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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-12-08, Page 1Vol. 9 No. 49 Wednesday, December 8, 1993 600 GST included • izen The North Huron • 1 A jolly pair Oh, the weather outside was frightful but the look on a youngster's face is delightful when Santa Claus, with the Missus, makes his annual visit to Brussels as he did this past Saturday as guest of honour in the annual Santa Claus Parade. After finishing the ride along the route he and Mrs. Claus parked the sleigh behind the old CIBC building so they could spend some time passing out bags of goodies to the many young- sters who lined up for a chance to see the jolly old elf in person. County rejects CAS grant request Community Youth Centre CEO discpsses behaviour problems See page 8 Government County councillors dispute planning application fees See page 13 Special 4 pages of holiday music See page 15 4-H Hallrice Dairy Club honours its own at banquet See page 20, 21 Villages to discuss sludge storage tanks Pleading limited funds, Huron County Council Thursday decided not to contribute the $200,000 requested by the Children's Aid Society (CAS) for the society's new headquarters. The recommendation from the county's executive committee pointed out the county faces finan- cial pressures under the provincial Lirussels councillors were irked over comments by members of the Huron County Library Board fol- lowing their visit to the Brussels library. Generally the report was positive but several comments printed at the bottom of the report had council- Expenditure Control Program, the Social Contract, the effects of the Long-term Care Act Reform and the expected expenses for the waste management program and the reno- vation of the old Huronview. Goderich Reeve John Doherty questioned if the county's decision to phase out all grants meant the county couldn't give grants. War- lors furious. One board member noted the grass needed cutting. another said "outside poor - munic- ipality should be advised". "What more do they want?", Councillor Mary Stretton won- dered. She noted the village had den Tom Tomes said the new grants policy didn't preclude giving grants. "We may still give grants," he said. He called the CAS request "a touchy subject". In a press release issued after the decision, the CAS pointed out that "almost without exception across the province, local governments had provided financial support to council replaced the windows and fixed a leaning chimney at the library in the past few years. Reeve Gordon Workman noted that many library board members are provincial appointments and don't have to worry about where the money comes from to do the things they think should be done. "Don't pay any attention to them until they start providing some money," Councillor Bruce Hahn advised. On the good news front, circula- tion of books and materials from the library last year reached its highest level in nearly 30 years. Nearly 15,000 items were circulat- ed in 1992 compared to 9,234 for 1982 and just over 4000 in 1968. Brussels village councillors voted Monday night to seek a meeting with Blyth council before proceed- ing further on the problem of stor- age of sludge from the sewage treatment plants of the two villages. the Children's Aid Society that serves their community." The Lon- don-Middlesex CAS had received support from both the city ($1 mil- lion) and the county ($300,000). The County's decision is unfortu- nate, the CAS says, "For without their initiative the Capital Projects Fundraising Council will have a hard time convincing charitable foundations that they should con- tribute to the building fund." The CAS request came after it became obvious there would be a shortfall between the provincial government grant for the new building in Goderich's industrial park, and the building's costs. In November 1992 the CAS Boafd voted to hire a full-time fundraiser with a budget of approximately $40,000. This money was to be taken out of the fundraising budget. Now, however, according to War- den Tom Tomes, the CAS has rescinded this motion, and the fundraising costs will come from elsewhere in the budget. The coun- ty picks up 20 per cent of the oper- ating costs of the CAS. Ill feeling between county coun- cil and the CAS has been an ongo- Continued on page 13 Council received a letter from Blyth saying that village had instructed engineer B. M. Ross and Associates to look at the possibility of purchasing land somewhere between the two villages to con- struct a tank for storing sludge from the sewage plants in both centres. The sludge, left over from the sewage treatment facility, is spread on fields as fertilizer during the summer months but must be stored while the fields are frozen. Sewage plants in both villages have a short- age of space and have been renting a manure tank on a Morris town- ship farm. Both villages are also in the mid- dle of design plans for new holding facilities, backed by a provincial grant which provides 83 per cent of the engineering costs (Brussels received a cheque for $21,490 recently). The result would be hold- ing tanks in each village valued at about $350,000. To councillors, the idea of paying $350,000 for a holding tank when they're currently using a much cheaper farm manure tank seemed ridiculous. Reeve Gordon Work- man said of the Blyth proposal: "It's got $350,000 beat all to heck." But Donna White, clerk-treasur- er, warned council buying a new property would require environ- mental hearings and public meet- ings, likely leading to complaints from neighbours who didn't want sewage disposal in their area. Council agreed that a meeting with Blyth and Ministry of the Environment officials should take place before much more work was done on the holding tank designs. In the meantime, Reeve Workman suggested, the two villages should keep using the Morris Twp. farm for as long as possible. C. Graig, HCBE chair Graeme Craig of RR 1 Walton was elected to the position of chair- person for the HCBE at the inaugu- ral meeting for the coming year, held on Dec. 6. Over his 11 years as a board member, Mr. Craig has served as a trustee and vice chairperson as well as on several committees. His term runs from Dec. 1, 1993 to Nov. 30, 1994. New chairpersons and committee members were chosen. The education committee will be chaired by Doug Garniss, repre- senting Morris and Turnberry Twps. The other members are Della Baumgarten, Howick Twp; Bob Burton, Bayfield and Stanley Twp.; Vicki Culbert, Ashfield, East and West Wawanosh Twps. and Bea Dawson, Zurich, Hay and Usborne Twps. The management committee will be headed by Allan Carter, Hensall and Tuckcrsmith Twp. with Bob Heywood, Stephen Twp.; Liliane Nolan, Wingham; Norman Pickell, Goderich and Rick Rompf, Goderich; as the committee mem- bers. Don McDonald, representing Brussels and Grey Twp. will chair Continued on page 23 Library report irks Driver hits radio store A Wingham man has been into the Old Thyme Radio Store in charged following an early morning Belgrave. accident in Belgrave, Saturday. The spokesperson said there was A Wingham OPP spokesperson damage done to the steps of the said Jonathan Grummett, 20, was building. Mr. Grummett sustained travelling east on County Road 20 minimal injuries. in Morris Twp. at an excessive He has been charged with care- speed when his 1983 Chev skidded less driving and failing to report an.. through the intersection of Hwy. 4 accident.