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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-11-11, Page 1There's Tots more on the inside... * Blood donor clinic 6 * Usborne plowmen 12 * ADAPT program 13 * Panthers successful 1A * Lions anniversary 5A * CCAT Open House 8A N•wspap�rs to be. racyyclad in Usbornf projoct money shown ' in public accounts tal of the Webber farm on part lot 25, records in 1985 had risen to $290 concession 8, for a three-year period million in 1906. No explanation has yet beginning January 1, 1988. Tender been received. c The purchase of a $25 brass plate p.m.losing date is December 11 at 4:00 from the Royal Canadian Legion for John Batten has been hired as part - their "Buy a Tile" campaign to raise time standby for snowplowing during funds for the Canadian Room renova- the 1987-88 season. • tions was approved. The tile will be Councillor Pat Down will represent engraved "Township of Usborne". Usborr a at the formal panel meeting The township has ordered a Remem- of the Farm Debt Review Board in brance Day wreath at a cost of $25. Clinton on November 18. A grant of $75 to Usborne Township One hundred township spoons and Block Parents was approved. 250 township pins mill be ordered in A by-law was passed authorizing January. repairs to the Arksey-Jaques The building inspector's report municipal drain. showed permits with a total value of Tenders are to be called for the ren- Please turn to page 2 s Usborne township council is organizing a newspaper collection in recognition of the Recycling Week proclaimed by the provincial government. Usborne residents are asked to bun- dle up their old newspapers and drop them off at the road shed in Elimville at any time during the week of November16 to 22. The papers will be • taken to a collection site outside of Zurich, and sent on from there for recycling. Residents are asked not to include glossy paper such as that used for magazines, catalogues and promo- tionafs, since this type of material can not be recycled. Councillors whizzed through a long{ agenda in record time when they meet for their first monthly session on November 3. A public meeting has been called for November 17 at 3:30 p.m. to allow Huron Street residents to air any con- cerns they have about the scheduled upgrading and improvements to Huron Street East. Some dips will be .eliminated by tearing up the roadway at trouble spots, installing French drains and replacing the topping. Questions about road allowances, mailbox sites and other matters tan be raised at the meeting. Clerk Sandy Strang was instructed to send a letter to MPPs Jack Riddell Ames and John Eakins, minister of tourism and recreation, regarding the use of Wintario funds for purposes other than recreation after the reading of a newsletter from John Gates of the Lake Huron Zone of the Ontario Municipal Recreation Association. Gates said in his letter that the original intent of Wintario was to fund recreation. Bill 30, which died after first reading at Queen's Park, would have diverted some of this money to other purposes, but Gates fears a similar bill will be introduced when the legislature reconvenes. Gates said in his letter that his association has asked why the sum of $252 million in unallocated Wintarion Serving South Huron, North Middlesex One Hundred and Seventeenth Year dvocate & North Lambton Since 1873 EXETER, ONTARIO, November 11, 1987 Price Per Copy 60 Cents A PANTHERS WEEKEND - The stands were full at South Huron Saturday afternoon when Senior Panthers took on their arch . rivals, Goderich Vikings. South Huron won the game 3-1, delighting these already delighted fans. For more coverage of this and other Panther successes over the weekend, tum to page 1A. Countdown for 90 days Brucefield post office up in air Brucefield residents still do not know whether or not they will lose their post office. Over 60 people at a public meeting on Monday night in the Brucefield United Church ques- tioned Canada Post officials Chuck Talbot, acting manager of rural ser- vices for the London area, and Dave Munn, manager of field services for the Kitchener area, without reaching - a satisfactory solution. MP Murray Cardiff also attended the meeting. Talbot explained the post office's side. Since becoming a crown cor- poration,, Canada Post has been ordered to stop operating at a loss•by 1989. Talbot said the Brucefield post office, which serves 65 households in the village and is the base for the RR 1 rote consisting of a further 113 hque hold§, was losing $13,234 per year at the end of the 1986-87 fiscal year last March. Revenue was down ilosix percent, and costs were up 13 per- cent. Talbot said the Brucefield peration cost a total of $23,633 and brought in $10,19. He guessed that the rural route cost an additional $9,000. One way tit corporation is saving money is by changing the rural delivery system. As postmasters retire, resign, or sell the stores con- taining rural post offices, Canada ' Post converts the operations to a con- tract basis. However, many prospec- tive postmasters find the terms unacceptable. Richard and Judy Israels bought the Brucefield general store which houses the Brucefield post office in March. They obtained part of the necessary financing on the strength of a letter from Canada Post stating that Judy Israels was appointed tem- porary postmaster. A month ago, the Israels were of- fered a new contract which would pay a flat commission of 22 percent on the first $600 worth of business, 13.5 on the next $3,000, and nine percent on the rest. The contract also stated that the Brucefield post office could no longer fill the postage metre for Agrico; this amounts to about $200 every two months. The Brucefield-lased com- pany will have to take their meter to Clinton for resetting. This would fur- ther cut potential revenue for the Brucefield post office. Talbot. said that if no one in Brucefield agrees to the proferred contract, the Brucefield post ,office will be closed and replaced with green group boxes. • The rural route would then operate from Clinton. The courier would be paid an additional $2,000 annually to compensate for the extra driving to the Clinton post office to pick up the mail, and bring in letters and parcels to be' mailed. All who spoke were in favour of keeping the post office in Brucefield, and paying the postmaster a decent wage. One person noted that the store • now gives 90 hours of postal service a week, and only a sucker would ac- cept the contract currently being offered. Another couldn't see the logic of driving the mail through Brucefield to Clinton to be sorted if the Brucefield office closes. The in- evitable bad winter driving was mentioned. Meeting chairman Mel Graham asked "Why the run at Brucefield? Why not Varna or Kippen? Why not look at the whole rural system?" The general feeling among those who spoke was a lack of faith in Canada Post's management deci- sions; methods of operating, and ser- vice provided. They also back the cur- rent postmaster in the village; one person said what was happening was not fair, "the new owners are being victimized". Talbot said Canada Post never guaranteed the Israels that the post office would be retained, and the pro- posed contract was a chance for everyone to help out by doing all their postal business at the Brucefield outlet. Cardiff promised to do everything he could to maintain the service in Brucefield. He said he wants no change in rural service, as he realizes One vehicle accidents investigated by OPP Three of the five accidents in- vestigated by officers of the Exeter detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police involved only one vehicle. Thursday at 8:50 a.m., a 'vehicle operated by Kenneth Grose, Grand Bend collided with a parked car own- ed by David .Brock, RR 2 Staffa. Damage was estimated at $1,100 in • the mishap which occurred on King street in Hensel!. The same day at 5:35 p.m. a vehi- cle driven by Jonathan O'Connor. Grand Bend went out of control and collided with a hydro pole on Ilighway 83. Damages were listed at $7,000. Damages were set at $2,000 when a vehicle driven by David Gingerich, Zurich went out of control on Conces- sion road 2-3 in Stephen township at 12:15 p.m., 'Friday. Officers listed damages at $2,000. Donald McPhail, Grand Rend received minor injuries when the vehicle -he was driving went out of control on Huron road 4 in Crediton and struck a hydro pole and tree at 1:30 a.m., Saturday. Damages were estimated et $5,000. Saturday at 6 p.m., a vehicle driven by Keith Shanks, lensall collided on Concession 2-3 of Hay township with a tractor driven by Harold Elder, RR 2, Hensall land damages were listed at $5,250. During the week detachment of- ficers issued three driving licence suspensions of 12 hours each, ap- prehended one impaired driver and issued 52 charges under the Highway Traffic Act. how valuable it is. He added that the government must do something about the mounting deficit, which costs 27 billion in service charges each year, and he is in favour of ".privatization", as long as rural customers are well served. Cardiff has a petition "signed by many from Moorefield and other places" that he will send on to both the head of Canada Post and to the minister responsible for the crown corporation. Viola Higgs from Ilderton, a former postmaster and spokesman for Rural Dignity, said the post office should not treat rural and urban post offices the same, as outlets in stores such as a Shoppers Drug Mart in a city could draw on a much larger population than could a rural office like Brucefield. The meeting broke up with no pro- mises or decisions recorded. Judy Israel will continue as postmaster under the same terms as her predecessor for the present. When contacted after the meeting, Richard Israels said he believes Canada Post "is going contrary to the federal parliament's standing orders" governing postal operations. He quoted from the proceedings of the standing committee on government operations in regard to Canada Post dated March 26, 19887. In that committee's view, the monetary benefits from cutting rural service are limited, and won't solve the post office's problems. They sug- gested the post office look elsewhere for savings. The committee said they were'`ap- palled. at the heavy-handed ap- proach", and recommended that 90 days notice be giv@n in the case of every anticipated closure. (Munn said on Monday evening that the 90 -day countdown for the Brucefield office began that night.) The committee also recommended that no closure or change in rural delivery take place without consulta- tion with and the consent of the af- fected community, Stephen building total nears two million mark Building official Milton Dietrich reported to Stephen township council Tuesday night that nine building per- mits were issued during the month of October with a total value of $178.400. The permits to bring the 1987 total to $1,924,947 included one each for a new residence. new cottage, a storage shed and a chimney along with three residential residences and two agricultural buildings. The report on the Hodgins -Hayter municipal drain was read with five in- terested property owners along with Paul Elston of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority and McGillivray township road superintendent Bruce Carr. The report was provisionally adopted and a court of revision has been set for December 15 at 7:30 p.m. Tenders will be let in the early spring. Council voiced no objection to severance applications from Noreen McCann at Lot 5. Concession 12 and Ed Cuillerier at Lot 5, Concession 8. A public meeting to hear a zoning amendment application from Harold Finkbeiner at Lot 11, Concession 16 has been tentatively set for Januar 5. 1988. Tenders will be called for the pur-• chase of a new full size pickup truck with four wheel drive and six or eight cylinders. Tenders may be for straight sale or optional trade for a present Ford Ranger. John •Bruls and Bill Van Bergen have been named to the permanent volunteer staff olthe Huron Park tire. department. Council has completed a two year renewal agreement with Ontario Development Corporation to lease the swimming pool at Huron Park for $400 per year. . Road superintendent Eric Fink- beiner and.Linda Oliver of the oft ice staff will be attending 'an En vironmental Assessment seminar in London on December 2. Road superintendent Eric Fink beiner received a decal on successful complettion of a Human Relation- seminar from the Anderson road school in Guelph. . Safety checks areto be carried out on the Crediton and Huron Park tin trucks. - McGillivray construction Reconstruction of part of Conces- sion Road 12 in McGillivray township has been completed by C. Carter and Sons on time and within budget. Shouldering will be finished in the spring. At a recent council meeting, the Baptist Cemetery at Lieury was assumed by by-law. Repairs to the stones in the Salem Cemetery have been completed and the shrubs and trees have been cleared or trimmed. McGillivray and Stephen councils met to discuss a request from Dashwood Industries for an increas- ed supply of municipal water for their proposed industrial expansion. Stephen proposes supplying the in- creased volume from the Centralia water system. A delegation from the Middlesex Board of Education explained their interest in acquiring a one room - school of the surviving single room schools to be operated as a living museum. Council agreed to assist the Board by passing necessary by-laws when required. Council reviewed a new Provincial grant program designed to assist in renovating homes to. better accom- modate a handicapped resident. Fur- ther information is available -at the Clerk's office. Council was advised that the recent Open House and Ratepayers' Meeting was successful and would be repeated next year. A tube slide has been installed in the children's playground at the Lieury Park. ready for use next sum- mer. This acquisition is part of the im- provement being financed jointly by the Township and the Brinsley Com- munity Trust. From the I'ast At the annual meeting. on Januar 1, 1844. the list of Overseers oI Highways was enlarged to include Pathmasters for parts of Concession Roads 5.6.7.8 and 10. indicating the rapid increase in the number of set- tlers in the past year. The meeting also approved the first municipal regulation to describe minimum standards for rail and log fences. The second regulation pro- hibited the running at large of pigs under 50 weight. horses. mares. geldings. bulls. boars. and rams. ‘e-ith provision for a fine of two shillings six pence. Thomas Laughlin was elected poundkeeper. Better watch out Santa's coming soon SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN. The jolly old fellow in the bright red suit 'will be making his first official visit to Exeter on Saturday. December 5 during the annual 1987 parade sponsored jointly by the Ex- eter Lions and the Exeter Business Improvement Association. Parade co-ordinator Bob Sargent has already lined up four bands and the Ontario Provincial Police colour party to participate in the march. The music producing groups in- clude bands from South Huron District High 'School, the Mitchell Legion, Stratford Sea Cadets and the Perth County pipe band. Everyone planning to participate in the parade is asked to be at the assembly point on Huron street, east of Main street by 12:30 p.m. with takeoff scheduled for a half hour later. Sargent hopes for a good turnout from area schools in the parade. San- ta Claus and his entourage of reindeer will bring up the rear. The parade will move up Main street to Victoria street and make a right turn ,to the South Huron Rec Centre. Upon- arrival at the Ree ('entre. Santa will take lots of time to talk to the many youngsters expected to at• .tend and hear their hopes for the mor- ning of December 25. On Santa's departure. a free skating session will be available on the Rec Centre ice surface along with free treats of .potato chips and soft drinks: wanni Boy suffers break A young Exeter boy suffered a broken leg Thursday when the bicy- cle he was riding was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Victoria and Marlborough streets. Matthew Nethercott suffered the in- jury when fie pulled out in front of a vehicle being driven by Terry McAdams, Dashwood. Damage was set at $250. Vehicles driven by Jamie Durand, Zurich and Loretta Lavier, Iluron Park collided Saturday at Main and Sanders streets. The Levier vehicle was stopped to make aleft turn when it was hit by the Durand vehicle Willard Schweitzer of Exeter has been charged with impaired driving and exceeding -a blood alcohol level of 80 following an accident on Exeter's 'Main street on Monday. November 2. A vehicle driven by Schweitzer struck vehicles owned by Russell Brown and Huron Motor Products. both of Exeter while they were park- ed on Main sheet. near -Anne. Officers of the heal force issued 14 charges under the Ilighway Traffic Act, three liquor related charges ;Ind two under the Criminal ('ode.