The Citizen, 1987-04-01, Page 1Serving Brussels, Blytfi, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel,
Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships
VOL. 3 NO. 13 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1987.40 CENTS
Education budget
up 9.7% for 1987
Zoellyn Onn shows her brother Teague a ring, one of hundreds of beautiful things for people to see at the
third annual craft and bake sale at Blyth Memorial Hall on Saturday. A record number of crafters were
present for the event which raises money for the running of the Hall.
Blyth firemen have busy day
Blyth and District Fire Depart
ment had a busy Monday fighting
two fires within a matter of hours.
Most serious was a supper-hour
fire in Auburn which destroyed a
barn owned by Bill McCormick.
The L-shaped barn had a quantity
of lumber and tires stored inside
and it made for a hot fire. Fanned
by the cold west wind the flames
sent sparks toward nearby houses.
Daylight Savings Time starts Sunday
There will be an extra three
weeks of daylight savings time for
Ontario residents this spring,
because of the unusual passage of a
private member’s bill in the
provincial legislature this fall.
Until now, people have set their
clocks ahead one hour on the last
Sunday in April, but under legisla
tion sponsored by New Democrat
Ross McClellan, the Provincial
Time Act has been amended to
permit Daylight Savings Time to
begin on the first Sunday of April.
Standard time will resume, as
usual, on the last Sunday in
October.
In introducing the legislation
last October, Mr. McClellan had
argued that the move would give
school children an extra hour to
play out-of-doors after school, as
well as cut electrical use and
provide businesses with more
opportunity to attract shoppers
and diners in daylight.
Under the circumstances the fire
men worked to extinguish the blaze
even though the building was
beyond repair.
Both Blyth and Goderich fire
brigades answered the call. Goder
ich pumper returned when it found
Blythonthescene butGoderich
tanker truck was used to help
supply water. Firemen were on the
scene again about 10 p.m. to put
He had originally wanted day
light time to begin in March, but
the minority Liberal government
supported the bill only in amended
form that will see daylight time
begin at the same time as in
neighbouring American states,
where the change was approved
Police investigate stolen car
Goderich Ontario Provincial Po
lice report that a 1981 Ford Ltd.
which had been reported stolen by
Bradley Thomson of RR1, Auburn,
was receovered over the weekend,
after being abandoned at a gravel
pit just south of the Westfield
Church. An OPP spokesman said
that the investigation into the
incident is continuing.
WinghamOPP report several
instances of property being stolen
from parked cars in the Brussels
out a few hotspots that had flared
up.
Cause of the fire, Blyth Fire
Chief Irvin Bowes said, is thought
to be children playing with
matches.
Earlier in the day, about 4p.m.
firemen were called to the home of
Roy Aitcheson on the 6th line of
Morris where they extinguished a
chimney fire.
last year.
There had been concerns that a
three-week difference between the
two countries in starting daylight
savings would cause problems for
banks, airlines, stock exchanges
and television viewers, especially
in border communities. In Canada,
time is set by provincial statute.
area over the weekend, as well.
Investigation is continuing.
At Wingham District Court on
March 25, Thomas Lawrence
Alexander of Blue vale was senten
ced to five days in prison and
ordered to make restitution of $482
to the insurance company covering
damage to the Wingham constitu
ency office of provincial Minister of
Health Murray Elston. Mr. Alex
ander pled guilty to causing
Continued on page 26
The good news in the 1987 Huron
County Board of Education bud
get, released at a special board
meeting in Clinton on Monday, is
that the implementation of Bill 30
will notlikely Cost county public
school supporters anything extra
this year; the bad news is that the
same bill will likely raise the
municipal taxes for secondary
separate school supporters in the
county.
Glenn Lamb, the board’s super
visor of financial services, said that
in lieu of provincial grants that
formerly came to the Huron County
board for the education of Catholic
high school students, the public
board is now getting tuition for
these students from the Huron-
Perth Separate School Board, as
well as municipal taxes from
separate school supporters.
Earlier, the Ontario Public
School Trustees’ Association
(OPSTA) had warned that local
taxpayers may have to foot some of
the bill for educating Roman
Catholic high school students in
Huron County because of a
shortfall in provincial funding
under the bill which became law in
January. But while the $660,000
now being paid to the county by the
separate school board for tuition,
plus the $573,787 in municipal
taxes now paid to the Huron-Perth
board but transferred back to the
Huron board appears adequate to
cover costs at this time, Mr. Lamb
said he couldn’t predict what might
happen “a few years down the
line.”
Larry Walsh
sentenced
to 18 month term
Blyth’s former clerk-treasurer,
Larry B. Walsh, has been sentenc-
edto 18months in prison for the
theft of more than $94,000 from
municipal accounts over the past
six years.
In pronouncing the sentence in
Wingham District Court last Wed
nesday, Judge Garry Hunter said
that the court must weigh the
general deterance of the sentence
against the possibility of Mr.
Walsh ‘‘getting his life back
together.”
‘‘I have to consider that in 1973
you were convicted of fraud of a
sizeable amount, and that sooner
or later the $95,000 will be paid by
the people of Blyth (in higher
insurance premiums),” Mr. Hun
ter told Mr. Walsh.
‘ ‘I also recognize that you have a
problem, and have begun on a
rehabilitation program. I credit
you with this, and also note that you
have saved the court considerable
money by pleading guilty (to the
charge),” he added.
Mr. Walsh pleaded guilty to the
theft charge last October, but was
remanded pending the prepara
tion of a pre-sentence report. He
had served as Blyth’s clerk-trea-
surerfor 13 years resigning his
position last May in the face of an
ongoing investigation by Ontario
Provincial Police.
Two prominent Blyth business-
en, Doug Scrimgeour and John
Elliott, appeared as witnesses for
the defence in Mr. Walsh’s case.
Both men told the court they had
been life-long friends of the
accused, and both were lavish in
their praise of the great contribu-
ion Mr. Walsh had made to the
village over the years, not only as a
model employee, but as a mainstay
of virtually every aspect of village
The board of education approv
ed the 1987 budget of $44,562,745
($44.6 million), a 9.7 per cent
increase from the 1986 budget of
40.6 million at the special meeting
Monday night.
To the taxpayer with an average
assessment of $3,110, the budget
will add an extra $31.74 to the tax
bill for this year. That translates
into the average taxpayer paying
$205.68 in municipal taxes for
secondary school education in the
county, up from $197.33 in 1986;
and $284.85, up from $261.46, for
elementary education.
Part of the extra cost of
education came about with the
approval of 14 special projects,
costing an estimated $424,000, by
the trustees. Among the projects
approved are the enhancement of
technological studies at the Clin
ton, Seaforth and Goderich secon
dary schools, the fuel tank removal
program recently implemented by
the Ministry of the Environment,
extra textbook allowances for both
elementary and secondary
schools, a new heating plant for the
Vanastra Public School, and a
noxious weed control program on
school grounds.
Bob Allen, county director of
education,'saidthatfor the first
time since 1971 school enrollment
was up slightly, by just slightly
more than 10 students, but still
nearly 500 fewer than were in
school in 1982.
“I’m just delighted to see this
figure finally turnpositive,” he
said.
life, including volunteer work for
the local Lions Clubs, Masonic
order and Festival theatre.
‘‘Blyth is better off for the 13
years he (Mr. Walsh) has put into
it,” Mr. Scrimgeour said. “He’sin
a mess, and he has to straighten
himself out; but he has done a lot of
things for a lot of people (in Blyth).
He has not run away from his
problem, he’s stayed and faced
it.”
During histestimony, Mr. El
liott said that while he and Mr.
Walsh attended Blyth Public
School together, “most of the kids
in the senior grades, as well as the
principal (of the school) played
cardsevery noon hour,” noting
that this may well have been at the
root of Mr. Walsh’s problems.
Evidence presented in October
showed that virtually all the money
embezzeled from municipal ac
counts had been spent on gamb
ling, primarily in betting on
horses. On Wednesday, Mr.
Walsh’slawyer, David Smith of
Guelph, agreedthathis client’s
gambling problem had started in
his childhood.
“Gambling is an illness that has
invaded (Larry’s) whole lifestyle,
since he was a young boy,” Mr.
Smith said.
Tibor Barsony, executive direc
tor of the Canadian Foundation on
Compulsive Gambling, appearing
as a witness for the defence, gave
evidence that compulsive gamb
ling is the ‘‘purest form of
addiction, involving more people
than any other form of addiction.”
He said that Mr. Walsh’s case fit
the classic description of a compul
sive gambler, noting that medical
authorities recognize thff jproblem
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