Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-07-16, Page 15• • Group ..of 40 attends Large deligation Complain of row It was standing room only as a delegation of 40 property owners came to Grand Bend council's special meeting Wednesday evening. Rather than irate they could be described as appalled, disgusted and frustrated. Spokesperson for the group Edward Fluter read to council a lengthy document- a Letter of Concern (or Hill Street Blues), The carefully thought out presentation addressed three major problems they wanted council to act upon immediately: they are noise and rowdyism, parking, and isms vandalism, theft, drinking the fence between the town limits and Oakwood Park. Recent front page photographs and headlines sensationalizing the past weekend problems at neighbouring Port Franks only serve to show these problems are ones that Grand -Bend DELEGATION - - Crowding into Grand Bend Council chambers to a special meeting on Wednesday night, concerned residents of the village petition council to take immediate action to stem the increasingly intolerable drunken and unruly behavior of somevisitorsto the resort. To aid building fund Successful sale at Legion Grand Bend Legion No. 498 con- tinued the Friday meat raffles, with another good crowd. The winners 'were: Bev Brumnes of Windsor, Doug Sweet, Bob Hedley, Shirley Pole and Frank Green from Florida, who won twice. Marie Saust, of Mitchell, won the 'door prize. Many thanks to all those who are making the moat raf- fles such a success. Tuesday night, 23 members of the Legion dart team showed up, for what turned out to be a surprise banquet in their honor. There was a cold salad buffet and a beautiful cake, decorated like a dart board. Trophies and money were awarded to various winners of the past season. Marg Hedley won "most take outs - ladies", and Bob Voisin won "most - take outs - Men" for 1985-86. Lou Hamilton got the "Ladies High Scpre' and Peter Poli won the "Men's itigh.grore. Nora Voison merited the "Baffles' High Average. and Bill Fischer. won the "Men's High Average." They all played a few.dart games after the banquet and award ceremonies. which only served to point out how rusty everyone had got - too over the summer. Darts will be starting up again in October - see you -in Ore fall. 'the Legion held a very successful flea market and bake sale on Satur- day. George Crosbie and --Marg Hedley would like to thank each one who helped out, to those who donated their baking, and thanks also to Dave Green who donated the doughnuts and coffee for the refreshment table. The money raised by the meat raf- fle and flea market, etc. all go to the building fund, for improvements and upkeep of the Legion. The present project is for a new ceiling in the dart room. Don't. forget the steak barbecue coming up on July 19, and bring the kids - there will be goodies for them. too. - United Church News Mrs. Carol Stuart of Exeter was guest soloist at the Grand Bend United Church service Sunday. She sang two very inspiring numbers. "We shall behold Him" and "EI Shadi", a Hebrew hymn. The scripture readings ,from I Samuel 17:17-29, was the basis for Rev. Peebles• sermon, "David Reproached". He also used the words of Paul, from Romans 8:31, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" David, the youngest of eight boys in a family was sent to bring food to his brothers at the Israelite camp, against the Philistines. The giant Goliath was defying God; and had the Israelites cowering in fear. When David questioned their fears, he was k t i _,rr Imo- ■ ■ __;.._ I rA G V T(! G!1• , , r rra S;i�r�aLL.�Lt..1 n- i! : I f iP!V IIID■. 1 ' , of i VIIMI i(:1W.(: ■ L1 LI ---- 1 4. M■ Don't Buy Any Other Car Until You Test Drive a Mazda * 323 * 626 * RX -7 * B2000 Right now we are making our beat deals ever on every Mazda car and truck. So tome in today and lake advantage of our Special Summer Value Challenge Savings. Ole II, M -W' MOTORS LTD. soon, Sales, Service, Parts & Leasing 184 EAST ST., GODERICH 524-2113 reproached sarcasticaltybyhis older brother, yet David answered him gently. • Even today, when we stand up for a Christian principal or make a Chris- tian commitment. the first opposition often. comes from our family. Don't let reproach stop you from doing what God wants you to do, for God is with you. Anger is not necessary, He will strengthen you for any battle. has suffered and worked to control 1( many years. Weather is a big factor as to the crowds coming to resorts on the lake and this year has had many great weekends. Therefore the problems have been almost continuous this year rather than just two or three holiday weekends, and have now become intolerable. The letter outlines an horrendous ongoing litany of vandalism, theft and drunken behaviour. A partial list of major problems endured in the last four years includes theft of boats, lawn furniture, blankets and towels from garden clothes lines and. firewood. Vandalism mostly involves the destruction of wood stairs and fences, to be burned for beach fires. Broken beer bottles litter the beach around these fires and the lawns of adjacent properties. All these occurences were documented with photographs. Accompanying this destructive behaviour is the noise, rowdyism, foul and abusive language, and illegal drinking. ' "On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights of July 4 weekend for example - my entire family (and most of the neighbourhood) were awakened con- stantly throughout the night with screaming, swearing and `ya-hooing' and similar occurrences have taken place almost every weekend evening so far this summer," claimed the spokesman. Additionally, graphic descriptions of such occurrences as urinating, defecating and copulating on the lawns and patios of beachfront pro- perty owners re=inforced the gravity of the situation. • The issue of excessive and illegal drinking along these streets and in the sand dunes at the north end of the beach was summarized by the collec- tion of 250 to 300 bottles or cans each weekend, by one family. This does not include non-refundable liquor bottles. Parking problems were another concern brought to council. Visitors to Grand Bend will park on lawns, across driveways, and even right on the corner of a crossroad, thus block- ing a clear view of traffic. The residence fear that in an emergency firetrucks or ambulances would not be able to enter these narrow streets About Town ww.- because cars block the street on both Summer is the time for sand, surf. sides. Although many tickets and sunburns, sizzling teaks on the fines are issued, they are either barbecue and family reunions! thrown away or the $10.00 fine is con - There were at least two this weekend sidered cheap parking for a day at the in the area beach. The first family reunion of the Col- Lastly, discussion about the fence lins family was held at the home of. between Oakwood and Grand Bend Rick and Sheila Tiedeman (Collins r' ensued. The gate installed ante end in Grand Bend. It was very suc- of Hill Street last year by "someone t ful, with about 40 attending' , in Oakwood" has resulted in a flow 4f ‚hgrandother t e gr , tk Oakwood traffic and * r , children. -•Gond Bend traffic and fs Relatives came front Blenhelm,1 salu'ce of much late night noise and Leamington, Cedar Springs, Mor- revelry". This is foot traffic but cars peth., Erie Beach, Chatham, and a dead end end. of Hill Street to park at other small towns of southern On- tario. Some had never been to the The document then presented 12 Bend before, and enjoyed a tour of the recommendations to council that town, especially the shopping areas. were open for discussion. To field the The Smith family reunion has been residents' requests and grievances going for at least ten years, held OPP Corporal Bob Pickering was Saturday at the Dashwood Communi present at the meeting. ty Center. All but one of the original In answer to the request for fte- 19 brothers and sisters born on a quent patrols on foot on weekends farm near, spouses and some 80 children and the officer explained it was a matter grandchildren, for a real celebration. of costs and manpower. Government There was lots of food, card games, cutbacks have left the contingent music, fun and noise, to make a great short of personnel and 18 of the 21 of- ficers are new to Grand Bend this day. St. John's Anglican Church had a year• special guest, Venerable Jack Resident Karole Spence was em- Doulge, the former Arch -Deacon of phalic in her disagreement with this Montreal, who officiated at Holy ,type -of excuses. While agreeing that Communion during the 8:30 a.m. ser - don't do patrol, she exclaimed, "1 vice on Sunday. Normally known as don't deed two'officers driving by in Layman Sunday, ,the 9:30 service a cruiser on a Tuesday evening at 7 was taken by members of the con- . p.m it's after the bars close on gregation. Mr. and Mrs. Ted Hunt and these people are com- convened the coffee hour following ing through my property to the beach the services. and peeing on my car that the police The executive and members of the • should patrol on foot." Grand Bend Concert Association Officer Pickering pointed out that would like to take this opportunity to they have laid double the number of thank the newspaper and its charges compared to last year and Lunch joined their along the back streets and the -beach -- subscribers, you the readers, for your enthusiastic support this past year. The 1986-87 Concert season promises to be even better, so be watching for the ticket drive, which will get under way in September. ' More Grand Bend news on page 24 BBQ TAK specwow'Ut t� anC•SCs ca Bring this advertisement for S1.00 off any chicken or rib dinner HOURS: 4:00 to 8:00 pm daily OUT ethervc a5ty• t,(1 �41 NO out l:(' Sit and socialize or pick up and run with the best value for money meal in the area (just 2.5 km south of Grand Bend on Hwy. 21- - look for the sign). 2385690 CATHOLIC CHURCH Father Morrissey was celebrant at all Masses this weekend at Im- maculate Heart of Mary Church. Mary Fran Geiser was the reader, Lydia Duchou was the cantor, and Jerry Backs and Mrs. Geiser were lay communion distributors at the 11 a.m. Mass. It was offered for Mrs. W. Vandenberk, in honor of her 00th bir- thday. Mrs. Roberta Walkerperform- ed a special solo for her, the "Ave Maria" and the choir sang "Amazing Grace". What must we do to obtain eternal life? We must love God with all our minds, hearts, souls and strength, and love our neighbour as ourselves. That was the theme of the gospel and Father Morrissey's sermon. How do we get the most out of life? We begin by loving ourselves, for that's when relationships with others can prosper. We must love neighbours by respec- ting them, even though we may find it difficult to like all of them. Then we can love God witheeing, and this love of self, of neighbour and -of God, is what truly makes life worth living. Prayer for Mrs. Willie Hof, the sister of Jane Van Dongan, and for Leo Oltsthoorn, the brother-in-law of Jerry Van Leurwen, who both died in Holland this past week. There will be a meeting for all members of the Cathoic Womien's league on Monday night July 21, at 8:30 p.m. in the Alhambra Hall. They will be finalizing details of the bake sale and bazaar, coming up quickly on August 2. ' After the 11 a.m. mass, the Vandenberk family enjoyed a brunch at Oakwood Inn, to celebrate Mr. W. Vandenberk's 80th birthday. have made as many liquor seizures during the day as at night. Councillor Dennis Snider who now lives in this area agreed that the situation was bad. "If you thought it was bad before, well it's getting worse now. Yet I have certain members of the Chamber of Commerce bitch at me that the police are ruining business in this town"- they intimidate. As to the laying of charges, the peti- tioners were told that the OPP employ a program of "Strict is Fair", and charges will be laid if they have the evidence. This refers to liquor of- fences and drinking off the property. Noise and rowdyism are the respon- sibility of the by-law officer. The fine for drinking out of residence is $53.75 and uniform throughout the province. Keith Crawford, by-law officer, pointed out that the fine for noise is $100 plus costs ($103.75) unless the case is taken to court and the com- plainant is willing to press charges - then the fine could go as high as $2,000. "You would be surprised how many people suddenly suffer selective auditory disfunction when it comes time to go to court" interjected ex - reeve Bob Sharen. He pointed out how costly it was for everyone if the case goes to court, thus the "short form" charge with only ;100 rine is used. In summary, Officer Pickering pro- mised to report back the idea of foot patrols. He encouraged people to report incidents of rowdy and disrup- tive behaviour and above all else, not to confront these groups by oneself-. "it is not your function and you don't have the wiles to deal with 50 or so problem people." Transients sleeping on the beach overnight will be charg- ed and fined. Councillor Marsha Lemon stressed that the action to take would be to ap- proach the Solicitor -General of On- tario to provide more OPP officers in a resort area like this. The expense of controlling the noise and drinking pro- blem when so many tourists crowd in on summer weekends cannot and should not be born by the Village and council. These people are from other municipalities and other police detachments should send some of their officers here where the crowds go. Reeve Harold Green assured the residents that council would petition the Attorney -General for additional police presence but letters from the people would add even more weight with the government. The parking situation has long been a major concern of council, but the cost of a suitably large piece of land near town with a shuttle to the beach perhaps, is prohibitive. Towing the of- fenders away is a definite plan, but bften it is impossible to get a tow truck into the conjested area. Addi- tional staff has been hired to issue parking tickets. After the formal meeting ended, comments among the residents were - "I'd never go to court for fear of retaliation" ; "I'm afraid to go out some evenings with those gangs, all drinking, walking around with beer in there hands- they push you off the street." ; "My neighbour won't stay - here on weekends because of the _ rowdies." _ -, July 16, 1986 Pogo 15 Wedding Bells are. Ringing We decorate wedding makes. • Inquire about our wedding cake rentals. Bulk candied fruit fo the wedding cdlke Accessories for the Bride and Groom 1 Assorted • Table favour, • Curling ribbon • Netting rc • Ribbon and 7uf lv Mon. Sot. 9-5:30 - Closed Sundity ergine* Apiaries Hwy. 84 between Hensall & Zurich 1 236-4979 • merpr rads Fashion Boutique 14, Summer Sale 20% - 50% off On selected summer stock Open 7 Days a Week 1' mi. S. of Grond Bend Fridays till 9 p.m. On H'way 21 238.2818 1 1