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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-08-14, Page 6Page 6 Times -Advocate, August 14, 1991 Lucan against regional government LUCAN - The reeve of Lucan was to vote against regional gov- ernment at Tuesday's Middlesex County Council. Monday night, Larry Hotson asked his council their views on the possibility of the county be- coming part of a regional govern- ment which would include Lon- don. "I don't like regional govern- ment," said Hotson directly to the Luken council. He said the county has used the regional government of Hamilton - Wentworth as their model. "Hamilton -Wentworth is almost the same situation we have." Hotson said that municipality is surrounded by a lot of smaller com- munities like Lucan is to London, but in Hamilton -Wentworth the outlying communities are not well taken care of. "I know they have a lot of prob- lems,' said Hotson. Two years ago when the idea of a regional government was first brought to Middlesex, a public meeting was held, but there has been none since. "I thought they got off to a good start," said councillor Tom McLaughlin. . "I thought there'd be more," he said of the lack of public meetings. Councillor Bob Taylor voiced his concern about being gobbled up by a regional government. "Bigger isn't necessarily better and 1 m scared we'd get lost in the shuffle," said Taylor. Derelict barn likely to be demolished, says council ZURICH - Haterleigh Develop- ments, who own future subdivision land in the northwest corner of Zu- rich, have been told that a barn on that property does not meet the property standards of Zurich. Public complaints about the barn's safety had been forwarded to the Public Health department and the village's building inspector, however, only the property stan- dards inspector ruled it violated six counts of the bylaw and should ei- ther be repaired or demolished Reeve Bob Fisher suggested the fire department might be interested in using the barn for practice by burning it down. Village staff will be meeting with a Haterleigh Developments repre- sentative to spell out when the in- fractions would have to be correct- ed, either by repair or demolition. Inspection juries outdated says council EXETER - Ws a time honoured tradition. Every year the Attorney General's office elects juries in On- tario's counties to travel around and inspect public buildings. However, Exeter council will be sending a no- tice to the ministry to let them know they no longer agree with the tradition. This year, the travelling jury stopped m on the Exeter swimming pool, the lawn bowling club house, and the Helen Jermyn Seniors' Apartments. All passed inspection, although the jury did confess that inspecting the pool in the spring be- fore it opened was hardly fair. Couacil apparently agreed. "To come around and inspect the pool three weeks before it's opened. Nothing's painted yet. It's a com- plete waste of time," said council- lor Dave Urlin. Reeve Bill Mickle pointed out the- jury was an "old, old" tradition aimed at protecting the general public. Councillor Ben Hoogenboom for- warded a motion to ask the Minis- try of the Attorney General to aban- don the travelling grand jury. "The idea is basically good, that the public should be safeguarded," said mayor Bruce Shaw, but agreed it was outdated "especially since we have health inspectors and what have you." "It was the same committee which embarrassed, I thought, the custodian of Precious Blood School," said Hoogenboom, refer- ring to the unfavorable report that school received two years ago. Councillor Dorothy Chapman doubted the jury had any qualifica- tions as inspectors, but Shaw noted that under British law definition, a jury is comprised of non- professionals. Council approved the motion to tell the ministry its inspection juries were outdated. Treasure Island, a family treasure By RayLewis STRATFORD - Yo ho ho and a tle of fun. The Stratford Festi- val's sleeper of the season this year, has to be Robert Louis Steven - son's classic, Treasure Island. Bold and daring, to put it mildly, there's nary a patron who isn't ooed or awed by the tale. The story began in 1881 Scotland as a tale to amuse Stevenson's stepson, Lloyd Osbourne. Initially consisting only of a map, Steven- son concocted the tale of pirates searching for buried treasure with the aid of a young boy. Little did its author know how millions of chil- dren would flock to join the crew, or how his character of Long John Silver would eventually reach immortality. The classic has been adapted for the stage by Elliot Hayes, and is enjoying its world premiere at Stratford's Festival Theatre. Geoffrey Brumlik, who also appears as Si Crowell in Our Town and Enoch Snow Jr. in Carousel, is superb as Jim Hawkins in his Stratford debut. Leon Pownall gives a memorable performance as Silver, while Edward Atienza gives the play a light-hearted touch as the marooned pirate, Ben Gunn. Add to that the antics of Captain Flint, played by an outrageous makaw named Blue, and Island definitely becomes a family favourite. Probably worthy of the price of admission in itself are the acrobatics of crew members aboard the Hispaniola. The swashbuckling adven- ture is action packed, and for those who wish to introduce children to the theatre, Treasure Island should be their beginning. Truly a family treasure. An Egmondville residence was broken into between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on July 24, 1991. The thief took off with one man's black onyx ring; one Orange Lodge pendant with years of service and three or four small stones; one Rebekah's pendant with years of service and Irene Smith engraved on it; one silver square lock, "P" engraved on the rear and "M" on the front.; one gold pocket watch, engraved with "to Wayne love Marlene"; one Iver Johnson -chrome plated 12 gauge shotgun, model Champion, Ser #26491; one Cooey .22 Cal. model 82 single shot rifle; one Cooey .22 Cal. bolt action model 60 rifle; two .22 cal Crossman air rifles, black barrels with light coloured stocks; one .22 cal. Crossman air rifle black barrel with a walnut stock; one 12 gauge double barrelled shotgun, scrolled sides and two hammers. In addition to the forgoing items there was a quantity of other jewel- lery items such as ear rings and pins stolen. Stolen dog A two month old English Sheep dog was stolen from a residence at L31 Conc. 1 Tuckersmith Twp., Huron Road Survey. On July 26 at about 8:00 p.m., a person attended the residence where the dog was stolen and said he heard that they were giving dogs away. He ap- peared to be nervous and when told the dogs were for sale he left. Then on July 28 the victim heard his dogs barking and when he checked found that one of his dogs was missing. The victim noticed a car stopped on the road with its lights out and when he came out the car sped off, out to Highway 8 and in the direction of Seaforth. The suspect vehicle is described as a red coloured car, mid sized, possibly a Taurus and it may have four doors. The suspect who was at the victim's house is described as tall, thin with dark hair over his ears and a mustache. The dog is described as a one to two month old English Sheep dog with a white head, black body, white front legs, with a b. spot on it's right ear. This is a rare sheep dog as they usuiely have e..y a small amount of white on the head. If you have information about these or any other crimes call Crime Stoppers of Huron County, 1-800-265-1777 or 524-6851 and you could receive a reward of up to $1000.00. Remember crime doesn't pay, Crime Stoppers does. Grand Bend councillors to get 48 hours notice GRAND BEND - Councillors in Grand Bend will now receive 48 hours notice before they have to at- tend any special meeting. On July 31, a special session of council was held to loan $2,000too the organizers of Dick Kloss' Mar- athon Swim for promotion items. Councillor John McDowell did not attend the meeting because he said he was not informed it was taking place. THE PERFECT BALANCE... 11.16 o• •••0 yik" ••• ••• 0 ••• ••••els 0 ••••••• �•��`� IL 0.111•410 �srlow ofoteitolow -110 The Perfect Balance between the old and the new. The character of decades -old buildings integrated with the glass and glitz of the most modern office and retail structures. It's just one more thing that attracts . shoppers by the thousands to Downtown London. And with about S85 million worth of development going on. we're having a bit of a boom Downtown. If you're thinking of expanding or relocating your retail business, consider Downtown London... Downtown has personality! For retail o rtunities in Downtown • on, contact 1', 1 Janice Manders ' General Manager, London Downtown Business Association 210 Dundas Street London, Ontario N6A 5.13 or call (519) 663-2002 •t Grand Bend tax coalition links with Sarnia By Fred Groves GRAND BEND - It's official, there is now a tax coalition in Grand Bend. Wednesday night, over 30 resi- dents banded together to become a satellite group under the Sarnia- Lambton Taxpayers Coalition. Committees have been set up and the group will soon be plotting its s When the Grand Bend coalition had it organizational meeting on July 31, there were over 60 local taxpayers present. They will meet again on August 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Pinedale Mo- tel and no doubt they will make a decision whether or not to with- hold their property taxes. "I think that's a consideration we have to look at, but you have to look at the complications," said Grand Bend tax coalition co - chairperson Kay Stollard. The next installment for taxes in the village is due September 30. "We have to start by withholding something. As a whole county we have 10 stand together," said John Vollmer, chairperson of the Sarnia coalition. The Sarnia group is the only tax coalition in Lambton County, but with the addition of Grand 13end, Vollmer says they are strengthen- ing and could have a bigger impact. While the municipal portion of taxes jumped only 4.96 percent, property owners of Grand Bend were hit with a 17.19 percent in. crease due primarily to the large in- crease in Lambton county's cut. "The taxpayers coalition is hav- ing an impact in Ontario," said Stollard. "If we can band together and not duplicate each other, we can have an impact? Tax coalitions come under the umbrella group of the Ontario Tax- payers Coalition of which there are nearly 60 chapters in the province. Their main goal is to see taxes re- duced, but as Vollmer made clear, that may not be that easy. "If our tax freedom day is July 30 when is our children's? We're sup- posed to be living in a democratic society. I don't know of a govern- ment that knows what the word 'budget' means. They just go on and on." The Sarnia coalition started with 12 members but Vollmar said at their last meeting they had 730 tax- payers attend and he says he feels they have had an effect on local government. "We've become more structured. When we first started, we did things very quickly." He noted the rising unemploy- ment in Ontario and said there is simply not enough new businesses coming to this province. Vollmer said the GST and cross-border shopping continues to put a crunch on not only taxpayers but business people as well. "It's time for people of this prov- ince, this country to get together. We are supposed to be a democra- cy, we should have more say where our money goes," said Vollmar. "One person can't do it. One coa- lition can't do it. We have to do it together." Grand Bend council briefs Damage from long weekend extensive. GRAND BEND - Although the last holiday weekend in Grand Bend saw fewer charges laid by the Ontario Plibvincial Police, the village's public works superinten- dent reported a lot of damage. Bud Markham told council the vandalism was the worst so far this summer. Included in the destruction were two broken concrete waste contain- ers at a cost of $500 each and the Eilber Street washrooms were broken into. Beer bottles were broken on several streets and flow- ers were pulled from the planters on 81 Crescent Street. Council was to see if their bylaw enforcement officer could lock the washrooms at night. "They're still being left open at night, that's how this stuff hap- pens," said councillor Bill Uniac. "It's just as bad during the day," said councillor Dennis Snider of the damage. • Markham told council that due to the success of the recycling of paper and cardboard, it appears as though they will be able to get four to six months more use out of their landfill. • On August 23, an OPP officer from the Grand Bend detachment will be attempting to spend 48 hours on a floating lawn chair. The fundraising event will benefit the Busy Bee summer playground pro- gram. • Ian McKenzie appeared before council last Tuesday and recom- mended council put up a special events board. The board would highlight certain activities in the village and McKenzie said it would not cost the village anything, but he would be getting advertisers to sponsor the board. Council suggest McKenzie take his idea to the Chamber of Commerce. • The Ministry of Transportation has contacted the village informing them that at this time, it is not pre- pared to erect or recommend any further signing or !ening designa- tion at -the main ince oCtion. • A boat was recently damaged after it collided into one of the vil- lage's docks. In the minutes from the harbour Committee, it was pointed out the design of the docks lends to certain damage. Council agreed that there was a problem. The owner of the boat was given two days free dockage. .i::•. ,r►ts iw tki 1 t1i tY:fii You're gonna love us from the very first minute! off Does not include product OFFER EXPIRES AUG. 20, 1991 • Medically supervised • Consulting Physician • '1 to 1 counselling • Dining out no problem • Eat regular food • Minimum 1100 calories (or more depending on BMI) These components recommended by Canadian Research For safe and healthy weight loss New Improved diets as of June 1991 Il you are not happy with your weight loss program. come and see us. We honor all other weight �trt 4 ASK ABOUT OUR SENIORS' & CHILDREN'S SPECIALS elk B[V[Y IHIIIS !1/�uglrtLosaCl:J<�r --LOCATIONS— •KITCHENER 'WATERLOO 'GUELPH 'CAMBRIDGE rHANOVER •6RANTFORD 'STRATFORD •COLLINOW000 OWEN SOUND 'WOODS TOCK •OOOERICH 'MIDLAND 'PORT ELGIN •BARRIE •BRAMPTON •NORTH p AY ORILLIA •LISTOWEL 'EXETER 'BRADFORD •FERGUS •STRATHROY •ST. CATHARINES •PETEROOROUGH •SUOBURY •FREOERiCTON H B. •THUNDER BAY •BEAMSVIILE 'LONDON EXETER �•'TiunT,,ra 235-3355 LIFTER'S' � FiTNESs S�BFEMf --4 - 1 .� ? I.s COMING re 42,l; IN s: r. SEPT. G c^.{3, For information call Bill Montgomery 235-1319 .i::•. ,r►ts iw tki 1 t1i tY:fii You're gonna love us from the very first minute! off Does not include product OFFER EXPIRES AUG. 20, 1991 • Medically supervised • Consulting Physician • '1 to 1 counselling • Dining out no problem • Eat regular food • Minimum 1100 calories (or more depending on BMI) These components recommended by Canadian Research For safe and healthy weight loss New Improved diets as of June 1991 Il you are not happy with your weight loss program. come and see us. We honor all other weight �trt 4 ASK ABOUT OUR SENIORS' & CHILDREN'S SPECIALS elk B[V[Y IHIIIS !1/�uglrtLosaCl:J<�r --LOCATIONS— •KITCHENER 'WATERLOO 'GUELPH 'CAMBRIDGE rHANOVER •6RANTFORD 'STRATFORD •COLLINOW000 OWEN SOUND 'WOODS TOCK •OOOERICH 'MIDLAND 'PORT ELGIN •BARRIE •BRAMPTON •NORTH p AY ORILLIA •LISTOWEL 'EXETER 'BRADFORD •FERGUS •STRATHROY •ST. CATHARINES •PETEROOROUGH •SUOBURY •FREOERiCTON H B. •THUNDER BAY •BEAMSVIILE 'LONDON EXETER �•'TiunT,,ra 235-3355