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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-07-14, Page 1Sidewalk Sale Days Storewide Salle 25-70% off Selected hears cash & cavy lb COUNT -RT FLOWERS Eiteter inside Beat the heat Air conditioner sales =S00r folnttth .kucan:man -continues ttreditlon /Page '5 TSstball • legs beat :SebringviIle age 17 County still has DHC concerns :OODERICII - Alta the Steeling 'Committee of the -Iiuron District :Health Council bas decid- ed. it will set tap a. health council, the warden of 'Huron County still has some.concerns. "We're (countycouncil) not -wal- ly opposed to it, our concern•is.ihe structure of it," said Warden -Twit Tomes. County Council and its. Boaid.of Health recently made a report 40 the steering .committee saying they did not feel a health council should be created. "We have said the -people have to be.elected people. We are responsi- ble to our ratepayers. We feel peo- ple are allotting money :.and they have to be accountable c ratw3- payets, said Tomes o mittee. .. . It is not -certain yet whether or not Huron will link its District Health Council with Perth or join anotherone. Hensall's budget passes, no mill rate increase - HENSALL - Council passed its 1993 budget with ease Monday night during the regular meeting. "The total amount to be raised for municipal purposes is $330,005 re- sulting in.no increase an themunici- pal portion mill rate," clerk - treas- urer Luanne Phair reported to council. This means the residential mill rate will remain at 5.4944 and com- mercial ,at 6.4640 for the general municipal portion. Councillors agreed to amend the first collection date from August 13 to August 16 while the second in- stallment uncill due November The councillors had previou met on Junc 28 to review the 199 budget and discuss proposed exped- itures for 1993. Highway 4 - repairs 1 underway . EXETER - A sure sign of sum- mer is road construction which is just getting underway north of Ex- eter on Highway 4. Overhead lights were installed earliet in June at the northern limits of Exeter near the Big O. as well as Kippen and construction began July 5. "Right now were fixing up the intersections, upgrading, putting in pipes and structural rehabilitation," said Bill Blomtnaert, project super- visallafor the ministry of transporta- tion. Construction will onIy-be at these two intersections, he said. Work crews should be on the job for 10 weeks, but Blommaert said the work could be completed in six to eight weeks. Gaiser Kneale Investments R.SP's GIC's Seg Funds 235-2420 • Businesses balk at new costs User -pay garbage facing biggest challenge By Adrian Harte , T -A Editor EXETER - Exeter's user pay waste management program is facin its biggest challenge to date. Town council has gee Ian incentive to reduce garbage, without providing 'true aJftematives to throwing it away, accused several local businesspeople. While the town may --be insisting on more recyclingtt reuse of business waste; tbere are few avenues for the local retailer to follow -todivertthe waste, the public works corn- mittee was told by a full house of angry retailers at a spe- cial meeting last Wednesday". Alternatives that do exist are either very impractical or highly expensive. Jon Dinney, acting as a spokesman for the representatives from the town's commercial and institutional sectors, said council made a decision to cut waste at the landfill without properly considering the impact On the.bikriesses. "They feel they have maybe been leton this issue,:' said Dimtey, who suggested a compromise be reached on the issue rather than see the retailers take the town to court. Dinney also said Grand Bend's program should not be held up as a shining example of user -pay success. After speaking to several Grand Bend merchants about that vil- lage's program Dinney said he found "a lot of hostility there, a lot of hostility. It's not working...if the municipal councillors there feel it's working, it's not." Dinney said he was told some business- --yes--are dumping their garbage outside Grand Bend to avoid the user -pay costs, some are burning it on farms, and several complained tabout geeing residential gar- bage dumped in front of their stores by cottagers trying to avoid their own $2 tag fees. As for Exeter's program, he said he can already predict many retailers will be burdened with the extra cost of gar- bage colleen& "We are looking at $15,000 to take away the garbage at our store...which is almost as much -as we pay in taxes," said Dinney. He said most businesses in town cannot afford extra costs for disposing of what is essentially packing materials for customers' goods. "The consumers are the ones who create the garbage, not the people who are in this room," said Din- ney. Another problem, he said, is much of .what is thrown away is "garbage garbage" and cannot be recycled or diverted, and the retailer is being penalized for throwing this away even though it still ends up at the landfill. "You want garbage out of Exeter? That's what you'll do. Close the businesses, motile .It h 1 h" w► s op a sew ere, Don Currell, administrator of South Hu- ron Hospital, said the riser -pay program "does present quite a problem for us. We went from a zero tax base to a $15,000 tax base all in one fell swoop." Cur- rell said the hospital can't raise any more money to cover those new costs. "We can't charge any more, we're on a fixed budget," he said, adding the hospital has reduced its garbage by about 40 percent, and more reduction is in the works, but it all costs money. Continued on page two 1, WNW A Remember When The annual nu►s►::a1 variety show of the Grand Cove Estates players was held or' the weekend wits performances of "Remember When' at both the Estates clubhouse and the Grand Bend Legion. Above. "wrens" Lucy Sag() and Dmielda Gretsinger cap pub scene set i►. World War 11. Below. Laura Cavalier offers her numourous monologue "An African Memory" on stage. In all. there were 28 acts and a finale. More photos on page 23. 4. Court decision expected in student case against college closure HURON PARK - A court ruling next woek on an in- terim order initiated by students could temporarily change plans to close Centralia College of Agricultu- ral Technology. *,Judge John Kennedy of Ontario Court, general divi- sion, is expected to announce his decision on -the mi- ter early next week, said Najoeb Hassan a lawyer rep- resenting the students. ,Until that time, Hassan said, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food can't take any further steps to close the college. Five high school students arc among seven plaintiffs involved in legal action OMAF. lktrlwte rYt9ltst coegpleiesoweesut Centralia they were accepted into prior to OMAF-s April 23 announcement to close the college by May 1994. More than \14,50 students were accepted into one of three programs fpr this fall. The hearing lirgan in London Junc 28. The judge also heard legal arguments July 2 and July 6 before asking for wriuen submissions from lawyers represent- ing the students and OMAF. The interim order -raid allow the students to attend Centralia at least until a proppsed lawsuit - the students. mart legal action- istaagst, At this time the proposall lawsuit has not been Survey shows need for stronger Chamber of Commerce in 'Bend By Fred Groves T -A staff GRAND BEND - The proposed business .license is raring its ugly head again and caught right in the midst is the Grand Bend and Area Chamber of Commerce. Monday night,, concerned busi- nessmen came to Grand Bend Council with a survey which and(- l:ates a stronger Chamber is netted in the resort. community. Council's . attempt ,to put en :addi- There was some concern by council whether or not the group represented by Forbes and Guillet were acting on behalf of large num- ber of merchants. "Are you elected to -represent the business people on this issue?," questioned Grand Bend councillor Bill Uniac. Following the presentation of the survey to council, deputy -mayor Cam Ivey wanted Forbes and Guil- let to summarize the answers in the lional tax on local questionnaire. Ivey said he has told the local businessmen saved times the rea- son for the proposed business license is to help raise funds to pay for the promotion of the village. He also added other merchants has met etilibit.lot of disagree- ment "This bylaw would not be needed if we can get a strong Chamber," said busi- nessman Wayne Forbes. He and Lloyd Gulllt presented council with a questi , which although only had the responses from a couple of dozen merchants, showed a need for a stronger Chamber of Commerce. • There are about 80 members of the Grand Bend and Area Chamber of Commerce but there are over 200 businesses which are eligible. Currently the Chamber answers over 17,000 inquiries per year. One of the 14 questions asked was - Do yon wish Grand Bend to have a strong Chamber of. Com- merce? The response was 16 said yes while three abstained. "I'd love to see you hand this questionnaire out to everyone in town," said Guillet. "'leo you !van -the people here or aalt".< We know how to offend people you'4114" communities have such a license but also admitted the village made a mistake when it originally drafted the fee structure of the license. #dart sof that StrUcturocalled for up to sewed -thousand- (Tillers in addi- tional taxes to be paid by some of the trailer parks. "Forget about the trailer parks, that's a serewup; said Ivey. Councillor Phil Maguire is in fa- vour of having more money to pro- mote the village and asked Guillet and Forbes how keen they were in bringing in tourists. "Do you want the people here or don't you? We know how to offend people if you'd like." During the meeting, Guillet said Continued on page two All for nothing? Poiice �oiflnilsslon legal fees top 940,000 for town EXETER - A small inkling of the true cost of the inquiry into the town police services board and the police chief has come to light. A legal bill presented to the police board by Lerner and Asso- ciates, who have been represent- ing We board only since switched lawyers in the months before the hearing, totals S42,337.29. Some 529,748.51 of that amount was accumulatetYbe- tween April 29 and June 29, just before and after >the inquiry con- vened and adjourned. Ilse irony is that despite the le- gal fees incurred by the town Ward, the chief, and theMinistry'' of the Solicitor General; and all • the associated costs of the in- quiry, it is anticipatc1 there will be no formal dectsion on the .dis- pute.between the board and po- lice chief Jack Harks who .ices fired by:the board last Sep- tember and subsequently re- turned to duty. By the time the hearing recon- venes on September 8, it is ex- pected the town police force will have disbanded, snaking any further inquiry unecessary. All police officers and the chief ,will by then likely be employ - ccs of the Ontario Provincial Police. The chief is currently on a paid leave of absence from the force, in, light of the suspended tngwry. Because the town has insu- rance to cover unexepected le- gal Ices, it is hoped all or part of Lerner's bill can be claimed un- der the policy. There has been no further ac- tion on a lawsuit f 1 1 by Hark- ness against the town, claiming $400,000 for loss of future in- come, and 5100,000 for pain apt suffering, but it is still bated as a lieljility on ,the town's fi- nancial statement.