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The Huron Expositor, 1995-05-03, Page 1SPORTS A world of animals exists near Seaforth. Find out more inside. see page six. Seaforth and area people had chance to see changes in physiotherapy at local open house. see page eight. Briefly HOSPITAL Seaforth Community Hospital (o+""" 4 starts � new review 'i N process. see page five. Ni r ti Local people named to farm boards Former Minister of Agricul- ture Jack Riddell has been re- appointed as a member and chairperson of the Ontario Stockyards Board. Ross McCall, a livestock producer and dealer from Brussels, was named to a two-year term as member of the Live Stock Financial Protection Board. • In other appointments by the Ontario Ministry of Agri- culture and . Food Robert Hunking, a cash crop and beef producer from Auburn, was re -appointed as a mem- ber for four years of the Beginning Farmer Assistance Program Review Committee. Don Pullen, district sales and marketing manager for Perth and Huron Pickseed Canada Inc., was named to the three-year position as member of the Ontario Agri- cultural Museum Advisory Board. William Jongejan, a hog and cash crop producer from Goderich, was re -appointed member and chairperson for 18 months of the Crop Insur- ance Commission of Ontario. PM to see band from Seaforth Prominent people will be watching the Seaforth and District High School All Girls Marching Band at Sarnia Friday. The Prime Minister, Premier of Ontario and Governor of Michigan are scheduled to be in attendance as the arca girls perform at the official opening of the Sarnia -Port Huron Tunnel. Last year at this time the band was entertaining at the Skydome in Toronto. The band has been hired by a Toronto entertainment company to perform at Friday's ceremonies, from 9 to 9:30 a.m. and again from 11:25 to 11:50 a.m. Director Charles Kalbfleisch says the band will do its Florida routine and music. This includes the theme from the television program 90210, and old favourites; Sweet Georgia Brown, Wipe Out, Pretty Woman, Jeremiah was a Bull Frog and a couple of Disney tunes. Bells to ring for end of World War The bells will ring for peace in Seaforth and arca on Friday, May 5. During World War II the church bells fell silent so they wouldn't draw attention as possible targets. When the ceasefire took place on May 5, 1945 the church bells were able to ring again. This Friday, exactly 50 years later, Seaforth and arca churches will ring their bells at 12:00 noon. The bells will ring for five minutes. The formal surrender of a inakeshift German govern- ment was May 7, 1945. May 8, 1945 was the date of the Allied victory in Europe. 4 FLYING FISH - Larry Dolmage was busy tossing 400 trout into the creek in the rain last Wednesday at noon in preparation for last Saturday's annual fishing derby at Seaforth Lions Park. Organizers say there were more GREGOR CAMPBELL PHOTO entrants than in any other year of the event's more than 15 - year history. Megan Carnochan caught the biggest fish at 15 1/2 inches. There were 220 fisherpersons and 162 trout caught. Heated debate over landfill issue BY DAVID SCOTT SSP News Staff After an hour of discussion at Thursday's Huron County Council meeting on whether Ashfield Township could have a voting member present on a committee looking at a final county landfill site in Ashfield, a motion was carried that passed the question onto a committee. The motion was based on three recommendations made by the county's Planning and Development Committee at its April 18 meeting in response to a request from Ashfield for a representative from the township to sit on the commit- tee to deal with landfill issues. The first two recommenda- tions were approved and state that: 1) Ashfield Township be sent the agenda for the Planning and Development Committee in advance of the meetings. 2) Ashfield Township he informed that they may appoint one member of their Council to attend the meetings of the Planning and Development Committee and to participate in discussions regarding waste management issues. The third recommendation reads: 3) In general, once a pre- ferred or single site is identi- fied, that the municipality's representative on County Council, if not already a mem- ber of the Committee, be invit- ed to participate in Committee discussions on a non-voting basis. Although it was the wish of some county councillors to change the wording of the third recommendation from "non-voting" to "voting" they were unable to do that during Thursday's meeting due to procedural rules. Huron County Council referred the third recommen- dation along with letters from Ashfield Township and the county solicitor to the AFP (Administration, Finance and Personnel) committee for "consideration to look into a voting member." At the root of this controver- sy is the unusual situation of part of the final site for a Huron County landfill being located on a county councilor's property - Ashfield Reeve Allan Gibson's farm. Because of this situation, Gibson must declare a conflict of interest whenever the issue arises at committee or council level and Newspaper sees changes As advertised last week, The Iluron Expositor changes its look a little with this May 3 issue. The changes include the narrower, easier -to -hold page width currently used by The Toronto Star, a new humour column by syndicated columnist William Thomas and a more modern design of our traditional logo. In our recent readership survey the number one feature requested by readers was a humour column. We have tried to accommodate reader input by introducing Thomas's column, which has been popular in many newspapers across the country. The changes to the size of the pages became necessary as newsprint prices soared more than 64 per cent since last year at this time with more increases to come. The newsprint increases follow a recent trend of postal rate increases for community newspapers. By introducing this change The Huron Expositor hopes to reduce the upward pressure on subscription prices and future advertising increases. We thank you for your understanding and hope you enjoy the new additions to your community newspaper. cannot participate in voting or discussion. This mute position of Ashfield prompted the town- ship to protest to the county for their "democratic rights." see Ashfield, page three Seaforth quietly disbands municipal police force BY GREGOR CAMPBELL Expositor Staff All parties seemed satisfied Wednesday night at Town Hall as the disbandment hearing of the Ontario Civilian Police Commission went quickly without any glitches. It was all over in 35 minutes. Commission Chair Murray Chitra, an Ontario government lawyer, said all presentations were "well thought out" and it indicates the citizens of Seaforth and area will continue to be "well -provided" with police service. He said the commission is busy elsewhere in the next month but expects to render its decision in about 30 days. Robert Saracino, a former mayor of Port Colborne, was also present for the commission. If it gives the go-ahead, Seaforth will be free to sign a policing contract with the Ontario Provincial Police and officially disband the 38 -year- old local force. The OPP is the third largest standing police force in North America. A disbandment hearing is required when any municipality switches service under Section 40 of the Police Act. Chitra said the commission ensures the adequacy of municipal policing and make sure former employees are treated fairly. Mayor Irwin Johnston, Seaforth Police Services Chair Lin Steffler, Chief Hal Claus, Seaforth Police Association President Const. Charlie Akey and OPP representative Sgt. Peter McGuinness addressed the commission Wednesday night. The town's submission was the longest and most detailed. Mayor Johnston noted the local police department replaced the OPP in October 1957. The town and police services board decided to ask for a costing proposal from the OPP in February 1993 because Seaforth "was faced with future expenses regarding technology and increased training requirements." He then outlined details of the OPP policing option Seaforth approved in February, noting, among other things, the town will be invoiced for all costs incurred by the provincial police to install and utilize a computerized records management system. Seaforth does not have this now. He said OPP policy dictates two - officer patrol cars will be used from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, "and where practicable on all other nights during those hours". Police services Chair Lin Steffler said the Seaforth Police Force "has served us well over the years". She added the Board also hopes a community policing board will also be set up. Chief Claus, who has accepted an offer to appear before the OPP's Rank Determination Board, and Police Association President Akey both said they are satisfied the provincial police will do more than an adequate job for Seaforth. Henry Ziler of Egmondvillc asked the only question from the public. He said he once called the OPP about an occurrence and the dispatcher didn't seem to know where the village was. Sgt. McGuinness assured him that patrolling officers from the Goderich detachment are far more familiar with the local turf than that dispatcher might have been, and that dispatchers would certainly be famdiarized with any new patrol zone. Huron share corporation receives fund guarantee The Huron Business Devel- opment Corporation has received provincial approval and a guarantee of $500,000, to establish a Community Invest- ment Share Corporation (CISC), which is expected to help create up to 45 new jobs in the area. Once provincial registration requirements are complete, the Huron Business Development Corporation will be able to raise money in the community from people who want to invest in the Community Investment Share Corporation. "The Share Corporation will help diversify our economy by allowing local investment in businesses that need equity capital for the manufacture of new product lines, for local food processing, and for expanding the local tourism base," said Don Pullen, Chairperson of the Huron Business Development Corpor- ation in Seaforth." The Huron Business Devel- opment Corporation is a com- munity based, not-for-profit organization that serves the business community of Huron County. Its mission is to create employment and help the resi- dents of Huron County adapt to a changing economy. Community Investment Share Corporations are permiued under the Community Econ- omic Development Act, which became law in January 1994. They are a financial tool which enables both geographic com- munities and communities of interest to raise funds that can be used to make equity invest- ments of up to $500,000 in local business. Community Investment Share Corporations can be sponsored by commun- ity organizations and munici- palities. Here are some features of the program: • the province guarantees the principal amount invested by individuals, corporations, and foundations in Community Investment Share Corporations so that people in the commun- ity are able to support local businesses without putting their dollars at risk; • • investments are RRSP-cli- gible; • investors may receive a retum on investment depending on the performance of the companies in which the Share Corporation invests; • The CISCs are controlled by the community and by investors themselves. The province has allocated a total' of $20 million under jobsOntario Community Action program for CISC guarantees. To date, 14 organizations throughout the province have been given provincial approval in principle to establish CISCs. In addition to share corpor- ations, the Community Econ- omic Development Act also provides for Community Loan Funds. Similar to Share Cor- porations, the loan funds raise money from people in the community interested in sup- porting local business ventures. These funds are then placed in "guarantee pools" at financial institutions and used to secure loans for entrepreneurs in the community. Both programs are financial tools which provide a community with an opportunity to direct its economic course, according to a press release. Share corporations provide equity financing while loan funds provide loans for less than 515,000 for smaller busi- nesses.