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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-04-17, Page 1B.H.D.H.B. presents FAME May 8 1 i Gainer-Kneale insurance • Cail us for fpComprohsnaiv• Corm stItIve HOMEOWNERS 235-2420 • Inside Rickshaws Shuttle service in Grand Bend page 2 Study Politicians voice their views page 3 Monuments Computers helping page 5 Annual show Optimists present Home and Garden page 9 Jr. D Hockey series continues page 13 Champs Lucan bantams win OMHA page 14 Rash of _.w. thefts EXETER - The Exeter OPP are seeking any help from the public concerning the theft of two lawn tractors from Carter Farm Equip- ment. The tractors, a new 14 - horsepower Ford YT -14 and a used 12 horsepower Turf Trac, were sto- len from the dealership overnight. The OPP are asking anyone who may know anything about the theft to call the detachment or Crimes- toppers. The police are also investigating the theft of two bicycles taken from a residence in Hensall. One is a yellow Vagabond 12 -speed moun- tain bike, and the other is a white 18 -speed mountain bike with red, blue and yellow trim with black had ps. A heft of wood materials in Hay Township has been rep_orted to the police. Thi Mt-, including about 70 sheets of plywood, took place sometime after 6 p.m. on Thursday. The OPP have charged a young offender after investigating the theft of a gold watch in Zurich last November. Rail lines to have their own name MONTREAL - The rail line that Canadian National is selling to an American company will have its own name: the Goderich and Exet- er Railway Company Limited. CN elected to sell off the 23.99 miles of rail line between Centralia and Clinton, and the 47.5 miles of line from Goderich to Stratford to an American company, Railtex, which is a specialist in short -line rail operations. There remains only 30 days for appeals to the sale to be filed with CN's law department in Montreal. Two accidents EXETER - On Friday, the Exeter OPP were called out to a single car accident on Sideroad 25-26 in Hay Township. No injuries were report- ed to the driver David Kirk of Zu- rich, and damage to the vehicle was described as moderate. Last Sunday, cars driven by Jiri Holecek of London and Frederick Godbolt of Exeter were involved in a collision just south of Exeter on Highway 4. Both vehicles were listed as receiving light damage. Says Brent Steckle as he looks up to the towering Bert and Gert rabbits at the Home anti Garden Show. Bert and Gert were at the Ex- eter Police booth represent- ing' the Stay Safe, Stay Alert program. More c o verage of the Home and Garden show on page 9. .Council worries about future policing costs PRIDE project expansion approved, full steam ahead EXETER - _A public meeting Monday evening turned up no seri- ous objections to expanding Exeter PRIDE project plans to include two new areas of town. One of the new improvement zones would include the area east of the tracks where the Marlbo- rough Street sewage pumping sta- tion sits. That station will be even- tually shut down so that sewage can flow from that area under gravity to a new pumping station further to the west that will be connected di- rectly to the sewage lagoon by a forcemain. The route of that forcemain com- prises the second addition to the PRIDE area, but its exact route is still undetermined pending negotia- tions for an easement. The expansion of the PRIDE pro- ject area, announced in early March, is to allow for a full $1.1 million anti -recession program to be completed before next January. Steve Burns from Burns Ross Consulting Engineers told those present at the public meeting that the new line would not guarantee that basements in the Marlborough Street arca would no longer be sus- ceptible to having sewage backing up into them, but agreed "there will be less chance of them to back up". Burns said there will be no anti - back flow valves in the sewage lines themselves, but suggested homeowners have them in their basements as a precaution. —the sewers will be quite deep, about 25 feet below street level. Burns acknowledged that as deeper than usual, but necessary to account for the low elevation of properties in that part of town. The project is mainly aimed at bringing sanitary sewers to new de- velopment in the southwest corner of town and to provide enough ser- vicing for future development in that area. Once installed this July and operative by December or Jan- uary, homeowners will be obli :•: ted to connect to them. However, they can debenture the cost of hookup over 20 years on their tax bills. Later in the evening, council passed a bylaw to officially expand the PRIDE project arca. Seniors petition housing authority and local MPS By Fred Groves EXETER - A group of senior citizens at the Helen Jermyn Apartments have asked the Huron Housing Authority to stop admit- ting any more non -seniors into the apartment building at 134 Sanders St. E. On Thursday, Dave Harwood, acting mariner for the authority held a meeting with the seniors who have sent a petition to both the authority and to Huron MPP Paul Klopp. Also attending the meeting were several handicapped, disabled and younger residents. There have been recent incidents at the building which have trou- bles some residents, one in which a door was kicked in and • • ice were called to investigate. They later laid charges. According to Harwood, it is not the residents that are causing the majority of the problems, but rath- er the visitors. "Most of the younger people live quieter lives and the seniors don't object to that," said Har- wood. "The general consensus was that it's unauthorized people coming into the building causing these dis- Iirbanccs." Harwood said he cannot disallow non -seniors from coming into the 32 -unit building, which when built in 1975 was originally planned to be for seniors only. "They have to live together in that buildin • The seniors 1 that no more come in and unfortu- nately I can't stop that." He explained in January 1988, the provincial government said ba- sically any low income person can apply for subsidized housing. The building has always been operated by the Huron Housing Authority. "The Housing Authorities arc forced to place these young people into buildings that areinate- ly senior citizens and there is a dif- ference in age and moral stan- dards," said Harwood. He noted the Exeter Police have been asked to lay trespassing charg- es where they feel it's necessary. Upset resident: Karen Von Damm, a disabled adult, says this building is like any other in that it, Continued on 2 EXETER - Although tabled until funding options become more clear, town council appears headed to the selection of a more expensive five -member Police Services Board once it replaces the present police committee. Rough estimates figure it will cost $1,000 - $1,500 per year for each member on the board. "No one will really know until we get that into place," explained councillor Dorothy Chapman, who defended her recommendation of a five -member board over the option of a smaller three-member board. Chapman said a five -member board would avoid problems caused by absent or new untrained members and would allow two councillors to sit on it instead of the mayor himself. "We just feel it's wise to go with a five -man board," said Chapman. Councillor Ben Hoogenboom called attention to the anticipated stipends for the new board and termed it a possible "dangerous precedent". He pointed out mem- bers of other town committees, such as the recreation committee and the planning board serve with- out such healthy stipends. Chapman agreed, but said there appeared to be no choice in the matter because the new Police Ser- vices Act is quite specific about how the new Police Services Boards are to be formatted and paid. Reeve Bill Mickle told council that municipalities under 5,000 in population are considered to be ex- empt from providing their own po- licing, and he asked Chapman if the police committee had ever consid- ered requesting that exemption be applied to the cost of establishing suchcommittees and other pro- grams required by the new Act. "I don't know if this town can continue to bear the cost of all the initiatives that are coming out of Toronto," said Mickle. "I think you have to look at the alternatives," said Chapman. "And one of them is OPP." Mickle said another alternative was to have the province fund the police. Chapman agreed, but said that had little to do with the crpi- tion of a new board. "Regardless of who funds it, you're still going to have to have a commission to run it," said Chap- man, who then predicted small po- lice forces such as Exeter's would be eliminated within three or four years unless the province was pre- pared to fund its new initiatives. She offered some hope for the Exeter force, saying a strong letter has been sent to the solicitor - general on behalf of all small Onta- rio muncipalities, and he has prom- ised a meeting in May, but that will be after the next provincial budget has been set. Chapman agreed with Mickle's suggestion the police committee's recommendation for a five -member board be been tabled until further funding questions have been an- swered by the solicitor -general. • ABCA calls for public help.to._keep four conservation areas open EXETER - While claimed as a last resort, there is a possibility that the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority may close some of its conservation areas this summer due to a lack of funds to keep them nm - fling. Consequently, the ABCA are calling for increased volunteer ef- forts to help run the smaller park areas in the hope that the park maintenance budget can be stretched further. Whatever the case, the days of lawn -like grassy parks are probably long gone. Because the maintenance of con- servation areas like Morrison Dam, Lucan, Thedford, and Clinton and the Bannockburn Wildlife Anee 1s completely paid out of the munici- pal levy - and the municipalities have been calling for restraint - ser- vices manager John Schwindt said the maintenance budget has been cut in half. Consequently, the ABCA is look- ing to economize on its grass cutting programs and garbage col- lection. Schwindt said the hiring of local farms for grass cutting in parks far from the ABCA head- quarters in Usborne Township will save the cost of transporting equip- ment. "A big part of the expenses is travel time," said Schwindt, who also said that the amount of grass being cut will be reduced. The best hope for the continued success of these areas will be if community service groups can find the funds or volunteers to maintain them. "Lucan would be a good example because we have a fair hike to go to mow the bit of� and pick up the garbage," said�Scchwindi. Conservation areas in Zurich and Crediton will not suffer from the cutbacks because .they are already cared for by the municipality. Four other conservation areas - Port Franks, Parkhill, Rock Glen and Port Blake - also earn their keep through entrance and user fees. However, the other four conser- vation areas may face drastic cut- backs in service should funds run out halfway through the summer. "Hopefully, well still have them available to the public, but if they want to use them they'll have to take their own garbage out," said Schwindt. He also said a reduced inspection schedule may mean that fallen trees and broken rails and bridges will go unnoticed for a longer time than the public has come to expect. If it becomes apparent that a lack of maintenance will cause the trails and parkland to no longer be safe for the public, then the gates will have to be locked. Fred Lewis, ABCA chairman, notes that vandalism accounts for a large part of park maintenance. "Although we are in the 'green environmental wave', property van- dalism and littering have not de- creased....We want people to take pride in their local conservation arca, so that limited funds can be spent to improve the areas, and not on repairs," said Lewis. Exeter Police planning more assistance to crime victims EXETER - The Exeter Police Force will •be adding one more pprroogram to its roster this year. Police Chief Jack Harkness said the 1991 goal of the department is t0 introduce a "police -based victim assistance" program. The program is designed to give more attention to the vic- tims of crimes. Harkness noted that sometimes it has seemed persons charged are treated bet- ter than the victims themselves. The program will also attempt to keep victims up to date on court proceedings related o the crime. "I feel it is long overdue," said llarkncss. The Exeter Police introduced throe new programs last year. tit The Wandering Persons Regis- try is a program to prefile miss- ing persons reports on people who may be considered likely to become disoriented and go miss- ing, including Alzheimer's Dis- ease patients. The Private Residence Regis- ter is similar to the OPP's plan to allow parents to give authority to the police to enter their home while away. The program aims to prevent rowdy teen parties. The Merchant Alert program is a crimeprooring plan adminis- tered by co-op education stu- dents to contact local merchants, provide them with crimeproof- Ing kits and mark valuable equipment.