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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-02-23, Page 1SEIP'S valu-mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 SHOP & no name' QUALITY PRODUCTS FOR EXTRA VALUE Serving South Huron r-- NE =11 NW—, SUBSCRIBE! If you aren't subscribing to The I Times -Advocate. you're missing out. Use the coupon below and ' subscnbe today! 1 Name: 1 ' Address City Prov ' Postal Code SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada Within 40 miles • (65 km) addressed to non letter carrier addresses 530.00 plus S2.10 G.S.T. 'Outside 40 miles - (65 km) or any letter carrier address 560.00 + S4.20 G.S.T. Outside Canada -599.00 end see 40 poaa 9.1 ' USE YOUR CREDIT CARD 00000000 ' 00000000 Card No. I Expiry Date Visa ❑ Master Card ❑ Cheque enclosed Return to; TIMES ADVOCATE ` 24 Main St. Exeter, Ont. NOM 1S6�- tlttt� I= ti 31=1=11 MIN 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Inside Lunches Trendy snacks for kids page 2 Lottery Ilcencing A look at changes page 5 Playoffs Hawks, Irish ready for post -season page 14 Wake up Morning workout gets you. going -- page 22 Exeter wants further study on mobility service EXETER - Councillors agreed Monday night that they need to get more information before making a firm decision on entering into an agreement with the South Huron Mobility Service. The executive committee recom- mended Exeter council contact oth- er municipalities who have similar systems and get information on such things as frequency of use, fee structure and the makeup of any shared agreements. "Our hesitation has to do with cost," said Mayor Bruce Shaw. He said council wanted to know if municipalities would have to pay for any additional costs the service might incur. Keeping snow removal costs down HENSALL - It's not surprising that works departments in the county were busy in January deal- ing with broken water mains, road closures and especially snow re- moval. And the village of Hensall was no exception. Works superintendent, John Bak- er told council last Monday his crew has been trying to keep snow removal costs down by blowing snow rather than drawing the snow. Baker said the difference is that when they draw the snow it must be dumped somewhere else and that costs more money, although it's a better way to get rid of the sand and salt. An alternative method they are trying this winter season is blowing the snow onto owners property. Baker said this method has saved the works department about $800. North Middlesex Lk Ldnlhton Air 0 Since 1873 Wednesday. February 23. 1994 TW -S7 1 valu-mart 1 k& 83 Exeter 235.02611 SAVE 50e on any 1 P.C. or No Name Club 1 1 Pack Products 1 kinr211il- -•-- 1c + c< G.S T , 90 cents andais bit restaurant Good Times owner Ron Pitt stands beside the cigarette machine which vandals broke into. At right, the window which was smashed. Decision on school in Clinton expected by end of Mirch CLINTON - As boards of educa- tion across Ontario struggle to find money to deliver Services, many boards around Huron County have come together with agreements to share services such as bussing. Another possible option now be- ing explored is to share facilities, which the Huron County Board of Education and the Huron -Perth Ro- man Catholic Separate School Board have been talking about for months now. A decision to go ahead with the proposal to share Central Huron Secondary in Clinton is expected by the Catholic Board at the end of March. And as that deadline draws close, some people are getting a bit more vocal about the issue. "It's very political," said Paul Carroll director of the Huron Board. "Some say it thakes sense to share facilities while others don't think so. It's complicated because it's political," he said. Much of the politics lies in the fact that some people feel there shouldn't be two different boards, a Catholic and a public, in existence. But Carroll said the bottom line is that the Huron Board has availa- ble facilities and the Catholic board is looking to set up a new school. "It only makes sense to share," he said. It is expected that by March 8 a proposal will be put forth by the Catholic board asking to have ex- clusive use to a wing of the Clinton school commonly known as the learning resource centre as well as part of the second floor where they will establish somewhere between 14 and 18 classrooms for their stu- dents. And by the end of March, it is ex- pected that a Catholic board com- mittee will prepare a recommenda- tion for its board to either go ahead with the proposal or shelve it. "The [Huron] board executive have been discussing a number of strategies and requirements we would put on the table if both boards decide to go ahead," Carroll said. Right now the Catholic board is wrapping up public meetings to get feedback and to see if there's sup- port from Catholic families. And the Huron board is also pre- paring to gather public input on the idea and to find out how far the board should go with sharing its fa- cilities. "What we are looking for is dif- ferent for the Catholic board," Car- roll said. If the separate board decides to proceed with the shared shool, the two boards will sit down together Grand Bend says no to McDonald's summer trailer GRAND BEND - Council in Grand Bend are putting their foot down as far as the decision on whether or not they will let McDonald's Restaurants open another trailer this summer. Monday night, it was decided that despite McDonald's continual pleas to have the trailer set up in the village for another summer, council wants a permanent structure. 'Their position is they need more time to market the area," said Grand Bend Administrator Paul Turnbull. Although neither councillors Cam Ivey or Phil Maguire were at the meeting, Mayor Tom Lawson said Ivey felt the trailer didn't fit in with the village's 20 -year plan although Maguire said the trailer could reopen. McDonald's were looking to open the trailer, a small prototype fast foot restaurant for an extended season. When they first came to the village last summer, they said they would be building a permanent restaurant if the market deemed it fitting. "I feel they had an ample opportunity. We have a responsibility to the rest of the business people here," said councillor Bill Uniac. Councillor Ed Fluter said if McDonald's were willing to provide proper washroom facilities and pay their fare share of taxes, then he had no objec- tions. to draft an agreement for the use of shared space such as the cafeteria, gymnasium and science labs. Although some services would be shared, there would basically be two distinct schools in one build - ing. Carroll said there would have to be some revamping of the Clinton High School which has the potential to hold 1,100 students and at present or Please see Decision, page two Exeter against tax increase Carry debt rather than hit taxpayers, the message for education board EXETER - Although Exeter Councillors can sympathize with the financial difficulties of the Huron County Board of Educa- tion and they recognize the board has delivered quality programs on a lean budget; council can't agree with hitting local taxpayers for more money. "They can't pass the burden onto the taxpayers," Councillor Robert Spears said. "1 think municipal councils should send a message that taxpayers won't go for it." Councillors agreed on Monday night to send a letter to the Board of Education telling them not to expect the taxpayer to deal with a S2 million shortfall in finances. The letter will also be sent to oth- er area councils. "Things may be even worse next year," he said of budget cuts for the board. "You can forget about relying on grants from Queens Park," he said. And Spears said he doubts this money will ever be available again in the near future. He said the board of education should consider deficit financing over the next two years to deal with the problem. Spears recommendations were in response to a meeting held February 10 by the Board of Edu- cation with municipal leaders from across the county. It was at this time, councils were told the board had a $2 million shortfall. Spears also said councils should be working with the board to come up with suggestions to help cut costs. Reeve Bill Mickle agreed with this sug- gestion. Mickle said municipalities need to work with the board and push for the provincial government to properly fund the programs it demands from education boards. "We need to get on side with the board to help them get their fair share," Mickle said. "The government is picking the pockets of property taxpayers in the prov- ince," Mickle said. Spears said he would like to see a five year plan for for the board that would help get them out of the hole. "Get out of babysitting, trans- portation and correctional servic- es; and get down to educating," he said. • "Get out of , babysitting, transportation and correctional services, and get down to educating" By Fred Groves T -A staff EXETER - Ron Pitt ar- rived at work a little ear- lier last Wednesday and once there, had a big cleanup task ahead of him. The owner of the Good Times restaurant and bar expects damage to his es- tablishment to be as high as $10,000 following a break-in which saw van- dals smash windows, de- stroy property and for a short period set Pitt and his staff back on their heels. Pitt, who was back in business on Friday, said he was contacted by the manager of the Centre Mall in Exeter who noticed the break-in to the mall and the bar at about 8 a.m. "The police were here when I got here and they said don't touch any- thing," said Pitt. "We believe it was youths in their late teens or early twenties." The vandals gained entry into the locked mall by climbing up td a window off the back parking lot. '''altirthittali614114t, nititittged to -get down onto the floor of the mall and went down the stairs to the bar. There they broke a small window and then crawled past jagged glass to start the destruction. "They were down here quite a while to smash as much as they did and to get into the machines," said Pitt. 1 table, juke box and cigar- ette machine were all broken into and the 'money stolen. Ironically, a pinball machine which has not been working was not touched. "It was someone who knew what was going on down here," said Pitt. "Who would hear them, there is no one around." He said the draft beer taps were snapped off, bottles of liquor poured onto the floor and beer bot- tles smashed against a glass mirror. In the kitchen, both a heavy dish- washer and a freezer were knocked over. Pitt was hoping to re -open the doors of the establishment as soon as possible and noted, "it's going to take a lot of money and a lot of hard work." He said he is partially insured. None of the other businesses in the mall were broken into and oth- er than the upper window there was no other damage to the mall it- self. . Once the Exeter Ontario Provin- cial Police were on the scene they immediately began to dust for fin- gerprints. The break-in is just one more in a long line of smash -and -grabs which have plagued Exeter over the past several months. Detective Constable Rick Bor- den of the Exeter OPP said the po- lice believe the vandals are local. "It was more than one person. The damage and the evidence shows they were familiar with Good Times. This one looks like it's solvable," said Borden. With the way in which the van- dals broke into the mall, lowered themselves to the floor and broke a small window going into the bar, Borden said it had to be someone fairly athletic. "We believe it was youths in their late teens or early twenties." Anyone having information about this crime should call the local OPP office at 235-1300 or Huron County Crimestoppers at 1-800- 265-1777. Borden said as many as 80 per cent of crimes are solved through tips. A