HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-03-04, Page 1Heavy ice bends branches to breaking point
OhteferZimesaborafe
Downed branches must be cleared from streets
Storm slams Exeter area,
power cut all day Wednesday
most of the old trees, laden with
tons of ice, were partially or
completely felled.
Most homes were without heat
and the temperatures hovered
around 45 degrees inside. Many
elderly people had to be moved
into houses where there was
either a fireplace or a stove.
Many local businesses closed
Wednesday because of lack of
hydro.
The roads were hazardous
It's had. bad, bad.
The carnage that's left in the
wake of the worst ice storm to hit
this district in years is almost
unbelievable.
Most area residents could
scarcely believe their eyes when
they woke Wednesday morning to
view the damage and destruction
surrounding them.
Telephone and hydro lines are
a tangled maze, and one report
stated about 3b hydro poles were
down between Exeter and Hen-
son.
Heavily hit were hundreds of
trees that were either stripped of
most of their upper brandies or
came crashing down in their
entirety. At press time, reports
were coming in about several
homes that had been damaged by
falling trees.
The scene at Victoria Park,
Exeter, was heart-breaking as
from ice and fallen trees that fell
on hydro wires, or blrked the
streets.
Hydro crews, working round
the clock and with the help of
crews from Goderich and Clinton
were ,hopeful of getting hydro
restored, However, at press time
the Exeter PUC could not
promise when that would be. It is
estimated damage in the area
will amount to hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
One Hundred and Third Year Price Per Copy 25 Cents EXETER, ONTARIO, MARCH 4, 1976
Eleventh hour reprieve for Clinton Hospital
.. At 10 a.m. Wednesday morn- Advocate from Toronto to report
ing, Jack Riddell MPP for Huron he had met with Frank Miller,
County, telephoned the Times- Minister of Health, earlier in the
morning.
_Ile said Miller has agreed not to
close Clintpn Hospital if the other
hospital boards in the area will
all accept cutbacks.
No final decision
on arena . yet
..Mr. Riddell said it seems to be
an alternative that could be lived
with in this time of restraint,
„"It's as close to being a reality
as possible that no hospital in our
area will have to go", he stated.
..Another meeting will be called
for Friday for all hospital boards
involved. "Now is the time for
them to show unity," said Mr.
Riddell,
..Tuesday night, Huron County
Ilospital administrators, and
chairmen met in a closed session
but failed to take a unified stand
against the closure of the Clinton
hospital.
—Huron medical officer, Dr.
Frank Mills, said part of the
problem was that hospital spoke-
sman attending the meeting were
not prepared to make the
decision unless their own hospital
boards approved it.
Another reason was the weath-
er. Because of the ice storm
representatives from Seaforth,
and Exeter were unable to
attend.
..Since the Clinton hospital
closure was announced by the
province February 19, there has
been no statement from the other
four hospitals in Exeter, Sea-
forth, Wingham and Goderieh.
.. However, several members of
the Exeter board have indicated
they could live with cutbacks
South Huron Hospital if it meant
keeping Clinton open.
Davis, Kells propose
radios to cut costs
lengths that they operate on are
crowded with motorists talking,
CB sets also have a shorter range
then the two way sets, and the
PUC and Works Department
would have their own, exclusive,
wave length.
Council agreed to pass the
motion on to Councillor Ted
Wright, chairman of the works
committee.
A proposal for the installation
of two way radios in PUC and
works department trucks was
made to council Monday night by
Hugh DaVids, manager of the
PUC and 'Glen Kells, works'
department foreman.
Both Kells and Davis felt that
the radios are not a luxury, but
more a cost cutting, efficiency
method.
They both claimed that in the
end the installation would save
the town money.
Kells said that if someone is
trying to find him when he is on a
work site, and moving about from
job to job, it often takes them an
hour to catch up with him.
The system would have a base
station in the town hall with
possibly two "desk on" sets at the
PUC and Works Department
offices. This would allow trans-
missions from office to office and
from truck to truck.
The total cost of the system
based on 50 per cent of the base
station, with a desk on and four
receivers in trucks would come to
$5,180.
Davis drew up some rudi-
mentary figures, which he said
could be 50 per cent out that show
that the system would save about
$17,000 over five years, the period
of ammortization. •
The savings would come from
the greater efficiency because of
better communications.
Men would not be left standing
at a job site because of problems
that needed his or Kell's
supervision, or because they had
to return to pick up tools that they
did not expect to use but found
they needed.
It would also reduce transpor-
tation costs because of more
direct instructions and less
running around.
One of the biggest savings, said
Davis, would be in the rental of
heavy equipment which would
not be standing idle while crews
awaited instructions. Front -end
loaders now cost $15 or more per
hour.
The proposal suggested a cost
sharing plan and sharing the
same wave length for both
departments.
The suggestion that Citizen
Band radios be used was rejected
because, as Reeve Derry Boyle
said, the CB bands have become
a "real nightmare."
CB sets have become popular
in automobiles and the wave
Dr. Fletcher.
marks 50th
year of service
He said that more people use
the swimming pool in Riverview
Park during the summer then the
arena in the winter, and an indoor
facility would be of prime
interest to the entire area since
the nearest indoor pools are in
Vanastra or London.
Bogart countered his proposal
for use of the arenas of other
communities saying that Huron
park, Hensall and Zurich can't
give them full ice time. He said
that Exeter minor hockey teams
would be forced to play at late
times and practice would be
hampered.
He added that it would cost the
EMHA about $800 a week to ship
its players out.
Bogart received support for
this from the youngest speaker of
the night, Bruce Shaw Jr., son of
the Mayor.
The younger Shaw, who admit-
ted being a hockey enthusiast,
said an "arena is something we
all need." Despite the fact that
players maybe able to get rides to
out of town games all the time, he
continued, many would be
"dropping out of hockey".
Claiming a swimming pool to be a
luxury, he concluded by saying
"the sooner we get an arena the
better off the town will be."
His father, obviously proud but
embarassed, said that he had
nothing to do with his son's
statements.
Reeve Walter MacBride, of
Stephen Township, and Murray
Dawson from 'Osborne Council
intimated preliminary support
from their two councils for a new
arena,
MacBride felt that three
council could get along together
and come to some terms" for a
new project. He feels that the old
arena "has served its time" and
that a new facility should be built.
Dawson echoed his sentiments,
claiming that "Exeter needs an
arena" and that all three councils
"should get off our butts".
Council's appointment of the.
SHRCC as the fund raising body
created some confusion.
Stephens wanted to know what
he was raising funds for. He said
that since there was no firm
decision, he did not know what to
collect for.
Shaw, who made the move to
appoint the committee, said that
they would need at least two or
three weeks to formulate fund
raising plans by which time a
decision will have been' made.
Andy De Boer, one of the
interested rate payers who
packed the gallery became the
first official donator when he lept
up and said "here's your first
$10.00" and thrust a bill into
Stephens' hands.
Stephens shocked council later
in the meeting when he asked
that council move to close the old
building permanently and re-
move the roof.
Council was momentarily
shocked at the request, and
Harold Patterson asked what he
wanted, in reference to the roof
removal.
(photo by Doerr,
DR. M. C. FLETCHER
People and events
Lack of hydro slows production
area no guarantee could be
given when the hydro would be
turned on.
Fifty years ago, Saturday,
March 6, 1926, a young doctor was
called to Exeter to temporarily
take charge of the practise of Dr.
Hugh llyndman, who had died
suddenly that morning.
..That young man decided to
stay, has served this community
ever since and endeared himself
to his hundreds of patients.
.. His name, Dr. Malcolm Camp-
bell Fletcher. has become a
household word,
.. For years, he conducted a
private hospital over the office
which he still uses and hundreds
of babies made their arrival into
the world there.
.. Dr, Fletcher's territory cover-
ed areas surrounding Exeter as
far away as Cromarty, Staffa,
Kirkton, Rnsseldale, Centralia
and Shipka. Many of his calls
were made, in the early years, in
a horse and cutter during the
winter,
_Throughout World War II, he
and Dr. G..1, Dunlop and the aged
Dr. Browning were the only
doctors in town. It was not
uncommon for Dr. Fletcher to
pot in many a 24 hour day, and to
work a seven day week during
that period.
At present, Dr. Fletcher and
his wife, Marion, are holidaying
in Texas. They have three
children, Mrs. Mary Neal,
Thornhill, Mrs, carol Baltatine,
California, and Bob Fletcher,
Exeter.
If this week's edition of the
Times-Advocate looks a little
different this week it is because
much of the , typesetting and
paste-up was done through the
courtesy of the St, Marys
.journal-Argus.
Without electricity it is im-
possible to publish a newspaper
and because Of the severe
damage to power lines in the
Thanks to the cooperative
staff at St, Marys and to many
Of the T-A people who worked
above and beyond the call of
duty the paper will reach our
readers hours sooner than it
might have otherwise.
Council took no further action
on the arena at Monday night's
meeting, preferring to continue
to test reactions of the public who
were again allowed to speak to
the issue at the meeting.
Mayor Bruce Shaw said that
council should take a four step
plan towards solving the prob-
lem, by examining the engineer-
ing reports, meeting with repre-
sentatives of both 'Osborne and
Stephen Townships, setting a
date for a decision and then
coming to a final decision on
whether or not a new facility
should be built or the old one
repaired.
The only firm action taken was
the appointing of the South Huron
Recreation Complex Committee
as the official fund raising body
for whatever project is decided
,
John Stephens, chairman of the
SHRCC corrected council on their
terming the new facility an
arena.. He said that they are
considering a new facility, not
necessarily an arena, but what
that facility will be has yet to be
determined said Mr. Stephens.
Reeve Derry Boyle again
voiced his opposition to the new
arena plan, saying he would
never approve the site picked out
by the SHRCC and Cambrian
Facilities Counsultants,
"I'm concerned about this
deal" Boyle continued, mention-
ing that he had looked at the new
Kincardine arena, which he said
was running short of funds.
"I'm not anti-arena, I'm anti
burdening the taxpayer" he
continued and then expressed
sympathy for the Senior citizens
and pensioners if a new arena is
built.
Boyle questioned the priorities
of council if they went on and
built a new arena while neglect-
ing 'the 10 miles of sidewalks he
said are needed, as well as road
repair and storm and sanitary
sewer installation.
He would "die happy if I died at
the arena" but he doubts he will
see a new facility in his lifetime.
Rob Bogart countered that
opinon, saying that Boyle would
live to see the day that a new
arena would be built.
Bogart spent the past weekend
taking what he called a "straw
vote" of the people in his
neighborhood, business men and
Lions club members. This was
coupled with a similar survey
done by Mrs. Alberta Gregson.
Bogart said that he did not
select one group of people, but
that his survey had a wide base
and was "completely unbiased".
Of the the 96 people that he talked
to, Bogart said that 88 were in
favor of a new arena, five were
opposed and three were undecid-
ed. Of that 96 he said, 70 people
expressed a willingness to cont-
ribute financially to such a
project.
The overwhelming majority of
the 176 people surveyedb yM r s
Gregson expressed their support
for the new arena.
Bogart went on to say that he
had "firm offers for sizeable
donations" particularly from the
businessmen that he contacted.
"We've gotta have something"
he said, adding that other "small
towns have done it. Why not
gamble a little."
Peter Aunger, another high
school teacher, pointed out that
there are seven other arenas in
the area that could provide a
service to Exeter.ilissuggerstion
was to build an indoor swimming
pool that would be used all year
long by a more diversified group
of people.
REDUCING THE WIDTH OF SUBDIVISION ROADS from
66 feet to 50 feet was one of the suggestion that came out of
the Good Roads Convention, said Councillor Bob Simpson,
The idea came from John Rhodes, and would affect new
subdivisions only, older ones retaining the same road width.
Simpson also said that grant money for road construction is
near the end, with a little more than two per cent being held
back for emergency conditions,
STUDENTS AND STAFF at Centralia College of
Agricultural Technology are busy these days preparing for
Activities '76 slated for Thursday, March 11.
FRED SIMMONS, JR. AND GAIL JOSEPHSON are the two
members of RAP, after their appointment at the lagt council
meeting. le
A PETITION is being circulated in this area opposing the
retirement at Monday night's council meeting when he said
ext year when I am a private citizen." Boyle requested a
organizations under 25 members, and $25 for those With more
letter be sent to the Ministry of Labor to see if it was possible
than 25.
to open the arena for two to three days for the fall fair,
Association for the Mentally Retarded, Convenor, Anne
Cann is selling the memberships for $5 per family, $10 to
REEVE DERRY HO LE again hinted at his plans for
copies can be obtained by calling him at 526-7251,
"n
R.R. 2, Clinton says he has 1,600 signatures so far, Extra
MEMBERSHIP CANVAS IS ON 'for the South Huron
provincial government's seatbelt legislation, Ray Hanna,
--2