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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-01-29, Page 2Page 2 Times -Advocate, January 29, 1997 .! N T 1 1 F N F V11 LS Regional wrap up Snowmobile accident claims life of area teenager CLINTON - A 16 -year-old Blyth resident was killed when the snowmobile she was driving collided with a car driven by Steve Campbell, 37, of Clinton Angela Konarski was tr ling northbound on Maple on on Jan. 26 at approximately 5:55 p.m. when she failed to yield to Campbell's vehicle which was heading westbound on Whitehead Street. The snow- mobile collided with the side of the 1980 Oldsmobile. Police report Konsarski was taken to Clinton Public Hospital and then transported to Victoria Hospital in London where she died of injuries at 3:08 a.m. on Jan. 27. No charges will be laid. • Mitchell votes to proceed with amalgamation MITCHELL Town council voted last week to amalgamate with the townships of Hibbert, Fullarton and Logan, reported the Mitchell Advocate. Although -some are concerned the process, is moving too fast, Mayor Hugh McCaughey, who spearheaded the discussion, said it is time to proceed. The four municipalities re- leased a joint study in November that suggested consolidation into one dtunicipaljty. The 'sin- gle bgdy would have one , coun- cil, one administration and con- solidated staff operations from one location. Motions begin in murder case GODERICH - Preliminary motions were heard last week in preparation for the trial of Steve Murray, reported the Goderich Signal -Star. Murray was charged with the second-degree murder of his 15 - year -old daughter Mistie Nicole Murray in September 1995. Mistie Murray had been miss- ing since May 31, 1995 and her body has not been' found. It is not known how long mo- tions will be heard but the trial is tentatively scheduled to begin ' April 28 and is expected to last two to three weeks. Separate board untouched by amalgamation SEAFORTH - The Huroh- Perth Roman Catholic Separate School Board was left un- touched by the Ministry of Edu- cation when it announced the amalgamation of many boards, reported the Huron Expositor. Director of Education Dr. James Brown was pleased ru- mors of merging with Grey - Bruce separate school board was not realized. The number of trustees is ex- pected to be reduced from the current 14 to between five and 12 trustees. Brown was also pleased about the planned education finance reform that will create a new funding formula. "We expect there will be greater equity and that will help the children of Huron -Perth," he said. Conservation authority holds zero levy increase The municipal levy will remain at $344,075 By Heather Mir T -A Reporter EXETER - Municipal levies will remain status quo. At its annual meeting held in Exeter on Thursday, the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority board of directors voted 86 per cent in favor of main- taining municipal levies at the same rate as 1996. The general levy will remain at $344,075, the same amount collected for the fifth straight year. Those opposed to the levy included the municipal- ities of Ailsa Craig, Hay • Township and Osborne Township. Goderich Township refrained from the Ming. The zero per cent increase is based on an anticipat- ed $78,950 provincial grant, although the allotment has not been confirmed. A budget of more than $1 million'. is a dramatic reduction from a $3 million budget a few years ago. According to the 1996 unaudited financial sum- mary, the anticipated deficit was lower than ex- • pected due to income generated by the Lake Huron pipeline twinning project. The ABCA is a major properly owner along the path of the project and cash settlements and well as clearing vegetation on easements added approximately $140,000 to the au- thority's 'revenue. General Manager Tom Prout ex- plained the majority of .the $163,559 deficit, Tess pipeline income, was due 'to severance packages paid out to staff who left the authority in 1996 as a result of drastic restructuring. "The bottom line is the conservation authority did better than it anticipated," said Prout. The authority has been involved in a number of fundraising activities including preparing a long- term lease of the Parkhill campground to a private sector company named Hunter's Great Canadian Hideaway. This venture is expected to bring in rev- enue starting at $8,000 in 1997 and increasing over the next 10 years. A committee has been activated and authorized to complete the deal. The annual Conservation Foundation is planned for.April 24. Last year's event raised $16,000 for the ABCA and the Lion's Club share of the $32,085 profits were allocated for the Exeter -Morrison Cor- ridor project. The foundation has set up a trust fund for the operation of Sylvan Camp's Conservation Program and hopes to build the trust to a fund of $400,000. The foundation has recently added the sale of Nevada tickets and a car raffle with the po- tential of generating $25,000 in profit is in the plan- ning stages. "I think we've had a very successful year," said Foundation Chairman Fred Dobbs, who received a conservation award for environmental advocacy. Joint ventures The ABCA has been involved with partnerships between the Maitland Valley and Upper Thames Conservation Authorities. These partnerships in- clude financial, flood monitoring and municipal planning services as well as water quality, forestry and outdoor education. Through these initiatives, the ABCA also hopes to maintain service levels in soil conservation, fundraising, information and ed- ucation. Prout outlined the benefit of these ventures include the reduction of costs while maintaining staff skills and expertise in the structure. "We need to change the way we do things," he -said, adding the goal is to provide seamless service within the watershed boundaries. Tomes. re-elected ABCA chairman The Authority plans to get on with the business of conservation EXETER • At its annual meeting ,held last Thursday at the town hall, the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority board of directors voted Tom Tomes, representing Grand Bend and Stephen Township, as the ' chairman for a second term: "All I can hope for is that we don't have the same kind of year as last year in terms of cuts," said Tomes who added he appreciated ' the staffs professionalism during such difficult times. Bill Waters, representing Ailsa Craig, ,McGillivray Township and Parkhill, was elected vice- chairman. Outgoing members of the board include Murray Keys, representing Hay Township and Zurich and Gary Vance, representing , Thed- ford, Arkona and Bosanquet. These member were replaced by Don Oesch and Judy McLellan. Downsizing was the most -used phrase of 1996 and now the board and staff of the ABCA say they hope to get on with the business of conservation in 1997. Passing its SOth anniversary, the authority will face many changes in operation in- dluding joint ventures, fewer staff, smaller boards and reduced fund- ing. Meeting these challenges will take creative planning and in some cases • funding from new sources such as the implementation of user fees. "These don't come without a leap of faith," said General Manager Tom Prout of, the move' to partner services with area conservation au- thorities. Preferred option a "good start" towards final solution. DHC has suggested hospital boards hold a retreat in March to discuss issue of governance EXETER - Although hospital board members are pleased the preferred option announced Monday keeps all eight Huron -Perth hospitals open, there are many questions regarding • how the governance structure will op-' orate. "These are all things we think we can work with and we will cooperate with . the health coun- cil," said Hos- pital Board Chair, Verla Rus- sell. "We're happy to know that we're open. it's a good start." Russell is also pleased South Huron Hospital will retain 24- hour emergency services attd in- patient beds as well as support services such as diagnostics and physiotherapy. The DHC has offered a retreat to the boards in March to discuss the issue of governance. Hospital board chairs and vice -chairs have been invited to attend this meeting. "It's not etched in granite," said South Huron Hospital' Administrator Don Currell. "It will he the . new corporation's responsibility to allocate ser- vices and beds and dollars to the areas they're need- ed." The number of hospital beds outlined in the pre- ferred option has caused "some contention" among board members. It came as some surprise that hos- pitals ih communities such as Scaforth, which was allocated 35 beds under the plan, while Exeter is left with 14 and Clinton 16. Currcll added 31 beds will he taken • "out of Huron County to Perth, par- ticularly ' to Stratford." "That's something that people' shouldn't get too up- set about," said Russell, who added some hos- pital hoards were "really upset over this issue. 1 don't think (these fig- ures) are here to stay." Currell 'believes the preferred option creates an opportunity for hospitals to work towards de- veloping a pin ' it will withstand the scrutiny of the Ministry of Health commission. DHC Task Force Chair Jan Fraser Bell announced the conference held in Mitchell et Hook and Executive Director preferred option during a; press on Monday. Panther Profile By Bill Kline The last exams -were written on Tuesday. Wednesday is now a PA Day. Thursday is the first day back to. school. It is a 'Turnaround' Day. You will go to both your old classes and new classes. Students who require a ' irst Aid course and a CPR course for college or university can sign up at the South Huron Recreation Centre at 235-2833. • The Health Unit is issuing booster needles for TDP on January 31. You can hand signed forms into the of- fice. McDonald's Fun Night that was originally sched- uled for today has been postponed until next Wednes- day, February 5. Sales were down for January so let's try and pick them up for February. Last year's graduates who have not picked up their diplomas or yearbooks can pick them up in the office at the school. You must bring receipts and any money owing. The Valentine's Semi -Formal is coming up on Thursday, February 13. Mr. Heeney is leaving our school and will become vice-principal at Bluewater in Goderich. Ms. Newington is leaving teaching tempo- rarily. 1 Rodeo coming to Exeter •• Continued from front page Zurich's Bean Festival.•• Mayor Ben` Hoogenhoom're- minded hoard members that a sim- ilar rodeo had visited Exeter 20 years ago but eventually died out. "11 was a money-maker for the community. Unfortunately the com- munity lost interest in it," added Hoogenhooiu. who liked the idea of reviving the event, "Exeter needs something to bring people to our town and 1 think a lot of people will support it:" Cathy Seip, E13A promotions chair erson, .did not attend the mcet' g but said the EBA is plan- ning -to promote the rodeo to local businesses for the week leading up to the cvcnt. "We're still waiting to hear from (the organizing committee) for. more details but I know business owners are going to decorate their store -fronts," said Seip, adding she's eager to try steer wrestling. !Merton held a rodeo last summer and organizers said they made only $3,00). Recreation Director, Lynne Farquhar said llderton overspent on items such as T-shirts and pro- grams, adding Exeter organizers will not make the same mistake. t'lf we do this right and the com- munity gets behind us, this will be a top-notch event and a tremendous spin-off for the business com- munity," she said. Cemetery Board to be dissolved r Continued from front page Meamvhile, work will continue on implementing an interim operations plan including drafting a bylaw to dissolve the board and assigning signing authority. Board Sec-.. rotary -Treasurer Liz 13c11 has been asked to investigate what other re- quirements for dismantling the hoard. Board members said there has been an attempt to try to operate the cemetery without taxpayer funding. "1 think, by the end of this year. we could- have run the cemetery without revenue from the taxpay- er," said Davis adding, "had we been left alone to do that." Hoogenboom was not convinced this could he achieved despite sug- gestions from the hoard that in - eluded volunteer services such as a spring clean-up, contracting out and increasing revenue through the sale of colurnbarium niches." We haven't really seen anything in writing," said Hoogenboom. "1 found that somewhat disturbing in light of the tact for the last several years we've spent thousands of taxpayer's money to underwrite their overruns.' • DeBoer expressed- concern that money held in reserve for the ce- metery • could "trickle out to be used in other parts of town." Hundcy expect to have a report ready, for next week's council meet- ing outlining further steps required to dissolve the hoard. 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