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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1989-11-29, Page 3Beach decision any minute, both sides predict win GRAND BEND - 'With a deci- sion on the landmark beach dis- pute expected any day, all sides are saying they are cenfident of winning their case. The lawsuit pits the province against the claim of Archie Gibbs, a Parkhill contractor, that his fami- ly owns the 300 -metre strip of beach between Main Street and the government pier. Eight months of testimony were summarized in Toronto last winter and the province, Gibbs, and the Village of Grand Bend have been awaiting the decision from the Su- preme Court which will.determine the fate of one of the resort's main .attractions. Grand Bend reeve Bob Sharen said last week he was impressed with the thorough case. presented by the province. "I personally think we will win," said Sharen. "When I say 'we', I mean the crown." Grand Bend has spent about $300,000 in legal fees on the case so far, but Sharen said some of that would be recovered if the de- cision goes in the village and province's favour. "If you look at this in the proper light, this is a landmark decision," noted Sharen, adding that the province has two or three similar cases in the wings that depend on the outcome of the Gibbs/Grand Bend claim. When asked whether the crown would turn ownership of the land over to Gibbs should they lose the case, or award him a cash settle- ment, Sharen said neither option had been discussed. "I don't think we even talked about that," said Sharen. "I think the crown presented -a very strong case." In _fact, Sharen said it was most likely that should the court uphold Gibbs' claim, the crown would ap- peal the decision. Archie Gibbs, contacted at his Parkhill home, said the case had dragged on for "so long", but fie re- mained confident of winning the decision. "I don't see how I can lose. I can tell you that," stated Gibbs, but wouldn't say if he would rather take a $2 million settlement that had been suggested by his lawyer, or whether he would take ownership of the beach. Gibbs also observed 'that his claim to the beach calls into ques- tion the rightful ownership of many Lakeshore properties between Sar- nia and Goderich that were first surveyed in 1836. . Gibbs said his legal costs have been high, but claimed they were worth the expense. "I go to bed at night thinking that I've done what I wanted to do. That's all that matters," he said. Christmas Bureau Continued from front page busy for the first week accepting, sorting and displaying all the arti- cles that come in. The second week they are equally busy serv- ing the clients who come. Each child gets two pairs of new mittens, and a new toy. They and their parents can also select more clothing and toys from the used articles in excel lent condition that have come in. Each fan " ' also takes home a box of groce. People have caught the spirit. Most area churches send their White Gift Sunday collections to the Bureau. Many local companies have . switched from exchanging gifts among staff to buying some- thing for the Bureau. SHDHS Campaign - Last year •a campaign at SHDHS collected enough . money to spend $700 at Toys R Us, plus a further $300 in town for socks and mitts and hats, to add to the dozens of canned goods that came in. This year the Intermural and Ath- letic Council, composed of student reps from each home room and staff advisors Terry O'Rourke and Karey Eedey, head the school's 1989 campaign. It will be in full swing for the school week of De- cember 4 to 8. In hopes of overcoming last year's goal, the Athletic Council is working harder than 'ever to orga- nizc new and special events to. bring in donations. As in previous years, canned goods or a cash donation of one dollar is being collected from each student in homeroom from Decem- ber 4 to 7. But a goal of two canned goods, rather than only one, is what the council hopes to attain. Next, with the boys basketball teams opening home games during the week of the campaign, a collec- tion of a canned good or one dollar will be accepted for students to at- tend the December 6 game. The second annual all night Trampoline-a-thon will be the final event planned to raise money for the organization. The marathon will I st from 7:00 p.m. December 7 to 7:00 a.m. December 8. The athletic, intramural and students' council representatives will be participating in the twelve-hour event and. will be looking for sponsors. If anyone outside of the high school is interested in making a do- nation, a drop box will be available to the public in the office. Town police investigate 3 accidents EXETER - Town police investi- gated three accidents last week. On November 20 Mark R. Drys- dale, Hensall, lost control of his vehicle while turning west from Albert onto Sanders St. and struck a tree. Vehicles operated by Christo- pher Miller, Dashwood and Scott M. Russell, Huron Park collided on Main Street on Friday. The following day a vehicle owned by Kenneth N. Hayter, Cre- diton, was struck by an.unknown vehicle while parked in the Dar- lings Food Market lot. Overwhelmed - Both the Blue Jays Bird and the Co-op Beai visited the Exeter Co-op Gas Bar last week. Enjoying the fun is Gas Bar em- ployee Denise Renning. Co -Op report Continued from front page winning business away from the big multinationals is also needed, said Anderson, as well as a grow- ing awareness of environmental concerns as they relate to farming. "We must be more responsive to environmental concerns and the ability of farms to produce good wholesome food," he said. Anderson said the UCO directors were aiming for at least a break- even year for 1990. • WATCH Your Money Grow 113'4% 1yr GIC Rates Subject to verification tut Geiser Kneale Exeter Grand Bend Hansell 235-2420 238-8484 262-2119 Specular (ogulotuini ait -M 1100.111 . _.. ▪ .t * -V cOackie infurmaiioa tali: The Devion G rot 11 p Frustrated - London developer James Hevey said his land at the foot of Main Street in Grand Bend, where he intended to build Beach - place Condominiu,1s, will sit vacant until he can get a council to lis- ten to his demands. Bruce Woodley, deputy reeve, voted against giv- ing him a site -plan agreement at a council meeting Friday, although it was passed by the rest of council. Hevey said he wanted unani- mous approval from council before he would proceed with the pro- ject. Four fined in court EXETER - All four people with court, appearances scheduled for November 21 before JP Doug Wedlake were from out of town.' James D. Koyle, London, plead- ed guilty to speeding at twice the posted 80 k/h after being followed on November 4 on Highway 4 to the north end of Lucan. He was given until March 15 to pay a fine of $240 and gained six demerit points. - David A. Whyte, RR2 Seaforth arrived too late with his not guilty plea to a charge of driving a vehi- cles on October 31 on Highway 83 in Usborne township with plates not registered for that. vehicle. He had been stopped for speeding. - The plates were seized and the car left at the roadside at the ow er's request. - Whyte was fined $53.75 Although Wilmer D. Mitchell, Goderich, was not in court, he was found guilty of displaying liquor to public view. Two police de- partments were involved in an in- cident in the parking lot of the Hensall Tavern on October 13. They were called because of a re- ported fight at the tavern. A male passed out in a truck with two partially opened bottles, of beer in his hand became "arro- gant" and refused at first to identi- fy himself. A fine of $128 was imposed. Police had asked for a larger than usual fine, because of the circumstances. . Thomas Douglas Scanlan, St. Thomas, did not show up either to answer to charges of driving with no insurance, and using a plate other than the one issued to the ve- hicle he was driving when police were called to the A and K service station on September 25. Scanlan was fined $500 on the first charge and an additional S53.75 on the second. Times -Advocate, November 29, 1989 Page 3 Condos in doubt Continued from front page "You have made me go to the limit with this development and I am askingyou now for an answer. Either you want it or you don't, but I want a decision today. We have been over all .the nit -picky issues a thousand times and I want to be done with them once and for all and it's time to startbuilding". Woodley claimed he was con- cerned the walkway would create a • problem fdr emergency vehicles that could possibly endup on pri- vate property. Woodley also consulted Lambton County planner Malcolm Boyd dur- ing the meeting by telephone and made sure all of his concerns about the walkway had been dealt with according to Boyd. Although a motion was drawn up approving the plan so any problems with the walkway could be handled by the building inspector and planner, Woodley still said no. "It would it would be unreason- able for us to go on the walkway with emergency vehicles at this point. I am in favor of the develop- ment but this walkway is a very im- portant issue to me and until my concerns are met I won't give my approval for it," said Woodley. Hevey told Woodley there was no way for him to determine exact- ly how steep the walkway would be at this time. "With th winds the way they have been the last couple of days we won't know for sure how steep the slope will be until we are ready to build," Hevey told Woodley. Hevey -also said he was aware people didn't want a walkway with stairs and has changed the draw-' ings to allow the walkway to slope along the beach; avoiding the need for steps. "This is a $10 million investment for your village, which I can assure you is awesome and will do won- ders for Grand Bend," said Hevey. "I told them I wanted unanimous approval. For a project this size I need them all in favor of it, so at this point maybe they just don't want it," Hevey explained later. - Reeve Bob Sharen said he thinks council should not have stopped the development. • - "I don't like the fact it is going to be a high rise, but it is legal and proper and meets all citeria for the bylaw and -there is no reason for stopping it," said Sharen. After hearing the -outcome of council's vote on the site -plan agreement Hevey said, "It is unfor- Year End Blow Out The Best Equipment Deals Have Just Gotten Better Compare - Finance options starting at 0% - Time proven quality - Sales backed by service you can count on - Equipment built to high standards and the latest technology mNEW IDE4 '."z/Niz r '•• , rfi i )siliii;is • r AS IDF 11 See us today for your best deals WHITE FARM EOUIPMENT C.G. Farm Supply Limited Sates and Service - Repair Phone 236-4934 22 Main Street E., Zurich Ont. tunate that Mr. Woodley feels that way, but that land will be fenced up and will sit vacant until Mr. Woodley either changes his mind, or they get him to resign, or until I can get a council that will be more cooperative, regardless of how long that takes". Earlier in the meeting, Hevey was granted a site -plan agreement for his Southcott property, where he intends to start another develop- ment with apartments, townhouses and cluster houses. That project will go ahead as scheduled. When asked why Hevey would let one man's vote stand in the way of a $10 million project, the devel- oper said that without the support of the deputy reeve, he could not risk troubles with the project in the future. • Gift Baskets ." Boxed Chocolates CRh-r5� SUGAR 6 SPICE Downtown M5.121i factory Oullch 2361203 SUGAR h SPICE P2` ter_