The Citizen, 1995-12-06, Page 6You Can
find The Key
It isn't easy to change your
life, but others have found
the way. Discover new
life by learning how to follow
Jesus each day.
BRUSSELS
MENNONITE
FELLOWSHIP
9:30 a.m.
Sunday Worship Service
10:30 a.m.
Christian Education
(for all ages)
Everyone Welcome
SENIORS SCENE 1995/96
COMMUNITY RESOURCE HANDBOOK
is now available to residents of Huron County.
Pick up this free guide to programs and services
for older adults at any branch of the
Huron County Health Unit, your local
library branch, or call the
Information & Placement Coordination
Service at 482-5666 or 1-800-267-0535.
COMMEMORATE THE NEWEST
FAMILY MEMBER'S
1ST NEW YEAR
Join the gallery of faces
in The Citizen's
first ever baby photo display
Send or bring a picture of your little
one born in 1995, along with a 25-word
write-up which includes name, birthdate
and familiy members, to be featured in
The Citizen's, Gallery of Faces on Jan, 3.
1996, for only $10 (GST included).
Please send pictures (with name on
back), along with a cheque, to The
Citzen, prior to Dec. 15. Photos may be
picked up after Jan. 3.
PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1995.
County approves reduction in plowing
Faced with more miles of high-
ways and less money to pay for
costs, Huron County council Thurs-
day approved a plan to pull snow-
plows off the road between
midnight and 5 a.m.
Denis Merrall, county engineer,
told councillors that by adopting a
policy that said there would be no
late-night snow-clearing, they were
protecting the county against possi-
ble law suits in case of accidents. It
will be up to individual drivers to
take responsibility for their actions
Merrall
e resigns
Huron County will have to deal
with a 50 per cent cut to its high-
ways budgets without the man who
has led the highways department
for the past eight years.
Huron County Engineer Denis
Merrall announced his resignation
to county council Nov. 30. He is
returning to Middlesex County,
where he worked before coming to
Huron in 1987. He assumes his
new position Jan. 8.
Merrall said he felt a huge
responsibility in coming to Huron
to fill the large shoes of Jim Brit-
nell and Bob Dempsey as his pre-
decessors. He had carried on the
tradition of building a quality road
system, tie said. "Your roads have
been built to last."
He praised the work of the peo-
ple in the highways department
saying they had made it possible to
do more with less (staff has
dropped from 46 to 36 since 1987).
It's time that people looked at the
value of their road system in com-
parison to the cost, he said. Com-
pare the cost of your roads to the
telephone bill or cable-TV bill for a
year, he challenged residents.
Merrall will remain with the
county until the Jan. 5 meeting of
council and plans to present his
annual report on the state of county
highways at that time. He'll also
present a draft of the 1996 road
budget.
"I leave you with the responsibil-
ity of protecting and maintaining
the best highway system in
Ontario," he said.
if they choose to drive during the
hours when there is no snow clear-
ing, he said.
"What we're doing is the best we
can with the resources we have,"
Cuts to the provincial grants to
the Huron County Library will total
40 per cent over the next two years,
Huron County Librarian Beth Ross
told county council Nov. 30.
Ross said there have been some
misconceptions from media cover-
age of the Nov. 29 provincial eco-
nomic statement, one being that the
libraries were now free to charge
user fees. There will be no user fees
to offset the 20 per cent funding cut
Merrall told councillors. In 1996
there will be only 36 employees in
the roads department compared to
46 when Men-all joined the depart-
ment in 1987. The winter mainte-
in 1996, she said. The system faces
a further 20 per cent cut in 1997 but
there may be some provision for
user fees by then.
While the current government is
cutting funding by about $50,000,
the pay equity implemented by pre-
vious governments will likely cost
$102,000 extra each year. The
library board is exploring the
impact of closing branch 3, branch
2 and even some branch 1 (largest)
branches to save money.
nance staff will fall from 43 to 31.
There just aren't the people avail-
able to go out in the middle of the
night except in emergencies, he
said.
Bill Vanstone, reeve of Colborne,
questioned if it might not be better
to cut back on construction than on
winter maintenance. "I would far
sooner see a mile of construction
cut back than to see someone dead
.at the side of the road."
Merrall said 'the decision was up
to council as to what to sacrifice.
Most councillors, however, sup-
ported the proposal to reduce night-
time maintenance.
"We can't keep them open all the
time so we might as well be closed
in the middle of the night," said
Brian McBumey,.reeve of lumber-
ry
Library hit
with 40% cut