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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1996-09-11, Page 44—TNU HURON IXPOSITOR, Ileptemb.r 11, 1PI14 Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 TERRI-LYNN DALt • General Manager & Advertising Manger MARY MELLOR - Solei PAT ARMES - Office Manger DIANNE McGRATH Subscriptions 8 Classifieds QAVE SCOTT • Editor GREGOR CAMPBELI< • Reporter BARB STOREY • distribution A Bowes Publishers Community Newspaper SUBSCRIPTION RATES LOCAL 32 50 o year, in odvonce, plus 2 28 G S 1 EN/0115,.- 30 00 a year, in odronce, plus 2 10 G 5 T' USA & Foreign 32 50 a year in advance, plus 878 00 postage, G S 1 exempt .SUBSCRIPTION RATES Published weekly by SignalStor Publishing of 100 Main St , Seaforth Publication mail registration No 0696 held at Seoforth, Ontario Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of o typogrophrco) error, the odvertnong space occupied by the erroneous item, together with o reosonoble allowance for signature, well not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate In the event of a typogrophical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time The Huron.Expositor n not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other moteriels used for reproduction purposes Changes of address. orders for subscriptions and undelry enable copies are to be sent to The Huron Expositor Wednesday, September 11, 1996 Editorial and Business Offices - 100 Main Street.,Seafortls Telephone (5191 327-0240 Fax (519) 527.2858 Mailing Address • P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, NOK 1WO Member of the Conodan Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community Newspapers Association and the Ontario Press Council Views expressed on our opinion page(s) don't necessarily represent the views of The Huron Expositor or Bowes Publishers. The Huron Expositor reserves to right to edit letters to the edi- tor or to refuse publication. Letters to the Editor LACAC quotes $4,000 paint job, family paints house for $300 Dear Editor: It's about time the town's 'people arc starting to find out all about LACAC. We were approached many years ago by some people to say that our home would be a heritage home and would we go along with LACAC. We asked just what that would mean. We, were told that there are cer- tain grants that would be available to us if our home was designated a heritage home. We were given the example that if we needed a new roof`or a paint job then LACAC wouldput up about half of the money and we, as the home owners would put in the balance to have the job done. Nothing was said at the time about doing .it their way or having to get permission to do things. At the same time no money was offered to us to have the heritage plaque put on our home, but LACAC wanted $400 to take it off our home at a later date. Anyway we went along with the heritage designation at the beginning. As time passed we thought wc would • like to paint the house so we approached LACAC. They gave us a price of $4(XX) and they would have to hire the contractors. We told them that that was'almost as much as we had paid for the house originally and no thank you. My husband and the boys painted the house for $300. Later we found out that if LACAC had been on the ball they would have told us the house was plain Krick and shouldn't be painted at all. We have worked very hard on our home doing every- thing to improve it and make work easier. I along, with many others, believe that if you own the house or busi- ness and pay taxes then you should be able to improve it the way you wish. At thc samc time, those with the money to do it thc old way can go ahead and do it that way. Box's store front is lovely but it cost a pile of Money to do. It is quite obvi- ous from the many empty stores over the last few years that fixing up their store didn't really bring any more business to town that I can see. Some of the empty stores arc a disgrace. My husband got the job of putting the windows in Maplewood Manor a few years ago.. It is lovely, but again, it could have been done for a lot less money by putting in the new windows of the day with vinyl instead of wood. The wood has to be painted and treated and con- stantly maintained. The new modern windows can be made to look just like the old style but they are low mainte- nance and much easier to clean making work for all easier and less costly. I recall the Commercial Hotel getting a grant to fix up the outside of the building. They put a couple of lights outside, some shutters and some trees. Meanwhile the inside was terrible with not one decent room for anyone to stay in. You may remem- ber the comments in the paper about this from some hockey parents that were storm -stayed in Seaforth at the hotel. Our town doesn't have one decent place for people to stay if they come as a tourist, a wedding guest, or an athlete competing in one of our many sporting events. I would suggest that if you're going to give grants to places then help them make the inside better too. If you're only looking at the outside then it's a lot like putting on a new dress while leaving dirty underwear on under- neath. As for Mr. Ross suggesting fines, he took his business out of town, so obviously Seaforth wasn't for him. Why is he still involved and stick- ing his two cents in? I take my hat off to thc Ryans and the McNichols for doing a nice job. Let's encourage people to make our little town nice whether it be her- itage or not. After all we are the taxpayers and pay the wages of those who work for the town whether as an employee or an elected offi- cer. Yours truly, Mary and Ken Doig Town at crossroads with LACAC Okay, who didn't take their friendly town pills? (They're the green and yellow ones). i promised myself not to read this paper or any other newspaper during my two weeks of holidays. So it was a little surprising to read all about the LACAC controver- sy (and continue to read about it) when i returned. It's an issue that's finally reached the boiling point. And with the burnt-out build- , ing left in limbo on Main Street, I imagine things will continue to be in a bit of tur- moil for some time. Something has happened to Seaforth's opinion on LACAC and heritage in the past decade. Town council embraced the idea of a her- itage downtown in the mid- 1980s and at the time the government was throwing a lot of money into preserving buildings. But the province is almost entirely out of the her- itage business now and many locals wonder if the town should end it's heritage rela- tionship with the province. Months flack, I wrote an editorial about the need for some kind of sign on Highway 8 telling tourists about our Main Street, since all of this time and money has been put into its designa- tion over the years. And our downtown is in need of some tourist dollars. i still maintain a sign might get a few more people turning downtown. But maybe it's too little too late. We have an attractive Main Street as far as architecture goes but when your eyes fall to the vacant storefronts and "For Sale" signs it's down- right depressing. What incentive is there for someone to open a business on Seaforth's Main Street? There certainly are Jrterrents if you consider I. l( 'r' a burden. In the present e,_ ,,- nomic climate, i don't ',now if there is a place for heritage designation for businesses with the costs and work asso- ciated with it. As the well articulated let- ters of the past few weeks state, maybe we should just let store owners decorate and improve their stores as they see fit without dictating colour codes from 100 years ago. i appreciate history and her- itage and will continue to be part of the Seaforth and Arca Heritage Preservation Committee but it seems that as far as the main street goes, Seaforth has reached a cross- roads where the future of downtown businesses meets the preservation of historical . architecture. Can we have both? • For those who can afford it and want to, please continue to preserve your heritage buildings with authentic ren- ovations. But for those who don't have the capital or see designation as a harrier to starting a new business, then we have to ask ourselves is it worth preserving a ghost town if only a few businesses survive? As many know and have stated, Seaforth stores are fighting a huge battle as cus- tomers flock to nearby retail - giants like Wal-Mart and Zehrs and soon Zellers . And there are other out-of-town draws like Home Depot, Price Cluh and dozens of malls in an hour's drive of town. It's going to take ingenuity, creativity and good value for new stores and present busi- nesses to survive. It's time for the town to review the role and function of LACAC and decide what it's purpose will be in the future. Seaforth will live through this latest controversy. Hopefully from it we'll learn some valuable survival tech- niques if the town wants to remain viable heading into the next millennium. Grave concerns about bussing cuts Dear Editor: How much arc your chil- dren worth to you? There is absolutely no price 1 can imagine that would come close. We start from the time of conception to protect, nurture and love our children. I am writing this letter with grave concerns about the recent Huron -Perth Roman Catholic School Board cuts to our buses. I am a member of Child Find Ontario and we can never do enough to "Street Proof' our children an the "stranger in the car" or the stranger with the dog or candy. We all like to think • that our children will not take the bait but I'm not willing to take the risk. We live beyond the Industrial Park, fire route, Creamery, Jervis Car Shop, Bell Foundry and the Dcinut Shop. There is also a new car wash and office complex going in right beside the rail- way tracks. Yes, the railway tracks. Every resident in Seaforth can testify to the fact that it is very irregular. The signals are constantly flashing and bells ringing while they are filling the train cars at the London Agricultural Commodity or having their coffee break at the donut shop. There arc 3 tracks at this crossing. Very often there is railway cars on all 3 tracks. You are often in the centre of the tracks before you see or hear the train. So once my son walks and hopefully makes it safely through the "maze" of trucks, trains and automobiles, he then has to tackle the very busy Mair( Street with early morning deliveries' and mail getters. Getting closer to winter season, my son will have to walk on the road. Will you and everyone else See him a� :he battles the snow plows • and snow hanks? He will be. on the road not on the side- 'xalks because the sidewalks are not plowed and in some cases'there are no sidewalks to talk of, All of this while the bus drives' right by my street and past him as he takes the risks of frostbite and exposure, to the elements: • Is my son expected to walk 30 to 40 minutes to school when it is too cold to play outside for a 15 m'inute recess? , As a parent I am very dis- satisfied with,the hoard's actions and decisions. Why must my child's safety have a price tag? ` ' . Thank you for your time. Colleen Dale • Will our taxes now be decreased? Dear Editor: advantage. Even though no tive that we take a stand and - meetings, it would save I would like to inform all cost savings could, be quoted, ' fight for what is rightfully towards the. cost of educa- separate school ratepayers of our children have lost their ours. tion' i am.sure there are other how our school board oper- bus service. Be awarc as our Trying to deal with the cost saving measures that can- ates. Our school taxes have school board is suggesting a school board is frustrating to be taken besides jeopardizing increased seven percent this4.2 km. radius for next year. say the least. Maybe if the the safety of our children. year, yet we still have cut- Will our taxes then be board would start paying for Yours sincerely. backs to the ratepayers' dis- decreased? It seems impera- their own refreshments at , Chris Ducharme • • Come live on other side of tracks for a day Dear Editor: one. The school board views There should be exceptions low par fits and taxpayers of I can't believe how far we dollar signs. God forbid if Mr. Board of Education. went as parents. We fought for so many rights. It's 1996 and we are going 20 years backwards. Safety, safety we teach our children from day one of the children get hit by Come live on the other side aforth let'.s make all our children and grandchildren a rig or train. Who's going to of the tracks for a day and be paying for a new bus for please see for yourself how safe from the industrial area the disabled if they get para- difficult crossing the street is of town. lyzed? (walking or driving). To fel Mary Kay titiddleditch Goderich only smokeless high school. in 1971 hs. FROM THE PAGES OF THE HURON EXPOSITOR SEPTEMBER 18,1896 A GOOD SOW - Mr. James Dorrance, the noted pig breeder of McKillop town- ship, has been making anoth- er important purchase. While in Toronto he purchased from Mr. Green, of Fairview, a fine two-year-old Berkshire sow, which took second prize at the Toronto Exhibition this year. This is one of the finest young animals ever brought into this county, and we hope Mr. Dorrance will'be well repaid for his enterprise. LOCAL BRIEFS - The Winthrop Cheese Company have sold their July and August cheese for 8 and five - eights cents, which is consid- ered a good price for July. The cheese was shipped from Seaforth on Wednesday. - Mr. Thomas E. Hays returned from his trip to the.old coun- try, where he had been with his cattle, on Friday last. He got his cattle over all right; struck a good market, and trade a good sale. - As an evidence of the intelligent interest which the average Britisher takes in this Canada of ours, wc may say that a firm in this town recently received a letter from a large manufacturing firm in Hull, England, addressed, "Seaforth, Oregon, Canada." SEPTEMBER 16, 1921 A very interesting service was held in the Salvation Army Barracks on Tuesday evening, being the occasion of a lecture on the people of India and their 'customs by Staff Captain Lewis, and Mrs. Lewis, who spent the past twenty years in that part of the British Empire doing missionary work. The mis- sionaries were costumed in the garb common amongst the people of East India, and opened the meeting by singing a Salvation Army song in the native Marathi language. Rev. Capt. Edwards, pastor of the Methodist church, occupied' a seat on the plat- form, and gave a very inter- esting address relative to meeting the troops from India on the battlefields of France and Flanders. LOCAL BRIEFS - Mr. J.M. Best has removed his law office from the rooms above Walker's furniture store to the Royal Block, where a handsome suite of rooms has been fitted up for him on the ground floor facing Main Street and adjoining H. Edge's fine new hardware store. - Rev. B. Smillie, of India, will occupy the pulpit both morning and evening in the Egmondville church, on Sunday. September 25. SEPTEMBER 20, 1946 Residents of Seaforth. McKillop and Tuckersmith received their new ration books at Seaforth Town Hall and Brucefield United Church, where the issue was made, on Friday and Saturday, and at Brucefield on Thursday and Friday. At Seaforth, 4.107 books were issued and 516 at Brucefield, a total of 4,623. which exceeded the last issue at Seaforth by 285 books and at Brucefield by 19. The largest crowd of sport enthusiasts to witness a game in Seaforth in many years. gathered at the Lions Park Tuesday evening for the sec- ond game of the Senior WOAA Softball League semi-finals. Perfect weather and the fact that Seaforth business places were closed at five o'clock. swelled the attendance to unlooked for proportions, and the result of the game made the large crowd happy. A week ago Seaforth went down to a 1-0 decision at Southampton, but Tuesday night's game provided ample revenge in a clean, fast game. Seaforth proved to he the aggressors throughout the game, and Kennedy on the mound for the home team proved superior to Gateman. who pitched for Southampton. SEPTEMBER 23, 1971 Goderich District Collegiate Institute remains the only high school in Huron County where the stu- dents are not permitted to smoke on the school grounds following • a decision at. Monday evening's board of education meeting in Clinton. Board members agreed to permit the students at Central Huron Secondary School to establish a recreation area to the west of the school and it is understood that smoking will be permitted there. eec Perfect weather attracted a crowd •'stimated at 6.000 to Seaforth . 126th annual fall fair on Friday. Actually the weather was too good, President Earl Dick said. Many area farmers stayed home to harvest beans rather than attend the fair. While the crowd appeared to be about the same as last year, gate receipts were up slightly secretary James Keys said. This increase reflected a more effective ticket collec- tion arrangement. President Dick suggested.