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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1996-10-09, Page 2Page 2 Times -Advocate, October 9, 1996 Goderich woman stabbed GODERICH - Jodi Carter was charged with attempted murder and two counts of breach of pro- bation after a 30 -year-old wom- an was stabbed in the neck with a pocket knife on The Square on Sept. 26. According to the Goderich Signial-Star, Police Chief George Lonsbary was told the attacker had been working on the roof of the Legion, near the site of the incident that occurred close to 2 p.m. The victim was released from hospital last Monday. Carter makes his first appearance in Goderich Criminal Court on Oct. 11. Teacher cleared of sexual assault charges GODERICH - Bill Reid, a 45 - year -old Victoria Public School teacher, was found not guilty of charges of sexual assault and sexual interference, concluding his two-day trial during the last week of September. According to the Goderich Signal -Star, a student testified Reid grabbed him in a sexual way while trying to stop him from running at a party in the gym. Judge RG Hunter disregarded evidence from several children whose stories contradicted each other about what they had seen in the gym. Reid testified he stopped the student from running by putting his arm across the boy's chest. He claimed he took him by the hands and asked him if he want- ed to dance in an effort to direct him to "more appropriate beha- viour." School has new computer lab CLINTON - Due to the work of a computer committee and community donations, students at Clinton and District Christian School have a new computer lab, reported the Clinton News - Record. The committee, which formed in January, consists of a group of concerned parents who want- ed their children to get better use of the five computers spread throughout the school. "You can't have 30 kids learn- ing on one computer," Angela Kaptein, a committee member and computer teacher, told the Record. "We want to get our school caught up with the rest of society. Computers are a fact of life." Using the new equipment, stu- dents have th - opportunity to learn how various computers and programs work. Committee aims to recruit doctors MITCHELL - A 10 -member recruitment committee has been formed in an effort to recruit more physicans to Mitchell, re- ported the Mitchell Advocate. Committee members will help coorinate recruitment packages and send them across Canada. • Lambton study needs some clarification GRAND BEND - Following dis- cussion at Monday night's meeting, Mayor Cam Ivey will write a letter to the Lambton County Executive Committee regarding the com- mittee formed to study amalgama- tion between Bosanquet, Arkona, Thedford and Grand Bend. The let- ter will ask for clarification of the terms of reference. According to members of council who attended the last committee meeting, the terms differ from the motion that came from the floor of the last county council meeting. "I'm worried about the terms of reference. If we continue to par- ticipate, we are accepting them," Ivey told council Monday night. Council also expressed concern about the haste in which the county is attempting to conduct an amal- gamation study. Although mem- bers were impressed with fa- cilitator Brian Boyle, council is not comfortable with what it describes as a "quick financial impact study." "You've got to have an in- dependent study," said Councillor Bob Mann who also raised concern about the amount of financial in- formation administrators were asked to gather in a very short time. Mann added the county does not have a mandate to "tell municipal- ities what to do." He said rat- epayers deserve an objective, de- tailed study to determine the best option if amalgamation takes place. Stephen approves use of airport by Motorplex STEPHEN TOWNSHIP - The county planner and representatives of Grand Bend Motorplex attended the October 1 meeting to discuss is- sues concerning the Official Plan amendment which would allow mo- tor vehicle racing at the Grand Bend Airport. A motion requesting the County of Huron proceed with approval of Official Amendment 265, the Grand Bend Motorplex application, was carried. Garbage collection Council agreed to invite garbage collection tenders forone year from C.H. Lewis and McDonald Sanita- tion for 1997 collection beginning April I. These tender will provide comparison with the Bluewater Re- cycling Association quotes. Although council informed Us - borne Township it has no objection to the use of the Kirkton water line for fire hydrants, it believes the line will not provide adequate water to support hydrant flows. Council also agreed to proceed with repairs to the County Road 4 storm sewers in the Police Village of Crediton which were damaged by water service installations. In other matters, council agreed to re -appoint the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority repre- sentative for a further two year term, subject to agreement with the Village of Grand Bend. As well, the minor variance ap- plication for Ridge Pine Park was approved as requested. Playhouse breaks ground for rehearsal hell..•. GRAND BEND - The Huron Country Playhouse plans to have its '1",N' new rehearsal hall finished in time for rehearsals of its first per- formance of 1997 - The Wizard of Oz. "We're really excited it's happening," said new Director of Public Relations Sheila Dougall, just minutes before the ground breaking ceremony took place last Wednesday. The Playhouse received the go-ahead for the 4,300 square -foot project late last month. An acre of land beside the theatre was pur- chased for the complex that will house the rehearsal hall as well as the wardrobe department and storage areas. The new climate - controlled hall will be connected to the workshop area, allowing the director, production crew and cast to reproduce main stage condi- tions for rehearsals. "This is another step towards making the Playhouse a year-round facility," said new General Manager Simon Day. To date, the Playhouse has spent $2,273,677 in capital changes to the complex. Unlike past projects, this one will be built without gov- ernment funding. HUR(JN CUIJAIf1tY �mous� TtItiATRE-IN•7irt: l ()Inkf t Simon Day, new general mariner of the Huron Country Play- house, gives a speech last Wednesday at the ground breaking ceremony for a rehearsal hall project. Led by the Clinton Pipe Band, hundreds of members of the Royal Canadian Legion representing 13 zones in Hu- ron County made up the marchers in the parade. Shown here, those carrying colors dip their flags during the playing of O'Canada. Le- gionnaires Murray Greene and Percy Noels lay a wreath down at the cenotaph during the 10:15 ceremony held in front of the Old Town Hall in Exeter. The first wreath was placed down by Sgt at Arms Don McCurdy and Mrs. Ann Hill a WWI widow. l6lst Battalion remembered on 80th anniversary EXETER - The legacy of the World War 1 161st Battalion of Huron County was honored on Sunday as people gathered in Exeter to recall a proud chapter in Huron's history. The Exeter Legion and the Trivitt Anglican Church organized a parade, a church service and a dinner to commemorate the mobilization of the battalion 80 years ago. The 161st Battalion was created in the spring of 1916 as the Great War entered it's second year. Hundreds of ordinary men from farms, shops, offices and in- dustries in Huron County enlisted to serve their country and after training, were shipped across the English Channel to re- inforce battalions in active service in France and Bel- gium. Twenty-eight men were awarded medals for bravery and one, Cpl. Harry Miner of Clinton received the mil- itary's highest honor, the Victoria Cross, for single- handedly attacking a machine gun nest. Four officers received the Military Cross, four NCOs were awarded Distinguished Conduct Medals and eighteen enlisted men earned the Military Medal. Many of them were killed in action or suffered permanent physical or psy- chological wounds after the war. The battalion was disbanded in 1920 but their legacy still lives on in a special history book Lest We For- get: The 161st Battalion of Huron written and edited by Yvonne Re- ynolds of RR 2 Kippen which con- tains a history of the Battalion, many photographs and personal stories about the men. The idea to pay tribute to them on their 80th anniversary was initiated by Bill Rowcliffe of Hensall who felt something should be done, in part- nership with the local branches of the Royal Canadian Legion, to acknowledge the bravery and patriotism of the gallant men of the 161st. Twenty-eight men were awarded medals for bravery County council approves business plan for Ontario Works program By John Greig Advance -Times Staff HURON COUNTY - Huron County residents who will be made to work for their welfare will be working soon as county council ap- proved the business plan for the county Ontario Works program. The plan now needs approval from the province. Reported by the Toronto Star re- cently, David Overboe of the county's social services department said the program is on schedule. "Right now this is a work in progress. Up until last Monday I didn't know 25 per cent of what I needed to know," he told council. "This is just an adjustment of what we've been doing for a long time." Ontario Works is a program which fulfils the Conservative gov- ernment's election promise to make those who receive welfare work for their benefits and to work harder to get those on social assistance back working. Huron County was chosen as one of 20 test sites in the province for the program. The Toronto Star's report claimed there were few people on welfare who actually qualified for the first phase of what has been called workfare. And in fact, only about 10 per cent of Huron County's 375 to 425 welfare recipients who will qualify for working for welfare will have all the requirements for the pro- gram after 4 months on social assis- tance. In Huron County, the busi- ness plan estimated that would be 37 people per month, plus three the county expects to volunteer for par- ticipation. Those who are unable to work, and single parents won't be re- quired to work. Overboe said there is lots of sup- port for Ontario Works in Huron County and he said all clients could be placed in one of the proposed projects. That won't be possible because of a unique Huron County problem - transportation. But Overboe said the county is working with other community agencies to get the workers around the county. Huron County has a low unem- ployment rate compared with the rest of the province, at about seven per cent. Welfare recipients won't only be doing work, they will first complete many other sessions, meetings and job searches. Another unique aspect of Ontario Works in Huron County is that pri- vate job placement agencies will be rewarded for each social assistance case they put in a job. Over six months, the company will get 30 per cent of the savings to the county and the province for their work. That means if the case would have cost $6,000 over six months, the company will get $2,000. Coun. Pat Down, from Usbornc Twp., told Overboe the program will be challenging as 75 per cent of the people who will be working are between 18 and 35 and have an average of a Grade 10 education. The county will also be paid for successful implementation, versus a grant for setting up the program, a radical change in the way govern- ment programs are funded. "I think it's great," said Overboe. "They've said either you put up or we'll shut up the coffers." Mega -dump idea scrapped .r Continued from front pilo around the county through the use of compaction and other tech- niques. Both Exeter and Moms Twp. have applied for extensions of the life of their landfill sites. Janes said with the inclusion of the rest of the county's garbage the life of the Exeter site would be 21 or 22 years and 30 years in Morris Twp. Both Exeter and Morris are in- terested, but the final decision has to be a fair one for the owner and the users," said Janes. Both Exeter and Morris Twp. stand to benefit financially because of the new plan. Coun. Bill Mickle, the Reeve of Exeter, said he doesn't foresee the kind of outcry which happened in Ashfield Twp. near the Exeter site. "Exeter is willing to work togeth- er with the rest of the county, but there will be considerable costs, so we'll have to work with other mu- nicipalities for some kind of com- pensation," said Mickle. Coun. Brian McBurney of Turn - berry Twp. paid tribute to the citi- zens of the Ashfield area. Pressure from the group resulted in an alter- native study being conducted which showed there was no need for a county site as the amount of gar- bage produced has decreased sub- stantially due to the success of re- cycling and composting. "They showed that county coun- cil can be told that there are better ways of doing things," said McBur- ney. None of the county's garbage will likely go into the sites for at least five years as most sites have room for that length of time. A