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Times-Advocate, 1986-06-04, Page 1lot. 11 Exeter my'IgI' on proposal to subsidize $dnor ire groups devised by the heads of the d'area councils involved in the South Huron rec centre board receiv- ed another apparent below this week when Exeter coundl members were emphatic that they would not be giv- ing any subsidies to local minor ice groups in the face of increased ice costs at the centre this coming season. Only Usborne council has stuck to the principle reached its meetings bet- ween Exeter Mayor Bruce Shaw, Usborne Reeve Gerald Prout and Stephen Reeve Tom Tomes. . Two weeks ago, Tomes indicated that his council was not prepared to WRECKING CREW RESTING — The staff skip -off at the South Huron Rec Centre Thursday night was won by the Wrecking Crew. Shown relaxing after their victory are Jo -Anne Fields, Gary Levier, Lynne Farquhar, Dave Atthill and Dianne Dearing. T -A photo New parking laws bring protest storm Recent amendments made to Ex- eter's parking bylaws have created a storm of protest in the community following the issuance of several warning tickets to residents who con- travened the new law. The new bylaw prohibits parking on any boulevards at any time. Councillor Gaylan Josephson said he had received more complaints about the new law -than any other issue since he had joined council, He added that not only was there con- troversy, but also considerable resentment. Pu tce Superintendept jjs l ld ng the board had apparenbeen ;committee Offfctal` Brian Johnston and Fire-.TbM: i5, there had been some complaints and noted that a special committee had been established to review the situation. Reeve Bill Mickle, another member of the committee, assured members that no residents would receive park- ing tickets for violations until the committee had made its report. Mrs. Chapman said there were areas where the new laws were not making sense and these would be reviewed by the committee of Police Chief Larry Hardy, Works pay the $12,868 giant to the board as had been suggested by ministry of- ficial Melanie McLaughlin, who had. attended the meeting with the three' men In an attempt to resolve the recreation funding issue. Usborne council notified Exeter this week that they would be increasing their grant by $1,000 this year, bring- ing the total to $11,000, and had also allocated $2,500 in their budget to off- set the higher ice costs that would be charged to the minor groups. When board member Peter Snell asked his Exeter council cohorts this week if they too would look favorably upon giving the minor groups some assistance, he received a fairly negative response. Noting that council had agreed to give the board $95,000 this year, Coun- cillor Ben Hoogenboom said "we should stand pat and make no bones about it; that's all we're going to spend". His comment was in response to a hint that some members would look favorably upon a request from minor groups for assistance. . Snell explained that the rec board had not yet made a decision regar- ding ice rental rates, but said they were thinking in terms of charging $50 per hour for all groups. He said that would be pretty steep for some minor groups and wondered if council would be prepared to assist. Reeve Bill Mickle jumped on that to question Snell how the board could set a budget when they didn't know how much they would be charging for ice time. When Snell said the board was . • uncertain if minor groups would be charged $38 or $50 per hour, Mickle B - asked if the board actually had moneyi •in their budget to make up the dif-; ference if the lower figure was; charged The Reeve also wondered why the rec board was making the approach to council. "If it's (rental) burden- some for groups, I would assume they would approach us for support," he said. the town for support, Councillor Morley Hall said there was "many, real y ways" of fund-raising open to tticin and they should _go to tite'pubUc for their funds. 'Josephson interjected that council had in fact taken, away scene of the snbsldles given to minor sport groups by putting the board into a situation where all ice users would pay the seine fee. Hesaid+it wasn't fair that minor groups should pay the same as adults. ' When Nall asked what the minor groups did to raise funds, Josephson said "they do a lot". He said he knew the figure skating club raised half their funds through fund-raising ef- forts and added that the fund raising dollars were not as easy to come by they were a few years ago. Dances, ne noted, once a prime source of folds, were often money losing ven- tures now. At that' point the discussion ended 11►,itb.Snell.indicating he would tell the 40 board that Exeter council njtgbers were adamant in sticking to the $ $5,000 total set aside for recrea- ' tib* funding this year. Mayor Shaw, who initiated discus- sions with the two area reeves and bad earlier explained that further_ assistance sholuld. be considered for minor groups, was not in -attendance • alittondIy's council session. Tri April, Shaw had , told Exeter council that he saw the tentative ac- cord between' the three area municipalities as "a major breakthrough" and he had explained at that time that the intent was to charge rates that reflect the cost of operation at the rec centre and then each council would subsidise direct- ly the participants from _their municipalities in minor sporting groups. Man gets :100 fine for assaulting youth A Huron Park man was fined $100 or five days in jail after being con- victed on a charge of assaulting a paper boy following an on-going dispute when he appeared inExeter court, Tuesday. Larry Walker, 288 Algonquin Drive, pleaded not guilty to the charge of assault against the 14 -year-old paper boy on February 21. - Evidence given by the London Free Press carrier was that he, his brother and a friend, went to Walker's after supper to collect an outstanding ac- count of 85.60. • Two children responded to his in- itial knocks onthe door and finally Walker appeared. The paper boy sand the accused pushed him down the steps. In his defence, Walker said that the paper boy had cursed at him . in previous attempts to -collect and that a complaint had been lodged with The Free Press over the situation. He admitted to giving the youth a slight shove and said the latter had stepped backwards down the step and tripped over the edge of a toboggan. After hearing the evidence, Judge Hunter asked the accused why he didn't just pay the boy what was ow- ing, cancel his delivery service and deal elsewhere. Judge Hunter gave the unemployed graduate of Centralia College 90 days in which to pay the fine. In the only other case completed on Tuesday's docket, Yvonne Diane Wells, RR 2 Centralia, was fined$100 or five days after pleading guilty to the.chargeof possession of a narcotic on Januar); 17. Police carried out a search warrant on her Stephen Township residence at 10:35 a.m. and found seven grams of marijuana and one gram of cannilus resin. - She was`given 30 days in which.to pay the fine. imes Serving South Huron, Norih Middlesex Inc Hundred and Fourteenth Year Snell said the board was afraid of • 4 losing a lot of participants if the minor rates were increased substantially as it would be a financial .burden for some parents. Deputy -Reeve Lossy Fuller also questioned Snell on how the board could set a budget and not know what ice rental rate would be charged. • However, Councillor Gaylen Josephson pointed out :that council' had in fact, chopped thousands of dollars off the request submitted by. the board andwas critical of the fact, Dorothy, Chapman acknowledged Chief Gary Middleton. The four are to make recommenda- tions to the police cotiunittee. "Hopefully the situation can be rec- tified by amendments to the bylaw," Mickle commented. Mrs. Chapman added that it was possible to park on the side of the road off the boulevard, but Councillor Tom Humphreys noted that on some nar- row streets, that resulted in parked vehicles blocking the flow of traffic. Other members added some ques- tions and concerns and Mickle, who was chairing the meeting in the absence of the mayor, said the discus- sions were premature in that a com- mittee was studying the situation. In another matter pertaining to boulevards, council authorized that a letter be sent to any residents who have driven steel posts or placed large rocks on the boulevards advis- ing that such obstacles must be removed within two weeks. While theresidents have installed the obstacles in an effort to keep peo- ple from parking on the grassed boulevard in front of their residence, the posts and rocks represent a poten- tial harm to children and vehicles, particularly at night. The town fears its insurance may not cover any accidents because the hazards are known to council. "There's getting to be more and more of it", works superintendent Glen Kells reported. Raise over $3,000 in local pledges The weekend Children's Miracle Network Telethon was a huge success at all three levels of fund raising. Employees of the Exeter branch of the Royal Branch took calls from local areas and were able to take pledges in excess of $3,000. One of the pledge takers Joyce Doupe said the calls came "fast and furious all day Sunday. Saturday night pledges amounted to $600. The bulk of the localpledges rang- ed from $5 to $25 with several service club and individual donations of up to $200. The total raised in Western Ontario on CFPL and CKNX television sta- tions was $332,862. The Exeter pledges were about 10 percent of the overall monies donated. The calls taken here came from a wide area. One woman from Amherstburg who was vacationing in Bayfield called in a pledge. All of the $332,862 collected in Western Ontario goes to the new children's hospital in London. The telethon was under the direc- tion of the Osmond Foundation which Please turn to page 3 line council had set for the support otr recreation this year. He said he almost felt obligated to support the minor groups in the cur- rent situation. When asked by Clerk Liz Bell where the money would come from, Josephson replied, "the money will be there." Mickle agreed there could be some juggling of the town's budget if re- quests do come in and council would try to help if there was a need. It was at that point that' Hoogen- boom made his comments about the ;95,000 being the bottom line and he didn't want groups thinking they' could come to council for help in a few months time. Noting it was easy for groups to ask Only one crash for town police Only gone minor collision was in- vestigated by the Exeter police department during the past week. - It occurred on John St. W. on Thurs- day, when a parked car owned by An- nette Drouillard, Exeter, was struck by a vehicle driven by Jose Costa, Leamington, while the latter was tur- ning into the parking lot at the rear of Fisher's Hardware. Damage to the vehicles was listed at $100. A SITDOWN EXERCISE --- Exeter deputy -reeve Lossy Fuller, coyncillor Morley Hall, Usborne reeve Gerry Prout and Exeter councillor Dorothy Chapman do a sitdown exercise at the South Huron Rec Centre, Thursday night. ti rixia STANLEY BALLOONS INFLATED — More than 500 Stanley Township Sesquicentennial baboons were released at Huron Centennial School, Thursdoy. Shown inflating the balloons ere Barb Consitt, Norma McGregor, Shirley Hill and Cindy Taylor. T -A photo Wild turkey not as lucky Ph,n Karen for squfrrels Birds and animals consumed a ma- jor part of the discussion at Monday's session of Exeter council. Some members were critical of the fact a wild turkey had recently been shot by the police, although police committee chairman Dorothy Chap- man assured them that it was the on- ly alternative as the huge bird had wandered into a yard and was a threat to youngsters. - "There must have been a better way," Councillor Ben Hoogenboom argued, sayng it wasn't reasonable to shoot a bird just because it had wandered into town. "It doesn't make sense," he added. However, Mrs. Chapman said the bird was in a very excited state and noted "they can get dreadfully ugly". Counciloor Gaylen Josephson said it was a shame the bird had to be destroyed, but admitted he realized how dangerous they can be to young children as spurs on the bird's legs can inflict serious injury. Deputy -Reeve Lossy Fuller ex- plained that the bird may have been one raised last year by her son, Jeff, and Dalton Finkbeiner under licence by the ministry. The birds had been released in the fall. Reeve BiII Mickle, who noted that he had been in touch with the ministry of natural resources on another mat- ter earlier in the day, said the officials weren't critical of how the situation had been handled. Mickle said the ministry officials also had some question whether it was a genuine wild turkey or a domestic wild turkey, although the Reeve said he didn't know how one ascertains such things. After the talk on the wild turkey ended, council again tackled the situation of the local white squirrel population and endorsed a resolution drafted by Mickle calling on the ministry to request that the Lieute- nant Governor in Council declare Ex- eter's white squirrel an endangered species so they can be protected under to Endangered Species Act. If the designation is made, people found guilty of trapping, removing or otherwise destroying white squirrels would be liable to fines of up to $3,000. In the meantime, council authoriz- ed a bylaw be drafted declaring trap- ping, removal or destruction of white squirrels to be prohibited within the town limits. A penalty clause will be provided in the local bylaw, but as yet no fine schedule has been suggested. Josephson heartily endorsed the idea, saying council had talked numerous times about protecting the town's unique white squirrel popula- tion. "It's a good move," Ile commented. Hoogenboom wondered it the town could consider erecting signs to help promote the white squirrel, saying tha8,he stillfhears about people trap - :fruit or destroying them. Mickle said he realized people had damage done to their properties by• squirrels and said the town may have to be prepared to help trap any nuisance squirrels" and have .them transplanted to one of the parks. CHILDREN'S TELETHON A SUCCESS — The weekTd Children's Net- work Telethon was a huge success with more than $2,500 in pledges in the Exeter area. Above, Joyce Doupe and Donn Mosurinjohn are taking calls at the Exeter branch of the Royal Bank. Three people hurt i • n •district crashes Three people sustained injuries in the three collisions investigated by the Exeter OPP this week. Ml the in- juries were reported to be of a minor nature. Two collisions were on Friday, the first on Highway 83 just east of Highway 21 where a vehicle driven by William Cassidy, RR2 Dashwood, went into a ditch. Damage was set at 8500. A passenger in the vehicle, Shannon Ridley, Grand Bend, suffered minor injuries. The other Friday crash was on Highway 83 west of Hay Township Road 2-3, involving vehicles operated by Gordon McDonald, Exeter, and Ger au Chan, London. The Exeter man suffered minor injuries and total damage was listed at 85,000. The other crash of the week occur- red on Sunday, also on Highway 83, about three km. west of Exeter. Vehicles driven ,by Annette Drouillard, Exeter, and Robert Smith, Salem, were involved and the Smith vehicle rolled over after the impact. Smith sustained minor injuries and damage to the two vehicles was estimated at 813,500. During -the week, the local detach- ment officers investigated 29 general occurrences-. There were 28 people charged with speeding, 11 with other Highway Traffic Act offences, five under the Liquor License Act and one with trespassing.