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.