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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-04-01, Page 1qhe enferZnicsakwocafe One Hundred and Third. Year Price Per Copy 25 Cents EXETER, ONTARIO, APRIL 1, 1976 Building permit approved, but no lease agreement yet for town hail the lease agreement", the Mayor said. "Otherwise, we are allowing a building permit to be committee, appointed over a year ago by Council to in- vestigate the restoration of the Town Hall, The property committee and citizens group also came closer to agreement with regard to leasing of the building to the Heritage Foundation to facilitate the restoration and fund-raising efforts towards that goal. In an interview with the T-A, At long last, the property committee of Exeter Council has agreed that a building permit be issued to allow shingling of the roof of the old Town Hall to proceed. The decision came at a property committee meeting Tuesday morning with the newly- formed Exeter and District Heritage Foundation, an off- shoot of the ad hoc citizens' issued and then ordering the building to be torn down." Shaw expressed some concern over the problems and delays which have become permanently associated with the renovation project, but felt that both sides were at least a little to blame. He indicated that too much time has been spent on the matter, preventing Council from dealing with other issues affecting the town. "I would hope that Monday night's council meeting will be the last time that we hear about whether the town hall is going to stay up or be torn down", he lamented. The building permit for repairs to the roof automatically lifts a stop-work order that has been placed by Council against the restoration work. It allows work under the LIP grant to proceed and permits a man to begin in- stalling the $500 worth of shingles purchased by the committee. Under terms of the federal LIP grant, workers must put in at least 25 hours a week or the grant can be forfeited. The Heritage Foundation has Until June 26 to complete their renovating under that grant. Several other ftind-raising projects have been planned by the foundation . . . if Council approves the leasing agreement with them, allowing the foun- dation to take over responsibility 4 for restoration of the old Town Hall. ALL GOOD THINGS MUST END — even school holidays. Elizabeth and Angela Cottrell make their way to school Monday morning. To add injury to insult the weather was cold and dreary. Elizabeth and Angela are the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Ron Cottrell, Huron Street, Exeter. T-A photo. More facilities are available A story published recently in the Times-Advocate left readers with the impression that natural childbirth was the only facility available to people who wanted to have their babies in South Huron Hospital. Although epidural anaesthetics are not available at the hospital there are other types that may be used. To be able to give an epidural an anaesthetist must be available at all times and this is not possible in smaller communities where there is no residency program. South Huron Hospital is able to provide some types of anaesthesia that greatly reduce, the pain of childbirth, Mayor Bruce Shaw said that a special meeting of Council was held Tuesday night to go over the terms of the lease and that everyone on council could not agree to ,the terms. The Mayor said that another meeting was scheduled for Thursday night and that he expected some kind of a final decision to be reached. "It seems logical to me for Council to go ahead and approve Exeter PUC approves new five -year budget foreccist Three charged with B and E Exeter PUC approved a five- year capital works forecast Monday at its regular meeting, calling for a $285,000 well to be constructed this year and a $90,000 sub-station to be erected around 1978. Approval of the capital works forecast allows the utility to issue debentures for these two projects when the necessity arises. Exeter PUC has been doing test drilling in Usborne Township and although a specific site h'as not yet been selected, the well is needed by the end of this'yeat to keep up with Exeter's expanding water needs, according to manager Hugh Davis. No definite site has been chosen IT'S MAPLE SYRUP TIME in Bannockburn Conservation Area again and these youngsters from Seaforth are more than happy to help out. From left to right are Maryanne DeJong, Linda. Van Miltenburg and Kim Shanahan looking on. photo by Y. Romaniuk. Ice storm to cost PUC in neighborhood of $19,000 Expenses incurred by the severe ice storm which engulfed the 'Exeter area during the first few 'days of March will cost the Exeter PUC in the neighborhood of $19,000 according to manager, Hugh Davis. The lights went out completely at 2:27 a.m. on Wednesday, March 3 but partial restoration had been made by 6:30 p.m. the following day, By Sunday all homes had been reconnected to service, Davis recounted. Exeter's PUC was assisted by men from the Clinton PUC. Davis said that the men worked all day, not stopping for dinner until it was dark to make optimum use of the daylight hours. Because it is a tight budget year, Mr. Davis suggested that two of nine proposed projects be postponed until 1977, namely a 414 ft. water main extension on Church st. between William and Main and a fire hydrant at the corner of Church and William. Davis told tbe commission that the water service there, although suffering from low pressure, would be alright for another year to allow more necessary projects to be completed, He suggested that if council did not see fit to grant a .zoninw 'change to' the Gregus property at the South end of William St. that the water main extension would probably not be necessary and the utility could go ahead with plans to extend the water main on Church St. The other projects given the go- ahead by the commission are a fire hydrant at the north end of Eastern Avenue, a 270 ft. water main extension on Wellington St. east of Andrew St., replacing a smaller main, a fire hydrant at the east end of Wellington St., and a water main extension of 396 ft, on William St. S. between Nelson and Wellington St. The capital works budget will now go to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for final ap- proval. for the substation either, but Davis said that according to power need forecasts, the sub- station will probably be required by 1978- and on the west side of town. In the original capital forecasts, the cost of erecting a substation has been estimated at $50,000 but that figure has been revised to the present $90,000 based on construction cost estimates by the year 1978. The well which had been scheduled for 1975 was .estimated originally at $273,000 had it been con- structed that year. The PUC also approved a capital waterworks budget for , 1976 at the meeting at a gross cost of $46,931. The net budget, representing the actual cost to the PUC would be $25,572. $19,550 would be repaid to the com- mission by Gib Dow for the in- stallation of a 6 in. ductile iron water main extension on Eastern Ave., north of Pryde Blvd. The extension would be 1,404 ft. and would require 23 services. Another $1,809 , would be returned to the PUC by Gus Gregus for 150 ft. of water main extension on William St. N., south of Alexander. A residential development has been planned there, pending approval by Council for a zoning change. fallen tree limbs. "We could have saved some money if the PUC had radios installed in its trucks", Pooley observed referring to an effort by the commission to purchase radios and have them installed in conjunction with the town's public works department, Davis commented that another time and money saver was the bucket equipment that the commission now owns. "Without that equipment our power would have been out for a week to a week and a half", he said. "The entire town of Exeter should pay tribute to the staff for the way the emergency was handled", Pooley said. Man fined $200 The $19,000 included some repairs to streetlighting, which will eventually be assumed by the town of Exeter whin owns that system. Some costs would also be assumed by Ontario Hydro, but most of the expense will go directly to the PUC for service and equipment repairs to hydro lines and some waterworks equipment. "There may be a few problems out on the lines, but pretty well every thing is back in", Davis observed. PUC chairman, Ted Pooley, commented that continuous yearly pruning by the Exeter Utility probably helped save the town even greater damage from or 20 days in jail Clinton would accept 20 beds D,S. Coventry, administrator of Clinton Public Hospital, said the Hospital Board is "willing to accept" the 20 bed psychiatric unit and six bed health unit of- fered them by the Alexandra Marine and General Hospital in Goderich, "if the Ministry decides to move it," Mr. Coventry was responding 'to a story in the March 20 edition of the London Fre6 Press which quoted Jim Hunter, co-chairman of the Citizen's Action Committee as saying the proposal had been rejected. Mr. Hunter said that the story Two adults and one juvenile was correct, but the headline have been charged by Exeter , which read "Clinton rejects offer' detachment of OPP with break of psychiatric unit" was inac- curate. He said that the CAC had not rejected the proposal,but felt that it was not the best solution. He and his committee still maintains that cut backs in each of the county's five hospitals beds so Clinton Hospital can stay open would be the best remedy. The offer from Goderich is "a step forward" said Mr. Hunter, who said that he is "very pleased with the co-operation shown by Exeter and Seaforth." Both hospitals, he said, have offered to help in any way possible to keep Clinton open. The CAC would like to see Exeter d,nd Seaforth' reduce their budgets for the coming year by $250,000 combined, This,added to $100,000 reductions from both Goderich and Wingham and a $400,000 reduction by 'Clinton itself would make up the $800,000 that would be saved if Clinton is closed. Clinton Hospital is supposed to close its doors by April 1 or as soon as possible thereafter, but they have yet to make any plans for the closing. The CAC has decided to take part in a province wide rally to be staged in Toronto April 3. The CAC hopes to take 500 par- ticipants from the county to the rally. Joseph Elgin Robbins, Seaforth, was fined $200 or 20 days in jail for driving while impaired. Evidence showed his breathilizer reading was 130 mgs. The accused stated he had been working late for many days, and that he had attended a party for a fellow employee who was lea ving. David L. Vincent and Harold P. Moddejonge, both of Sarnia, each received imprisonment terms for People and events Automotive supplement This week's edition of the Times-Advocate contains a special section that will be of interest to anyone who drives an automobile. The spring car care, supplement contains in- formation that everybody should know regarding getting the best possible performance from automobiles. As well as several in- teresting items about automobiles the section contains advertising from the following firms:, Mathers Motors, Exeter Sun Service, Lavender's Garage, McNaughton Shell, Remkes Enterprises, Norris Atthill; Grand Bend Texaco, Radio Shack, Graham Arthur Texaco, Rumba!! Motors, Huron Auto Body, Huron Collision, Larry Snider Motors, South End Service, Clandeboye Auto Wreckers, Rader Motors, Champion Spark Plugs and Canadian Tire, Thompson- Warner Motors. .and entering the Hensall Co-op, March 22. Three persons have also been charged with the same occurrence at Thomson's Mill on the same date. Drysdale Hardware, also of Hensall, was entered, March 24, and a total of $362 worth of property was stolen. Two persons , have been charged. All the above occurrences were investigated by Constable R,T. Whiteford. Radford's Service Station, Crediton, was entered, March 27, and $13.00 worth of property stolen. Two persons have been charged and the property has been recovered. The incident was investigated by P/C, Quinn. There were two hit and run accidents this week. March 27, Constable Wilcox investigated an accident at Hensall Municipal parking lot 'when an unknown vehicle hit a parked car owned by Frances Ritchie, RR 1, Cen- tralia, causing $100 damages. The next day, a vehicle driven by James Cottle, RR 1, Woodham, was struck by an unknown eastbound vehicle causing an estimated damage of $450.00 on highway 83, west of Huron road 11. Constable Quinn investigated, During the week, officers of Exeter detachment investigated 37 general occurrences and made 34 charges, 13 under the criminal code, 4 under the liquor license act, and 17 under highway traffic control. P.U,C. MANAGER, HUGH DAVIS, suggests that persons planting trees in town this spring should consider trees that don't grow over 40 to 45 ft. high so that they will not interfere with hydro wires. He also suggests that potential tree planters consult a professional before selecting a tree. EXETER P.U,C. will attempt to determine the effect of voltage reduction on hydro services during certain days in April and May when Ontario Hydro plans to reduce the voltage by three to five percent for that purpose. Manager Hugh Davis said that the low voltage experiments should have no detrimental effects on electrical motors. possession of stolen property. Evidence showed that a stereo and speakers, identified as belonging to the manager of Conklin Lumber had been found in an abondoned driving shed. The police were notified and three constables Quinn, Tomasik and Mason kept the shed under surveillance. When a car was observed approaching the shed the police moved in and ap- prehended both Vincent and Moddejonge. Apparently a third party got away. Moddejongepleaded that at no time did the police see them touch or handle the equipment, However, the judges pointed out that the charge of possession does not necessarily mean touching or handling. Mr. Vincent's sentence was seven months, while Mod- dejonge received 60 days. Eleanor M. Shiels, Hensall was charged with following too closely. She was fined $38. 500 reward offered for cattle rustlers HURON COUNTY'S newly formed association to aid the physically disabled will hold its fourth public meeting Wednesday, April 7th at B• p.m. in the Holtnesville Public School Library, Holmesville is four miles west of Clinton on HighwaY 8. - POSSIBLY THE MOST IMPORTANT MEETING concerning the arena will be held at 8:00 p.m. April 1 in Exeter Public School when councils from Hay, Stephen, Hensall, Usborne and Exeter will meet with the public to discuss the proposals for the arena, BASEBALL SEASON IS ROLLING AROUND and the Kirkton Mens' Slow Pitch Softball league has already begun to organize, with their first meeting held Wednesday night, WANT TO GET RID OF YOUR WHITE ELEPHANTS? The Heritage Foundation will welcome them at their Garage Sale, April 17. Donors tray give all proceeds to the foundation Or collect 50 percent of the sale price, MAPLE SYRUP MAY BE SCARCE THIS YEAR With many hard maple trees damaged badly by the Match ice storm, yrup producers fear the run of tap may not be as heavy as in ordinary years. it Merits are being considered in the oarmamwmir.snsmamsr isrammaraziormt4 House of Commons that would F.6 tro The Ontario Livestoolt Protection Association has of- fered a $500 reward for in- formation leading to the con- viction of cattle rustlers who walked off with 23 cattle from the farm of Bob Down near Hensall • two weeks ago. The reward is the standard reward offered by the Association which was set up to stem rustling and livestock thefts. Gordon Hedley, of the Ontario Cattleman's Association in Toronto, the Cattleman's representative on the Protection Association, said the last time a major reward was paid out by the Association was three years ago when information was received that led to the conviction of rustlers in the Sutton area. He described the Sutton thieves as operating as a "ring". He refuted the attitude that if the cattle ate returned, there would be no questions asked. "It's like hiding your head in the sand." He pointed out that amend• LEGION MEMBERSHIP is expected to take an upward turn as a result of new regulations permitting sans and daughters of members to join the group. Past president Henry Dyck, left presents a Legion rule book to Georgina Obre, the first woman to join the local branch under the new rules while her father Stan Obre looks on. Photo by Reg Macbonald. raise the penalty for cattle rustling to 10 years in prison if a person is convicted of the felony. "It is riot an everyday oc- currence, but when it happens it creates serious hardships for the farmer involved" he continued. Cattle that are stolen are hard to identify because few cattle carry a foolproof identification mark like an indelible ink ear tattoo. Cattle rustling is more prevelent in the West, where they have had serious problems, particularly two to three years ago when the price of beef was so high. Vigilante groups are often "riding the roads" in the Western provinces, said Mr. Medley, to stop rustling. Cattle which have been stolen are marketed in two ways. If they are "stocker", cattle which feed On grass, they can be mixed in With a herd of higher quality cattle and sold as one of the better since in a group they are hard to identify, Stocker cattle make for poorer quality meat. The other method is the mid- night slaughter, where the tattle are butchered and the meat sold at a discount rate to attract a buyer. Generators pose safety problems Concerned about the possibly disastrous effects of independent generating systems keeping would-be shutdown hydra lines "alive", PIJC manager Hugh Davis suggested that an educational program Should be launched to prevent the kind of tragedy that befell an Ontario Hydro lineman near Aylmer during the recent ice storm. A lineman had been working on a primary hydro line which had been shut down by Ontario Hydro, Unfortunately, the hue was still alive because a, generator on a nearby farm WO backfeeding voltage onto the Please turn to page S 4.