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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-05-05, Page 2the county, some $17,000 annually for the use of the Goderich airport. Shaw said Goderich council feared that a continued protest over the consent fees might jeopardize those funds. Police inquiry opens Monda EXETER - A public hearing into the actions of the police services board and the town police chief will begin Monday morning. The Ontario Civilian Commis- sion on Police Services will con- vene its hearing into the dispute be- tween n .the board and the chief at :10 a.m. on May l0.at the South Huron Recreation Centre. The venue was ,hanged from the town council • chambers due to the number of spectators anticipated at the hear- ing. The hearing is also expected to be quits lengthy. Ten days have al- ready been booked at the Recrea- tion Centre. More may be needed, depending on testimony and how many witnesses are called to the stand. The hearing was demanded by the Ontario Police Chiefs Associa- tion, who argue town chief Jack Harkness was unfairly removed from the job last September 7. The police services board at the time in- tended Harkness' termination to be permanent, but had to return Hark- ness t� the force in November after legal advice. In turn, the board, made up of John Stephens, Sharon Wurm and Bruce Shaw, is hoping the hearing will prove it acted correctly at the time, citing concerns over Hark- ness' ability to lead the force. t 4 °* Jason Carter, Sales Representative for Becker Farm Equipment, Exeter proudly presents Mr. Tod Kernick, RRI Kirktvn with a Dew Cub Cadet Push Mower. Mr..1<einick won the Becker Farm Equipment draw at the recent Exeter Lawn Garden Show. 1 Elementary courses cut froni.summer program CLINTON - The Huron County Board of -Education has cancelled the elementary component of its 1993 summer school schedule, it was announced at the Monday meeting. Under expenditure control meas- ures recently announced by the On- tario government the board was ad- vised that funding of all elementary Mummer school programs was being zatlminated effective July I, 1993, 'amid Bob Allen, director of educe - For the past 13 years remedial English and mathematics were pro- vided to students from grades seven sand -eight. The cost of the programs was paid almost entirely by provin- - axial grants. If the board wanted.;to`maintain `ripe program one option available eaves to charge tuition. But trustee -4ioan Van Den Broeck said it •wouldn't be fair. "I'm concerned if we offer this •program partially it would be afrttit- :sd by whether you ;could .pay -.and lthat is not whattitiblicadtication.is about." -The decisionsa-aut.rthetr itlh. sot adverselyaiifect Any 1tu- tdents, since the rprogtaas -onlyttip -graded skills. "It is not a-possaariatal Jaette,'blri- len said. GODERICH - Huron County's Waste. Managetneet Master 'Plan is still on the drawing board but the fund- ing for'the project continues to be a big question for ..the county. • Planner Craig Metzger presented Stage 2B of the master plan to council on Thursday but Admitted fund- ing for 2C is't till not completely confirmed from the provincial government. He said:the Ministry of Environment is giving in- <terim funding to cover expenses of the plan up to the end of Marchhut there has been -no indication of when or even if, funding will continue. Originally there was no Stage 2C in the Master Plan, -but since all of the candidate sites for the new county 4andfill were rejected, -more work had to be done, 3sg there, or is there not any money allocated for e 2C? We're spending money we don't even know >if we're 'going -to get," said `Hay Township's Lionel Wilder. The MOB is expected to pay for 50 percent of Stage 2C and Metzger said be should know by the end of this month if the funding is earning. Wilder suggested the county consider 'putting the whole plan on hold but Waste Management Commit- tee chairman 'Dave Lee from Blyth said that would not 'be a good idea. "County Council can stop the process if they want but they have to realize the consequence. Although there is no waste crisisnow, there could be soon." The purpose of the Master Plan is to develop a long- term strategy for reducing, reusing, recycling and dis- posing of municipal solid waste currently being gener- ated by the county. Two meetings to discuss the plan will be held on May 26 in Blyth and May 27 in Hensall, both begin at 7:30 p:nm. Seem says disentanglement likely scuttled by LVDP mini -budget GODERICH - A local politician t'eels disentanglement may not go Ahead following the recent drastic 'aunts made by.the provincial govern- ament. - Among the slashes announced by ':'the New Democrats, are up to $190 ;million in transfer payments to mu - kin .think :the announcement has tscuuled any opportunity of disen- adngtement ever going through," Letters to the Edito: said Exeter reeve Bill Mickle. He said he bases his opinion on the fact that funding is being with- drawn to municipalities and the „llimited amount of money those mu- nicipalities can pay at one time. Mickle, a director with the Asso- :raations of Municipalities of Onta- =rio (AMO), told Huron County =Council on 'Thursday, that disentan- . g1ement seems to have been post- poned. Cnmfiini►t library systems not a end solution Dear Editor: This tetter is in reapaasettoshe .article re: the public library truest week's T -A. Some people have %rmed -the --mistaken impression allot the idea to combine two separ- -%nte-library systems was proposed. -ebysne.-This misconception is cm- rpiudieally wrong. I read about the aka tin the newspaper last Wetissaisy -morning along with the rest ofthe community. I was Alleither camsalted normed. nIn my original ldllet to -Exeter -.Council, I pointed out -that .the rstaff at Exeter Branch Library has been struggling with a severe lack of space for some time. I suggest- ed that some long-range planning is in order for the Iibrary building. The building itself was paid for by the Andrew Carnegie• foundation, and was famished in 1915. It was donated to Forster. The town is re- sponsible for.ptbvidiag forthe up- keep of the building and the :grounds. My second request was for repair to the brickwork on either side sof the main entrance to the library. I have been making this same rae- ,quest, verbally, for several years. I have also been listening to 'public com- plaints about the condition of those bricks on a weekly basis for several years. It is a. situation that I am powerless to correct. My third request was for paint. 1 have been employed by Huron County at Exeter Blanch for 13 years. No painting has been done during that period. The cru iren's library in particular is in dest.cr*te need of a more cheerful decor. Not one of these requests is un- reasonable. 1 am well aware that the economic situation is difficult right now. The library is busier than ever before, and provides snore services .as'a consequence. These services.are paid for by Hie ;Ton County, including books, equipment, staff salaries and edu- cation, and rent for the premises. My opinion of the proposal to ;combine a public-service library swith an already overburdened High :school system is simply this: for a zaaumber of reasons, it is an nnsatis- dactory solution. "line i iittary-Beeth elf Titter and :area are privih idrllx-avail them- selves of the many -services of one of the finest County btrra.ry sys- tems in this province. If they feel strongly about this issue, I .urge them to contact a member of Exet- miuncil and express their views. Sincerely, Helen M. Hodgins rj Supervisor, Exeter Branch Library fraise for young people Dear Eidtor With all the negative press our young a have been it'sime for some positive inpui Recently the Hensall Optimists approached the Grade 12 Market- ing classes at South Huron District High School to come up with a marketing strategy for a new prod- uct we hope to sell as a fundraiser. From the moment I stepped into the classroom I was treat- ed with respect and a sense of curiosity as to how the stu- - dents could help the Optimists. The young peo- ple worked in groups and came up with great ideas which were then presented to the Optimists. The stu- dents have earned our respect for a job well done. Thank you, Miss Morgan, for all your guidance and support, the business people for providing the necessary informa- tion,'and especially every student involved in the project. Optimistically yours, Nancy C. Denomme Secretary/Treasurer Hensel! & District Optimist Club Lots of volunteers for 'Slice of Huron' Dear Editor: Last week was a wonderful ex- ample of the co-operation, dedica- tion and creativity found inall our communities. The "Slice of Hu- ron" was put together by the Hu- ron Agriculture Awarerwss Ctsn- mitiee but it Wok the involvement' and co-operation of all the ,Jit organizations, agribusinesses, school boards, Women's Institutes, ..;county library and countless others • to make it happen. We feel it has !;keen an overwhelming success of !hands on' activities to let others , Willow the significance of agricul- !lure in 1-luron County and to this country. The volunteer hours put Dear Editor. There is a serious menace to the safety of our children. Over 60 Ca- nadian children die and thousands of children are injured each year as a result of bicycle falls and crashes. Just falling from a bike onto a driveway gen bump „a young brain bard am h to a e catastrophic disability. Fortunately. most of Altace *ju- ries are preventable. Wearing a bi- cycle helmet can reduce a child's risk of heed ' ' y by 85 percent. For that many provinces arc ,.legislation JoriDe- into this program was outstanding. The preparation and behind the scenes activities, the teacher Weer - vice, the week of the event and the security needed during the off ,iingitrs - are just some of the areas. erare volunteers gave willingly of themselves to create an event of which we can be very proud. To all who vol- unteered - thank you! To all the spouses and families who sacrificed and compromised to allow the volunteer to be involved - thank you! 'To those who attended and showed their support - thank you! This week is "Volunteer Week" and last week exemplified it in great fonn. We have a county of great peo- ple and it was a pleasure to work along with them. You give the best gift of all - yourselves. Sincerely, Jane Muegge Rural Organization Specialist Ont. Min. of Agriculture & Food Huron County Bike heIrnetssa'e lig Wire helmet WIC. Ch�yrfu quire helmet use. Ontario has announced its intention of making each a law effective by October 1994. The Exeter Pub- lic School Parent's Association. is currently working .with Public Health on a helmet illinteiveness praatolion. You and children should wear a helrtict they are important to your ibe facts from an expert. Dr. -Rieder of Children's Hos- ua in London, ital in London, head of Pediatric gency will be Waling to Exet- er on Tuesday May 11. Everyone from the community is welcome to attend. Watch this newspaper and pouters distributed around Exeter for more details. We will also be distributing ecru - for $5.00 off a regular priced helmet from MacLean's Hume Hardware, Canadian Tire and RSD Sports Den in early May to Exeter and area school children. Be a lifesaver! Wear a helmet! Jamie Hekley Fulieler "We (AMO) went in to discuss the disentanglement agreement. We never got around .to discussing it," he said of talks with the Minister of Municipal Affairs. Instead, the emphasis was placed upon the provincial government's mini -budget which has brought wide spread criticism from many people. "AMO's question to the minister was, have you any impact studies or impacts upon the municipalities you can give us." Mickle explained the provincial government said there was no such information available. He added that the province will be slashing up to over 11 percent in unconditional grants and eight per- cent in other grants and transfer payrseents. Man surrenders to police KIRKTON - A 32 -year old man gave himself up to police after holding out for seven hours in an Usborne Township farmhouse Zlanaday* .1 _ jg. The father ifflwaiditaiifie and a shotgun end bid -talked about suicide, say the Exeter OPP, who negotiated an agree- ment with the man over the telephone to give himself up and seek medical attention. There was no one else in the house at the time. EIC 'LR - Theft `weft three guilty pleas for impaired (hiving tett one for theft over $1,015t1 in court last Tuesday. The court heard on Oc- tober 18, 1992, at 8:$0 p.m., Lois fellow of 'Medford was found in Centralia College pausing lot with an open beer ih her hand and walking uh-- steady. Two blood alco- hol tests read 220 mg. Dellow was fined $750 and had her iicenee suspended for a year. On April 9, 1993, at 12:45 a.m., Robert Adair of Parkhill ,was stopped in Centralia and the officer noticed his eyes were blood shot. His blood alcohol level was 150 mg. Adair was fined $750 or 35 days as well as a one year licence suspension. On April 10, 1993, at 12:30 p.m., Gayle Cronyn of Thornberry was driving in Stephen township when stopped by police for speed- ing. The officer could smell alcohol. When tested, Cronyn had a blood alcohol of 250 mg. She was fined 14 days in jail to be served on weekends and two years proba- tion. On January 6, 1993, William Graham was looking for unlocked cars in alleys. He took $6 from one car and a cash card from an- other. Graham was sentenced to 12 months probation and 75 hours community service. id continues batcie wilt county, but GIerich drops out EXETER - At first there were seven, now there are six. The seven Huron municipalities battling with the County `Planning Department over "consent" fees, have been whiuled down to six, af- ter the Town of Goderich dropped out of the protest. The five Huron towns, plus the villages of Bayfield and Zurich were fighting a new fee imposed by the county planning department of $750 for every new lot severed in any municipality. The municipali- ties argue the fee buys very little, is too high, and is only a revenue gen- erator for the planning department. Mayor Bruce Shaw told council Monday evening that Goderich has elected not to continue its fight. Council received a letter from the Village of Bayfield notifying the county that they will not be collect- ing the consent fee when new lots are created. "They've got more guts than the Town of Goderich," said Shaw. Apparently, said the mayor, Hu- ron's largest town is in the unique position of receiving a grant from Welfare costs swelled in 1992 P GODERICH - In two years time, Huron County's cost for social as- sistance has raised 168.35 percent. People exhausting their unem- ployment and forced to go on so- cial assistance has been quite fa- miliar throughout the county as tough economic times plagued many people. "We hope we've been through the height of our recession. We're only hoping for a ten percent increase," said Social Services Administrator John MacKinnon of the 1993 fore- cast. Hay Township's Lionel Wilder asked MacKinnon if he could guar- antee c that number and the the ad- ministrator said no. For 1992, the department's bud- get was set at $3.979,715, an in- crease of $1.329,839 or 50.18 per- cent over the 1991 costs. The county's share amounted to a $30,781 deficit. "Not to anyone's surprise, our subsidies went through the roof last year," said MacKinnon. "Towards the end of the year it was a stress- ful time for the staff." He said there were resignations as well as a new computerized sys- tem of issuing the cheques which made things difficult for the depart- ment. On behalf of the Committee of M a n age me n t of Huronfea and ilure nview We wish to express our appreciation and thanks for your support with regard cru r recent Open Houses n, y'ou! Norman Fairies lr`"" Ghpit rsQrt I