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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1999-07-21, Page 12Wednesday. July 21. 1999 Playing for the satiannah The Kelly Miller Circus set up their big top at Point Blake Conservation Area near Grand Bend IastThursday.The circus, based out of Hugo, Oklahoma, attracted hundreds of people to their one day show Above: enjoying the show are Grand Benders (l -r) Courtney Thompson, 5, julianna Zahn, 3, and Kevin Zahn, 7.Top photo: two of the circus performers display the talents of the circus' elephant. Ma 'na Aisenpreis, seen here malty be managing the Pinery ing raise money for the Frien `Savanna Festival'.The Friends getting dunked by an unidentified friend, would nor - Provincial Park store but on Saturday she was help - ds of the. Pinery during the park's 40th anniversary uses money it raises for park upgrades. (photos/Kim Pearce) Town of Exeterto. get new gym? By Craig Bradford TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — An anonymous woman may set up a gym in Exeter soon. Ann Rayner and Anne Dittmer, organizers of a cam- paign to set up a fitness/family centre in Exeter, announced last week a yet -to -be -named business- woman is looking for property in Exeter to establish a fitness centre. Rayner, the owner of'Folkstone Natural Foods, said the fitness centre would include weight equipment, squash and tennis courts and a community room plus much more. No dollar figure was announced for the project. Rayner said she doesn't know the name of the woman but is in contact with her. The fitness centre would be family orientated, she said. "This person wants this gym to fit all age groups in the community," Rayner said. The anonymous woman wants to open the gym as soon as she secures a building. Rayner and Dittmer held an information meeting at Exeter town hall before a special council meeting on the future of parks in town but only one non -organizer attended. Despite the lack of interest shown at the meeting, Rayner and Dittmer said they will continue their cam- paign. Split decision for Blanchard ratepayers By Don Van Galen SPECIAL TO THE 11MI-ADVOCATE BLANSHARD TWP. -- A court in London has grant- ed some measure of pro- tection to Blanshard resi- dents worried about the environmental impact of a large scale hog operation being built in their area. The issue.•was debated for three days before the Superior Court in London Ontario, and concluded on Friday, June 18. Justice John Kennedy reserved his decision which was released last week. In it he rejected the ratepayers' request that a temporary stay on con- struction be granted, However, he did limit Cold Springs Farm from start- . ing any manure spreading operations on the proper- ty The decision will allow Cold Springs to continue construction of the barns, until such a time as the court rules on the ratepay- ers' petition to quash the building permit. That hearing is not expected to take place until September. During the, hearing both sides outlined the issues before the court. .Specifically at issue is the possible contamination of ground source water of neighbouring wells. The ratepayers contend that the permit ignores their concern that contam- ination is 'likely' as out- lined in a report they com- missioned and that Ministry of Environment reports outlining that pos- sibility were ignored. That report suggested the possibility of contami- nation and recommended monitoring of the wells to determine the impact of the Cold Spring Farm Nutrient Management Plan for spreading manure on the property. The lawyer for the ratepayers, Scott Ritchie, contends .that the plan includes spreading five million gallons of liquid manure annually on 800 acres of environmentally sensitive land. He also said the suggestion that re* dents should monitor to be able to prove contamina- tion by Cold Springs is "unacceptable in law and common sense." Ritchie attempted to con- vince the judge that according to the Municipal Act, a stay on construction must be imposed, unless it posed a risk to public safe- ty or would render the appeal meaningless. But the judge accepted the arguments of Cold Springs Farm lawyer Elizabeth Hewitt who argued that Ritchie'§ claims that the project vio- lated the Environmental Act were in the wro g forum and do not fit with- in the scope of the Building Act. She said the residents' concern is addressed in Section 84 of the Environmental Act which gives them the right to sue if it was imminent that the operation were likely to cause harm. She said that harm was not imminent and there is no reason to step con- struction since -manure spr-eading operations would not be done until next year. Manure would be stored in tanks under the building However, if Cold Springs Farm was unable to trans- port livestock waiting in the nurseries to the barn, the project could be lost, she said. Ritchie'presented a point which is sure to be debat- ed at the upcoming hear- ing, whether contamina- tion is "likely" — the term used in the Environmental Protection Act. A Ministry of Environment report stated that the project posed a risk to the quality of water and recommend- ed monitoring. "You can't read that report without concluding that harm is likely," said Ritchie, arguing that the building permit should not have been issued in view of that report. A report commissioned by the ratepayers from Conestoga and Rovers dated June 1, did say that contamination was "like- ly," and that in that event replacement of the water supply and compensation would have to be addressed. The judge agreed that, "circumstances changed dramatically" with the release of the June 1 report. Ritchie also alleged that Anthony Serpa, whom he referred to as "clerk for eight days" was simply wrong in his statement that he cannot take into account prospective breaches of the act. (Serpa was appointed building inspector for the project after the municipality's regular chief building offi- cial was deemed to have a conflict of interest.) However, the judge Stat- ed that he was not per- suaded that Serpa did anything wrong with the information that was before him. A court date will be set to hear the application to quash the building permit. Because of scheduling dif Acuities that hearing may not happen until September. Lawyers for the ratepay- ers have said in the past that they will take issue with the unusual proce- dure used by Perth South in handling the applica- tion, including the appointment of Serpa, and the risk of contamination of the water supply. SHDHS top students EXETER - Honour Roll students for South Huron District High School have recently been released The students, were required to achieve an average of 80 percent. These two students were named incorrectly. Grade 10 Top Male Jamie McDonald Correction There were errors and an omission in the informa- tion submitted from the South Huron District. High School. about the Honour Roll graduates. Julia Geiger was omitted from the OAC Honour student list and her name was spelled incorrectly under her picture as an Honour Roll student. Ryan Munn was listed as Ryan Mann in the copy. The Times Advocate apologizes for any inconve- nience this may have caused. 'Ontario Scholar Keriann O'Rourke Capsule Comments with Ernie Miatello Bothered by mosquito bites? Try dabbling a little Tiger Balm on the itchy spot. Seems to confuse the nerve endings and lessen the itch.. Vitamin B-1 (thi- amine) has also been used to keep the mosquitoes from biting. Although results are variable try 100 mg per day orally and it might make your blood less palatable to the mosquito. To avoid foot blisters on a long walk or run, try applying antiperspirant to the feet before the trip. Apply it all over including between the toes. Reduced sweating will help prevent blurs. Men who keep their wallet in their back pocket mioht develop "credit card sciatica". The fat wallet puts pres- sure on the sciatic nerve causing temporary tingling and numbness of the leg. Solution? Carry your wallet some- where else. if you forget to take a dose of your prescribed medica- tion, it's not wise to double the next dose. A double dose might result in an increase in side effects. Check with your pharmacist for advice. Phone 235-1982 440 Main St., "Your Health Care Pharmacy