HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-05-20, Page 2Page 2 Times -Advocate, May 20, 1992
'Regional
wra -u.
Pizza-Varlor
destroyed
by fire
P RKHILL - Several down-
town buildings were evacuated
last Wednesday morning as fire
swept through the pizza parlor
-of the Old Mill Restaurant and
Tavern on Main St.
The fire apparently started in
the basement storage area where
the owner, Ed Labrose, had been
working on a pump. Labrose
left to pick up his wife at home, -
only to return and find the build-
ing ablaze.
Damage is estimated at be-
tween 5150,000 and $200,000.
The building south of the Old
Mill was evacuated as was a
nearby beauty parlor and con-
venience store.
There were no injuries as a re-
sult of the fire.
St.' Marys
-gets tax
break
ST. MARYS - Municipal tax--
es
ax=es for the town of St. Marys will
go up 2.89 percent this year, in-
creasing the average St. Marys
bill by $49.50 for public school
supporters and 522.77 for separ-
ate school supporters.
According to a story in the St.
Marys Journal Argus, supporters
of public school will pay 3.43
percent more in taxes, and aver-
age of the 2.89 percent munici-
pal increase, 6.93 percent in-
crease for elementary school and
.51 percent increase for secon-
dary school.
Because the Huron -Perth Sep-
arate School Board did not in-
crease taxes, Catholic school
supporters will have a tax in-
crease of only 1.52 percent, an
average of the municipal in-
crease of 2.93 and the zero
school tax levy.
The municipality will spend
$6,596,010 in 1992 running the.
town, about $400,000 more than
last year.
The 2.89 increase is surprising
considering the town budget
shows revenues down, and ex-
penditures up.
Students
attempt
world record
MITCHELL - Students at
Upper Thames Elementary
School are awaiting a decision
from the editors of the Guinness
World Book of Records, to see
if their school has broken the
record for the most people in a
line dance.
According to the Mitchell Ad-
vocate, 549 people took part in
the line dance last Friday while
spelling out the letters of their
school. The event was covered
by newspaper, television and
video recorder, and results, sto-
ries and photos have thus been
forwarded to the editors of Guin-
ness for review.
Thieves
break into
municipal
offices
SEAFORTH - Thieves broke
into three municipal offices in
Huron County between May 1
and 4, leaving few clues and
managing to make dr with thou-
sands of dollars.
After cutting into the vault at
the Township of Tuckersmith
municipal office in Vanastra,
thieves may have gone on a
lakeshore drive to other munici-
palities in what appears to be a
spree of hitting municipal offic-
es in townships patrolled by
OPP.
A,story in the Huron Exposi-
tor reported that municipal offic-
es for the villages of Bayfield
and Grand Bend were also plun-
dered by thieves as well as the
Bayfield Liquor Store and
Extended Services Office of
Goderich OPP.
Exeter woman killed in
Usborne Township collision
W INCHELS EA - An 80 -year old
Exeter woman was killed in a
broadside collision at the intersec-
tion of Huron Street E. (Usborne
Side Road 15-16) and County Road
11 just north of Winchelsea Mon-
day afternoon.
Police say Edna Mae Anderson
of Exeter died as a result of the col-
lision. _
The driver and the passenger of
the second vehicle, George and
lrene Simmons of London both re-
ceived chest injuries and were treat-
ed at South Huron Hospital.
Police believe Anderson's car
went through a stop sign at the in-
tersection, into the path of the on-
coming Simmoasgr,
Zurich council rejects
apartment application
Continued from front page
"Those buildings haven't been rented out anyway, better see something
there than nothing," said Laporte, the only one who spoke in favour of the
conversion.
"So you come into town, you've got to build a great big building at the
other end of town just for a little office," said Reichert.. "I don't think we
should give up commercial space at this time."
Council approved the motion to deny the variance, acknowledging Van -
Pelt could appeal to the OMB within 28 days.
The building is owned by Joanne Nevin and Death VanPelt.
Ambulance crews attend to the Injured victims of a collision Monday afternoon in Usborne
Township. The accident claimed the life of a woman who was driving the car In the foreground.
Correct amounts
for Lucan taxes
LUCAN - Incorrect figures for
the 1991 and 1992 village of Lu -
can taxes appeared in last week's
report.
On an average assessment of
$12,000, taxpayers this year will
be charged $1,163.96 as com-
pared to $1,080.89 in 1991.
Council also put $6,500 into
the budget for an arena reserve.
Municipalities, service
clubs sharing cost of
fire rescue vehicle'
ZURICH - The Zurich fire board
is going to add an emergency res-
cue vehicle to its fleet by purchas-
ing a used one from the Erin Fire
Department.
Fundraising for new public school
playground equipment nearing goal
EXETER - Donations continue to come in for new
playground equipment at Exeter Public School.
The project to replace the aging playground at the
school is being handled by the Exeter Public School
Parents Association, who have received two large do-
nation in the past weeks. The Exeter Lioness present-
ed the Association with $500, and the Exeter Optimists
51,500 to add to other donations and funds raised by
the Association over the past year.
Association president Deb Homuth said the organiza-
tion still has a little way to go to before reaching its
512,000 goal, "but by the end of the [school] year we
should be okay".
After a vote at a Parent's Association meeting, the
goal to replace the existing equipment was decided
upon, mainly because the present playground has been
blamed for causing many minor accidents, and is too
large for use by the smaller kindergarten to grade six
children.
A proposed budget of $15,000 was submitted to
some playground equipment suppliers, but Homuth
said that was not enough money to buy anything of ad-
equate size. Consequently, the Association decided to
take advantage of the technical department at the high
school to design and build most of the equipment, and
at a reduced cost of about $12,000. The department
built a smaller playground at the Phoenix Second Stage
Housing building last year.
With the school year drawing to a close, Homuth
said the Association is eager to tap into the experience
of the high school students who will be building the
equipment.
"It's either build now, or wait until next spring to
build," said Homuth.
Because the equipment will be available for year-
round use by all children in Exeter when it is installed
behind the school near the soccer field, the Association
was also able to tap into a fund managed by the Le-
gion. That money, she said, got the project off the
ground.
"Without our service clubs, we cou'An't have done
it," said Homuth, who estimates that another 51,500 is
still needed to reach the fundraising goal.
Speaker for aircraft club meeting
The vehicle is being purchased "
for $12,167, which includes some
accessor' equipment. The fire
board viewed the vehicle on May
13 and decided it was in excellent
condition.
Some concern had been raised by
fire board member Jim Love that
money should be set aside for a
capital expansion to the Zurich fire
hall so the vehicle could be stored
inside. In the short term, however,
the board agreed the rescue truck
could be kept outside.
The cost of the truck will be
shared among the three member
municipalities, Hay and Stanley
Townships, and the Village of Zu-
rich, but 50 percent of the funds are
to be contributed by community
service groups within the next two
years.
Zurich councillor Keith Semple
noted that the Bean Festival Com-
mittee has already presented $1,000
towards the vehicle.
"We'd like to thank the Bean Fes-
tival committee for getting things
rolling," Semple told council. •
The firefighters themselves have
also committed themselves to an-
other $2,000 of fundraising.
The rescue vehicle is expected to
be in use by the end of June at the
latest.
Well-known pilot lands in Huron Park
HURON PARK - The runways
here at the airport are becoming
very busy this spring.
Later this month, the Canadian
Forces Snowbirds will be using the
Huron Park Airport for the Grand
Bend Air Show and on June 5-7
hundreds will gather for the RCAF
Centralia reunion.
But last Monday night, all eyes
and ears were turned towards 79
year-old Carl Millard who was the
guest speaker at a meeting of the
local chapter of the Recreational
Aircraft' Association of Canada
meeting.
Millard, who landed his Navajo
600 about half -an -hour after he left
his home airport of Toronto, liqui-
dated his own charter company
Millardair a year ago.
Born in 1913, he bought his first
plane at the tender age of 23 but,
according to Millard, it wasnit the
biggest of aircraft. It weighed 390
pounds, and had a 26 horsepower
engine.
The Ingersoll native has always
had the love of flying.
"I didn't start walking until I was
two. That's why I believe in trans-
portation," he told a large gathering
at the Terry Air hangar.
From 1940 to 1955, Millard sat in
the captain's seat for Trans Canada
which became Air Canada. He ap-
plied for the job in 1938.
"It was the equivalent to a young
man having an application in to the
space program," he described.
After leaving Trans Canada, he
started his own company which at
„....006-4ifite7-IlefF28 aircraft. During
his many years as a pilot, Millard
came across many different adven-
tures including being the pilot for
former Prime Minister Pierre Tru-
deau.
One story he told on Monday,
was a pair of situations which hap-
pened 30 years apart.
In 1949 he was flying over
Moncton, N.B. when the fuel pres-
sure dropped and his co-pilot had to
hand pump more fuel to keep the
plane going. While flying the New-
foundland cabinet, again over
Moncton some 30 years ago, the
fuel light came on.
"If you fly, you have some belief
in fate," said Millard.
At 79, he is still flying but has to
take tests every six months.
"I have the same rating as I've al-
ways had. You have to pass medi-
cals that's the big thing."
Busy group: The .Recreational
Aircraft Association of Canada is a
nation-wide group and the local
chapter is 4987.
President Wayne Steeper says
there about 40 members, most of
them pilots.
He group is into promoting safe
flying, building and re -storing air-
craft. Steeper said there are 15 dif-
ferent projects an the go.
Wayne Super (left), president of the Huron Park Recreational Aircraft Association, stand
with Carl Millard who was a guest speaker at the club's last meeting.
Child Find
bringing
Green Ribbon
campaign to
Exeter
EXE t'hR - The murder of a St.
Cetharines teenager has given birth
to a project to help raise money for
Chitd Find.
Child Find of Huron County will
be going door to door through Exet-
er this week, selling green ribbon in
the Green Ribbon of Hope Cam-
paign. Donations are going to-
wards Child Find, an organization
which coordinates efforts to locate
missing children across North
America.
Zurich arena
roof in
better shape
than thought
ZURICH - Village council re-
viewed a structural report on the
condition of the Zurich Arena and
seemed relieved that expensive re-
pairs to the building are not yet
necessary.
"This letter's saying the roof's not
as bad as we think it is?" asked
councillor Marg Deichert.
Acting clerk Steve Armstrong
said he too understood repair of
leaks in the roof is necessary, but
"it's not a crisis today".
Consulting engineers suggest re-
pairing the roof leaks to prevent de-
terioration of the wooden trusses,
but should repairs not be successful
they propose replacing the roof
with heavier gauge pre -painted
steel.
Aside from some minor repairs
and improvements, the engineers
gave the building a clean bill of
health until the next inspection is
due in another three years.
Deer once
again hazard
for motorists
EXETER - Deer roaming the
roads in the local townships are
again becoming a hazard for motor-
ists, especially at night.
The OPP report two collisions be-
tween cars and deer in just this past
week alone. Thursday night, Karen
Brock of RR 1 Granton struck a
deer on County Road 6 near Win-
chelsea. Early Saturday morning,
Wayne Oke of Exeter hit a doer on
Highway 4 near County Road 4.
Police lay
.435 charges
in 'Bend
Continue ' om front page
long w • because the village
towed over vehicles from no -
parking zones.
Weekend gots
usually park
their vehicles and giro _houte par-
ties throughout the village.
Once again there are 19 officers
at the Grand Bend detachment.