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,
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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.
"I ,couldn't tell you anything
that was wrong," MacMillan
ekplained..
"I can," Mr. Tuckey quickly
Started with arena
and ended with it too
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