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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1977-06-02, Page 1Water meter costly, • stick with inequities AT HOME QUEEN — Deb Ford, 18, was crowned Queen of the an- nual At Home dance at South Huron District High School Friday night. Deb, a grade twelve student from Grand Bend, plans to make a career in the travel field. T-A photo Hope to push SH rec centre canvass. over .the top with telathon, walkathon The Exeter PUC learned Monday that it would cost roughly $200,000 to have meters installed for all water customers. With that information at hand, the Commissioners took no action on the subject. A cost estimate had been requested by Commissioner Chan Livingstone at the April meeting, when he said he had a number of complaints from people about the flat rate bills, Many contended they did not use as much water as their neighbours and therefore shouldn't have to pay as much. While he suggested that meters would be the only way to weed out these inequities, Livingtone said it couldn't be done at the prices furnished by manager Hugh David. "Some people are victimized," Livingstone noted in the discussion, "but all we can do is just sympathize with them at this time." Fellow Commissioners Bruce Shaw and Murray Greene were in agreement that, the price for meters was prohibitive. Davis explained that it would cost the $200,000 to provide Meters for the 1,483 water customers, and financed over a 20-year period, this would ac- tually cost $469,838.40. This, he said, would increase the annual operating expense to the PUC by $29,491.00. The Commissioners noted that the cost of meters would add considerably to water bills. Davis also reported that the PUC would still have to maintain their income ratio, and while meters may provide savings for some customers, other customers would certainly have to pay more. Davis suggested that the only two benefits he could see from Construction of the Kirkton- Woodham pool and the campaign fund drive are nearing com- pletion according to Frank Van Bussel and Sons and the Kirkton- Woodiam pool committee. The contract for "substantial" completion of the pool sets July 15 as the construction deadline but Gerry Van Bussel hopes the pool and bath houses will be com- pleted by July 1. The deep end of the pool has been completed and the floor of the shallow end will be poured Wednesday, said Van Bussel. "The pool itself will be com- pleted by the end of this week and I hope that we can get the bath houses done in three or four weeks", he Said. using meters was that customers that conserve water pay on the actual use and that meters may reduce the daily consumption somewhat. However, he said he doubted that customers would practice conservation to any great degree. Davis cited seven points on the liability side of the argument for meters. The first was the capital cost and the second was the problem for apartments, where all bills would have to be sent to the property owner and he would have to recoup his 'costs through rents, Other problems listed by the PUC manager included the operating costs, problem of finding space to install meters in some homes (they would have to be in the bathrooms in the wartime houses), the PUC debt equity rate and the fact that all meters would have to be installed at once and could not be staged over a period of years. "This seems to be a rather negative report, however, the installation of meters may create more problems for the Utility than it would eliminate," Davis concluded. He had indicated the price of meters ranged from $103 for the household Variety to $675 for larger commercial units and these could be financed by charging the customer the full price at the time of installation or by charging higher rates to pick up the costs over a period of time. The Commissioners felt that with the increased water rates that would have to be charged to meet these costs, few residents would want to go to a metered system, not even those who felt they were being victimized by the present flat rate setup. The bath houses will have a cement block foundation with block walls similar to the walls of the Kirkton-Woodham Com- munity Centre. The Kirkton-Woodham pool fund reached $45,670 this week but Dr. Norm Amos, chairman of the pool committee, said that another $11,000 is needed. The estimated total cost of the pool is $125,000 to $135,000 with recreation grants paying one- quarter of the cost and the remainder shared between Wintario funds and local con- tributions, The junior Olympic size pool is located at the southwest corner of the Kirk ton-Woodham Com- munity Centre. If area residents are as generous as finance committee members anticipate, this weekend should see the South Huron Rec Centre canvass nearly completed. TWo major events are scheduled for the "final push" for funds. The first of those events is tonight's telathon, slated to get underway at 6:30 p.m. The event will be carried over the local cable TV station on channel 12 and will feature interviews with many of the ree centre officials. Donors may call the cable station at 237 -3786 to have their donations announced on the show or they may call committee members who will be stationed at SHDHS. That telephone number is 235-0880. Donations received there will be relayed to the cable broadcast. Organizers point out that there are a number of prizes to be won by people making donations via the telathon. Each $10 donation entitles a contributor to one chance on any one of six major prizes. These include a cedar patio suite consisting of a padded tete a tete, lounge and chair donated by Discount Dave's, Electrohome portable TV sup- plied by Russell Electric, CB radio supplied by Gord's "Trophies, reclining chair donated by Dinney Furniture, men's leisure suit donated by Bob Swartman's Men's Shoppe and a $100 lady's ensemble donated by Boyle's Ladies' Wear, Some of those prize winners will be announced at the con- clusion of tonight's telathon and others will be drawn on Saturday when the telathon will continue throughout the morning at SH- DHS in conjunction with the walkathon. Another six prizes will be awarded as "spot prizes" in tonight's TV cable cast. They will be given out at random to various callers . who make donations. These prizes include a portable radio supplied by Exeter Elec- tric, a Black Si Decker power saw donated by Gunn's Home Hardware, slow cooker donated by Fisher's Pro Hardware, padded chaise lounge supplied by. Hopper - Hockey Furniture, $30 Benches return, despite the mess Exeter's senior citizens will have their bench again in front of the PUC office, but the antics of some younger members of the community could spoil that situation. PUC manager Hugh Davis this week questioned the advisability of putting the bench out, noting that teenagers who presently sit on the steP:s at the office turn the area into a "pigsty". He said they toss bottles, cans and garbage around and make the area a "disgrace". Commissioner Chan Livingstone suggested that if the mess was already being created, the addition of the bench wouldn't make it any different. Mayor Bruce Shaw agreed and the PUC decided to erect the bench, Davis said there was a garbage can only a few feet away but the kids didn't bother to use it. Will keep dump locked gift certificate donated by Country Flowers, steel ironing board donated by Butler's Department Store, dinner for two supplied by Wally's Restaurant, and a one year subscription donated by The Times- Advocate, In all, the prizes are valued at over $1,000. "The odds on winning are a lot better than buying a lottery ticket," commented finance committee chairman Ron Bogart. He pointed out that all area residents are eligible whether they have cable TV on which to watch the show or not. He also said the committee hope that people with cable will invite their neighbors in to Watch. In fact, people wishing to make donations on the air will be in- vited to do so just by visiting the cable station. It is located half a mile North of Highway 83 on the first road west of the Jack Riddell and Hilt Ford farms. The majority of ratepayers in the township of Stephen will find an increase of about 18 mills when they receive their 1977 tax notices. The first installment of taxes for this year will be due on June 30 with the second and final payment due by November 30, The ratepayers of Stephen who pay public school support will be paying a total mill rate of 120.82, This is an increase of 18,02 mills. Separate school supporters will pay a total rate of 122.12 mills, a rise of 13.37 mills, On an' average farm assessment of $6,000 it will mean an increase of $108.12 in taxes, The increase of 18 mills is due to a higher mill rate for township purposes and for the Huron Board of Education. The township rate is up to 27.42 mills from 17.74 mills for an in- crease of 9.68 mills. The secon- dary"school levy is set at 32.72 mills, a rise of 3.06 mills and the public elementary mill rate is up 7.65 mills to a total of 38.14 mills. The other main rate for the County of Huron has decreased 2.37 mills to 22.54 mills. Commercial property owners paying public school support will be charged a total levy of 137.52 mills, This is an increase over last year of 20.5 mills. Separate school commercial property owners will pay 138.96 mills, This is up 15.33 mills from last year, Residents of the three police villages in the township will pay mill increases varying from 10,72 at Crediton to 12,66 at Dashwood, The. Centralia increase will be 11.79 mills. Stephen township council has approved a grant of $500 to the Grand Bend and area recreation committee for the year 1977. Clerk Wilmer Wein said it was the first time such a grant was Organizers say the show will be an informal event and the more people who show up to rhake their TV debut the more fun it will be. Joanne Dinney and Bill Batten will host the show, assisted by Rob Grant and Carf Cann, Interviews are planned with Ron Bogart, Mayor Bruce Saw, John Stephens and Doug Ellison. The Exeter CB Club will assist in the telathon by picking up donations from Exeter residents, They will be given the addresses of those calling in and will then proceed to those addresses to pick up the donations. Rural residents are asked to mail or deliver their donations made during the telathon to treasurer Joanne Dinney at Country Flowers. Receipts will be given out by the CB club members. The other major fund raising event this week will be Satur- day's giant walkathon, which is expected to attract over 500 participants. made to the Grand Bend rec group. A number of Stephen boys and girls take part in Grand Bend recreation, especially in the summer swimming program. Can It' complete 1 1 -mile course? Can a LION run 11 miles? To prove the point, the Exeter Lions Club has entered a representative of their club's symbol in the walk-a-thon set for Saturday morning. Backed by pledges for $100 a mile, if the LION runs the entire course the Lions Club will turn over the money raised to the South Huron Recreation Center. The LION'S cage will be hauled to the starting point at the high school grounds by local club members arriving around 9:30 a .ni The LION'S handlers em- phasize that the beast is well trained and completely harmless and poses no threat to other participants in the walk-a-thon. Hensall group predict outcome? While recent campaign meetings have indicated that both the Conservatives and Liberals are optimistic about their chances in the upcoming provincial election, one area group has gone one step farther in predicting the outcome, The South Huron Agricultural Society, sponsors of the Hensel], Spring Fair, released their prize list this week and announced that the event would be opened by MBP Jack Riddell. The fair will be held on June 21, a couple of weeks after the provincial election. Doug Ellison reports that walkers may register at the SH- DHS parking lot between 9:30 and 10:00 a,m. Six tables will be set up, one for each school in the area and another for any adults or A used truck van is being purchased from Larry Snider Motors. It will be used by the Huron Park fire department The purchase will be made subject to approval by Reeve Cecil Desjardine and Deputy-Reeve Kenneth Campbell. Drainage inspector Lorne Dietrich was directed to supervise repair of the Turnbull municipal drain. The tender of Canadian General Electric for the supply and installation of a mobile communication system was accepted. A base station will be established in the township office and a relay station at the town- ship shed with mobile stations in the two trucks and two graders. The Canadian General Electric tender for $6,174,86 was one of three bids received, The contract for a number of culverts was awarded to Westeel Bosco for $7,762,85, It was the lowest of five tenders received, youngsters who win be par- ticipating. Sponsor sheets should be tabulated by the walkers and then they must be signed by a walka than official. Exeter council decided last week not to change their policy regarding water service for out- of-town customers. They had been asked for an opinion by the PUC, who had a recent request from Gerald McFalls to supply water to a house he plans to build on Huron St. East in Usborne Township. Mayor Bruce Shaw said the present town policy was not to provide water except where water pipelines pass rural customers. He said a pipeline does come in Huron St. from the Hicks well, but it is on the north side of the road and the McFalls home would be on the south side. It indicated that if the re- quest was granted, there could be other requests from farmers or homeowners on the south side of the street. Shaw told council that even with the new wells, Exeter had only enough water to meet the needs of the present customers and the homes on registered plans of subdivision already ap- proved in town. He said if water was supplied outside town, it was possible council would have to cut off development within the town limits. No formal motion was made on the situation although all members appeared to be in agreement that the existing policy should not be changed. Council also learned that some development may take place on land owned by McFalls within the town limits. A sale is already under negotiation. Although a sewer line runs past the nine-lot area, no connec- tions were provided when it was installed. This was at McFalls' request. Council decided to advise Approve antenna on top of tower The Exeter PUC agreed this week to allow Canadian Canners to install their radio antenna on top of the new water tank, Manager Hugh Davis said he felt the antenna could be installed without any damage to the tank, An agreement will drawn up making the local firm liable for any damages caused, It was left to chairman Murray Greene to negotiate a rental fee and the length of the agreement, Price Per Copy 25 Cents McFalls and the prospective buyer that the one sewer connec- tion planned should be under- taken prior to the final resur- facing of Huron St. Only one crash reported in area Only one accident was in- vestigated by the Exeter OPP again this week. It occurred on Thursday on Highway 4 just north of Hensall. Drivers involved were Donald. Hooper, Exeter, and Robert Reid, Londesboro. Damage was estimated at $1,150 by Constable Al Quinn. No injuries were reported. Two acts of vandalism were reported. Some time during May, the ministry of environment shed at the Hensall sewage lagoons was shot up by a shot gun. Some damage was also reported to equipment inside the building. Over the weekend, a beer bottle was tossed through a window at the Usborne Central School. Weather taxes water and hydro Hot, dry weather is creating a considerable demand on Exeter's hydro and water. PUC manager Hugh Davis reported this week that the summer power load was now greater than the winter load as more and more local citizens use air conditioning. He said this necessitated another transformer in the John and Main St. area. Lawn and garden watering is also creating a considerable demand on the water depart- ment. Davis said that restrictions would come into force when Canadian Canners start their operation later in June. He advised the Commission that even without the Canners operating, the pumps are working at full capacity. Commissioner Bruce Shaw was critical of people who water lawns during the day, noting that 75 per cent of it is lost, Chairman Murray Greene also noted that some people saturate thek lawns and in many areas the water is running off into drains, A LARGE FRIEND — An elephant was among the animals at Sunday's circus at Huron Park. Wally Crossan gets close enough to say hello. Pool work, drive nearing completion Public access to the Exeter dump located in Hay Township will be limited to Wednesdays and Saturdays. That recommendation was made by works superintendent Glenn Kells this week and was quickly approved by council. Kells noted that two fires were started at the dump over the weekend and there was also one the previous weekend. He said that a new, sturdier gate will be erected at the facility this week and he recommended that no one be permitted access on other than the two days when an attendant is on location. Kells said the only other alternative was to hire a full-time person to supervise the dump. Several commercial establish- ments in Exeter have had a key to the dump gate in previous, years, but they will not be provided with a key to the new gate and will be required to dump their refuse on the same days as everyone else. Kells explained that ,.it was a "safe bet" that the two fires this week were set by people who had keys to the dump gate. The works superintendent concluded his report at Tuesday night's special meeting by ad- vising councillors to expect dbmplaintsiabout the new rulings One Hundred and Fourth Year WIN JUNIOR DEBATING — A team from South Huron District High School won the junior debating cham- pionship for Huron County, Thursday. Shown above with the trophy are South Huron coach Gerry McDonnell and team members Susan Chapman, Donna Miller and Ann Dearing. T-A photo Stephen taxes b osted approximately 18 mills BUS STOPS HERE — The CJBK double decker bus will be in Exeter on Saturday afternoon as part of announcer Joe Dushane's program to be held in conjunction with the rec centre walkathon. Local residents will be invited to tour the town in the novel bus. EXETER, ONTARIO, JUNE 2, 1977 Sponsor sheets and money will be picked up at the individual schools at a date to be .announced, Adults may take their money Of Country Flowers, CJBK radio personality Pe' Dushane will be on hand Saturday morning during the walkathon, He'll be presenting the prizes from the telathon as well, The London radio station 'an- nounced this week they would be - sending their double-decker bus to Exeter around 1:00 p.m, on Saturday. Local residents will be given rides through the com- munity. Commenting on the two fund raising events, a committee member said he hoped area residents would be generous so the campaign could be con- cluded, "It's a tremendous amount of work for those involved and we trust people will recognize that contribution by supporting the two events." Won't alter policy on water access FEW VOTES THERE — Led by a four-piece combo, Premier William Davis and his entourage do some main streeting in Exeter on Friday. At the right of the photo in the dark suit is OPP Constable Bill Glassford, formerly of Exeter, who is on special security with the Premier during the election. Glassford keeps a close eye on the building across the street, but all he spotted was a wove from his former neighbor, Ruth Stover, OVER THE TOP YOU CAN PUT THE REC CENTRE Support tonight's Tol-Mhon and Saturday's Walk.A.Thon. Soo back page for details.