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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1997-12-24, Page 1Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 — Seaforth, Ontario December 24, 1997 — $1.00 includes GST With four Advent candles lit, St. Janes Catholic Church alter server Shawn VanBakcl prepares for the 5:30 p.m. Christmas Eve (Fitton photo) Special case unveile Children's Mass. ince e r m ny at Staffa Hall o the trophies would some- times go missing or get damaged. adding to the costs of running the associ- ations. Along with memorial trophies and plaques, championship trophies will be on display at the Stalfa Hall and this summer four of the nine South Hibbert teams won their divisions. BY RICK KEW Advocate Staff Hibbert Township's sports teams now have a place to keep trophies they win. as the township unveiled a trophy case at the Staffa Hall on Dcc. 15th. Karen Wettlauffer and Bonnie Harris came up with the idea of establish- ing a permanent resting spot for trophies and plaques early this summer. Wettlauffer said when she heard a youngster say he did not know what a memorial trophy was she knew something should be done. The South Hihhert Athletic Association has thc honor of awarding three memorial awards— the Roy Johns memorial award, established in 1984, for the most improved, given to one player on each team; the Steve Gardiner memorial award, estab- lished three years ago, given to the most sports- manlike player on each team; and the Everard Kerslake trophy, estab- lished in 1984, for thc most valuable player on each team. Despite the fact the win- ners names appear on the original award. she said no one could see who the win- ners have been over the years. or discuss the person the awards arc named for because there was no dis- play area in the township. Wettlauffer said she and Harris approached Hibbert council with the idea and they agreed to foot the cost of having a case installed in the Staffa Hall, so the Dublin recreation associa- tion could use it as well. Harris said the case• will alleviatc,another problem the township has had in the past. With no official rest- ing spot for sports trophies. they have been criss-cross- ing the township. often staying a short time with each member of a winning team. However, she said One ringy dingy... two ringy dingy.... Seaforth is getting an expanded local calling arca from Bell Canada, hut not the one it wanted. The telephone company announced last week that Seaforth will get toll-free (local) calling scrvicc 10 Goderich by the end of the first quarter of 1998, as planned. Seaforth wanted an expanded local arca to London. and petitioned the Canadian Radio -television Telecommunications Committcc(CRTC) for it several months ago, along with other arca municipali- ties under thc coordination of Huron -Tel Communica- tions of Ripley. But the CRTC approved Bell's original proposal. Which means London will remain long distance for Scaforth phone users. whereas just down the road at Dublin calls to London will become local. Bell plans to expand Dublin's toll-free calling scrvicc by the end of the third-quarter of 1999. Bell's rates also rise again as of Jan. 1. London will remain long distance for Seaforth... Bell Canada The press release from Bell noted it is proceeding with a $200 million scrvicc improvement program, upgrading scrvicc for 6.8 million customers in Ontario and Quebec. Goderich Salt mine sold The Goderich salt minc has been sold. The mine. the world's .largest producer of rock salt. was sold as part of thc pur- chase of its parent company, the Harris Chemical Group (HCG), by IMC Global Inc. (IMC). IMC. an Illinois -based company. is one of thc world's Trading producers and mar- keters of phosphate and potash crop nutrients and ani- mal feed ingredients. The 368 employees at the Godcrich mine were told of thc sale last Friday. 4 Minc manager Rowland Howe said the acquisition of one world-wide conglomerate by another will probably not mean a lot of change for thc Godcrich mine operations. He said the local operation is successful, and as such, thc ncw owners should see little need to make drastic changes. "I expect things will contin- ue the same," said Howe. On thc whole. he said the sale is certainly a positive thing for the mine. In a press release announc- ing the sale, IMC president Robert Fowler noted "sub- stantial synergies" between the companies have already been identified and there arc a number of major cost -reduc- tion opportunities in distribu- tion. purchasing and opera- tions. He also said those syn- ergies should allow thc com- pany to "capitalize on a num- her of high-value invest- ments." Howe said it is important for people to know thc mine "was bought not sold." "This was not a firc sale in any shape or form," he said. Hibbert Township Final Council BY RICK KEW SSP News Staff Hibbert Township held its final council meeting Dec. 15 in Staffa before a packed house. Hibbert will join Logan and Fullarton townships along with the Town of Mitchell, as wards, to form the new municipality of the Township of West Perth in the New Year. Noting it was the beginning of a new era in Hibbert, Reeve Walter McKenzie said, "Some will say, `it seems like the passing of a loved one.' But I think of it as a wedding or maturing." Looking back over the years, McKenzie said the changes just in office proce- dures in the township were amazing. Reeve McKenzie said at one time office staff operated on a part-time basis from their homes. The reeve noted that the high-tech computers of today that generate multiple copies• of meeting minutes or accounting reports were a "far cry" from the carbon paper used in by -gone years. In the early '80s, he said thc township acquired a dedi- cated word processing machine which greatly speed- ed up internal processes, but even that machine does not compare to the speed of today's modern fax machines which can send documents anywhere in seconds. Improvements in office pro- cedures had a parallel in the steady improvement in Hibbert's road and bridge net- work, said the reeve. With road maintenance costs spirally upward, McKenzie said council embarked on a program to pave Hibbert's roads, now half completed the original three and three-quarter miles of road were paved in 1991. Gaining equally high praise from the reeve was the town- ship's recycling program, which, he pointed out, gave curbside pickup to residents and had extended the life of the landfill site tremendously. Extending the usefulness of the landfill will pay dividends in the future because it is unlikely any other landfills will be established within Hibbert's boundaries, because stringent regulations have led to huge increases in costs. Reeve McKenzie had another chance to smile as he came away from the last council meeting with an unexpected gift. Coun. Fran Lannin present- ed the reeve with council's gavel, the only gavel anyone could remember council using. to remember his time on council. Interestingly, McKenzie had originally donated the gavel to council. "I guess my thinking at the time was that all the other townships had a gavel and I just thought we should have one as well." Reeve McKenzie said he intends to mount the gavel on his wall. Former Hibbert reeves Ross McPhail, Ivan Norris. and Roy Swart attended the meet- ing and had mixed feelings about the evolution of the township into a ward. McPhail and Norris said it could be a good turn of events but Swart said he thought the county had too much say in the running of Hibbert when he was reeve and the amalga- mation would only threaten Hibbert's identity. Former reeve Norris said installation of street lights in see council on page 5 Scott Henderson. left. Brett Moffett and Everett Smith SDHS Sugarplum fury at the schools silly assembly. students rehearse for their skit in thc (Fitton photo) Silly Assembly: memorable for students By Amber halfpenny This year's silly asscmhly is sure to he a memorable one. The planning and dedi- cation it took to put together the various skits and airhands definitely paid off. At the asscmhly, the win- ners of the door decorating contest, top chocolate and coxokic dough scller(s), and the winners of the pumped slogan/logo contest were announced. Stcph Dale and the girls performed for the school. that old classic. "Respect". As well, Bill Lee sang "Zasu's Song" from the Lion King, and Thcresa•McClory per- formed lip -syncing to Aqua's "Barbie Girl". Thc homeroom representa- tives had the crowd roaring with laughter after viewing their rendition of "The Dance of thc Sugarplum Fairies", and Miss Ray's class mocked thc teachers tor giving home- work over the holidays. Also, thc Pumped club performed a short skit to promote Spirit Wear, a ncw concept devised to increase school spirit. Of course, no asscmhly would be complete without a perfor- mance by "the Hags". Thc highlight of thc asscm- hly. though: Tony Wilkinson sitting on Santa's kncc and asking for his diploma. You never know, he might just get what he asks for.