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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-05-22, Page 1Don't Drink and Drive G: Gaiser-Kneale Insurance Seryl^A Erperlence & Value 235.2420 Scrum South Huron North Middlesex & Lambtou Since 1873 Wednesday, May 22, 1991 75 cents ,.., :<,„ ,,. . Inside Grand Bend Summer's here page 2 Co-op Students gain experience page 5 CCAT Class of '91 pages 12 and 13 Track and Field Panthers excel Second front '<>s' Y:<_ Fit Week Are you ready? page 18 r: y Reach for the Top Students place sixth page 28 Rash of thefts HENSALL - The Exeter OPP are asking the public for any assis- tance the can offer to he p1ve a rash of thefts in the iferisall area. Staff sergeant Al Quinn said the,. detachment has logged an unusu- ally high number of small thefts in and around Hensall this month. The thefts include stolen cases of beer, a briefcase taken. from a car, wheel rims from a car, a heat- er from Thompson's Mill, and a lawn mower taken from garage. The police have also• recorded two incidents in which Hensall homes have had doors kicked in by persons unknown. Quinn said he hoped that if any- one had any information about the thefts or damage, they would con- tact the OPP or Crime Stoppers if they wished to remain anonymous. Young offender awaits hearing Blooming Rowers - It's time to plant your gardens and on Monday morning, Michele Veri Hall of the Flower Pedlar in Exeter made sure the many bright flowers had lots to drink. EXETER - A a male young of- fender will be in police custody until his appearance June 6 in Goderich Young Offender's court for assault with a weapon. The Exeter OPP arrested the youth following an incident in Hu- ron Park in which a female was threatened with a knife on Sunday May 12. .000 facelift frflirOn Park pool will be open By Fred Groves HURON PARK - Fear not swimmers, the swimming pool in Huron Park will open this summer. On June 27, the same day as it always opens, local splashers will be paddling around a reno- vated pool. There was a slim possibility that the pool was going to close but the Ontario Development Cor- poration generously dipped into their pocket and came up with about $40,000. "We had a choice, which I presented to the people in Toronto, (ODC head office) of making it into a giant flower bed because it needed major repairs, or spend some money and pct it back up," said ODC Supervisor of Operations Gerry Damm. Flowers won't be growing here and Damm says the work, which is being done now, would save any more repairs for up to 15 years. He said there was a social obligation by the ODC to keep the pool running. The ODC owns the pool and leases it to Stephen Township. all it a social obligation on the part of ODC to provide something for the tenants both resi- dential and industrial," said Damm. Although the lease with the township runs out this summer, Damm said the ODC is not in the business of running a pool, nor docs it have the manpower. For the first time, the pool will be totally run by the township. Lynne Farquhar, now with the South Huron Recreation Centre in Exeter, used to work in the township and when she was there was in charge of the pool. When she left to work in Exeter, under an arrangement be- tween the two municipalities, she was still the facilities su- pervisor of the Stephen Township pool and has been for the last several years. But this year the township will be running it themselves. The head lifeguard is Karen Buchanan and while observ- ing some of the work at the pool last week, said the biggest problem with the pool was a circulatory one. She explained there was a hole in the pool's system and the water wasn't being circulated properly. Buchanan said in 24 hours, the water level would be down as much as seven inches. Buchanan estimated there are about 500 regular users to the pool including 200 who take lessons. Rob Funston who works for the township's recreation de- partment said the pool was in desperate need of repairs. "It was pretty rough, if they didn't do work on it, it would probably be gone in a couple of years," said Funston. Work Ding done on the pool includes removal and or re- pair of existing concrete, repair or replace any defective cir- culatory parts and rccoat the entire pool and deck. Some cosmetic work is also being done inside the pool building on the floors where new tile will be put down. The pool has four full-time qualified lifeguards and regis- tration for lessons are June 12 from 1-8:30 p.m at McCurdy Public School or June 27 and 28 at the pool from 9 a.m. to noon. Programs offered include yellow, orange, red, maroon, blue, green, grey and white Lifesaving I, II and III. There is also the bronze medallion, bronze cross and Red Cross Leaders. On June 27, the opening day there will be a free swim. Kirkton bank robbed again KIRKTON - For the second time in the past year, the Toronto Dominion Bank in Kirkton was held up last week. Thursday afternoon at about 2:05 p.m. a lone male entered the branch, brandished a knife and made off with an undisclosed sum of money. There were no injuries, to any of the staff in the bank. The Sebringville detachment of the OPP arc asking for public as- sistance to help track down the suspect or his vehicle. Police describe the suspect as a white male in his early 20s, be- tween 5'5" and 5'7" in height, 150 lbs of slight build and with dark brown hair. He was wearing a dark-coloured baseball -style cap, sunglasses, a dark -blue nylon windbreaker, and light-coloured trousers. His vehicle is described as a late 1970's to early 1980's silver-grey Dodge Diplomat -styled car with a possible partial licence plate of OB 400. The suspect and vehicle were last seen heading eastbound on Perth Road 24 towards St. Marys. Anyone with information is asked to contact detective constable Robert Jackson at 1-800-265-2525. The same bank was robbed of $5,800 less than a year ago by a suspect similar to last week's, who also used a knife to threaten tellers. Association fosters understanding between school and parents By Adrian Harte EXETER - While hardly rebels without a cause, the newly -formed Exet- er Public School Parents Association likes to point out they have not come together to tackle any one issue. The association met for the first time last Tuesday evening, and, among other things, elected Debi Homuth as its first president. Homuth said the group formed with a mission to seek greater co- operation among educators, students, and parents - something along the lines of what education minister Marion Boyd called for in her last ad- dress. What is important to note, emphasized Homuth, is these parents are coming together at a time when most are fairly satisfied with how the school is being run. • "They just want to know what their kids are doing," said Homuth, her- self a teacher at South Huron District High School. Homuth pointed out local parents are accustomed to spending hours of involvement with their childrens' sports programs, and suggested they should be able to spend as much time supervising their educations. The Parent's Association has been split into five sub-commiuees to sep- arately study communication between parents and the school, advocacy of the parents' point of view, a parent volunteer committee, a special projects committee, and a fundraising committee. Special projects, explained Homuth, may ineludo settiag.up a students' art gallery at the hospital or nursing home, or even something such as a lit- ter -free lunch day to promote environmental concerns. The fundraising committee, she said, will be aiming to help pay for those things that are otherwise impossible to fit into a school's budget. While the high school student council raises thousands of dollars for certain ex- tra -curricular purchases, there is no counterpart at the public school level - until now. Principal Al Taylor, who attended the association meeting, offered lots Continued on page 3. Lucan council draws up zero -increase budget LUCAN - Village council are rather proud of themselves after putting together a 1991 budget with a zero percent increase. Council approved the municipal budget last week, which at 5258,247 is slightly higher than last year, but when provincial grants are factored into the equa- tion the village mill rate remains the same. Unfortunately, when county and school board mill rate increases are added to the Lucan tax base, ratepayers will still be paying 7.86 percent more than last year, mean- ing an average home assessed at $14,000 will pay $1,261 in taxes thisear,upfrom $1,169paid in 1The larger items on the village budget this year include a joint project with Biddulph Township for the reconstruction of the Fourth Concession, and Langford Drive and Fairview Place are both being prepared with storm sewers for paving in 1992. Because the province is chipping in 532,000 in anti -recession fund- ing for the Fourth Concession pro- ject, and there is a small budget sur- plus from last year, council were able to put together the zero - increase municipal budget without cutting back any programs. Lucan ratepayers can expect to sec the tax increase on their August and November tax notices. Even though the $10 million sew- er and water project for Lucan is slated to begin with the construc- tion of a new water tower this year, the cost of that project is separate from the municipal budget. L Record number of charges laid at Grand Bend over weekend GRAND BEND - Thousands of beer -guzzling, people -watching par- There were also 24 highway traffic act charges laid. tiers camped on the doorstep of Grand Bend on the weekend. Sgt. Smith said the good weather had a lot to do with the large num- When they left, not only did they leave tons of garbage but hundreds bers who showed up to enjoy themselves for the Victoria Day week - of liquor related offences laid by the Ontario Provincial Police. end. Monday morning at 9 a.m., acting Staff Sgt. Lorne Smith of the "There's more young people duc to the weather. This is the first May Grand Bend OPP detachment reported a record setting 415 alcohol re- 24 weekend that we've had in a long time that hasn't been raining or laced char es laid. cold," said S:t. Smith. "Traditionally, years ago May 24 was the busiest weekend of the summer but then in the last few years the weather has been bad and it's cut those numbers down." Of the 24 highway traffic acts laid, many came as a result of teenag- ers loading pickup trucks up with as many people as possible and cruising the Main Street. Continued on page 2. i Mobil* motel - With sleeping in vehickts now official allowed In Grand Bend, ma took advent of the 4 . &en the II" bed ofa Icku 8 SAA 7