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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-06-04, Page 1SEIP'S valu-mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 Hot food to go icken, ribs and morel -;i i t u Exeter incl area since 1; ,' 73 Ready for the Rotarians. Rain or shine, the Huron Country Playhouse will host the -annual Rotary Club District Conference from Friday to Sunday. About 350 Rotarians representing -63 clubs from Ontario and Michigan are expected to attend. From left, Bryan Beattie, president of the Huron Country Playhouse and Rotary Club member, Don Prowse, district governor, and Glenn Johnson, conference chairperson. Grand Bend ready to host District Rotary Conference By Chris Skalkos T -A Reporter GRAND BEND - Hundreds of Rotarians will descend upon Grand Bend as the Huron Country Play- . house will host the Annual District Rotary Conference from Friday to Sunday. . . According to district governor Dein Prowse about 350 Rotarians and affiliated partners representing 63. clubs from Ontario and Mich- igan are expected to attend the three day event which is held in a different location every year. Prowse said the conference is an information session to inform Ro- tarians about the recent accomplish- ments of Rotary International and update them on the status of on- going projects conducted by in- dividual clubs within the district. "Its an .information session to let everyone know what's happening while enjoying some fellowship 'with Rotarians from across the dis- trict," he said. Prowse said hosting the massive conference is a tremendous honor for the Grand Bend Rotary Club which•has been busy with it's own Doug Hanson, left, and Matt Clapp carry one of the ban- ners during the 'March for Je- sus'. projects since it was officially. char- tered six years ago. According to Rotary Historian Grant Darling, the club held its first fundraiser in 1991 with a Jeep draw that raised $28,000 for the•town li- brary. A fundraiser the following year helped fund the elevator for physically challenged students at South Huron District High School in Exeter and a celebrity dinner fea- turing Canadian hockey hero Paul Henderson raised money. for area minor hockey associations. 1993 was anambitious year for the club which held a three -car draw to support Rotary Inter- national world services such as sup- plying clean water to deprived vil- lages in Africa. Some of those funds also went to helping restore the historic one -room school house in the Lambton County Museum and towards Huron 'County Palli- ative Care. The club is a regular supporter of the Victoria Order of Nurses, as well as the annual Grand Bend Winter Carnival, the annual antique show held at Oakwood Inrl • and the provincial Adopt -A - Highway program looking after a five -kilometer stretch along High- way 21. In 1916 the club was an avid sup- porter o. Jesse's. Journey for gene research and most recently it has spearheaded the Nature Trail pro- ject which will Zink Pinery Pro- vincial Park to Grand Bend with an asphalt bicycle/walking path The first phase of the project is ex- pected to be completed in a couple of weeks. and the club is working with the Town of Bosanquet, Lambton County, The Ministry of Natural Resources, The Ministry of Transportation • Ontario and other interested groups towards com- pleting the next two phases which will ultimately include 21 -acre park south of Grand Bend featuring a number of facilities and •playing fields. Guest speaker for the conference is Dr. Joseph Serra, the president's representative for Rotary Inter- national. Serra is an Orthopedic surgeon from California who sits on the National Polio Plus Com- mittee which is striving to eradicate the deadly disease by the year 2000. Since 1985 Rotary Clubs from around the world have raised +' Continued'on page 2 SEIP'S valu-mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 4S- 3f Video Rentals $1.99 Everyday Voters show overwhelming Liberal support again HURON COUNTY - Ontario's love for the federal Liberals has moved from an affair to a long term relationship. This is the second time the Liber- als have won a majority govern- ment, but Steckle feels the narrow margin this time around may have For the second consecutive elec been due to a campaign that didn't tion, Liberals have swept the prov- - echo their previous success. ince claiming all but_one riding in "Perhaps we didn't play up the an unprecedented repeat victory. positive aspects of what we did in Times -Advocate readers were no the last different than their . fellow Ontarians .as they .stuck with the incumbents . in . - all three ridings. Steckle . defeated Reform ` _ candidate Doug Fines, easily by 14,280 votes, with a total of f 51 per cent of the popular vote. Fines recorded 9,963 votes-. • Wingham's. Colleen Schenk fin- ished third in a close race to Fines with 9,230 votes. _ The New Democratic party:can- didate -Jan Johnstone was fourth with 3,063 and Dave Joslin of the Christian: Heritage party -had 779 votes. Reached at party headquarters- in Goderich late Monday night Steckle said he was content with the Liberals slim majority. • "I'm certainly glad to see us go back with a majority although it's not the overwhelming majority we . had last time. I. think that gives cause for politicians t� reflect on the kind of legislation we; bring forward," said Steckle, adding, it will require -him to spend more_ time in Ottawa instead of with his constituents. "I regret the fact -I may have to be in Ottawa (more)." parliament enough. We need to stay the course and balance the books before the next mil- lennium. To me that is the goal and I want to get on to a systematic and ' orderly way of debt .retirement and reduce some of our taxes." ' When asked- for his about all five parties having a voice in the House of Commons Steckle chuckled. "It's going to be different. In a sense it's going to give less time for the official opposition given two more parties are now engaged in the daily question period." Fines's Reform party made a his- toric breakthrough in Huron -Bruce after finishing in third place in the last election. Huron -Bruce has traditionally been a strong Conservative seat. That Conservative . support re- mained, but only a core. . - "The soft support went to the Liberals," said Schenk -at her cam- paign gathering at the Sacred Heart Church in Wingham. "I'm certainly glad to' see .us go back with a majority although it's not the overwhelming majority we had last time." reaction Council receives petition to. re -hang portraits By Heather Mir T -A Reporter EXETER- Exeter Council recently received a petition of more than 200 signatures asking that the town's portrait collection, currently stored in the Olde Town Hall basement, be put on back display at the public library: According to the petition, members of the •community -.have de- termined.there is enough space on the library walls to accommodate many pieces in the collection of more than 60 works. The pencil and pastel drawings were • donated to the town's Heritage Society by local artist Harry Burke. The collection was on display in the Town Hall before it was renovated at which time it was decided the pieces did not fit in with -the new decor. "The collection is of Dieter's past...the people who built the area," explained petitioner Bart DeVries. Last Monday night the Committee of the Whole discussed the por- trait collection and options available for putting them back on display. Although the library is an option, the County Library Board that de- cides on . library contents would need to be approached before such a decision could be made. It was- also suggested a smallarcain the Town Hall could be dedicated as a gallery where the large collection could be rotated. Mayor Ben Hoogenboom suggested approaching other community groups to participate in displaying the portraits. He added South Hu- ron Hospital might be interested in Carling family paintings because. the hospital is built on the site of the former family. home. Other loca- tions might include the post office and local schools. "It is a shame to have these portraits stored in the basement, he said. . Although many of the portraits have historical significance, there are several duplicates. It was suggested that the Heritage Society be ap- proached to catalogue the paintings. .Council and staff agreed to further investigate finding a permanent home for the portraits where they can be viewed by the public. Jesus from Generation to Generation was the theme of this year's 'March for Jesus'. On Saturday, 265 people from seven area churches participated in the parade from Huron Street to MacNaughton Park in Exeter. . "1 feel we ran a really good cam- paign," she said. "We couldn't have done better." Schenk had the support of a much younger group than did the other parties "The young people are our fu- ture. They will continue to rebuild, because we've come a long way to- night." Schenk's supporters were sub-. dued, other than for a standing ova- tion when Schenk took the stage. Schenk and Fines were never able to brunt the support of Steckle who tip, toed the socially con- servative line of the area, . while supporting the economic policies of his party. . • Schenk said she learned a lot. about Huron -Bruce inthe process, and she might just give it another -shot. Her support was spattered across the riding and she failed to win any of the polls in her hometown of Wingham. "A lot of people are surprised (by Liberal support in Ontario)," she said. "Especially when candidates of the caliber of Lewis MacKenzie lose." ' Shortly after the New Democratic Party gained official party status through the results in eastern Can-_ ada, Huron -Bruce NDP candidate Jan Johnstone said she is thrilled with the outcome. "We're just ecstatic...I think it just says it all," said Johnstone, - who' added she was pleased with her campaign. Johnstone told the T -A she felt• good in debates and made the de- ier Continued on page 2: Vehicle stolen'from .Exeter EXETER - Police are investigat- ing the theft of a black Suzuki Side- kick overnight on May 30 in Exet er. Huron County OPP describe the vehicle as a black soft top with a pink design on the side and Onta- rio Licence plate 137 ZWH. The vehicle was locked and police said it was hot-wired. Young offenders charged • STEPHEN TOWNSHIP - Two young offenders have been identi- fied and charges are pending in connection with a break and cntcr at the cottage beside the Huron Country Playhouse on May 18. Police report more than 100 com- pact discs, a television, stereo equipment, alcohol, watches, clothing, small tools and jewelry valued at $7,620 were stolen. Al- though some of the stolen property was recovered, the investigation is continuing. Christians march for Jesus EXETER - Cloudy skies did not dampen the spirits of 265 people who participated in the 'March for Jesus' on Saturday. Holding banners and singing, they walked from Hu- ron Street to MacNaughton Park. Seven area churches participated in the parade which was one of several marches across Canada. 'Jesus from Generation to Generation' was this year's theme. According to the booklet describing the event, there's a new genera- tion on the streets in Canada. :Today as we march out in unity, we are proclaiming Jesus from generation to gener- ation. For this nation and this world to be won for Christ we need the active participa- tion of all generations together. The message of hope and salvation needs to be taken up by the next generation if we are to fulfill our biblical calling," the booklet states. Following the march, the participants gathered for a service intMa Naughton Park.