Times Advocate, 1991-04-17, Page 3IN THF, NFWS
Times -Advocate, April 17, 1991
Page 3
County study indicates restructuring of economic base
By Ray Lewis
CREDITON - In a nutshell, Hu-
ron County's demography is
changing, becoming more urban,
clustering around the towns, and
getting older. This was the mes-
sage delivered by a county re-
search team describing the future
of Huron County and outlining the
problems it must endure.
"All of these have implications
on issues that Huron will have to
face over the years to come," said
Dr. Gary Davidson,. director of
planning and development.
Close to 40 members represent-
ing both the public and local coun-
cils turned up Thursday evening at
the Stephen Township Central
Public School to listen and share
their views on municipal restruc-
turing, as the Huron County Plan-
ning and Development Depart-
ment presented a 200 -page
background study report on the
subject.
The document was prepared by
a research team composed of Dav-
idson, clerk -treasurer Nigel Bell -
chamber, and the county planning
department. The information
meeting was set up to present re-
sults of the study which will be the
basis from which the provision of
municipal services and the current
county -local government structure
is evaluated. The study also
serves as a vehicle to encourage
and facilitate public participation
in defining the most appropriate
form of government for the
county.
Although the Liberal plans for
county restructuring were put on
hold by the New Democrats, the
county decided to go ahead any-
way in preparation for future re-
structuring. After the public, local
councils and municipal staffs have
all viewed the study, it will be pre-
sented to county council. The en-
tire process should be completed
by November, prior to the next
municipal election.
The study itself takes a look at
conditions over the last 25 years in
hopes of predicting trends that will
continue over the next 25.
For example, Huron county's
population is becoming much
more urbanized while the rural
population is slowly declining.
The county's villages are the fast-
est growing component, which
will force these areas to eventually
look at sewage and water systems.
It also constitutes a problem in are-
as such as Exeter and Zurich,
where there is limited land availa-
ble for future development.
In addition, there has been a
steady increase in cottagers seeking
to eventually become permanent
residents along the shoreline of
Lake Huron. The study indicates
that at present time, this cottage
strip has a population which in the
summer is actually larger than the
town of Goderich. The study also
emphasizes the fact that there is . a
steady increase in residents ap-
proaching the age of 65, with many
hoping to retire in that same area.
What this means is that more ser-
vices are going to be required in the
area. At the moment, a water sup-
ply is beginning to be installed,
running north towards Bayfield,
and some expressed concern that
the provision of permanent water
will encourage more of those peo-
ple to retire there. As Usborne
councillor Pat Down pointed out,
public services such as water and
sewage are currently unavailable.
"What happens when those septic
tanks designed for six month use
are suddenly required to remain ac-
tive year round?" inquired Down.
Dangerous driving charge
upheld, but court dismisses
intent for bodily harm
1
EXETER - An Exeter man was found guilty of
dangerous driving after an incident in the Hen -
sail arena parking lot saw a man struck by a car
after a fight. The provincial court in Exeter last
Tuesday, however, rejected a charge that the ac-
cused had intent to cause bodily harm.
The court heard that Peter Jacobs, 22, of Exet-
er got into his car after a fist fight in the parking
lot with Jim Crown, 19, of Grand Bend on the
evening of October 2.
Crown testified that Jacobs spun the car
around and knocked him over the front of the car, leaving him with
scrapes, cuts and bruises. Crown got in his own car and pursued Ja-
cobs to Kippen where the argument continued.
A neighbour testified she witnessed both the fight and when she
went outside to call her children in.
In his defense Jacobs said he did not intend to hit Crown as he
spun the car to turn around. He said he knew Crown was not seri-
ously hurt because he saw him run after the car. •
Judge R.G.E. Hunter said he saw no evidence of an intent to cause
bodily harm, but upheld the charge of dangerous driving, fining Ja-
cobs $?50 with four months to pay, or io face 35 days in jail.
Shoplifting
A Parkhill area woman pleaded guilty to shoplifting at an Exeter
drugstore and was given 30 days to pay a $100 fine, or spend five
days in jail.
The court heard that Yolanda Boyd of RR3 Parkhill was seen put-
ting two bottles of cologne worth $40.50 into a shopping bag while
in Exeter's Big V on December 22.
In her defense, the court took into account she is a single mother
raising two children, and that the theft was completely out of charac-
ter for her.
Impaired driving
Wesley Liedtke of Stratford entered a guilty plea to driving with a
blood alcohol count over 80 mg. per litre.
Police told the court that his vehicle was involved in a minor acci-
dent in Stephen Township where he had backed up into a ditch. Po-
lice said failure of an alert test and two breathalyzer samples showed
a BAC's of 250 and 240.
The court took into account the 64 -year-old accused's personal dif-
ficulties and levied a $750 fine to be paid within 90 days or face 35
days in jail. His license will be under suspension for 12 months.
BAC over SO
Despite pleading not guilty to driving with a blood alcohol count
of over 80 mg, the court fined Jonathan Flynn, 22, of London $750
and suspended his license for 12 months.
Police testified that Flynn's car was clocked at 86 km/h on Main
Street in Exeter on November 7. After a short chase, he was arrest-
ed for impaired driving.
The accused testified he had been to a close friend's funeral and
had a couple of drinks and was upset.
He was given four months to pay the fine or face 35 days in jail.
High five - Two actors from 'Theatre on the Mone' gwe a high -five
during their production of 'Labels' Thursday afternoon at the Grand
Rend Public School.
"That's a problem which, unfortu-
nately, we do foresee," answered
Davidson. "It [the waste] eventual-
ly ends up in the lake, probably
quicker than many would imagine."
The study also illustrates that
while agriculture has historically
provided the greatest single source
of employment within the county, it
js a declining sector with little spe-
cialization. In 1971, 25 percent of
those employed in Huron County
were working in jobs related to ag-
riculture. As of 1986, that rate
dropped to 19.1 percent.
Huron is the most agricultural
county in eastem Canada, yet only
20 percent of our labour force is
employed in agriculture.
"What that really means," says
Davidson, "is that agriculture as an
industrial sector is very effective,
because it can produce a lot of
food, but the increase in efficiency
requires less manpower."
The study indicates that at
present time, the retail and service
sector represents a full 60 percent
of the labour force and is the fastest
growing sector.
"That's where the jobs have basi-
cally come from over the last 10-15
years," said Davidson. "And that is
where it is anticipated they will
come from in the future."
Because of this, formal training
programs are expected to increase
in importance, because people may
be forced to change jobs more than
once over their careers. As well,
new technology has had, an impact
on a number of jobs causing re-
training or sometimes termination.
The automotive industry offers a
good example.
Recent work undertaken in Hu-
ron County shows a low level of
training and not much awareness of
the impact that technology will
have on jobs in Huron.
"The development of employee
training programs and the impact of
technology are things that Huron
will have to deal with over the next
20-25 years," confirmed Davidson.
According, to statistics released in
the study, trends indicate that most
new businesses will be service in-
dustries and they will be small.
The importance of this is that as we
continue to see layoffs in the manu-
facturing sector, they tend to be in
larger plants. As the larger manu-
facturers rationalize or change they
will be replaced by smaller busi-
ness, but mom of them will be re-
quired to fill the void. One advan-
tage is that these small businesses
tend to be much more entrepreneu-
rial and locally owned.
The study appeared fairly conclu-
sive to all present, although some
indicated a need for other areas to
be looked at as well, such as what
the county is spending on council
salaries. Councillors also suggest -
ad that further study be done to in-
clude tourism and its effects upon
the county, due to its rapid growth
and relation to the development of
the Lakeshore, to which the research
team agreed.
Copies of the report are still
available from both the planning
department and local municipal of-
fices, and some have been placed
on view in the county libraries.
Further information meetings have
been slated for April 24, at Turn -
berry Central Public School, and
April 25, at Scaforth District High
School.
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