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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-10-21, Page 26Page 26 Times -Advocate, October 21, 1992 Historic Usborne monuments getting repairs EXETER - Pleased with the re- pairs made to a historic monument to one of Usbome's early churches, township council agreed to investi- gate the costs of repairs to two oth- er monuments in need of refurbish- ing. Council paid 5300 to repair the Eden Church Cemetery monument, and agreed that `similar repairs be made to the monuments marking the locations of the Ebeneizer and Bethesda churches and cemeteries. Due to the varying degree of de- terioration to the monuments, the costs of repairs could vary. Reeve Pat Down noted that all three churches were located on Concession 2-3 of the township, and all closed around the turn of the century when travel to the larg- er Exeter churches became easier. Usbome churches further east fared better in keeping their congrega- tions. Charges laid after van forced off road EXETER - In the past week, the Exeter OPP report two traffic accidents on local roads. Friday, a van driven by Albert Kyle of Hensel) was forced off the road on Highway 4 by another ve- hicle. -Kyle's van then struck a mailbox, causing light damage. Charged with failing to share half the road is Lisa Samons of RR4 Seaforth. Last Sunday. a van driven by Gary MacLean of RR3 Exeter struck a deer on Highway 81 in Ste- phen Township. The van sustained severe damage to the front end. Second annual show featuring local artists EXETER - Local artists will once again be featured in the second an- nual Artist and Craft Sale at the South Huron Recreation Centre this weekend. Over 30 displays of local crafts, art, and jewellery are scheduled for the two-day event, which opens Saturday at 9:30 a.m., and again on Sunday at 10 a.m. Organizer Jantina Bervoets says new to the show this year are the watercolours of Lucan artist Eliza- beth Tonner and are sure to be of interest to visitors. Retuming art- ists include Renee Knight, Shirley Perry, and Tim Clark. All artists and artisans are from the immediate area. Admission to the show is $2, but children under 12 are admitted free. JNIH FJ1EWS Hensel/ Co-op flnlshes In top 50 In Canada HENSALL - The 1991 list of the top 50 Canadian cooperatives was released Thursday by the Honoura- ble Charles Mayer, Minister Re- sponsible for Co-operatives, and among them once again was the Hensall and District Cooperative. The list, based on sales figures, placed Hensall an impressive 28th in Canada, not losing any ground over the previous year' "We finished in the same spot as last year," said Earl Wagner of Hensall. "But for 1992 I can see we may move up a few points." The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool ranked fust followed by Federated Co-operatives Ltd. of Saskatche- wan and Quebec's f&lerde de Que- bcc. "Te challenges met by the co- operative sector last year prove to what exsent economic strength and innovation go hand in hand," May er said. Revenue from the top 50 co- operatives in 1991 totalled 514.05 billion. Assets were at 55.01 bil- lion, up 9.8 percent or 5446 mil- lion. This increase is due mainly to acquisitions by Cooperative de Quebec, and an increase in invento- ries at thc Prairie wheat pools, whose members delivered a record amount of grain to elevators. The top 50 list is published annu- ally by the Co-operatives Secretari- at to illustrate the significant con- tribution co-operatives make to the Canadian economy. DIAMONDS questionnaire CLINTON - A questionnaire is being sent to every household in South Huron (south of County Road 25) within the next 7-10 days by the DIAMONDS Trans- portation Committee. The questionnaire (only nine questions) is an important tool to assess the transportation needs in the County. All information will be strickly confidential, and com- pletion of the form does not obli- gate anyone in any way. Residents are asked to watch their mailboxes for the 8 1t2 x 14 inch yellow sheet and to complete and return the form as soon as possible. Post- age has been prepaid. "We believe that a specialized transportation service could be de- veloped in each area of the county with a minimal call on local tax dollars," said Ron Airdrie, Commit- tee Chairperson. If anyone has questions about transportation or about this survey, please call Ron Airdrie at 482-3463. Exeter endorses Junior Kindergarten protest EXETER - Town council Mon- day evening voted to endorse a let- ter penned by councillor Robert Drummond. supporting the Huron County Board of Education in their resistance to the introduction of junior kindergarten. The Huron board is one of 17 On- tario jurisdictions presently oppos- ing the introduction of an addition- al year of schooling. Drummond said that after hearing comments from MPP Paul Klopp about how the ministry will enforce its policy by 1994 on all Ontario_ school boards, he felt there was "callous disregard to the taxpayer" and was compelled to write his let- ter. Deputy -reeve Lossy Fuller agreed, noting the estimated hiring of 26 new teachers to bring junior kindergarten to Huron was "a lot, and times are tough now". Only councillor Ben Hoogen- boom, spoke in favour of the junior kindergarten program and noted the separate school board has already adopted it. "It's a thing of the future. I think we will see the implementation of junior kindergarten and within the next 10 years or so we will see an overhaul of the entire school sys- tem," said Hoogenboom, predicting our education will be brought more into line with school systems of Asia and Europe. 'I- think- it's a social -service we cannot support " disagreed council- lor Bob Spears, who made the Mo- tion that council endorse Drum- mond's letter, to which council gave its support. Letter to Editor Representatives from Exeter, Hensel!, Zurich, Stephen Township, Hay and Usbome and Tuckersmith met with Huron County warden Bob Fisher (right) and clerk -treasurer Nigel Bellchamber last Wednesday meeting as part of a series of open houses between the county and its municipal councillors. Open houses aim for better understanding between county and municipalities HENSALL - The second in a series of four meet- ings between County Council representatives and municipal politicians was held last Wednesday eve- ning in Hensall. The purpose of the "open house" meetings is to foster a greater understanding be- tween the two levels of government, explains county warden Bob Fisher. Fisher, who chaired the Hensall meeting and was supported by county clerk -administrator Nigel Bell- chamber, said the meetings allowed municipal poli- ticians who don't often attend county council meet- ings to better express their concerns and address Huron county issues. "I felt we should get out to the municipal council- lors, clerks and treasurers who don't get the opportu- nity to attend council," said Fisher, and added that he hopes such meetings can continue on a semi- annual basis in future years. One issue of importance to the council representa- tives from Exeter, Hensel), Zurich, Stephen Town- ship, Usborne, Hay, and Stanley was the county's position on the future of Highways 83 and 84. The Ministry of Transportation has suggested to the Hu- ron County .that the roads be downgraded from highways to county roads, a move which many mu- nicipalities have opposed. Fisher said other issues which appear to be of con- cern to all Huron municipalities include the progress on the Waste Management Master Plan and its effort to find a new county landfill site, and the future of municipal voting rights in thc county chamber itself. " Fears of future crowding of the county council chamber due to increased representation from ex- panding municipalities have led to several sugges- tions to revamp the voting procedure. One proposal gaining support is to give county councillors a weighted vote according to the population of their municipality. Fisher said "the weighted vote was a major con- cern at all three of [the open houses]. A weighted vote would also require all county council votes to be recorded. Fisher said he was pleased with the turnout at the Blyth, Hensall, and BrusseLs meetings and the con- cerns raised by councillors. "They're going over well, at least that's the im- pression I'm getting," said Fisher. A fourth open house will be held in Goderich on October 29. Province seeks more information Grand Bend still has hopes Taxed on nothing set on a gambling casino To the Editor: I am writing this letter in protest of the new method of valuing used vehicles for tax purposes. Instead of using the receipt of purchase, the Govern- ment has decided that we are all crooks and is setting their own value of the vehicle. Therefore we are pay- ing taxes on money we did not spend. (We wondered how long it would take for us to be taxed on nothing.) Example: I bought a used car for 5750.00. I spent approximately 5390.00 (Which I've "already paid PST and GST on") for parts and labour to get the GtcroadwoNty. This brought my value of the car to 51140.00. But the "RED BOOK" says it is worth 51225.00 which I must pay PST on. So I am paying tax on 5475.00 which I didn't spend on the original sale and I'm being double taxed on the 5390.00 for parts and labour. As far as 1 am concerned this is criminal to penalize everyone for some person's act John Thomson Exeter, (n.aario bila Way, who played Marla in The Sound of Music.thls summer, Nide OP the -wedding dress she wore in the role - the same ,Mess which went U) for auction Friday evening et the Huron Country Playhouse dinner auction. At left is the evening's -emcee, lack Riddell. By Fred Groves T -A staff GRAND BEND - While the City of Windsor may be celebrating because it is the first site of a gambling ca- sino, politicians in Grand Bend are not giving up hope their community will be next on the provincial govern- ment's overn- ments list. Grand Bend Mayor Torn Lawson and Deputy -Mayor Cam Ivey made a trip to the Ontario Gaming Commis- sion on Thursday and indicated they still seek a gam- bling casino. While Lawson, Ivey or no other municipal politician in Grand Bend arc financially backing the proposed Lakeview Casino, council has, and still does, want to sox; a casino come to the village. Lawson said he had attended a previous meeting with the Commission but there were 33 other interest- ed groups present at that time. Thursday's meeting he said was to let the Commis- sion know, Grand Bend was still interested. "We asked if we could further clarify the rules of thc process. It was to identify Grand Bend as a site and talk about Grand Bend," said Lawson. On their trip, the two took with them graphs, charts, and many other informative documents to help the Commission in considering Grand Bend. Ivey said that while he and Lawson posed specific questions to the Commission, they were more ipterest- ed in general responses like where does the idea of gaming casinos go from here and what lime period Grand Bend is looking at before it could possibly be able to begin building one. "We tried to get an understanding of where the pro- cedure stood," said Ivey. At Monday night's Grand Bend council meeting, a draft letter was being drawn up to send to the Commis- sion. staling council's position on a gambling casino. "They want to know that council individually and collectively have no conflict of interest," said Ivey. He said the commission wants to know if council is part of the developer, do they own the land, or are they getting a fee. Earlier this month, Windsor was awarded the go ahead to look further into building a casino. The pro- vincial government is using this as a pilot project and will evaluate the situation in a year. Ellen MacKinnon. Lambton MPP, has wriuen a let- ter to The Honourable Marilyn Churley, Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations, stating she was disappointed with tine announcement that Windsor have a casino. "The Grand Bend proposal is very positive and is supported by town council and many residents of Lambton County," wrote MacKinnon. "If it is possible to have a pilot project in the City of Windsor, 1 feel it should be possible to have a pilot project in the rural area of Grand Bend," shc conclud- ed. Lawson said when he and Ivey met with the Com mission they brought up the point that Grand Bend was a rural community and it too could benefit from having a casino. "Windsor is very definitely effected by cross-border shopping, more so than Grand Bend. You're dealing with two different sets of principles," said Lawson. Grand Bend for half a century, was the home of the Lakeview Casino, hence where the name of the new casino comes from. The Lambton Heritage Museum will bring the atmosphere of the original Lakeview Ca- sino to life for a re-creation event thi:•. Saturday. Zurich council restates position, Highway 84 should retain provincial status ZURICH - Village council has repeated its position that the road that runs through Zurich, Highway 84, should remain as a provincial highway and all at- tempts to downgrade it to a county road should be op- posed. Council were responding at. their last meeting to a letter from the Zurich and District Chamber of Com- merce, who unanimously agreed the road should re- main a highway. Reeve Bob. Fisher pointed out council has already objected to any change in the road's designation, as has the county. "There are so many things in the disenlaniilwe nt process and we think this [possible downgrading] is one of them," said Fisher. A year ago, county council was approached about assuming highways 84 and 83 along "with a wish list as long as your arm...equipmertt..,buildings," ex- plained Fisher. He said County council "in their wisdom" re- sponded that the roads should be kept as fully- fledged provincial highways. Council agreed to forwtud the Chamber's letter to the Huron MPP, the Ministry of Transportation to the Opposition leaders, and to the county.