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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-08-14, Page 11 OAR RENTALS DAILY • WEEKLY • MONTMLY CALL LIS FOR INSURANCE REPLACEMENT NEEDS • Cambia Auto Cleaning tauw. • 235-3381 or 298-8899 after hours Serving South Huron Inside Danger Hazards in the harbour page 2 Cyclist success Riders raise $100,000 page 3 Royals Win own tourney Second front Underwear thefts worry town police EXETER - Unable to decide whether they have a prankster or pervert on their hands, the Exeter Police are hoping to err on the side of caution after a series of late- night underwear thefts around town. Police say they have investigated a total of eight incidents of under- wear theft in Exeter since June 18. The culprit appears to favour wom- en's garments that are left out on clotheslines overnight in the area of Anne, William, or Gidley Streets. "Is it just kids doing it as a prank...or is it someone on the kinky side?" wonders police chief Jack Harkness, who said it is hard for police to keep an eye out for the culprit because most thefts have taken place in darkened back yards. Harkness said he would like town residents to avoid keeping such ar- ticles out on lines at night,. but at the same' te-dew ,'t be ve peo- ple should change their lifestyles because of the actions of an un- known individual. The possibility that the individual may be dangerous, said Harkness, is also in the minds of victims and the police. "The perception of danger is per- haps more than the danger itself," said the chief. Harkness is advising people to keep an eye out for the culprit, or culprits, or to report anything suspi- cious to the police. Three arrests EXETER - Town police arrested David Wright, 32, of Hensall on August 5 for uttering death threats and mischief under $1,000. Police say the charges arose out of an inci- dent at his estranged wife's apart- ment building on Victoria Street on August 3. At a bail hearing in Goderich on August 7 Wright was released on the condition he appear in Exeter court on August 13. On July 31 Police arrested Lee Wilson,19, of Huron Park, for mis- chief under $1,000. He was appre- hended for damaging two hght poles at the Frenchman's Inn and will appear in Exeter Court on Sep- tember 10. On Saturday, August 10, police arrested Craig McEachern, 18, of London for possession of a narcot- ic. The arrest came after an officer on bicycle petrol inspected a parked car. McEachern was re- leased with a court appearance set .for September 10. Two children, a seven-year old boy and a three-year old girl, who went missing briefly from their Senior Street address on Saturday afternoon, were located safely by their parent, just as police were commencing their search. Petition gets 61 signatures EXETER - In one week, a peti- tion left at the town office to gauge Csupport for bus service to London earned 61 signatures. The 61 people from Exeter, Hen- sall, Zurich, and Centralia were showin : their concern that Cha -Co trails i' s • • .1 the Hensall-Lucan leg of . r bus service to London when they amalgamated two routes. Town council and seniors groups expressed concern at the loss of the last remaining public transportation service to the arca. The petition will remain at the town office for the next few days. North Middlesex & Lambton csa)4 _ 1 __ 1'`—' Since 1873 Wednesday, August 14, 1991 75 cents Police services issue sc Gaiser-Kneale Insurance • Service Experience & Value 235-2420 Hey Mom, guess what? 9 f - Daryl Weiss makes quite a -,Ouring Wec/ne$day'Day at Hensall Play% More photos on page 9. Committee gives nod to bigger .'Bend GRAND BEND - The Lambton County Boundary Application has remained steadfast on its recommen- dation regarding boundaries between the village of Grand Bend and Bosanquet Township. A draft of the final report, which has been nearly three years in the making, states Grand Bend will be granted annexation and Bosanquet has been denied its request to amalgamate the resort community. Following a public meeting, (August 22, 7:30 p.m. Grand Bend Legion), the committee will be taking its recommendation to Lambton County Council in mid- September and if approved will be forwarded to the Minister of Municipal Affairs. It is recommended Grand Bend annex 150 acres of Bosanquet for future development. The village's con- sulting engineers have predicted Grand Bend's popula- tion could soar to 3,223 by the year 2008 given land availabili f velopme report released in January,'indic ated Grand Bend would be annexing the 150 acres in Bosanquet and 450 acres of Stephen Township. The committee had not addressed the Stephen issue in this report. In the final report which was released Wednesday, the committee praised Grand Bend for having a coun- cil which gets the job done. "Grand Bend Council is likely the most directly in- volved council in promoting and facilitating economic development in Lambton County," stated the report. Grand Bend Councilappears to spend a lot of time caring and nutu'ring the business community." The committee recommends the term of Grand Bend Council elected in November 1991, cease as of Decem- ber 31, 1992. At that time a special election will be held in November 1992 for a council whose term would commence January 1993. This is to ensure that the estimated 130 electors to be added to Grand Bend from Bosanquet would have a voice in their local gov- ernment. Also in the recommendation which will be going to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, a Liaison Committee called the Grand Bend Liaison Committee comprised of the Heads of Council and Clerk -Administrator of both Grand Bend and Bosanquet and Stephen meet as often as required and at least once every six months to set out joint agreements and arrangements for the co- operative provision of services to people of the Greater Grand Bend Area. —At one Erne; Sosangeet requested the right provide Stephen with piped water from Highway 21 and under the Ausable River so Stephen can develop the Green Acres Subdivision. The committee determined this was not in the best interests of Grand Bend. The boundary adjustment proposed by the committee would result in a loss (1990) of $25,738 of Bosanquet's total local share of taxation. The committee stated it had made a major compro- mise by insisting that Southcott Pines subdivision not be included in the boundary adjustment and therefore the proposed boundary adjustment be without financial compensation to Bosanquet Township. Town ready to call province's bluff EXETER - With the realization they may be turned down flat, Exeter council is making its own choices for its police services board, a board which is to replace the present police committee. Council, concerned they were losing financial control over the town po- lice department to the province, held off their .decision on whether to choose a three-member or five -member board. However, unlike the police committee which was made up of council -appointed members, the new board will include provincially appointed members and could override the wishes of council. Council, however, decided last Tuesday evening that they will forward the names of the present committee, councillors Dorothy Chapman and Dave Urlin, and mayor Bruce Shaw, to the Ministry of the Solicitor Gener- al as candidates for the new board. "They're [the province] going to force you to do things you don't want to do unless you take a stand," said reeve Bill Mickle. Mickle, who made the suggestion to forward the current committee's names, said the town could see if the province dared to overrule council's decision, and if so, could demand to know why. - Mickle accused the province of "tunnelling" Exeter into this program "because of something that happened in a big city that doesn't apply here". Mickle cited inequalities in the way police services are funded and paid for in the province and insisted Exeter had to start the protest. He said the Town of Brighton has given up its police force and is not paying one penny for OPP coverage, whereas another village is being billed $200,000. Chapman agreed with Mickle's position, but argued that a letter to the province would likely not have much effect. She argued the town should be prepared to fight it all the way. • - "I think if you're going to do this, it has to be done legally," said Chap- man. Zurich debiting `fine line' on handicapped housing ZURICH - Village council are going to be taking a hard look at Ir bylaws in an effort to find out if they can approve a new kind of residential ,program for develop- mentally handicapped programs. John Grey from Ootnmuntty ing South Muga attended ootmcil's meetingThursday evening to ex- p the difference between group h and the SIL program (sup- portive independent living). Grey said the organization cur- rently has adequate facilities in Ex- eter for the size of the town, and is looking to expand into other com- munities in the area. "One of the places we are looking at is Zurich," said Grey, explaining that the village has adequate servic- es for SIL candidates, especially since the new pharmacy came into being. However, unlike group homes, which are homes purchased and su- pervised for several tenants, the SIL program either rents or pur- Lucan levy LUCAN - In an attempt to save the current residents of Lucan money, council will be incr+easin& - its levy on new lots:— Thursday night, Lucan council made the first steps to raising the tax by drafting a development charges bylaw. Under new provincial legislature, council must have a new bylaw in place by November 23 or lose the right to charge development fees. Lucan is currently expanding its sewage treatment facilities and up- grading its water supply system. Those projects will be funded up to 80 percent by the provincial chases smaller properties for ten- ants who require less supervision. "What we do is provide the stiff to help them live here; said Grey. He said it was up to council to decide if they would designate SIL residences as being different from roup homes, which are restricted m certain residential areas. "In a group home, we pay for everything," said Grey, explaining that SIL residences are paid for out of the tenants own pension. Grey said it was not to the vil- lage's benefit to "ghettoize" a cer- tain part of town for such residenc- es, and he would rather see them distributed around town and rented from local landlords. However, unable to find suitable rental units, Grey said the organiza- tion had looked at purchasing a semi-detached home for the pro- gram, but present bylaws prohibit group homes in such structures. If council would agree that SIL resi- Continued on page 2 increasing government, however if, in the fu- ture, Lucan has to again expand its water and sew a systents,-the government will not be providing . any additional funding. Therefore instead of having cur- rent homeowners pay again, coun- cil will increase its development charge so the new residents will have to pick up the tab for any fu- ture expansion. "There should be no cost to the existing homeowners for the devel- opment of the new subdivisions," said Don Pletch of Huron - Middlesex Engineering. He brought Continued on page 2 Exeter's growth- startles council EXETER - The results from the 1991 census are in for Huron County, and leading the pack in population growth is the Town of Exeter. While some say the growth is not surprising, others: say it was still more ibthl anti& Patel. The county experienced an overall population increase of 5.05 percent since the last popula- tion report in 1988, bringing Hu- ron's population to 58,394. But Exeter underwent dramatic growth in the past three years, go- ing from 3,767 to a new total of 4,264, an increase of 13 percent. By comparison Godench's pop- ulauon expanded by less than one percent in the same period, now at 7399 persons. Clinton grew by three percent to 3,183. Seaforth grew by nine percent to 1,126 per- sons. Only the Village of Brus- sels was able to match Exeter's percentage of growth, but not the sheer numbers. "That's quite an increase," said mayor Bruce Shaw of Exeter's new population figures, saying such growth had been suspected by the schools, the PUC, and the works department, but only the census could provide the proof. "We've jumped 500 almost overnight," he said. Councillor Ben Hoogenboom, a member of the planning commit- tee, agreed that years of plannin ahead for residential paved the way for new apart- ments, co-op housing, and subdi- visions. Reeve Bill Mickle agreed, say- ing that Exeter's housing studies accurately gauged what was need- ed in the town. Councillor Dorothy Chapman, surveying the growth of other South Huron municipalities, said she began to doubt the tendency of County Council and the Huron Planning Department to put as much emphasis as it does on the northern regions. Hay, Township also expenence a 10 percent growth over the past three years, maml due to cottage subdivision "I think when you look at the populations of Exeter, Usborne Stephen and Hay,you have to question where they're puttinii nursing homes in this county, said Oil *man. Mickle said the new figures may have to be figured into to the ongoing Huron County Study, adding that it may affect the out- come of the study. Works superintendent Glenn Kells said it won't be long before Exeter's population signs are up- dated to reflect the new figures. Gone will be the "Exeter, popula- tion 3,800" signs. The new itigtta will claim a population of 4,300, making Meter -the second largest municipality in the county, with Stephen Township a close third. Stephen grew two percent to 4,178 persons in the past three years, but still short of its peak 1981 population of 4,277. On the down side, a population of 4,300 puts Exeter dangerously close to its servicing capacities for water and sewage, especially when current subdivision surveys are included in tire equation. If the town wishes to avoid a total development freeze in coming years, those services will have to be expanded. While new water service sources are being sought, it appears likely that additional sewage capacity can only be created through the construction of a sewage treatment plant to re- place the present lagoon system. A treatment plant for a town of Exeter's size will likely cost in ex- cess of $5 million. Ooodby* 19801 - Exeter's population has surpassed the 4,000 mark, way past, making a new challenge for the 1990s: to be able to keep up with such growth.