The Huron Expositor, 1996-09-18, Page 1County
Fire Chiefs of
Huron meet today
about a coordinator
for county.
See page 2
Hospital
Hospital volunteers
are recognized
at special dinner.
See page 3
Entertainment
"Save the last
dance for me" at
Family Paradise.
See page 15
Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 — Seaforth, Ontario
Briefly
Fundraiser
for food bank
. Stocks arc scanty and
shelves have been getting
barer this summer at
Seaforth's Food Bank, so the
youth group at First
Presbyterian Church has vol-
unteered to help raise funds
by selling hot dogs and pop
thisiSaturday, in front of a
hank on Main Street from
10:30 a.m.'until 1 p.m.
There are about 14 youths
in the church group.
Another $2
million to be cut
Budget reductions will have
to identify about another $2 -
million to bring the Huron
County 'Board of Education
down to the $59 -million
range for spending next year,
notes director Paul Carroll's
current newsletter. It adds the
withdrawal of ministry fund-
ing is expected to continue
for -at least two more years.
Rain puts
damper on event
Steady rain put a damper on
the annual Huron Pioneer
Thresher Reunion and Hobby
Show at Blyth two weekends
ago. Organizers say gate
receipts' show 7, 000 attended
the three-day event, which is
about half of what is normal.
Des jite the weatherperson's
lack of co-operation, 825
campers registered, an
increase of about 200 from
'the year before's figures.
Seaforth now on
World Wide Web
The Town of Seaforth now
has a home page on the
much -ballyhooed World
Wide Web, recently loaded
onto the Internet by the
HOMEtown Community
Network.
"We think it's an excellent
start," economic development
co-ordinator Cathy Garrick
said last week when Seaforth
Council met.
She reported the page is a
joint effort of town staff,
Greg Sherwood at Seaforth
District High School and two
summer students hired
through a government sum-
mer employment program.
The page can be accessed
on the HOMEtown network
under towns and villages,
Huron County.
Dedication
service for Food
Grains Bank
The Seaforth and Area
Fdxxl Grains Bank is holding
a dedication service on
Sunday, September 22.
• The event is being orga-
nized with local clergy and
• will take place on the lawn of
Joan Stewart's farm east of
Seaforth at 12:30 p.m.
"Everyone is welcome,"
says organizer Jim Murray. A
light lunch will follow the
service and there is no charge
for the event.
September 18, 1996 - 75 Cents Plus GST
PHOTO BY GREGOR CAMPBELL
NEWS YOU CAN SINK YOUR TEETH INTO - Kuma (the Wonder Dog) knows the scoop. He is an Akita, a Japanese dog,originaily bred for hunting and
as a guard dog. Kuma's owner, Anita Hansen of Seaforth, can teach your pooch the same stunt. She begins instructing dog obedience classes on
Tuesday nights in town next month. Meet Kylie and get further details on page 9.
Mother sign controversy
re in hot water over back -lit sign
BY GRIL CAMPBELL
Expose
Visions of Main Street's
future once again clashed
with localbusiness concerns
at Seaforth Council last
week.
At issue was an application,
to replace a worn-out back -lit
Radio Shack sign in the win-
dow of Nifty Corners, recent-
ly bought by Jim and Danica
McNichol of Seaforth, with a
new sign of the same type
already on order.
The store is at 33 Main
South, at the corner of John
Street, and was called Bob
and Betty's before the
McNichols bought it from
another Seaforth couple late
last year. It has been a Radio
Shack outlet for many years.
The new owners found the
old electric sign had deterio-
Srd to the point of being
serous when they were
tonovating.
But Seaforth Council and
its Local Architectural
Conservation Advisory
Committee (LACAC) don't
allowthese box -lit signs
anymore. They are not con-
sidered "heritage" enough.
The town pew** bylaw
ort i
previously,�rt9atitsg with
LACAC, that out,laivs the
insudiation of new ones, and
hopes to eventually phase out
alt such back -lit signs in the
historically designated down -
1011M.
Coun. Michael Hak, who is
also the town's representative
on LACAC, said ire would
like to see a sign that was
"something more conducive
to the downtown corridor."
LACAC maintains the
McNichol's application to
replace their sign wasn't
detailed enough and didn't
include such basic informa-
tion as dimensions and
colour.
"STUPID BYLAW"
Coen. Hak said the appli-
cants bad indicated "the town
was stupid and the bylaw was
stupid,"- and added the
McNichols told the heritage
committee the sign in ques-
tion only comes in the one
size.
He said he wasn't con-
vinced this was true, pointing
out that in Niagara -on -the -
Lake and towns in Quebec
and the Carolinas you won't
find a back -lit sign in the
place because their councils
have passed similar restric-
tive bylaws.
What do Radio Shack and
other big companies do in
these heritage towns, Coun.
Hak asked?
Coun. Heather Robinet said
council might consider con-
tacting Radio Shack them-
selves.
"We have no option but to
approve," she thought.
Clerk/Administrator Jim
Crocker outlined council's
options as the bylaw stands,
which provides for a fine.
"If it was there before they
feel they should be allowed
ti replace it," he reported,
adding "personally, I think
that rightfully the store own-
ers and businesses deserve to
be treated equally."
The old sign was "danger-
ous" and this seems a "valid
point", he added.
Council seemed split on the
issue, and cautious too, given
recent news reports and all
the hullabaloo and various
opinions expressed in the
past month about LACAC
and heritage locally, in letters
to the editor, opinion
columns and editorials in The
Huron Ezposrtor.
"UN -ORDER 11"
"How can they order a, sign
without the approval of
LACAC," Coun. John Ball
asked? "We could tell them
to un -order it. LACAC has
been robbed of the opportuni-
ty to discuss it."
"If the sign was there
before, common sense says
'What's the difference?',"
Reeve Bill Bennett said.
"It wouldn't be an issue if
they had taken the time to
consult LACAC," Coun. Balt
said. "It doesn't seem right
when this hens again, and
again, and pam "
A couple of times during
council's discussion, Coun.
Hak repeated LACAC was
doing this "for their own
good," referring to business
downtown.
Deputy -Reeve Teal! said all
in Seaforth don't agree. "All
downtown businesses haven't
'bought into' the notion of
'common benefit'," he said,
which makes convincing•
those who feel otherwise
much like "driving a horse to
water," that doesn't want to
drink.
Coun. Brian Ferguson was
absent last week, and also for
council's other regular meet-
ing two weeks ago.
A motion to amend the cur-
rent bylaw to allow the
replacement of pre-existing
back -lit signs, by Deputy -
Reeve Teall and seconded by
Coun. Robinet, didn't come
to a vote. Council decided to
defer a decision until next
month. At its regular meeting
the week before, on Sept. 10,
CONTINUED on page 3
Town backs LACAC, says Mayor Johnston
BY DAVID SCOTT
Expositor Editor
LACAC is alive and well.
That message was delivered
by Mayor Irwin Johnston in
his introductory comments to
the September meeting of the
Seaforth and Area Heritage
Preservation Committee on
Thursday.
"Despite what's been in the
paper. we're 100 per cent
behind LACAC. It will still
be part of this town. They're
doing a good job. Keep up
the good work," said
Johnston. He did say that
some "adjustments and fine
tuning had to be done" to the
local architecture committee.
Mayor Johnston said that
although funds aren't
presently available. the her-
itage preservation committee
can start smaller projects.
"We want to eventually end
up with a museum in
Seaforth."
The purpose of Thursday
night's meeting was to recap
heritage priorities and act on
accomplishing some short
term goals for the new com-
mittee.
•
Three specific actions came
out of discussion and minutes
of the previous meeting.
The first is to set up a store-
front display on Main Street,
Seaforth promoting • the
Seaforth and Arca Heritage
Committee. The second was
CONTINUED on page 3
7 4