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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-05-05, Page 1College `Politicians critical of province page 3 iB & B New inn opens in Exeter *age 5 Medals Huron volunteers honoured page 8 More than 5S0 at me�tir� Minis cif amilkalia te keep essiopirs aim) y-QIltehilte O'Brien �'TwWlfff HURON PARIC AlillsealtRen S3flile filled the Recreation Centre vIltemealia COOlate on Monday night for a rally to save'the college and surrounding fa- cilities. Concerned, staff, students, alumni, along with area politicians, farmers, residents and business representa- tives voiced their opposition to the closing. Many drove more than two hours to attend the three hour meeting. Organized by the newly formed Friends of Centralia committee, the main focus of the rally was to discuss strategies to reverse the Ontario government's April 25 mini -budget decision. The closure is slated to take place on May I, 1994 as part'of cost cutting measures to reduce a growing defi- cit. NwppyMother's Day -Metre tial 8 aasnatioiss arranged in a Rhus bud vase. 895 Cash & cany b COUNTRY FLOWERS Exeter The key concern of the many speakers wailliat1he decision to cline Centralia -Was made with titdesttiigat'd or understanding of the Werk dor,ent the faci6tit•s. "The elimination of the pathology lab wouki be aF great loss in this area," said John Oough of the Pbrki Producers Marketing Boar&. He said the lab and its staff are recognised worid- wide. The closure, he said, could have a negative im- pact on the swine industry not only in this area tint asst for the province. Allan Fletcher, chairman of the White -Bean Board of Ontario, said the facilities and research strew in Hu- ron Park are used extensively for white bean retialith. Speakers said they were also frustrated that the- rinary lab in Huron Park is well known in the veteri- nary community across the province, yet the govern- ment doesn't seem to understand the implications of closing it. Barb Shipley, a A$yrter and fot^mer teacher at ;the college attempted bur tip some of the miscon- ceptions about the camphs,pttnicularly its capacity for 400 students. "There are 174 �y resident space for 200 elutants," she a has not been able to facilitate 400 student for the past 10 years. Discussing programs and services on the campus, Shipley -also said: •enrolment in agriculture education has been increas- Ing'at'the college and a new 9tc year certificate was to "be introduced this September; •the veterinary technology program is the only one in Ontario accredited by the Canadian Veterinary Medi- cal Association and first year students will be accepted this fall, although it is unknown where they will go if the closure proceeds as planned; -food service management is accredited by Ontario Dietetic Asseeietion and was able to employ 87per- certt of its students last year; •contihtring education has more than a thousand par- ticipants in agriculture programs, as well as literacy training; •research facilities at the farm stations are-useddwOv- ineeWille and there is cooperation and financial sup- port from industry, organizations and producer groups; *the veterinary services lab is located in one of the most densely populated livestoctilereas in Ontario. This information, Shipley said, is evidence that Hu- ron County residents are taking full advantage of the college and adjacent facilities. vP To ensure those who attended the rally were better informed on the use of campus, information packages were handed out. It included a brief overview of the college as well as a form letter and petition to be sent to elected officials. St Meisel Kneale Investments RSP's I GIC's Seg Funds 235-2420 North Middlesex & Lambton reside Yes...but CCAT opens conference centre page 15 o - efd for new owner for car dea l ersti ip EXETER - The future of Exeter's longest -established new car dealer- ship appears uncertain after all its new carinventory was shipped out last Wednesday. Mike Williamson, owner and op- erator of the Frayne Chev-Olds- Geo dealership at the south end of Exeter, as of Friday said there was a possibility that a new owner of the business might be Lound, but that he was "not in a position to say anything right now". The service department has also been closed, leaving 10 people out of work, including the five mechan- ics. Employees said they were told rumours about the .dealership's -fu- ture were unfounded as late as last Monday, and were consequently surprised to learn Wednesday moming thattheir jobs were lost. Free candy and comics for kids EXETER - Are you in kindergart- en, or grades one, two, or three? Do you like chocolate bars and comic books? If you can answer "yes" to the above questions, then a visit to the Exeter Police Station on Monday or Tuesday is a must. In recognition of National Police Week, May 9-13, the Exeter Police will be running a program "to pro- mote mutual trust and cooperation with Exeter Youth" and will be giv- ing Junior Jays Club comic books, from Health and Welfare Canada, along with Cadbury's Crunchic chocolate bars, to the students. The children arc welcome to visit the police station Monday or Tues- day between the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. An officer will be visiting both elementary schools on Wednesday to make the same pres- entations to those students, handi- capped or otherwise, who wero:un- able to visit the station. Fishing means family fun and that's what the Lawrence clan was doing -Saturday moming at the ninth annual Lions Fishing Derby at Morrison Dam. Here Bob Lawrence tries to clear his son Eric's line from the weeds. In all, there were 160 anglers of all ages at this year's event, which was co-sponsored by the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority. Tax arrears up, but town fmmances st_11 strong EXETER - The Town of Exeter is still in good financial shape, con- cluded an auditor's report presented ,at council Monday evening. Dan Daum of Kime Mills Dunlop explained that the report included .the finances of the Exeter Cemc- aMry. Recreation Centre and .the ?Business Improvement Arca. Daum summed up the overall01- ance sheet for council, which heide- scribed as a "snapshot picture of where the town stood at December 31, and only as of December 31." At the end of the year working capital for the town stood at about $440,000, up considerably from December 1991 when it was only.at 5110,000, but similar to the $410.000 on hand in 1990. Daunt attributed the "dip" to the sanitary sewer expansion project undertaken during 1991. On the down side, Daum noted tax arrears are at a sharp increase over 1991 figures. He said that .would normally be of concern t_' auditors, but it was actually due to one major overdue account, the mall at the northeast part of towii. Daum observed tax arrears arc up in most municipalities anyway. The, town's reserves, funds set aside for future capital projects, have increased substantially in the past year, explained Dawn. Some funds have been replenished, and other capital projects budgeted for, but not undertaken have had their funds transferred to reserve. Daum said that appeared a wise move, given current trends in provincial grants. "Those reserves will become more and more important as the years go on," said Daum. Exeter experienced a budget sur- plus of $71,500 last year, divided amongst the town ($38,000), ceme- tery. recreation centre, and BIA. Daum noted the one main overex- penditure when compared to bud- get, was the result of ,the police ser- Vl�vlt0� while In Gonad Bend vices dispute. Councillor Bob Spears noted the amount of working capital ap- peared to show the town was in good shape, and . that "many busi- nesses would be enviable of such a Continued on page three GRAND BEND - In just 16 days, people of all ages will begin pouring into Grand Bend for the fast long holiday summer weekend. Students coming to enjoy the beaches and bars will have to abide by a few rules - rules which have been put into a letter and sent to several school boards in the area. It's the same letter in which the Grand Bend Council sent out last year. And did it help keep a lid on things? "I think it did," said Mayor Tom Lawson. "Our concept is 99 percent of the kids are good," he said referring to their behaviour. Basically, the tetter welcomes the young people to the resort community .and asks for a mutual nowt and co-operation in a village which wants its guests to act, "ie a and lawful manner." The letter incl wing regulations: • no overnight public parking without a permit • no car camping • illegally parked cars will be ticketed and towed • noise bylaws will be strictly enforced • the beach will close from 2 a.m. to 6 a.in. and trespassers will be charged • illegal drinking and use of drugs will be strictly enforced • RIDE programs will be used especially on long weekends. Whether the letter will be circulated through the schools and to the stu- dents is not known. "How many school systems get the metiae back, we don't know," ad- mitted Lawson. And as tar as the summer itself, while last .year was a bit of a washout with all the bad weather, :;rand Bend is looking forward to many special events including jet ski races, fireworks, and volleyball tournaments. Wertnnsdiav . Ma\ 1493 Why can't we share? asks council down ¥oiced' to buy $16,000 Item under new safety rules EXETER - Always eager to chal- lenge upper levels of govemment, Exeter Town Council discovered .another war to wage Monday eve-- .ning. In reviewing the public works re- port, deputy reeve Lossy Fuller .asked why it was necessary to pur- chase.a.S16,000 trench liner to be .shared between public works and the PUC. -Fuller also asked what trench liner was, to which works superintendent Glenn Kells ex- plained it was .a portable metal structure installed in dug trenches to protect workers from collapsing walls. 'Ras .said some quotes had been .taken, and this particular model, made of aluminum was about the best for the town's use. A cheaper model would be too heavy for the town's equipment to move, he said. Reeve Bill Mickle called it a trag- edy that the trench liner couldn't be shared with other local municipali- ties. "It is designed for a specific mu- nicipality, the blueprints for it have to be on the job site all the time, and the corner of it is stamped for the municipality by the Ministry of Labour," explained Kells. "Those nitwits, do they think we do something different than the Vil- lage of Htnsall?" said mayor Bruce Shaw. "What's the difference between Easter, Hensall, Grand Bend and latcan...for a trencher," agreed tMickle. Kells said the liner wouldn't be used more than 20 or 30 times a year in town, but noted liners are now required by the trench digging portion of the Health and Safety Act. Without a liner, the sidewalls of a trench can be no steeper than a one - in -three grade,- which, said Kells, means even a shallow pit to repair a water main, would end up digging up the whole width of the street. "I think we should fight this," said Shaw. "If this is going to save lives then I'm all for it, but that's ;gross istiqfCte ,if they say we can't share with someone else." Miakle said even if the town has to buy the liner, he asked a "very strong letter" be sent to complain to the Ministry of Labour. Councillor Bob Spears suggested a joint effort with other municipali- ties to push for some kind of shared usage. "The only problem is if we delay this we arc in a sorry state if we have to do any trench work," said Shaw. In the end council agreed to take their protest not only to the prov- ince, but also to the surrounding municipalities and to the county, which might be considering the purchase of similar equipment un- der the new regulations. Grand Bend beach Village dunes could cost about $4, 004 to control .sand GRAND BEND - The Village of Grand Bend continues to find ways to stop the sand from their popular beaches, front blowing up onto their Main Street and other undesirable areas. Monday night, Pat Donnelly of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority followed up a meeting he had previous with council when, back in December, he said he would look into the continuous prob- lem. Donnelly pointed out four major areas of concern - the main beach from the condos to the Oakwood beach, the south basin near the har- bour building, the end of Main Street and next to the north pier. "1f we do have access sand it would be nice to locate areas where we can put the sand back in," said Donnelly. He said that since December, be has been in contact with theUni- versity of Guelph and Terry Crabs of the Pinery Provincial Park, asking them for their suggestions on how to control the Grand Bond sand. The biggest problem area is Main Street wherewilhinp week -and - a -half after clearing out, the sand returns. "i sec the whole Gibbs beach as a factor as sand on Main Street," said cd3uncillor fid Fluter. "I know it's out of our control but we can make recommendation," he added about the privately owned beach. Grand Bend can do something however about the sand on its main beach, north of the condos. Donnelly suggested creating a natural sand dune off up to four feet high. "We are looking at a natural approach but we are managing it," said Donnelly. A natural sand dune would require putting up a couple of strands of wire and some fences to indicate that grass is being grown in a certain area. Grass is ibe key element in dune regeneration. The grass could not be planted until next fall and die project would cast around 54,000. "Prior to a couple of weeks ago, there was !Ws of funding, but did ( provincial) budget**it up, said Donnelly.