look at priorities and we must get the best results possible," she concluded. The other female member of council, Lossy Fuller, said that two years ago she had noted that council work was complex business. "The work of the past two years has made that an un- derstatement," she said, noting that veteran members have in- dicated the past two years were the most hectic in Exeter for some time. "We matured quickly," the local housewife said, Mrs. Fuller opined that the decision to move the ad- ministration offices to the former post office had been a wise decision, but at the same time she paid tribute to the Heritage Foundation for their determined efforts to save the old town hall. She also suggested that the decision regarding the rec centre location had been made on the basis of an extensive study by the committee and she said anyone looking at the project underway would probably agree it should not have been moved any further to the west. "As a "hockey mom" she paid tribute to the people who have given of their time for the project and also to those who had been generous in their donations. Looking ahead, Mrs. Fuller said drains and roads would have to to be given priority, as well as a completion of the updating of the official plan. It was also noted that . council should back the merchants in their plan to replied in accepting the apology. "Anyone who does anything makes mistakes," he told MacMillan and added that while he always fought hammer and tong he never made bad friends over an issue. "If I did that, I wouldn't have any friends in the country at all," he mused, redevelop the downtown. "They are trying to help themselves and this attitude must prevail," she commented noting that council could not look after all the needs of the community on their own. She concluded her remarks by calling on all citizens to take a more active part in the work of the community in the future than most have in the past. Garnet Hicks decried the amount of work that could not be undertaken without approval from the senior levels of government and also the long time waiting for those approvals. As chairman of the sanitation committee, he said it was a very frustrating job attempting to meet ministry standards and also overcoming the problem with people smashing the dump gates or dumping refuse at the road. He predicted that the dump could be closed at any time and it would be very costly to find an alternative method of waste disposal. He noted it already cost $40,000 a year. Hicks also said major ex- penditures would be faced in installing drains to halt problems at the north end and in the Thomas-Marlboro Street areas. Noting that he had made headlines recently regarding his suggestion for more closed meetings, he reiterated his stand that council should have more committee-of-the-whole sessions. "It's wonderful what comes out of those meetings," he said, Harold Patterson made only brief comments, saying that in the past two years he may have said too much. He predicted the problemg with RAP (of which he was a member) will be over- come, The other member of council, Ted Wright, indicated he had finally decided to run again because he believes in the town. He noted that several con- troversies had arisen in the past two years, but in each case he had attempted to set priorities and had placed himself in the other fellow's position when making decisions. The senior member among the councillors he expalined that inflation was eating away at the return on tax dollars, but noted the community had to be com- petitive with others to attract industrial and residential growth. Wright suggested that area municipalities would have to look at the idea of sharing services and ideas in the future to take full advantage of the tax dollars they spend. "We must get the best benefits possible for the tax dollars spent," he concluded, adding that he would let the work of the past speak for him, • • • • • • • • • • • • • • MT. CARMEL • 237-3456 • Times-Advocate, November 25, 1976 Page $ Few issues surface in council race Past two years were busiest ever In 1975 and 1976, the Exeter $356,000 provided the town with a PUC was faced with the largest system equal to any in the capital and operating ex- province. penditures since the inauguration He outlined several areas of the Utility, chairman R.E. where new mains had been fai, Pooley reported at last week's stalled and noted the Utility ratepayers' meeti, „grated on a self-sustaining Included in 4fie 141yded,c,texivh -- k;s7.44;e5tverage daily cost for penditures were theqiirst coma,'-;wa ter is igoents,per day. pletely undergrimd idistribution, Greene said, that profits fro system in the Riverview tstateS; thelvaterdePartmentwould help major extensions and recon- pay some of the cost of struction on several streets and developing the Usborne wells and Only one candidate for board appears help RAP overcome their annual financial difficulty, adding that while he did not know the reason for the problem, said it may be due to the fact RAP didn't set out priorities or that council may expect too much for too little. Ben Hoogenboom, attempting to return to council after being ,defeated in a fight for the reeve's chair two years ago: said he was not in agreement with the decision to lay off recreation director Jim McKialaY , He was also critical of council's "fast decision" regarding the rezoning of land at the north end from industrial to commercial. He said he was not in agreement with that decision. The local florist said he had come up with some new ideas during his two-year absence from council and felt he could be an asset as he was when a member before. Mayor's contest is friendly, give recreation low priority the improvement of street this would reduce the amount to promise to reduce taxes. "I'm a lighting, be debentured. Also taking a toll on the budget "The Commission has con- were the March ice storm and the tinued its effort to maintain a July wind storm. reliable, safe and efficient water Mr. Pooley said that while the works system and trusts that its PUC have had material costs of customers have been satisfied," several hundred percent in the he concluded. last few years, the cost of power Ratepayer Jim Chapman to local consumers has only in- asked Mr. Greene what his creased 64 percent since 1967. "A very reasonable increase when you compare it with other forms of energy," he said. The daily cost for homeowners is 64 cents, The PUC chairman predicted that if people conserve energy there should be no problem supplying future loads, "We would emphasize that con- servation must be taken seriously," he said. Murray Greene, who gave the water department report, said the new wells in Usborne would provide Exeter with sufficient supply beyond the year 2,000 and he noted that Exeter's 400,000 U.S, gallon tank built at a cost of Tom MacMillan said farewell to Exeter civic affairs last week, noting it was rather coincidental that one of his last chores had been as chairman of a committee to decide the fate of the old arena. He said that one of his first jobs was as a member of the old arena board and the audience was told that in those days the board not only spent money and arranged programs, they also had to raise money because council grants were only received in "panic situations". Service clubs provided many of the funds for recreation and board members took turns selling tickets at the door or working in the canteen to help balance the budget. He listed a number of im- provements made during his term on council, although pointing out he was not taking full credit "but some personal satisfaction in being'associated" with the projects. Included were the town's new public works building, new fire hall, administration offices, many pieces of new equipment such as a fire truck, street sweeper, back hoe and leaf machine. He also pointed to the progress made on storm and sanitary sewers, paving of roads, sidewalks and new street lights. "It cost a few dollars, but pride and convenience are worth a few dollars," he remarked. MacMillan said it was a real privilege to be a member of council and added that Exeter had always been fortunate in the type of people who served in that capacity. In concluding, he apologized to former mayor B.W. Tuckey for remarks made during a recent meeting in which the Deputy- Reeve said that the councils during Tuckey's days had also Made some mistakes. 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