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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1997-02-05, Page 2Page 2 Times -Advocate, February 5, 1997 Rft , mai wrap . up Funeral held for teen killed in snowmobile accident -CLINTON - Funeral services were held last Wednesday for Angela Konarski, a -16-year-old Blyth resitiept who was killed recently in a snowmobile acci- dent in Clinton, .reported the Clinton News -Record. . Konarski was travelling north- bound on Mapte-Street when she • failed to yield lo a car.driven:by Steve Campbell. states the OPP news release. Konarski, the daughter of Richard and Brenda Konarski. died at Victoria Hos- pital in .London _after being transferred from Clinton Public Hospital. - This, is second tragedy for Central Huron Secondary School .in as marry months.. 11 comes after four - graduates at:. CRSS were killed in an auto- ac- cident last November. Central Huron restructuring moves ahead SEAFORTH - Members of the Cental Huron Municipalities Re- structuring .Committee 'arc : working on a study. that ,includes the Township of Colhorige. Goderrch. Hallett and McKillop alone with thc Towns of Clin- - ton. Goderich and Sealnrth, According to the Huron Ex • positor. Thc- Randolph-Group..a Toronto firni. will study restruc- turing and offer recommends- - tions concerning operation anis. administration. Possible savings, will he identified and, consul- tants mill offer advice in "ar- -• proaches in relationship to other political jurisdictions ' • Information reports are ex- - pected to- he presented Iii coun- cils by late spring with sunt mar. reports to he prepared. in earl, .summer. Following the incorporation of the information gathered. public meetings • are planned in the municipalities ll is hoped the recommendations will he approved by councils prior to the November eiecuons. Perth trustees question amalgamation benefits MITCHELL .- Although Perth County Board of Education trus- tees say they arc willing to work with the Huron board, many doubt the savings and ben- efits for students. 'There has been no evidence that amalgamating school hoards will improve education for stu- dents.". said Mitchell and area trustee Kathy' Edighoffer. While the Perth board under- stands changes arc 'going to hap- pen. its members wonder haw those changes arc being imple- mented. 'No date set for rulings in Murray case GODERICH - A judge has re- - served his ruling on the admissi- bility of evidence for the up- coming, trial of a Goderich man charged with the second degree murder of his daughter. 'reported . the Goderich Signal -Star. Steve Murray was charged with•the murder of his daughter Mistie Nicole on Sept. 15. 1996. Fifteen -year-old Mistie was repotted missing on .June 2. 1995 and her body ha. not yet been found. A week of pre-trial motions ended in Goderich on Ian. 24. Thc trial is tentatively Sched- uled to begin April 28 and could last up to three weeks. Stephen supports amalgamation By Heather Mir T -A Reporter STEPHEN TOWNSHIP • Ste- phen Township seems caught in an amalgamation tug -of- war.between amalgamation plans from Huron and Lamhton Counties. '• Council passed a motion sup- porting amalgamation with Exeter,- Usbornc Township and Grand Bend during the- Jan.. 21 regular meeting. The recorded vote. opposed by Councillor Harvey Ratz, moves "that the Cot>,ncil of the Township of . Stephen support amalgamation with Exeter, Osborne, and Grand Bend, and (lhati we participate in development. of an acceptable ne- gotiated solution: and further. that any final amalgamated solution he wholly incorporated within Huron County." This motion -is closely timed with the announcement of two "mod • itied" North . Lampton County re- structing proposal. Thc• updated plan put forth -by Forest - Mayor Gordon Miniellv includes a portion of Stephen Township in .its .ter- • ritory as does a proposal from the Town of Bosanquet. Although Grand -Rend Council members attended a'meeting.tadis- cuss this option; Grand Bend has repeatedly stated it believes a com- • munity of interest still exists -with ., South -Huron municipalities. . :The issue- of Rosanquet, which' would be split under the proposed South Huron amalgamation, was not specifically addressed in the Stephen motion. But Stephen Ad- ministrator Larry Brown indicated this issue ''would he left open to negotiation" and a portion of Bo- sanquet may or may not be in- cluded in the final restructuring. it was the inability to reach a so- lution regarding Bosanquet, accept- able to all parties at the table, that caused Exeter to walk away from discussions. Talks broke down shanty after an amalgamation study -was completed and. Exeter began pursuing other alternatives. ; . Conviced= the study has. merit, Grand Bend Council requested me- diation from" the Ministry of Mu- nicipal Affairs. Grand Bend Mayor ' Cam Ivey received a letter dated. lan..14 from the ministry noting Rick Temporale from the Regional Operations Branch would be con- . tasting him "in the near future to; assist in this matter." Exeter Council also sent a letter ' to Minister Al Leach in reaction to Grand ' Bend's. request for Media - lion. indicating"the Town of Exet- er strongly:opposes the suggestion for mediation and for a cnnmiis- si0n." -Exeter letter states "effort to re- vive. this amalgamation will fie fruitless and undermines other re- structuring initiatives • that hold more promise' Specifically, Exet- er addressed the issue nt _ absence of support from Bosanquet, Hay and Exeter. These municipalities repre- sent it majority "of electors and re= structuring requires. a triple major- ity. . . Exeter -has completed an internal restructuring project to streamline services: it is scheduled to he re- leased to the public by mid- February. Every town agency, board and department will be af- fected by thc re -organization ex- pected to generate savings ranging from $218.000 to •, $401,000 - an- nually: "We are taking action nbw. We simply cannot affort the delay's as- sociated with working on an amal- gamation option that is very un- likely -to succeed." concludes tfie letter. Last week. municipalities in:• volved in amalgamation talks were informed Temporale will meet in- -dividually with councils beginning today. . Proirinieial reform Stephen. Council also passed p motion. requesting clarification_ from Temporale regarding the re- cent provincial "Who Does What" announcements and :how they may • impact municipal amalgamation in itiatives. ' , Thc South Huron amalgamation study completed by KPMG does not address the impact of recent, "mega-announcements—that shift municipal responsibilities and funding of services Board considers double bussing 'CLINTON - Thc Huron County Board of Education passed -a motion to consider implementing double bus- sing in -the Wingham area despite turning down a- situ- filar proposal a year ago.' The difference 'this _time, around is the; board - binding through hlnck gravis. that allows savings• hs -taking hoardrowned - buses off the road to translate into direct' savings. • Wiih no -penalty •.: to reducing the board fleet, Trustee Bol Heyyyood ex- . !stained "every'cent saving' is local dollars." Although -the double bussing is 'expected to save an estimated S195.000 m- operating and capital expenses. the proposal raised concern from sonic trustees. - - "I'd Iikc to speak against the motion. Theses changes can he:extremely disrupting for 'families." said Trustee Joan Van den Broca citing Listowel area residents who were upset with the problems such ,a -system • caused -in Perth County. . Heywood saidthc hoard has peen informed the con- cems' have been completely allayed and parent; nips report they arc pleased with the system. . ' Some trustees suggested patting off the decision un- til 4,1 amalgamated hoard is farmed: However Trustee Norni•Pickell said the hoard should move inward. t we can save_ that.kind of money..l don't think it', lair to the taxpayers. to Trait." he slid. The motion passed -slate. "the double bus run he consideree( to operate in the Winghain arca and the at= .fected schbots•.hc•notified ler their comments" If im- plemented.the plan will reduce ihe. number of hoard owned buses by four. This Would he accomplished by operating doublc.hus runs with a contractor. Bylaw to ban makes stalled ay Continued from front page about the proposed h'ytaws ahrl • field questions from the gallery. ' - "Before von make any motion to ban them you -'should look.atsoh•- ing the prohlem first.% said Arm- -strong adding there are only a ."fess . had -apples"-spoilink it tom the rest and.aii outright ban wouldpenaliie the masons01 snowmohilers who are.not the cause of the problems. : Mayor •Ben Hoogenhoom said a bylaw . already Ousts to restrict snowmobiles in. town but it doesn't •seem to he working. One member :-of the gallery voiced his opinion complaining 'about - snowmobiters travelling across his properly laic at night and -driving oil sidewalks- He read a portion of, a letter that ap- peared in' last week's issue of the Times -Advocate - claiming snow: mobilers were speeding near public school yards. - "There is no place .•for• snow- mobiles in this town and 1 think we have to place the safety of our com- munity first.* said concerned cit-. izen Peter Antava • Armstrong . agreed there have. been _problems :but they only repre- sent about five per cent of snow - Mobile owners. He said if the town didn't over sant am) sand the roads. • fl -the machines would have a lane - of snow to travel to and from trails lnslcar:l of using sidewalks. Public- Works superintendent Glen Kells said if the 'Works -De; partment. didn't salt. and Sand it would leave the town open to' slip and Jail law suits. 1 agree 95 per cent are law.ahidr ing citizens. -but it's thc five per cent on the .sidewalk we're really wonted about and this has been go- ing nn for - years.'..'said Hot,-- genhoom. Councillor Dave Urint suggested council target the small portion 9f violators instead' of imposing an overall ban. - "Wc havc' to look at educating that five per cent. banning all of them isn't going to stop the prob- lem." said Utlin. adding police don't have the resources to enforce existing bylaws. "If -we can't stop that five per cent what- makes. us think wc.can stop all of them?" he questioned suggesting .educational Pamphlets:stating current bylaws:bc handed out at - gas stations . and through snowmobile clubs. ' Many members -of the galleris stood up to speak against' a ban cit- ing the amount of business snow- mobilers bung to local gas stations and restaurants. However. some memhets.of the gullen didn't think that was a strong- enough reason tri oppose -the ban - . ."It's impossible to place a dollar value -on the safety of our citizens." said Antaya. • - . . Tont Scip. chairperson of the Ex- etdr 'Business Association ,said -the EBA has received. numerous phone calls from business owners eon- , -.cerned a ban will, hurt their' husi- ness. Hc asked if a compromise • could he worked nut. - "1 agree there is a problem hut we can't just ban them. I'ni sure some-' thing can he worked nut between council and .the snowmnhileps ip- • stead .of just saying n0." said Scip , suggesting council call other lawns - who are not having problems to sec hnw,they am handling the situation. Councillor Tom Timms mads a motion to defer passing either by law•until council can address some of the alternative solutions. - "1 think the bylaw shoultl'hc put • on hold until we can answer some of the positive recommendations made here tonight." he said. "i'm -sure we can come up -.With some- thing that everybody could agree 0n " Antique snowmobiles wanted By Chris Ska11kos T -A Reporter • HENSALL - If you own a snowmobile of leastl5 years -old. Fred Elder and Wayne Shapton want to sec 'it at the Snack Shack thts'Saturday. The two local snowmobile enthusiast's are or- ganizing an Antique Snowmobile Show ant- Rally and they hope there areenough mobile vintage and classic sleds out there to pull off a successful event. "We've talked about it but this is -the first time we:ve done something like this; ' said Shapton. Both men own antique machines themselves. a 1979 and 1980. Ski•Doo .Elite. They also own' newer models but con- fess they have a deep rooted attachment to-thc old ma- chines: they're sure others do too. "Snowmobiles have changed so much over the years," said Elder, pointing out the independent sus- pension system of a new sled and comparing it to the solid chassis of an older model. "You wouldn't be able. to walk when you .got off one of those." When sleds propelled by gasoline engines were first introduced. explained. Elder. they were mainly used as work ve- hicles in rural communities. Today most sleds are de- signed for recreational usc. and he feels the machine's heritage has been ignored. Although they don't sec many older models on thc trails. Elder and Shapton said at one point there were more than 100 different models on the market and sonic, could even be ordered. from a Sears catalogue. 'They're sure many of these machines arc out there stored in people's garages and barns. "We encourage people to come out for an hour to view these rare machines and to sec how snowmobiles have evolved over the .years: " said Elder. Those whti register• for the 1 p.m.no-charge show will' receive a .rally plaque and a meal ticket. If the weather cooperates. the show will end with a small tour. Snowtnobllets Wayne Shapton, left, and Fred Elder pose with their antique Elite Ski -Doo snowmobiles. The two men are organizing an antique snowmobile show and rally on Sat- urday. 1 Bicycle donation Ten -year-old Charles Lesperance of Exeter was delighted. •with his first bicycle donated rbcently by the Heiman .Dis= trict Kinsmen. Charles was born with Spina Bifida -and the three -wheel bike. will help strenghten his legs' as well as al- low him the sam-experienceas other children, • Pictured above Charles was surprised when Kinsmen mem- bers Neil McAllister. Chris Taylor and Ken Clarke dropped - the refurbished bicycle off on Saturday morning. Charles' aunt, _Kathy Lawrence.- approached the Kinsmen about making this special donation. - Rodeo committee will hold an open meeting' EXETER _ After confirming a . live rodeo show'will he enming to ti►wn. 'the South. Huron Recreation - and Community Centre Roard have struck up a rodeo cpmmittcr to help organise the event mind arc welcom- ing all commhnity scrdice grottos . . and organirations•tl hop ot;,thc chuck 'wagon. . ' - A Bar R'Redeo Produciioas will put on a seven -event rodeo from ,Aptgust 8 to 10 featuring saddle hrnnc. riding. hare hack riding: steer wrestling. calf roping. scan: roping. ladies' barrel racing and hull riding. - -Thc Rec. Board -will pay S16.000 -tor the show and estimate ir will spend 54.(%(1 on promotion in - hopes it.hecomes a successful an- nual event: • • Lynne Farquhar. Recreation DI- sector: rrector, said the Exeter Business As- sociation. -the Exeter Saddle Club and the Exeter Minor Hockey As- sociation have expressed interest in . participating. however. the Rodeo Comniittee would like to entertain all request at an open meeting, scheduled for % p.m. on Feb. 20 at the South Huron Recreation Centre "We're doping to expand. this carn- mittce with members from other or- ganizations." said Farquhar. "There . may be some groups OM there with some real good ideas that we haven't thought about." In the past. a live rodeo used to be locally, produced in Exeter every summer fix 12 years. Thc' event was organized by local member:• u' the community and,was van• sue • cessful. ranpmgn TIf1f CORRECTION NOTICE wish to dram voar attention to iGc 'ciirrc•c•tion in our '75 Years' fle . Pstt;c 4 - Item 3. Echos snowboard. #82-5238-0. 144 CM Echos snowboard. #82- 4 These products arc not available -during the wech of the sale. No rain checks will he issued. • Wu -sinee,rel1'_ regret any inconvenience we null have . •aused you. , . cnble3,05-97 All zones Usborne & Hibbert Mutual Fire Insurance Company Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S1 (Established in 18761 Provides Full Insurance Coverage for Farm Properties New Applications are Welcomed DIRECTORS & ADJUSTERS am Gardiner. RR2. Steffe .345-2678 Moms Willows, RR? St Pauls 393-6548 Lome Feeney Jac*. Hodpen. RR1. Kirldon 229-6152 Joe crane. RR5 Mitchell - .349.9705 Mrchael O'Shea RR3 Granton.......225-2600 AGENTS. Wayne Mayer Exeter_.... .235-1915 John Moore Dublin 345.2512 Joseph Unrac Mitchell . 349-9012 Head Office Exeter ' 235-0350 A refund from surplus was de- clared for all policy holders who qualify. are on record and in good standing as, at Decem- ber 31, 1995. Public Town Hall Meeting With Jack Ramsay, M.P. REFORM Justice Critic Friday, February 7, 1997 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Central Huron High School, Clinton • Young Offenders Act * Bill C68 • Reform's "Fresh Start" Campaign Tickets $5.00 at the door REFORM 12 Huron -Bruce Constituency Association P.O. Box #2254, Port Elgin On NOH 2C0 1-800-328-9004 httpJiwww.reform.wnidiny.muron-brucW nd•x.html