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.
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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.