HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-05-21, Page 26Times -Advocate, Moy 21, 198
BEST FARM . JE 's Division of er • ro genera manager Jack Urquhart -presents
the best farm group project trophy at Thursday's Centralia College graduation to Ray Filson, Terry Hodgins,
Robert Thirlwall and James Zavitz. They studied the Ed Robinson farm with Jim O'Toole as tutor.
Caught in precarious spot
Several people found themselves in
a "catch 22" position when the South
Huron rec entre board debated a re-
quest for free use of their auditorium
for the high school's academic honors
banquet.
When the decision was finally
reached to grant the request, meeting
observer Mayor Bruce Shaw whim-
sically donned two hats for his
response.
"As principal (of SHDHS) I thank
you," he said. "As Mayor I think you
should be generating more revenue."
The decision was made more com-
plex for the board members as they
sat in the plush chairs of the teachers'
lounge for Thursday's meeting.
Stephen representative Tom Tomes
explained it was difficult to consider
charging the school for the rec centre
facility when the board members
were enjoying the school facility at no
charge.
However, not only did the decision
to allow the students free use of the
hall for their banquest erode the
board's revenue picture, they added
to that problem by agreeing that the
upcoming athletic banquet for the
students -would also have the rental
fee waived.
In the past, the students paid for the
auditorium for the athletic banquet
and that results in a loss of $94 for this
year's event.
The motion to waive the rental rate
for both functions was accompanied
by the provision that the entire mat-
ter be considered by the board for
next year.
Facilities manager Cam Steward -
son said the staff had a hard time
Plan washrooms
at ag building
A committee is being established to
work on plans for the proposed
washroom facilities at the
agricultural building at Exeter's com-
munity park.
Rec board members Kathy
Whiteford and Phyllis Johnson
volunteered to represent that group
on the committee and further
membership will be solicited from the
agricultural society and Local ball
groups.
With a government grant and pro-
fits from last summer's Lake Huron
zone sportsfest, a bank account of
$12,362 is available.
The committee will propose the
type of facility to be undertaken.
Facilities manager Cam Steward -
son indicated that the building will get
liquor licences for some events this
summer as long as portable toilets
are provided.
distinguishing when school functions
should be charged for using the rec
centre as the board and the Huron
board of education have a reciprocal
agreement whereby each uses the
other's facilities at no charge.
However, Stewardson noted the rec
board used the school in off -hours and
the students used the rec facilities in
off -hours and the banquets were ac-
tually held during prime evening
hours.
He and rec director Lynne Far-
quhar explained that the rec depart-
ment make greater use of the school
facilities in town than the students do
of rec boad facilities.
Shaw said the two groups should
continue the reciprocal agreement
and he explained the student fund
tions were non-profit and there was no
way to generate revenue from them.
Usborne resident Pat Down
presented a motion that the board
charge the regular rate for both
school banquets and if the students
want financial assistance they should
make a request to council.
"What council?" Dorothy Chapman
asked of her counterpart on the
Usborne council.
Mrs. Down replied that the request
should go to Exeter council because
they were the ones crimping the
board's financial needs.
Mrs. Chapman and Shaw both
responded that the students at the
high school come from throughout the
district with the latter noting the vast
majority are from out of town.
"We're giving money away hand
over fist," Mrs. Down complained
when it was suggested both school
functions should be given free use of
the rec centre auditorium.
SPECIAL LUNCH SERVICE — A number of local business personnel
donned the waiters aprons at Good Times Wednesday noon to serve
customers. From the left are Peter Scott of the Bank of Montreal,
Zorin Gerrard of Gerrard's and B of M manager Mike Cregan. Pro-
ceeds from the venture go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
EARLY CAMPERS — Ernie Oakley of Dorchester was one of the first
campers to arrive in Exeter Friday afternoon. Above, he is welcom-
ed by Lois Armstrong of the Ausable River Nomads.
Time is now to order
your trees for 1987
ABCA is planting 60 km of field wind-
breaks, mainly in Norway Spruce.
This is the second year of the AB -
CA's Plantation Management pro-
gram. Under this program the Con-
servation Authority will, for an an-
nual fee, tend trees that it has planted
previously. Fifty landowners are
making use of the service this year
and 100,000 trees are being tended.
Tree planting time is a hectic one
for the Conservation Authority
because of the numbers of trees
handled and the variety of services of-
fered. There are 5 crews and a total
of 25 people at work (mostly casual
labour hired specifically for the tree
planting season). Two mechanical
planters speed the processs where the
terrain is suitable, but much hand
planting is also done. Greg Pfaff and
Bob Murray are managing the tree
handling at the Exeter headquarters.
Summarizing the trend in the AB -
CA reforestation assistance program,
Schwindt says, "It seems like
everybody is interested in the pro-
gram and although the Ministry of
Natural Resources' nursery is pro-
ducing more stock, it is not keeping
up with the demand for trees." "The
waiting list for our services is getting
longer all the time."
Now is the time to consider order-
ing trees for planting in 1987 from the
Ausable Bayfield Conservation
Authority. Yes. 1987 is correct. Accor-
ding to John Schwindt, Conservation
Services Co-ordinator with the ABCA,
this year's deliveries and plantings of
trees and seedlings are nearly com-
plete. "In fact", says Schwindt, "the
official cut-off date for the 1966 orders
was October 1, 1985."
The ABCA's reforestation
assistance program is obviously a
popular one. There are a number of
services offered that include the
delivery of seedling stock to Exeter
or Parkhill, tree planting, and a farm
windbreak/roadside planting
program.
By the end of the 1986 season, the
ABCA will have supplied 150,000 trees
- 15,000 of the larger trees for wind-
break and roadside planting (2-3 foot
evergreens, 610 foot hardwoods) and
135,000 seedlings. A total of 300 lan-
downers will have participated in the
1986 program.
Schwindt s ys that the field wind-
break program has increased great-
ly in popularity. "This is good to see
because these rows of trees surroun-
ding farm fields will significantly
benefit the farmer and society, by
reducing soil erosion." In 1986, the
No'surprise
Town insurance up 66 erc
Clerk Lis Bell. ' departed, council turned. the in-
Tbe error was made about 18 years surance review over to tb4 ve
ago, but"just reoentjy erne to tight. committee for remmmu to
After the two to ance Caen the next areetlag.
*
•
Having been amply forewarned,
members of Exeter, council weren't
overly surprised to find out this week
that their insurance premiums will in-
crease about 66 percent when they are
renewed this July.
Local agent Mel Geiser and Bob
Cowan of the Frank Cowan Company
Limited were on hand at the session
to advise council that the upcoming
premium will be $46,228.
While making some recommenda-
tions for increases in protection that
will also increase those premiums,
the two noted that council should look
closely at the deductibles if they want
to pare some of the costs.
"You should certainly look at
higher deductibles," Gaiser said at
the conclusion of the presentation,
which showed two areas where an in-
crease in the deductible could shave
the premiums by over $3,100.
"The Liability explosion which has
now occurred is very real and shows
no signs of reducing in the foreseeable
future," the presentation stated in its
preamble.
However, Cowan said he was en-
couraged by the report of the provin-
cial government commission
established to study the insurance
crisis facing public bodies and said
some of the "scare" may be taken out
of the insurance industry if some of
the recommendations are approved.
When Councillor Ben Hoogenboom
asked if the town could get a rebate
if the situation changes within the
next few months, Cowan said he
didn't foresee improvements that
quickly and council should not expect
any relief from provincial legislation
until at least next year.
He said if the situation does change,
more companies may get back into
the business of offering insurance to
municipalities and other public
groups.
Gaiser noted that at the present o
time there is only one, or possibly two,
companies willing to offer a complete
package to public groups, whereas
there were as many as 10 just a few
years ago.
While council members were con-
sidering the premiums primarily,
they did question the duo on a section
of the errors and omissions section
which can cover past claims as long
as the insured had no knowledge of
the wrongful act leading to the claim
at the inception date of the policy.
This year, council learned they face
a bill of about $11,006 in the OMERS
pension plan for two current
employees who were not registered at
the appropriate time after joining the
town staff.
Cowan said he would check on the
situation and provide an answer to
I'm a procrciStincifor
I'm a procrastinator. If there's
something I don't like doing, I'll
manage to put it off.
Each year I end up with the job of
collecting for the Canadian Cancer
Society in our area. Each year I say
to myself, Well, I won't do that again
next year -- but each year when the
captain calls I agree to take on the
job.
Now I don't think there's anybody
who likes knocking on doors and ask-
ing for money. Let's face it -- you're
the last person your neighbours want
to see when you come around with
your receipt book in hand. Because I
know I'm not going to win any
popularity contests, I keep putting off
the job.
The Cancer Society would like their
canvassers to get on with the job pro-
mptly during the first week of April,
which is cancer month. But it's easy
to procrastinate early in April. I like
to do the job on foot, and usually it's
too cold to walk around the
neighbourhood early in April. Quite
often we have snow storms at the
beginning of April, so I tell myself I'd
better wait a few days.
Then I tell myself I might as well
wait until all our senior citizens are
back from the sunny south. Many of
the residents in this area spend their
winters in Florida, so I wait until
they're all home before I go knocking
on doors.
The month is slipping by, and final-
ly I force myself to go out. At this
stage all I need is a little encourage-
ment, so I usually try to go to homes
where I have found generous givers
in the past. If I can start off with three
or four generous donations and friend-
ly smiles I'm off.
Occasionally I run into snags, and
that sends me home again for another
few days. Snags are such things as
having people open the door, look at
you and then slam it again, saying "I
don't want any." Sometimes you'll
knock at a door and hear a flurry of
commotion inside. Then you'll hear a
mother yelling at a child, "No, don't
answer it, it's somebody after
money." Then there's a long silence,
and you leave empty handed.
After a few such rejections I go
home and lick my wounds. But the
month is slipping away and 1 am forc-
ed to go out and finish my rounds.
That spell of warm weather really
helped me. Most folks were spending
their evenings mowing their grass or
working in their gardens. It was easy
to find them at home, and they
couldn't hide! The hockey play-offs
also help -- people stay at home to
watch T.V., and the men will peel the
hills out of their wallets just to get rid
of me, so they can get hack to the
game.
Finally, I have been around to all
the households in my area. Actually,
asking for money for the Canadian
Cancer Society is not all that difficult.
It's a good cause -- whose life hasn't
been touched with illness or death due
to cancer? And I feel that the Cana-
dian Cancer Society is a well -nun
organization which uses your money
wisely. bf each dollar you donate, 55
cents goes for research, 14 cents for
education and 20 cents for patient ser -
vies. Only 4 cents goes for administra-
tion and 7 cents for fund raising.
Fortunately, 99 percent of the
homes I go to are very generous.
Some folks even have the money out
and ready on the table when they see
me coming. Others actually thank me
for going around and making the col-
lections! The complete rejections are
few and far between. Sure, some peo-
ple explain that they support other
causes, or maybe they already gave
to the Cancer Society through their
Mary's
Musings
By Mary Alderson
work, or they sponsored someone in
the Great Ride. One woman
generously made a donation to the,
Cancer Society but asked that I sup-
port MS when they come around sell-
ing carnations. I'm pleased to tell her
that I did.
In any case, when someone knocks
on your door and asks for a donation,
please be generous if you can support
their cause. If you can't, be pleasant
and give them a reason -- the can-
vasser isn't going to be angry. But
please, don't hide behind the kitchen
cupboards waiting for the person to
go away.
Will I make the rounds again next
year? Probably - because I know it's
a good cause. Thank God the resear-
chers and (scientists are not pro-
crastinatooi like 1 afn. They are mak-
ing advafntementsin the fight against
cancer every day. Thank you for your
donation. Cancer can be beaten! -
MIN
HON. JACK RIDDELL
Minister of Agriculture
The 1986 Ontario Budget presented
by my colleague, Treasurer Robert F.
Nixon, on May 13, 1986 holds the line
on general tax increases, provides in-
centives to innovation and en-
trepreneurship and responds to the
needs of individuals, regions and in-
dustries that are not sharing in the
general prosperity.
"This is a Budget that combines
social concern and common sense,"
said the Treasurer. Its goal is "to sus-
tain the upsurge in investment, job
creation and economic growth that
now characterizes the Ontario
economy and to build a more reliable
and sensitive spectrum of social
programs."
Mr. Nixon described the province's
social programs as an integral part
of the wealth -creation process need-
ed to help build a healthy economy.
The Treasurer expects the Ontario
economy to remain buoyant, growing
in real terms by 4.2 percent and
creating 175,000 new .jobs this year.
"The strong economic climate
gives us the opportunity to build the
foundations of continued prosperity,"
said Nixon, adding that "the surest
route to continuing prosperity is a
combination of good business and
businesslike government".
In announcing measures to im-
prove the efficiency and cost -
efficiency of government, the
Treasurer said restraint programs
are false economy when they convert
the provincial deficit to "waiting lists
for hospital beds, rows of portable
classrooms, neglected universities
and bumpy roads".
The Budget contains funding for
number of programs to stimulate in-
novation and entrepreneurship, and
to promote cooperation between
labour and management. Some of
these programs were announced in
the Speech from the Throne last
month. The Government proposed the
following actions today:
-To stimulate private sector invest-
ment in new technology, the Budget
sets aside $100 million this year for
programs to encourage high-tech
development. Some of these pro-
grams will be carried out in partner-
ship with the federal government,
universities and the private sector.
This year's allocation is part of a 51
billion technology fund announced in
the Throne Speech, to be directed by
a council, chaired by Premier David
Peterson.
-To encourage small business and
job creation, the Ontario Develop-
ment Corporation (ODC) budget will
be increased by $10 million this year.
As part of its expanded role, the ODC
will administer a New Ventures pro-
gram, which will provide loan
guarantees for newly established
businesses to a maximum of $15;000
matching the entrepreneur's own in-
vestment in the business.
-To recognize the growing impor-
tanc of the service sector, the Small
Business Development Corporations
(SBDC) program will be broadened
to include firms offering certain sup-
port services to business.
-To encourage Employee Share
Ownership Plans, the Budget propos-
ed that a 15 percent tax credit for
employees on up to 52,000 of annual
purchases of eligible shares in their
employers' corporations take effect in
1987. The Province plans to reimburse
businesses for one-third of the cost of
setting plans to a maximum of
$10,000.
Fartns Regions and Communities
-Renewal and broadening of the
Community Economic Transforrpa-
tion Agreements (CETA) program;
which provides Provincial backing
for local initiatives to enable long-
term job creation. This program is
expected to be of particular benefit to
c9• ack'dolt
hold taxes
Eastern and Northern Ontario.
-Expanded programs fpr economic
development on Northern Ontario.
These include a $17 million allocation
this year from the Northern Develop-
ment Fund; an extra $15 million for
health care, transportation and
education iniatives in Northern On-
tario; a 13 percent increased in the
forestry budget; and new funding for
the tourism industry.
-Assistance to Ontario farmers -
who, Mr. Nixon said, "are experien-
cing the worst conditions since the
1930s" -by increasing the budget of
the Ministry of Agriculture and Food
to $457 million, an increase of 39 per-
cent since the Government took
office.
-Introduction of a new, updated
Mining Tax Act which maintains the
maximum processing allowance at 65
percent.
Social Programs and the Quality of
Life
Mr. Nixon also announced impor-
tant new social and environmental
initiatives:
-A commitment to spend 5850
million for a major, multi-year
capital program which will provide
funding for additional hospital beds
and pressing improvements to ex-
isting hospital and cancer treatment
facilities.
-A commitment to develop a com-
prehensive plan for child care ser-
vices and a recognitjon of child care
as a "basic public service". The
Budget adds 56 million, for capital ex-
pansion and other pressing problems,
to the 526 million increase for child
care initiatives already announced
for this year.
-A $25 million increase in shelter
subsidies to social assistance reci-
pients, some of whom "need to use
their food money to pay tent". About
50,000 families will benefit frons this
increased support.
-A strengthening of community sup-
port services to help people lead more
independent lives, including funds for
senior citizens, the disabled and the
developmentally handicapped.
-A proposal to extend the range of
dental services available to children.
Special funding will be available to
local health pnits to provide
necessary treatment to school -aged
children with urgent dental care
needs.
-A confirmation of the Govern- .
ment's commitmerft to improved
housing. Over the next five years, $500
million will be spent to increase affor-
dable housing. Through the Renter -
prise program, 5,000 rental units will
be built. Federal -provincial programs
will provide 6,700 units of non-profit
and cooperative housing, including at
least 4,700 subsidized units for low-
income families.
-A new Investing in the Arts pro-
gram, with funding of $10 million over
four years, to provide incentives for
fund-raising efforts and, to improve
the financial strength f Ontario's
arts organizations.
-The provision of $5 million to im-
prove the monitoring and testing of
water quality, and 515 million for a
biomedical waste treatment plan for
hospitals.
Over the next few weeks, as more
specific details of the new programs
are announced, I will be keeping you
fully informed through my weekly
column.
Meanwhile, if you have any ques-
tioneon the new budget you can call
the Budget information line at (416)
963-0800 or toll free 1-800-387.5589.
Two accidents
Two minor accidents and one inci-
dent of shoplifting were investigated
by the Exeter police department this
week.
The first of the crashes occurred on
Tuesday on the parking lot of the
Royal Bank. Vehicles driven by
Veronica Bedard, Zurich, and Wayne
Regier, Dashwood, were both backing
from parking spots when they struck '
each other. Damage was listed at
5100.
The other collision was on Friday
when a vehicle driven by Lisa Regier,
Zurich, struck the rear door of the
New Orlean's Pizza on Main St.
Damage was established at *600.
A 31 -year-old woman from Blyth
faces a charge of theft after being ar-
rested for shoplifting at MacLean's
Hardware on Friday. She will appear
in court on May 27.
■
GET BUS INSTRUCTION — Pre-school students at Exeter Public School received some early instruction
on riding school buses, Thursday morning. Above, next year students Carly Riley, Chad Monteith, An-
drew Atthill and Alicia Lawrence are shown with Constable John Marshall for the Goderich OPP detach-
ment. T -A photo
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