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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-05-29, Page 3JN TFTF NFW Times -Advocate, May 29, 1991 Page 3 Showdown - Biddulph councillors Herman Steffens, (left), Paul Wallis, and reeve Earl French found themselves challenged by a group of protesters, led by Donna Wells (foreground). Protest confronts council Continued from front page. When three members of Bid- dulph council arrived after many of the protesters had left, accusa- tions began to fly. Wells, speaking to the council members said "it almost seems like a personal vendetta against the Nippas," and said council nev- er took the family's complaints seriously. "We want it [landfill] closed whatever the cost," said Wells. Councillor Paul Wallis said if the landfill remains closed there is little chance of getting another dump in Biddulph Township, giv- en the public sentiment. Wallis estimated the cost of garbage collection will rise to $160 from $107 this year alone, because of the dump closing. When Burgess said that seemed a reasonable price to pay, council- lor Herman Steffens cautioned him about tax increases. "All over the province we've got tax revolts because taxes are too high," said Steffens. "This is an exercise in futility," argued Wells, accusing the coun- cillors of not listening to the con- cerns of those present and for searching for ways of rationaliz- ing the problems at the dump. Steffens accused her of twisting the meaning of his words. Another man asked the council- lors why they felt qualified to argue against a court ruling, a question they did not answer. "I don't know why you people challenge what a judge had to say," he said to the quiet council members. Burgess said a more expensive solution to garbage collection would create fewer headaches for council in the long run. Wells said the Nippas' concerns were only part of the "little pic- ture" and was worried about the "big picture", the enviroment as a whole. Reeve Earl French admitted to the Times Advocate he was likely wrong in assuming he understood the township's opinion on the landfill issue. "I guess from what they say, I don't speak for everybody," said French. The reeve pointed out the land- fill was privately -owned and the township and Lucan had enjoyed its use through collection con- tracts. French said he would wait until the appeal is heard before taking any action on the issue, noting that if the dump is not to re -open then the political problem would be solved, but they would have to find a new place to ship garbage. Brucefield Post Office Nosed Friday BRUCEFIELD - As part of Cana- da Post's ongoing program to ra- tionalize rural post offices and cut mail service costs, the Brucefield Post Office closed its doors Friday. The operation was combined with a variety store run by Richard Israel with his wife as postmaster. "We knew it was coming for a while," said Israel, who said efforts to oppose the phasing out of the of- fice only worked for a while. He said after Canada Post at- tempted to have the Israel's accept a contract to downgrade the post of- fice to a retail postal outlet and the Israel's refused, they terminated his wife's position by not renewing the three-month contracts. Closing the office came after that. "They [Canada Post] went through all the formalities of a pub- lic meeting, but it made no differ- ence," said Israel, stating that the RPO contract was not worth what Canada Post was offering. "At the price she was getting paid, it was worth it - at the price they wanted to pay to run it, it wasn't," said Israel. The variety -store owner said the 10-15 hours of paperwork required every month for Canada Post made the mail contract proposal a losing proposition. Nevertheless, Israel isn't worried about losing any business from his variety store trade now that the Post Office is gone. He has closed the store at the moment to renovate his gas station fuel tanks, but expects business to be as usual when he re- opens. But he is disillusioned with how Canada Post is treating mail service to rural areas, and accuses them of having a set agenda upon which public opinion has no effect. "From what I hear of these public meetings, they tell the people what they want to hear, then do what they want to do," said Israel. Now that all Brucefield arca mail is being sorted in Clinton and deliv- ered to supermailboxes, Israel has already heard some complaints - mairtly because the closest place to buy stamps is in Vanastra. As far as I'm concerned, Canada Post doesn't give a damn about ru- ral Canada," he said, adding that he believes that centres with Tess than a 100,000 population are virtually ignored. "I think Canada Post is gearing its business towards the junk mail business," continued Israel, saying that he secs the fax machine as the way of the future to get mail there on time with confirmed delivery. Court orders dump closed Continued from front page. their farm into a useless swamp. "It's like someone slamming the front door shut on your house, lock- ing it up and saying well, that's it," said Roy. Another concern is the fact that Lewis has livestock on his landfill site property. Although there are gates which block the animals from geuing into the garbage, Peter says he has videotape of pigs eating dead carcasses. Larry Lewis, vice-president of C.H. Lewis, admits there were some troubles with the pigs. "Pigs are hard to control. They used to sneak in on us, we have to admit that. All the pigs were re- moved from the property by April 30," said Lewis. As far as the decision made by Justice Finn, Lewis felt it should be the Ministry of the Environment who has the final say on whether or not his landfill should be closed. Armed stand-off CENTRALIA - A Thorndale area man appeared in a Gode- rich courtroom Monday for a bail hearing, after an armed standoff in Centralia Saturday which involved both the Exeter OPP and a London-based tac- tics and rescue unit. At 4:45 a.m. the Exeter de- tachment of the Ontario Pro- vincial Police was called to 269 Victoria Street in Centralia, af- ter reports that a shot had been fired inside the house. Two men, a women and a baby were among those confronted by a lone gunman who was alleged to have been drinking. At approximately 6 a.m., the gunman released the individu- als and they were removed by the OPP. The tactics and res- cue unit from the London OPP arrived shortly before 8 a.m., to whom the man surrendered himself at 9:35 a.m. before be- ing turned over to the Exeter OPP. "Its standard procedure for the London team to be called in when we're faced with this type of situation," said Exeter OPP Sergeant Dave Cardwell. Several homes in the area were also evacuated. Robert Bruce Randall, 27, of RR2 Thorndale, has been. charged with pointing a firearm and possession of a weapon ,figerouS tothe public peace. "We don't believe he has the au- thority to close it," said Lewis. "I think the judge sympathized with them and relied on a decision made in 1983 which he was asked not to rely on by both lawyers." In 1983, the landfill was closed briefly. Larry Hotson, reeve of Lucan and clerk -treasurer of Biddulph Town- ship said he sympathizes with the Nippas but noted reasonable people should be able to get together and negotiate something. He said if the landfill is closed in- definitely, garbage will have to be transported and it could cost tax- payers a great deal. "My understanding at this point is the only place we can take it is the Ridge landfill site in Blen- heim," said Hotson. Lewis said on Monday morning, the garbage was picked up in Lucan and being hauled to Blenheim with what he expected to be a 70 percent increase in the cost. "From some rough estimates we have, it will cost anywhere from 70 to 100 percent more, that's a lot." Hotson added that both Lucan and Biddulph have already set their budgets and obviously did not con- sider the extra costs of transporting their garbage. Saturday morning, a group of an- gered taxpayers, were outraged at actions taken by Hotson and Bid- dulph reeve Earl French. "Both reeves have signed affida- vits to support the appeal," said Hotson. In 1988, Lewis Ltd. was hit with a $6,000 fine for dumping refuse incorrectly. They attempted to in- corporate that into their contract proposal for 1989 to Lucan. Hotson seems undecided when it comes to how he feels about the sit- uation. "I agree in the past there has been infractions. I also believe at the present time, the landfill is being run according to rules and regula- tions set out by the ministry (of en- vironment)." Police get fax, but not without a fight EXETER - While the town police force will be getting its own fax machine, mainly for handling un- paid 'parking fines, the decision to fund the approximate $1,000 cost did not rest well with many mem- bers of town council. Councillor Dorothy Chapman made the purchase recommenda- tion in her police report to council last Tuesday evening, explaining that if the town wishes to have un- paid parking fines pursued by the Ministry of Transportation, infor- mation must be faxed to their office and confidential information is faxed back - information which can only be received at a police station. Chapman said attempts to use the town office fax machine have not met with ministry approval. Mayor Bruce Shaw was one of the first to question the acquisition, asking how much use the machine would see. - "Machines are cheap if they're used, and expensive if they're not," said Shaw. "If you don't have a fax machine in your police station you might as well forget handing out parking tickets," replied councillor Dave Utlin, pointing out that the ministry requires the information within sev- en days of the violation and the mail service cannot get it there on time. Councillor Ben Hoogenboom argued it would make more sense to move the town office fax to the police station. Administrator Rick Hundey and assistant clerk Lori Dykstra agreed the town fax is used only about four times a day. Reeve Bill Mickle asked Chap- man why the ministry felt it neces- sary to send confidential informa- tion after receiving notice of the fine. "It's like a three ring circus," said Mickle. "Maybe we should forget'all this nonsense and give up giving park- ing tickets," he continued. "That's what Jack [Harkness] said," replied Chapman. Councillor Ervin Sillery noted the expense was more justifiable since the town does get the revenue from parking tickets, unlike speed- ing or traffic fines which go to the province. Council did, however, approve the fax purchase of a little more than $1,000 including installation. Monthly costs are expected to be i about $22. Office closed - Richard Israel had to cover up the word "Post" in the sign on his Brucefield variety store and gas bar, because even though Canada Post closed the office on Friday, some customers were still dropping by to buy stamps, only to find they must now drive to Vanastra for retail postal services. Driver fined for wrong plates and no Insurance EXETER - Mike Smith of Exeter pleaded guilty in Justice of the Peace court last Tuesday for driving a vehicle with plates not registered to it, and for driving without insurance. Police told the court they stopped Smith on Thames Road in Exeter on April 5 and found his vehicle to be unfit and with plates registered to another vehicle. Further investigation showed the vehicle was not insured for liability either. Justice of the Peace Wedlake fined Smith $78.75 for using the wrong license plates and $503.75 for driving an uninsured vehicle. No insurance John Brown of Huron Park pleaded guilty to allowing his vehicle to be driven while not insured. The court heard that Brown's vehicle was stopped in Stephen Township on March 15. When the driver could not produce proof of insurance, Brown was contacted and told police he had just bought the vehicle but had not yet got insurance for it. JP Wedlake fined Brown $503.75 with 90 days to pay. Underage drinking A young offender pleaded guilty to being intoxicated in a public place. Police told the court the 17 -year old male was observed drunk on Gidley Street in Exeter on May 10. They said they arrested him for his own safety, and he spent the night in London. The young offetxler, who is currently not attending school, was fined $128.75 and given 60 days to pay. Speeding Richard Hucal of Exeter pleaded not guilty to speeding at 80 km/h in the 60 km/h zone on Highway 4 through Hensel!. Police testified that they had set up radar on February 23 at the for- mer Hensall Motors lot and measured Hucal's car travelling at 84 and 83 km/h southbound. The constable flagged the car down. Hucal told the court he was certain he was going only 60 km/h through Hensall, but Wedlake fined him $78.75. R Join us to learn how New Idea hay equipment compares with the others. We'll show you why New Idea is known as the hay equipment leader. Date: Thursday June 6 (Raindate June 11) Time: 10:30 - 5:00 Location: Mac McEwan Farm Supply Sales & Service Phone (519) 236-4934 Fax (519) 236-7330 22 Main Street, E., Zurich i� BY WHITE -NEW IDEA 16691 1