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Times-Advocate, 1979-03-07, Page 1amass MAKING THE DROP — Doing her version of the "doggy­ drop" on the trampoline at South Huron District High School on Saturday was Joanna Morrissey. Joanna was one of the many participants in a parents day for the South Huron Rec Board sponsored program. T-A photo Sewage problems are broached again Residents of the Carling and Ann St. area made their annual pilgrimage to coun­ cil. Monday, to complain about raw sewage backing into their basements, and council members ended up making their annual promise to have the situa­ tion checked out. Spokesman Hugh Davis said “the little bit of shower” that hit the com­ munity on Sunday resulted in problems for the residents again “as it has for the past 15 years”. Davis said the residents in the area would have faced “a real problem” had there been a power failure, noting that there is a standby generator for only one of the two pumps at the John St. pumping station. He ex­ plained that the two pumps couldn’t keep up to the task and feared what would happen if only one was available. The PUC manager urged council to shelve all other works department projects this year until the Carling St. problem is rectified. Later in the meeting, Davis suggested the correc­ tive action could cost $10,000 or even $100,000 and was concerned that even if the solution was found, council wouldn't have money to finance any remedy. Councillor Jay Campbell agreed that the problem should receive a high priori­ ty from council. “In all honesty, we shouldn’t look at expansion (of the sewer system) if we can’t handle what we have now”. Works superintendent Glenn Kells pointed out that smoke tests had been done in the area last year to determine if illegal water was entering the system. Those tests found only a half dozen cases where eavestroughs were hooked to footing tiles and these had been removed. Kells said he had been in touch with engineer B.M. Ross and that the latter would undertake a study of the situation and have suggestions for council. Another Carling St. resi­ dent, Marshall Dearing, said he didn’t think 10 pumps would alleviate the problem. “I’m sure the main sewer on John St. isn’t big enough and there’s illegal water going in from some place.” Dearing suggested that because the problem arose only when there was a rain­ fall, this indicated to him that the problem was caused by illegal water entering the sanitary system. Noting that he was upset over the situation, Dearing said he planned to explore every avenue in an effort to get it rectified “even if I have to go farther afield”. Reeve Si Simmons told the delegation at this point the only thing council could do is “make a good effort this year to find the solution”. “We heard that two years ago,” Dearing quickly replied. Two Ann St. residents were also in attendance at the meeting and one of them. Bob Clarke, told coun­ cil that he too had a problem on Sunday, the first since he Please turn to page 3 GETTING TAME! Is the Good Roads conven­ tion getting tame? Well, it is in the opinion of Exeter councillor Harold Patterson, who attended this year’s event along with Mayor Derry Boyle and works superintendent Glenn Kells. Noting that he had enjoyed the event in Toronto recent­ ly, Patterson said the Good Roads convention doesn’t have the bad reputation it once did. He opined that the main reason was the fact that more delegates were taking their wives with them. Eleven Huron teaching jobs lost The effects of declining enrolment were felt in Huron County for the first time Monday when the board of education reduced its teaching staff by 11 for the 1979-80 school year. In three separate reports the board approved recommendations to reduce kindergarten staff by one, elementary staff by three and secondary school teaching staff by seven. The staff requirements for next year were determined by director of education John Cochrane by applying the pupil-teacher ratio in teaching contracts to the total number of students ex­ pected to enroll in schools in September. Cochrane said Monday the reduction of staff will mean layoffs for at least three secondary school teachers and possibly more. He said the Huron board has not laid off teaching staff in its 10 year history adding he knew of no other way of reducing staff. Cochrane explained that natural attrition should per­ mit the board to reduce staff in elementary schools but there appeared little hope of that happening at the secon­ dary level. The director said lay-offs were not a certainty but were a projection. He said the board now employs 274 teachers in the secondary panel and next year needs 267. He said several teachers are eligible for early retire­ ment but are not required to announce their intentions until the end of May. He add­ ed that two teachers had applied for one year leave of absence which will delay two layoffs for at least one year. He said teacher resignations, transfers or retirements could allow the board to staff the schools with no layoffs. The board’s personnel committee chairman Shirley Hazlitt reported that according to projected enrolment and pupil teacher ratios the board will require 324 elementary school teachers next year, a reduc­ tion of three teachers. The Goderich-Colborne township trustee added that according to staffing guidelines and enrolment in Kindergarten one less kindergarten teacher will be employed in the 1979-80 school year. Kindergarten enrolment will actually increase next year according to board visits Ontario Minister of Con­ sumer and Commercial Relations Frank Drea will be in Exeter Friday night, at the South Huron Rec Cen­ tre Drea will be the guest t the annualspeaker at meeting of the Huron- Middlesex Progressive Conservative Association annual meeting. r Local president Bill Amos reports that the meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a social hour, dinner at 7:30 and a dance to follow. MPP Drea has announced that he plans to step up in­ vestigative activities to minimize consumer rip-offs and protect business from euthical competition. statistics but distribution of those students require one less teacher to be employed. The total number of kindergarten students ex­ pected next year is 728, up from 712 enrolled this year, but enrolment in two of the schools is down sufficiently to warrant dropping half time kindergarten teachers in each. Hazlitt said the personnel committee had used the 22-1 pupil teacher ratio for elementary schools when determining staff needs for the coming year. She said the board is bound by the 22-1 ratio across the county. She said this year there are 7,112 elementary students in the system and that figure is ex­ pected to drop to 7,028 in September. The largest reduction of students and staff will be in the secondary panel where the pupil-teacher ratio is lowest. The board’s contract with the teachers set the ratio at between 16.8 and 17.2 pupils per teacher. This year the total enrolment in secon­ dary schools is 4,498 and this is expected to drop to 4,617 when school opens September. next Parking plan underway Plans are continuing for the establishment of a park­ ing area behind the stores on the west side of Main St. between Fisher’s Hardware and Victoria & Grey Trust. At a recent meeting of those involved in the pro­ ject, town solicitor Gerry Gray was instructed to prepare surface rights-of- way and sub-surface easements for each of the properties in the parking lot area. When these documents are ready, hopefully within 10 days, a meeting will be held with the owners in the hope of getting them to sign the necessary documents to get the project underway. Serving One Hundred and Fifth Year imes - Advocate erving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 :4-; <■ Price Per Copy 25 Cents I $ •£i Shooting, thefts are investigated A shooting incident, two thefts, an attempted Breakin and one accident were among the occurrences in­ vestigated by the. Exeter police department this week. The shooting incident was reported on Thursday at Canadian Canners Ltd. where two bullets were fired through a large shipping door on the east side and lodged in metal containers inside the building. Constable George Robin­ son is investigating. The thefts occurred at Ex­ eter District Co-Op and the South Huron rec centre. A small amount of cash was taken from the Co-op in a Thursday night theft, while the thieves also did some damage to filing cabinets. The theft from the rec centre involved a cassette tape player which belonged to the Exeter Figure Skating club. It had been taken from a storage room at the facili­ ty. On Thursday around 10:30 p.m., Paul Korianitis, owner of the Huron Restaurant was awakened by someone attempting to gain entry to the building via a door on the south side. Police were called but the culprits fled from the scene prior to their arrival. The only accident was reported on Friday, in­ volving vehicles driven by Patrick Burke, RR 1 Hen­ sail, and Arnold Campbell, Main St. The collision took place on Main St. and damage was estimated at $700 Constable Brad Sadler. by Fined $500 after area beehives tipped A former area resident was fined a total of $550 or 55 days on two charges when he appeared before Judge W.G. Cochrane in Exeter court, Tuesday, while another two men were fined on counts laid under the Unemploy­ ment Insurance Act. Lawrence Edwin Kellett, Listowel, was fined $500 after pleading guilty to a mischief charge laid in August of 1976 when 16 beehives belonging to William Ross were run down by a motor vehicle. The beehives had been set up in an Usborne Township gravel pit and the damage was estimated at $4,000. Kellett was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $2,500 over the next two years. He was plac­ ed on probation for two years and was given 90 days in which to pay the fine. The other $50 fine was the result of a wilful damage in­ cident at Tuckey Beverages in Huron Park in March of 1976. A nozzle was pulled from gas pumps. The accused was ordered COUNTY WOULD HELP? Exeter Deputy-Reeve Don MacGregor is still miffed over county council’s deci­ sion last week to increase their grant to the Goderich airport. At Monday’s meeting of the local council, it was agreed to make application for a grant on the north end sewer project. “If you can’t get it there, apply to Huron, you can get it up there,” MacGregor commented in reference to the grant. $30to make restitution of within four months and was given an additional six- month probation period on that charge. Paying fines under the Unemployment Act were Joseph McCann, Grand Bend, and Donald Vandale, Huron Park. McCann was fined $25 on each of five charges for a total of $125 or 15 days. The court learned that restitution to the U.I.C. in the amount of $765 had been made. Vandals faced seven counts and was fined $50 on each for a total of $250. He was given 120 days in which to pay the fine. He collected an overpay­ ment of $1,626 and of that amount, $1,077 is still out­ standing. EXETER, ONTARIO, MARCH 7, 1979 IS CHEERLEADERS WIN OWN COMPETITION — The South Huron District High School cheerleaders captured top spot in the annual red and black cheerleading competition held Wednesday at the school. In the back row are Mary Easton, Donna Prout, Brenna Wein, Becky Baker and Terry Heywood. In the front are Sandy Somerville, Michelle Veri, Marian Martens, Jane Sullivan and Kathy Willard. T-A photo J! Board to undertake pilot study with summer school this year Secondary school students who can’t grasp a subject during the ten month school year can now use the summer months to pick up necessary credits rather than repeat the course the following year. The Huron County board of education decided Mon­ day to operate summer school programs in the coun­ ty this year as a pilot pro­ ject. The programs are design­ ed to allow students with below passing grades to pick up those grades during the summer. The programs will be taught at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton only if enough students enroll in the courses to make them worthwhile. The approval by the board is conditional. Trustees were concerned the summer school would be a costly project because teachers would have to be paid for two months and there was no indication there would be students in classes for those teachers to instruct. Superintendent of educa­ tion Bob Allan told the board there was no indication yet on how much the summer courses would cost the board but added he was “fairly confident there will be enough students to operate the program.” The superintendent said he felt the minimum number of students needed to justify the course would be 150 with 20 students in each course offered. He added that the only salary at risk for the board would be the principal of Central Huron. He said the CHSS administrator will spend a considerable amount of time planning and administering the summer courses and the board may want to consider making provisions for that. Clinton trustee Dorothy Wallace said she was con­ cerned the board would get involved in the summer school courses and students who appeared eager when they started the courses would drop out before they were completed. “Is there no guarantee when they start the course that they finish it?” asked Williams. Allan explained that teachers hired for the summer school will probably be paid on the per diem rate of their contract. He said the teachers will not be working if no students show up for the courses. John Cochrane, director of education, explained to trustees that there was no way of determining now how many students could need Please turn to page 3 Plaza pro and con won't be explored Jerry Sprackman of Lan­ dawn Shopping Centres Limited expressed an in­ terest this week in deter­ mining how the new shop­ ping centre has affected downtown business, but council and local businessmen agree that if he wants that information he’ll have to conduct his own study. In a letter to council, Sprackman said he would appreciate a letter from council “telling us the pros and cons of our centre, and particularly do you think it has hurt your downtown at all, or has it helped spur competition and improve it”. Council turned the letter over to Bob Swartman of the Downtown Business Im­ provement Area for that group’s comments, and while Swartman was unable to attend this week’s council session, he had told town of­ ficials that the BIA felt Sprackman should do his own marketing survey. However, Reeve Si Sim­ mons suggested it would be interesting to know the affects on the community and asked the two female members of council if they would consider undertaking such a survey. Councillor Lossy Fuller said she would be interested, but wouldn’t be able to work on such a project until after the end of April. But several members of council questioned the validity of any survey. Councillor Jay Campbell said the letter warranted some sort of reply, but he Area folk on the move According to travel agen­ cies in Exeter and Lucan several area residents have picked up a case of the travel flu with the recent an­ nouncement of fare reduc­ tions by Canada’s two major airlines. Sue Markson of Exeter Travel Centre said “The first day the fare reductions were announced it was just a madhouse in here.” That trend has continued with the agency receiving several inquiries daily. She said the most popular flights are those to western Canada with Air Canada flights to the western provinces already booked solid. Passengers wishing to fly west are now placed on Canadian Pacific flights she said. The reduced fares have persuaded many people who would not have flown previous to the reductions to take to the skies. “Pretty well everybody feels they can afford to go with the prices so low,” Ms. Markson added C Dietrich of Lucan Tra says her firm had had u pretty good response to the reductions which in some cases are as much as two thirds off. Many calls inquiring about flights to Vancouver and San Francisco have been receiv­ ed, although the volume has not increased that much over the period immediately preceeding the announce­ ment, Ms. Dietrich stated. NEWSPAPER WINS — The Exeter Times-Advocate won top spot in its circulation class for the second consecutive year in the OWNA competition. Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association president Paul Scott, right, makes the presentation of the plaque to editor Bill Batten, assistant editor Ross Haugh and production manager Harry DeVries. Advertising manager Jim Beckett was in a hospitality room at the time the photo was taken. Staff photo supported Swartman’s con­ tention that Landawn should do any study required. “To answer the question superficially doesn’t answer it at all,” Campbell com­ mented. “I’m not sure of the im­ pact and I’m working in the core area myself every day,” he added. Campbell also suggested that any such survey should include the comments of people who were in business at the time the shopping cen­ tre opened. It was noted that some area businesses have closed up since the plaza opened and the survey should attempt to determine if the opening of the shop­ ping centre was responsible. Councillor Don Cameron thought the whole idea was quite academic, suggesting Landawn were basically looking for statistical proof that shopping centres don’t hurt downtown business. “If a survey does prove that they hurt, I doubt they’ll close down the shop­ ping centre, ” he opined. Councillor Ted Wright said he felt any survey would have to include the whole area and not just Ex­ eter. Simmons reported he had been advised by three merchants in Goderich that the opening of shopping cen­ tres there had brought more business into the communi­ ty, although it had hurt specific businesses, such as grocery stores. The Reeve said any survey would have to involve shoppers as well as businessmen. Campbell ended the dis­ cussion when he suggested any survey would be a waste of time if it provided only general information. He and Cameron presented a motion that council thank Sprackman for his interest “and let it go at that”. That motion was passed unanimously. rn / Best in OWNA category T-A again tops contest For the second con­ secutive year, The Exeter Times-Advocate has been judged best newspaper in its category in the Ontario Weekly Newspaper Associa­ tion competition. The T-A won out over 15 newspapers entered in the class for those with circula­ tion between 4,500 and 6,500. Strathroy Age Dispatch placed second and the Bracebridge Herald-Gazette was third. In addition to the general excellence award, the Ex­ eter paper walked off with three of the eight top places in the various categories un­ der which the judging is con­ ducted. Those included best composition and layout, best photography and best local advertising. The newspaper placed second in two of the other five and third in another. The awards were presented at the annual con­ vention at Toronto this weekend. Representing the T-A at that event were Lome Eedy, Dick Jongkind, Jim Beckett, Harry DeVries, Mickey Struyke, Ross Haugh, Tom Creech and Bill Batten. The Goderich Signal Star, edited by former T-A staff member Shirley Keller, also won the general excellence award in its circulation class of 3,000 to 4,500, The Clinton News-Record won best local advertising in its division and the Wingham Advance-Times topped the best news and features and best editorial page in the same division for papers with circulation between 2,000 and 3,000. It was second overall. Won't accept resignation Having lost one member and learning that another plans to quit, Exeter council decided this week not to accept the resignation of a third member of the local recreation committee. A written resignation was received from Scott Burton, but at the urging of Coun­ cillor Jay Campbell, it was not accepted. Campbell suggested that Burton be asked to recon­ sider in light of a planned meeting this week with an official from the ministry of recreation and culture. It is hoped the meeting will provide some guidelines for the local rec committee in terms of their respon­ sibilities to the council and the South Huron rec centre board. Campbell said he hoped a lot of the difficulties promp­ ting the resignations could be ironed out at the Thurs­ day meeting with Al Sinclair of the ministry's office in London. Councillor Don Cameron said he was pessimistic that Burton would reconsider his resignation, noting that it was based on the member's frustration over the role of the committee.