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Times Advocate, 1999-09-29, Page 22 Wednesday, September 29. 1999 Region wrap u Wingham clinic opens in October WINGHAM -- Hospi- tal staff and members of the public got a sneak peak at Wing - ham's new medical clinic recently, reports the Advance -Times. The clinic is adjacent to Wingham's hospital and will open in early October. Several years in the planning stages, the clinic will be home to at least seven general practitioners and spe- cialists. Goderich moves to annex border lands GODERICH — With other municipalities unwilling to amalga- mate with the town, Goderich is striking back with a plan of its own, reports the Gode- rich Signal -Star. At a Sept. 20 meet- ing, council approved a restructuring plan which includes the an- nexation of some Goderich Township properties along Hwy. 8 and •south of town to Bluewater Beach. If the township or Huron County .council rejects the plan, .Gode- rich council will con- sider asking the prov- ince• to appoint a commissioner to con- sider the proposed plan. The annexed lands would include Zehrs, Wal-Mart and the Ca- nadian Tire plaza along Hwy. 8. Trio wins Western Fair competition LONDON — A Perth County stepdancing group, the Clickettes, took home top honours in the Youth and Jun- ior Talent Search at the Western Fair Sept. 19, reports The Mitch- ell Advocate. Stacy Harris of Ful- larton, Bridget Norris of Staffa and Julie Mof- fat of Mitchell are all students at Mitchell high school. They won the $1,000 first prize as the over- all winner in the youth division, a trophy and an expense paid trip to compete in a national competition in Alberta in November. In the News School board to discuss closure issue Continued from Mont pas* outcry over the school closure issue, which they eventually decided to defer for a year. This time, "were hoping that, if we can get better information out there before we have to make decisions, people will realize the magnitude of the challenge," explained Anne Lake, community liaison and information officer for Avon Maitland. Despite the fact no schools were closed last year, Lake says govern- ment deadlines are still in place. The Avon Maitland board is expect- ed to report on its school capacity in November, identifying schools which might be further studied for closure. There must be a two-month process for public consultation once a school is identi- fied, with final decisions coming early in the new year. The inevitability of school closures might become more clear, she suggests, with Tuesday's presentation. At that time:, director of educa- tion Lorne Rachlis and superintendent of busi- ness Janet Baird -Jackson will outline the Bannockburn Hike this Sunday STANLEY TWP. -- In celebration of Ontario Hiking Day, the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority will be hosting the 26th Annual Bannockburn Fall Hike on Sunday, October 3rd. This popular event attracted over 600 enthu- siastic hikers last year. The Bannockburn Wildlife Area is located 2 km north of Huron County Rd 3 between Varna and Brucefield. Between 2 and 4 pm the Huron Fringe Naturalists and environmental sci- ence students from South Huron High School will be interpreters. Located at points of interest along the trail, they will inform visitors about the various plants and wildlife found in the area. As you travel through the six different ecosys- tems your senses come alive with the sounds of birds and smells of the cedar and wild apple trees. Delicate ferns hug the shady slope down to the river and the fall colours in the deciduous forest are a delight to the eye. After your hike, ABCA staff will be serving apples and cider so bring your mug and enjoy a taste of fall at Bannockburn. province's new per -pupil funding model, examine the tri of declining enrollment, within the Avon Maitland board, and explain how these affect students in Huron and Perth counties. "Because we have many of our schools operating at low capacity, that's a particular chal- lenge we face with the new funding model that an urban board might not face," Lake said. She suggests keeping all schools open would mean less money for things that enhance the quality of education, such as sports and arts programs and adequate transportation. Will all this information make school closures any easier to swallow? Possibly not, Lake admits. But she adds the board hopes to avoid some of the anger and resentment exhibited a year ago. "What we're trying to avoid is a situation where the public is telling us not to close their school, close this other school instead. That's not a cre- ative solution. We're not doing this to create divi- sion from one school to the next. This is- a district problem, it's not a town problem or an area prob- lem. ".1? we don't address this, all the kids in the district are going to saf- fer." Remembering Molly Hunter, 8, shovels some dirt on the pile during the fifth annual memorial tree planting dedication. ceremony at Morrison Dam Sunday.The memorial tree program is sponsored by the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation and Finney Funeral home.Trees are planted in memory of those whose funerals have been held at Dinney Funeral Home or for those the ABCA Foundation receives donations for.Trees are planted atusj conservation areas in Commemorative , Woods.Those areas are Morrison Dam, Rock Glen inArkona, Parkhill; Zuriclt-and Clinton.All trees are native to the region and include oak, maple, ash and other species.Well over, a hundred people attended the ceremony that included speech- es by ABCA Foundation chairperson Tom Tomes and Dinney Funeral Home presi- dent Bill Dinney.The invocation and dedication prayer was done by Rev. Lillian Wilton of Caven Presbyterian Church. Refreshments were provided at the nearby ABCA building. For more information on the memorial tree program, call the ABCA at 235-2610. Lucan Biddulph may have to pay fo Airport Drive maintenance By S stt Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF LUCAN BIDUULPH — The township could be on the hook for main- taining a portion of Air- port Drive south of Lu - can. Fred Lewis, who owns property on Airport Drive, appeared at coun- cil's Sept. 21 meeting re- questing the road be- tween the Roman and Saintsbury Lines be maintained by the town- ship because he will need to drive heavy farm equipment on the road once he expands his business. He argued it is an open road that the public uses and should be kept up to standards by the town- ship. Council agreed to seek a legal decision to see who should pay for the road. While Deputy Reeve Bob Benner told Lewis he thought the road was unopened and therefore would have to be paid for by the developer (in this case, Lewis), town- ship administrator Ron Reymer said the road is opened but is not main- tained. Reymer later told the T -A the road is so rough he wouldn't drive anything but a four- wheel drive vehicle on it. "It's not maintained to any standard what- soever," he said. Benner told Lewis he is concerned about the cost to Lucan Biddulph rat- epayers if the township has to pay to upkeep the 1,000 -foot stretch of Air- port Drive. "It's an awful lot of money," he said of the potential maintenance. Lewis said he's always considered road main- tenance as part of the municipality's re- sponsibility and that the township should main- tain the road. Reeve Earl French agreed that if it is proven the road is officially open, then the township will have to pay for maintenance. Reymer said the pos- sible expense isn't some- thing the township had planned for. New equipment for park Market Street Park should soon have new equipment as council awarded a tender for three pieces of equip- ment. Council agreed in the summer to allow Coun. Perry Caskanette to pur- sue buying new equip- ment to replace the old, unsafe equipment in the park. Council will pay $12,899 for three pieces o& .equipment: a play structure shaped as a pickup truck, a frog "spring toy" and a larger structure that will in- clude a slide and other playthings. The tender was award- ed to Active Playground Equipment, who sub- mitted the lowest tender. Fire hazard on Alice St? Reeve French com- plained of a home on Alice Street which has a pile of palettes stretching from the gar- age on the property to the road. French said the lumber could be considered a fire haz- ard and said he's con- cerned for the neigh- bouring properties. "It's a bunch of kin- dling," French said of the Alice Street prop- erty. Bylaw enforcement officer Stan Flood said he doesn't have the power to deal with the problem because the township has no prop- erty standards or clean yard bylaw. While council had said in the past it doesn't want such a by- law, Coun. Caskanette said the township should have a property standards bylaw to pro- tect ratepayers f om in- considerate neighbours.