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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1965-02-18, Page 1• • i • e Flooding Not Too Serious Mild weather on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, which sent temperatures soaring into the forties, resulted in ma- jor flooding in some areas of the province. The Wingham district was fortunate, The Maitland River did come up and over -run its banks, but no ser- ious damage resulted. The flood plain land south of Wingham,. known locally as the 'prairies' was covered with water much as in a normal spring run-off. The north branch looked dangerous for a while on Thursday when ice broke up and came down river rather quickly. A stretch of solid ice above the Howson Dam held firm and pre- vented the ice from piling up against the bridge. Lower Town housing which frequently becomes inundated in high water, did not suffer. About the only building reach- ed by flood waters was a stable owned by George Galbraith, sit- uated across the road from the old power house. Cool weather came again in time to check the river flow before the flood crest became too high. Unless there is a great deal of snow or rain before the next break-up the flood problem this spring should not be severe. There still are a good six weeks in which conditions could change, but the overall pic- ture is such that the area is not covered to any appreciable depth with snow at the present time. Special Meeting For Town Council Council held a specialmeet- ing preceeding the public ses- sion for study of a proposed sewage plan for the north side of the river, on Monday even- ing. Major item on the agenda was a discussion of pensions for town employees, Clerk Renwick said that a meeting had been held with a representative of the Ontario Municipal Employ- ees Retirement Service. This is a government sponsored plan for municipal employees. Over 80 per cent of the municipali- ties in Ontario have subscribed to the plan. He went on to say that the existing pension plan with a private company does not offer comparable benefits. As a result of the discussion, council agreed to cancel the present plan and join the M.E. R. S. NEW PLOW Following a decision at the last council meeting the public works committee called for ten- ders for a new one-way snow plow, to replace the present "V" plow being used for town plowing. Tenders were opened and the lowest, that of Frink of Canada Ltd. , for $648.90 was accepted. The plow will be ordered im- mediately. A letter from Lloyd -Truax was read which stated that due to the excessive cost of the pro- posed sewage plan for the area north of the river, the firm was not interested in the scheme. ALONG THE MAIN DRAG By The Pedestrian LOCALS WIN -- A Kinsmen rink skipped by Jim Fraser won top place in a Saturday bonspiel at Aylmer. Bill Hanula, Ray Neal and Mal- colm MacKay were the other team members. They won sweaters and trophies after de- feating Delhi and Aylmer and tied Leamingto,'i in the third game. 0--0--0 HERE'S AN ODDITY -- This week Wilbert Proctor brought an er , into the A -T office and its shape would sug- gest that one of his hens has Missed her calling. The egg is about two inches long by one inch wide at its larger end. How- ever, its general outline doesn't remotely resemble normal hen fruit. In fact it looks exactly like a miniature bowling pin. FIRST SECTION ingbam notsZince Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, Feb. 18, 1965 Single Copy Not Over Ten Cents Ratepayers Question Engineer On $80,000 Sewage Plan Ratepayers from the north Side of the Maitland River at- tended a special meeting called by Wingham Council, to ex- plain engineering plans for a sewage system in that area, Burns Ross, consulting engin- eer who had made the survey, was in attendance to explain some of the technical problems. Mayor DeWitt Miller was chair- man, The meeting took the form of a question and answer session. First question came from Mrs, Reg DuVal who requested infor- mation regarding her property, which is located outside the li- mits of the proposed plan. Mr. Ross explained that the boundaries of the plan comprise the area which can be served by a gravity flow system. He point- ed out that Mrs. DuVal's prop- erty, and several others on the I3 -Line, are in a low-lying area that would have to be served by a pumping station, and there- fore the cost would be very high. He did say, however, that the properties could be served by this method. Mayor Miller asked about debenture periods. Mr.Ross said the normal debenture is 20 years but the disposal system financed by the Ontario Water Resources Commission is for 30 years. Answering a question, Mr. What Is Your Opinion? Last week The Advance -Times carried a large-scale adver- tisement asking an expression of public opinion about the loca- tion of any addition to the county home, The question with which we are all concerned is whether future home facilities should be erected close to the present home at Clinton --as county council has already voted --or whether such an addition should be erected at some other point in Huron County, possibly in the Wingham area. By Tuesday afternoon The Advance -Times had received 81 names in reply, only one of which was in favor of construction at Clinton. The opinion poll certificate appears again in this issue. In addition the certificates have been placed in many Wingham stores. There are more at the Advance -Times office, If you have not already signified your opinion, do so at once. Your own future may be involved. Foundry Paint Shop Gutted The paint shop at the West- ern Foundry plant was complet- ely gutted by fire on Saturday evening. The blaze was brought under control by firemen with- in half an hour. Fire doors were said to have saved the adjoining Road Conditions Caused Accident An inquest was held in the Brussels Library Hall on friday morning, into the death of Ephriam Parish. Dr. W.A. Crawford, coroner for Huron County, presided. The jury's findings were re- ported by the foreman, George McCutcheon, as follows: "We, the jury, find that Ephriam Parish came to his death at approximately 5:30 p. m., October 21, 1964, on No. 16 County Road, Grey Town- ship, as a result of a motor vehicle accident caused by slushy road conditions causing the vehicle driven by him to hit the truck driven by George M, Jacklin." Other members of the jury were Gordon Stephenson, Ger- ald Exel, Ronald Huether and Ivan Campbell, all of Brussels. Two Accidents in Town This Week Local police investigated two accidents during the past week, that fortunately did not result in any injury. On Wednesday of last week at 8:00 p.m. a car driven by T.R. Robinson of Lucknow and another driven by John Thomp- son of Lucknow were in collision just south of the CNR tracks.The Thompson car apparently hit an icy rut and went out of con- trol, striking the left rear of the Robinson car and doing about $200.00 damage. On Saturday afternoon cars driven by Mrs. Donald Lloyd and Keith McClure were in collision at the intersection of Summit Drive and John Street. Damage to the two machines amounted to $225.00. Icy road conditions were blamed for the mishap. steel room. Loss was estimated by com- pany authorities between $20, - 000 and $25, 000, It is not known what started the fire. The building is of cement construction, but the interior and the roof were destroyed. A large part of the loss is account- ed for by damage to equipment. Spraying machines and a large bake -oven, as well as extensive ventilation equipment, were either badly damaged or destroy- ed. Paint stocks were kept in the basement and did not suffer extensively from the fire. FIREMAN OVERCOME Tony Sell, a member of the fire brigade, was overcome by smoke while working inside the burning building. He was drag- ged out by other firemen, As- sistant Fire Chief Dave Crothers and other members of the bri- gade revived him with the re- suscitator. He was able to return to the fighting a few minutes later, Wingham Folks Meet in Florida A letter from Bill McCool would indicate Daytona Beach as a popular spot with Wingham- ites. Mr, and Mrs. Elwell Web- ster and Mr. and Mrs. Charles llodgins had been callers and Dr, and Mrs. Art Irwin of Largo were week -end guests with the McCools, Dr, and Mrs. F. A. Parker are only a block away and Mrs. R. E. McKinney about two blocks. Jean and Bill won the Mr, and Mrs. bowling tour- nament last week. Ross said that vacant lots would have to pay the same frontage charges as those which are occu- pied. He explained that the rates per foot are not unreason- able, but due to the fact that many ratepayers own large par- cels of land, the system would be quite expensive for some in- dividuals. Mrs. Keith McLaughlin want- ed anted to know if the charges would be less as time goes along. The engineer said such would not be the case as the financing is amortized over the total period. Mayor Miller enquired as to the estimate of the annual char- ges for a 100 feet of frontage. Mr. Ross worked it out to an average of $47.00, on a 20 - year basis, plus the individual connections which amount to about $100.00. The engineer went on to ex- plain the workings of the Local Improvement Act. He said that before a system could be built, the plans would have to meet the approval of two-thirds of the ratepayers owning half the land in any one section of the plan, with the plan being divid- ed into eight sections. However, it was obvious that the sections near the river crossing at the Howson Dam would have to be completed before those farther removed would be feasible. Mr. Ross was asked if any consideration has been given by the town to bearing part of the cost. Mr. Ross said that the whole community is paying for the disposal program recently completed and that a portion of the new plan for the north side of the river would be classified as a trunk sewer and would be paid for by the community as a whole. One other long line could fall into this category, if council felt it desirable. Councillor Alan Williams explained that the system is largely latterals and must be paid for by the ratepayers, as this was the case in other parts of the town. The Mayor said that if the people in the area want the sys- tem installed, the next step will be to take up petitions in each section for presentation to coun- cil, After considerable discussion on cost factors, G.W. Tiffin seemed to express the majority opinion when he said, "It ap- pears that the problem is the same as it was 45 years ago -- too many acres, and too few people." A number of people expres- sed the view that the project would be too expensive for the individual ratepayers to handle. Mr. Ross said that he did not think that anyone would force a sewage system on the people, if they did riot want it. The mayor adjourned the two-hour meeting, after again stating it is up to the ratepayers involved to petition council if they want to go ahead. Each ratepayer had been pro- vided with a copy of the engin- eering report which was presen- ted to council by Mr. Ross two weeks ago. The report indicat- ed the sewers would cost some $80, 000 which worked out to an average of $1,700 for each pro- perty owner. UP !T GOES!—Canada's new flag was rais- ed at the town hall on Monday at noon, with Mayor DeWitt Miller, right, reading a proclamation from the Queen. He was assisted by Chief Constable Jim Miller and Town Clerk William Renwick. Special Meeting Marks Anniversary of Kinsmen Local Kinsmen were joined by the presidents of 16 other district clubs to mark the 45th anniversary of the Kinsmen mo- vement and the 16th anniver- sary of the local club on Mon- day evening. The meeting was also a civic and press night, with civic and members of the press on hand for the occasion. Previous to the meeting the visiting presidents and President Calvin Burke of the local club, appeared for a 10 -minute pro- gram on CKNX to explain some of the aims and objects of the organization. Special guests at the dinner meeting at Danny's Restaurant Joins Son at Local Dairy Bernard Bailey, formerly of Kingston where he was employ- ed at a hospital for a number of years has joined his son, Renus Bailey, in the operation of the Sunrise Dairy. Mrs. Bailey will also be mov- ing to Wingham in the near fu- ture. were Governor Mait Edgar of Clinton, Deputy Governor Ian Belton of Meaford, Mayor De- Witt Miller, Reeve Joe Kerr of Wingham and Captain Ferris of the Salvation Army, W.T. Cruickshank, president of CKNX, Sandy Baird, of the Kitchener - Waterloo Record, who was guest speaker, and Ted McCannell of Walkerton, district reporter for the KW Record. Several of the visiting club presidents were ac- companied by one or two mem- Pair Arrested for Grocery Theft Two men were arrested fol- lowing an episode at the Red Front Grocery on Friday after- noon and charged with theft. Taken into custody andplac- ed in the Huron County jail pending a hearing in police court are William E.Scott of Listowel and Larry Schlueter of Millbank. The two are alleged to have made an attempt to steal gro- ceries from the local place of business. PS Board Receives Approval for Gym William Harris, chairman of the Wingham Public School Board, has announced that ap- proval has been given by the Department of Education for the preliminary stages o f building an addition at the school. At its inaugural meeting in January the board discussed the need for an addition to house a gymnasium -auditorium in which physical education classes could be held, which would also pro- vide for recreation facilities in recess periods and which would serve as an assembly hall for the larger school gatherings and joint classes. The department has approved the engaging of architects to prepare preliminary drawings and estimates. Since the appro- val was received the hoard has engaged the architectural firm of Kyles 8; Kyles of Hamilton, who will proceed with the pre- liminary work at once. The firm •has been in charge of several major building pro- jects here, including the latest addition to the high school and a wing at the public school. Following the architects' re- port on costs, final approval of both plans and estimates will be required rrorn the Department of Education, as well as the ap- proval of the town council whicl will have to issue the necessary debentures, bers of their clubs. Clubs from Chesley, Clinton, Collingwood, Durham, Goderich, Flesherton, Kincardine, Listowel, Markdale, Mt. Forest, Walkerton and Port Elgin were represented at the meeting. PROGRAM The toast to the Association of Kinsmen Clubs was made by Kin Alan Williams and replied to by Ian Belton, deputy gover- nor. Kin Matt Boyd was the an- niversary chairman and was congratulated by the president for his efforts. Mayor Miller remarked that he was most happy to be on hand for the meeting as he had been a charter member of the Wingham organization. He wet- corned the visitors to the com- munity. Captain Ferris said it was a privilege for him to attend and congratulated the local club for the work they have done in the community, GOVERNOR SPEAKS Governor Mait Edgar outlin- ed briefly the history of the or- ganization. He said Kinsmen were unique, for the organization is the only all -Canadian service club. He. said Kinsmen were or- ganized in 1920 when 21 men in Hamilton decided to get to- gether for fellowship. The or- ganization has grown to 410 clubs across Canada with over 1:2,000 members. In the 45 - year history some 40, 000 men have been members of the or- ganization. KITCHENER SPEAKER Sandy Baird, associate edit- or of the Kitchener -Waterloo Record, was gue•L speaker. He was introduced by Kin Bob Wen- ger, of the Wingham Advance - Times. Mr. Baird outlined some of the responsibilities of the press in Canada. lie pointed out that freedom of the press is nothing more or less than free speech, and that the press has no more rights in this regard than any individual. He said there is a tendency on the part of some public organizations to meet secretly and exclude the press. This, he said, is keeping public Please turn to Page Eight Mrs. D. Beecroft Is Champion Correspondent Mrs. Dustan Beecroft, who was our correspondent for the Whitechurch area for more than 40 years, was signally honored at the annual convention of the Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association in Toronto on Fri- day. She was presented with Ontario Hydro's plaque, as "Champion Weekly Newspaper Correspondent, 1965" The citation was given by James A, Blay, director of pub- lic relations for Ontario Hydro And the plaque was aecepted for Mrs, Beecroft by publisher Barry Wenger of the Advance= Titnes. Though Mrs, Beecroft retired as Advance -Times correspond- ent a little over a year ago, the committee of judges which snakes the selection from among the hundreds of rural correspond- ents for all weekly newspapers in the province, reviewed the columns which she had contri- buted in past years and selected her for this honor, Mrs. Beecroft reported the Whitechurch news for more than forty years, covering every as- pect of community life in a lively and interesting fashion, She was particularly adept at securing "personal" items -- those important little items about the comings and goings of neighbors within the community Though seemingly unexciting these personals arc highly valu- ed by most ‘� eekly publishers, for they are the lifeblood of small community news. It was with deep gratitude to Mrs. Beecroft (and to all out hard-working correspondents) that we participated in this pre- sentation.