HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-08-06, Page 2Page 2 Times -Advocate, August 6,1997
IN T
EWS
Regional
wrap up
Bosanquet
services
take
smallest
chunk
PARKHILL - The Parkhill
Gazette recently published fig-
ures on the:portion of property.
tax bilis Latnhton municipalities
use to run their operations.
According to the Gazette: if
you own a residence or business
in Thedford, slightly more than
One-third of your. property tax
hill this year will he spent on op-
erating and servicing the village
or 900 people. In sharp contrast.
the surrounding Town of Bosan-
quct.. with 5.00(1 inhabitants..•
takes less •thap I9 -cents of each
tax dollar Io service. its rural and
urban areas: - -
,Grand Bend. slightly_ larger
than-Thetllord -and facing huge
service. dcniand' in the Summer;
will eat jou under 20 cents of
each tax dollar collected from its-
ratcpaycrs:.Thedtord• Bosanquet
and Grand Bend are '.on one
playing - field. supporting the
,ante county and school systems
and their mill rate. -
Coffee's on
ST: MARYS '•• Franchisees
Dennis. and Linda Whaling • will
he splicing their time between -
their Exeter and St. Marts Tim'
Horton' -restaurants.- .According -
to the St. Mans. Journal -Argus.
the Whalings' Si. • Marys foal- -
Min on • Queen-. -Street 'East
opened July. 26 with many pa-.
trolls:
The 53 -scat restaurant has 24
elitployees, mostly full-time.
The 2.700 sq. ft. facility will he -
open' 24 hour' and has a drive-
through window., . Distinctive
features including. antique•gray
brick. distinctivemoldings.and
lascia. will: help the building fit
into the historic -downtown area
()1St. Marys:
Tommy
Hunter at
Mitchell Fair
• MITCHELL The Mitchell •
Advocate -moons legendary
county music performer Tom-
my Hunter will. headline at the
'Mitchell Fall Fair on August 29.
Hunter is, on a 50th anniversary
cross-country tour which pur-
• posefully includes smalltown
Ontario.. '.
Hunter. 60. " was horn and •
raised in London: Ont.._ and is
sure he has performed iMitch-
ell during .hls career. The perfor-
mance will be essentially the
same format as his television
performances plus a few •surpns-
-es. -
Video
gaming
decision
pending
CLINTON - While the Onta-
rio government has yet to make
u decision on video gaming for
the province. a local committee
is continuing to wort.= towards
the goal of•housing video lottery
terminals in•Clinton. reports the
Clinton News -Record.
In May 1996. the province an-
nounced they were considering
placing video lottery terminals.
which feature such games as
spinning reels. poker. black jack.
keno and bingo. at the 16 race-
ways in Ontario.
The Clinton Raceway is the
proposed location of the gaming
center. The local committee be-
lieves the VLTs will create em-
ploythent and improve the num-
ber of race days in Clinton.
The center will benefit the
province's coffers but the meth-
od for splitting the proceeds
with the host community has not
been decided.
Rodeo this weekend
Continuedfroin front page
Team penning :.
Local fans will be familiar with
the team penning event. often held
at Kinsmans' farm near . Hensall.
Within ,a 90 -second. time- limit. a
team of three riders must cut from
the herd and pen. three head of
cattle -with the
same.:
assigned .
identity
number or
-colored - neck
band. The event is timed and the
fastest time wins '-
Other events
The . Exeter...Rodeo includes
several other events.- Breakfast is
available i►n Saturday morning at
the "White Squirrel Chuckwagon
and Sunday :morning at the Exeter
and Area Firefighters' Cowboy and
Cowgirl Breakfast. The White Squirrel'
Saloon •and Chuckwagon will be open
each day. ' •.
-Nomad. Camping is available at
Elliot Park featuring .a campfire. chili
and cntenainment -on Friday
.-night.:. To --reserve. call
235-3114.
odeo On
•_ Saturday
night. there is a
BX -93 video dance at 9..p.m. with. a
$10. admission fez.
.Vendors will be present. throughout
the. weekend and Exeter stores will
..have . shopping • "western style" •
•• throughout the week. - •
The rodeo . happens rain or . shine.
For -advance tickets. please call the.rec.
centre al 235-2833. • ..
to
Thieves
target Grand
Cove
residence
S
STERNEN TOWNSHif' =.Huron
Count OPP report hetween.Juk )
and 23. a residence was broken_
into 'on Shannon Street. Grand
Cove Estates and approximately .
$8.900 worth of jewelry and more)
. was stolen. - -
Police arc continuing their inves-
tigation: -
Owner
apprehends
thief
. GRAND BEND- Police are
investigating a theft that ocr.
curved at the Tenderspot Gro-
cery Store in Grand Bend do -
Juh• 31:
North Lamhton OPP report a
20 -year-old male from Windsor
was apprehended by the store
owner and a village bylaw offi-
cer. He was turned over to 00-
l ice -
0 -lice- and faces charges of theft
under $5.000; breach -of probe.: •
tion and public mischief.:
Moving on.-Biddulph-Blanshard Fire Chief George West -
man may be retiring on- Oct. 31, but don't bet on his bud-
dies not seeing him anymore — he- plans on volunteering
as a - sometime radio operator and. spreading advice
around.
Tigers dash Zurich
Old (friendly) rivals. Glenn Webb, left, Bob Sadler and George Haggitt all get a piece of the
ceremonial first pitch before the showdown between the Dashwood Tigers and the Zurich
Lumberkings on Saturday at the Dashwood diamond, just one of -the many Friedsburg Days
events there on the weekend. Webb was the manager of the Tigers from '68-72 when they:
won three Ontario titles. Haggitt co -managed the. Lumberkings from '64-70 and Sadler (the
first pitch thrower) was the long-time . president of the. Huron -Perth Intermediate Baseball
League. The '68-72 Tigers doubled the '68 Lumberkings- 8-4.. For more- on the 26th annual
Friedsburg Days. Dashwood's celebration of its German _heritage and former name, see
page 8:..
Lake Huron flirts with
record water levels
By Kate Monk
T -A Reporter
HURON COUNTY- One of the
best things about living in .Huron
County is Lake Huron. The lake in -
that e'en if wet conditions occur. - -having an impact on shoreline
Lake ,'Huron water levers r.s-t-d ro ,nice = - 7 ----
p i'" '
remain 10 td 20 centimeters below . "Traditional major problem:areas
record highs. - still have prohlems."'said ABCA
According to information from .'Water and Planning Manager Alec
the Lake' Huron Centre 'for- C'oa'stal _Scott. adding :'Some areas you'd
expect to have. prohlems. don't
haye•prghlems. - - - •
Landow nets are trying t� protect
their properties :as much as they -
can.: "There'. is' more construction • -
than l'ye seen in the last 10 years.'
said Scott. -
.According to Scott. there isn't a _
- regulation along the
lakeshore for the area
above the water Mev- ,
• -el. The Ministry -of
Natural Resources
•regulates. structures
in the water. while the -
conservation author •
-
ities . regulate areas
adjacent to gullies
and rivers. . • • •.
Scott says if- .neighbors_ are con- -
cerned with the erosion protection
installed by a lakeshore Landowner,
they generally take their concern to
the municipal council. If the prop
erly is in. an' Environmental Pro -
lection Zone Two. the municipality
may want the ABCA to take a look
at it. '
'With funding cutbacks. • the.
ABCA .is continuing its technical
advisory- service on a cost -recovery .
basis. Robert Tract, adrainage con-
, sultani and Scott have visited sever- -
al sites and prepared reports with
recommendationl: for remedies to
the:erosion problem. Staff can•also
refer to historical rthfs to give die
fluence' people.. plants and animals Conservation.- high water levels
- every day. It moderates the weath- combined with. storm activity will
• ver.- gives. lake -effect. flumes and • ' have amore pronounced impact on
clouds through the late fall and the, shoreline than usual:
winter: is 'a favorite recreation and Cottages, built at beach • Ieyel
-cottage area and contributes to the ` within the area' waves- can reach._
economy (yith tourism and :fishing_ maY- he prone to lake -effect. flood-
• jobs. It is also a medium; for Iran'= •, -Ing. Storm surges can force N a'. es
portation of agr icultural crops and a considerable dis=
. other exports. '- - lance up the beach: •
But when Lake Huron 'threatens
beaches and cottages people quick-
•Jy realize the Iake'is a.powerful and
not always friendly neighbor. • • •
and if cottages hap- -
pen to be located
there. cause flood-
ing damage. - .
This summer.- Lake Huron is in Cottagers will see
. • the midst ora high water level pe- , noticeable . changes
riod. with 'levels approaching - the along the shoreline
records set in I.9ft6: Lake levels tra--during ; high lake
ditionally rise during June•and.July levels.. The'.. beach may appear
as spring runoff flows through the smaller or the loot of the bluff may
:watersheds feeding the lakes but be eroded by waves:' .
the traditional peak in the 11 -:year High water les•els..mean hasin-
cycle .01
'water levels is exagger- ' wide precipitation 'has been high
ating theannualfluctuation, , : -.over a period of months. Therefore.
• Environment Canada reports wa- it is quite likely the ground will -be
Au levels on all of the Great Lakes , saturated and the Water table will
except Ontario 'continued to rise- be close to the ground surface. Dur-
• during Jurie. While Lake'Superior.'s
level rose less than.usual during the
Fire chief to retire
"There is more
construction
• than I've seen
in the last 10
►'ears. t"
ing these Net periods. the weight of
this additional water can trigger
month, the increase was larger than - -bluff instability. r , •
usual on Lakes Huron. St. Clair and Extensive erosion at the -rase- of
Erie: • . the bluff. groundwater seepage. sur -
Fortunately. dry conditions 'dur- face erosion: and changes to the
ing the first. half of June over the ' land on or near the lake bank are
.drainage basins of Lakes Superior. possible Indicators 'of imminent
Michigan and Huron temporarily failure. '
Sr Continued from front page. • -
tabhshment of province -wide firefighting safety-and,training standards. -
One of those changes•is making, the decision to step down as chief sim-
pler. Westmatt said..Thc prot'Ince is introducing - a bill that essentially
downloads the responsibiltty of providing many volunteer fire prevention
and training programs to municipalities as well as making the chiefs job
only an administrative one. • ,
"I'm retiring because of My age and there hasn't been in my time a more
capable or dedicated fire department." Wessman said. "So many things are.,
changing — it's a young roan's job." . •
But Wessman isn't leaving the lire' department -for •good. He's going to
fill in as a radio operator sometimes and will be quick.to hand ouiadvice.
Westman's wife: •Audrey. also serves as a pan -time radio operator and
his youngest son. Alex. is a 15 -year department veteran. ,
."I have mixed emotions about (his dad's retirement)." Alex said. "1 am
extremely proud of my dad for the 4.5 years of dedication. He's fostered
that attitude on eserone he's worked with.".
While admitting his dad deserves the break. Alex will miss . working
with him. •
"He won't be ow- there with us.• We won't have the cld guy to, pick on.
But we have an excellent deputy chief coming up." - -.
That deputy.chief is John Damen. though the ftnal.deeision on who be-
comes chief hasn't been made. .
"(Wesltnan's) a real down to. earth gentleman." said eight-year de-
partment vet Damen. "(Forty-five years.) is quite a•commitment to make."
Wessman; Who 'has farmed. operated heavy equipment, drove a school
bus and now hauls water and'cuts grass lctr a day job. doesn't have any
special plans for the extra free time.
"I'm not going to do anything special." he said. "I'm just turning over
the management of the department to younger and capable hands."
But where did 'the old guy' mantle come from? Westmttin shared the or-
igi , explaining with a grin: "A- few years ago Ontario Hydro put on a
seminar and someone asked how the department would approach a
downed line or some other hydro -related emergency scene. 'Send in the
old,guy.' someone said. 'He's had a lot of 'good years.'"
slopped the seasonal rise in duels Locally. the Ausable-oay1Ieio
on the lakes. but heavier rainfall Conservation _ Authority's area of
during the last half of the month jurisdiction includes the shoreline
caused levels to resume rising: At .from Goderich .Township to Pon
the end of June. Lake Huron .was Franks. ' Conservation authority
58 centimeters above average. staff are finding high lake levels are
Environment Canada predicts -
Recoiled Monthly Mean Levels
Probable Range of Future Levels
2
-1
current landowner a' historical per-
spective of the area. • .
, Hopefully the summer's dry
weather has -helped to minimize
'damage to beaches. lake banks and
All-time average
Historical extremes - Maximum / Year
1986 �--•
1961
173.0
177.0
1715.0
:n
Lakes Huron and Michigan are expected to be within 10 to 20 centimeters of the record
high water levels of 1986. The water levels in this chart are measured in meters.
Graphic courtesy of Environment Canada.
1996
1997
1998 ..
lar I Feb ' Mw A. Mq I len
on. i Nr anan sant Mr 1 PM'
illi
pal
Aar i Sal (At
ao6. 1 ser• as
Nu.
no.
U.
n
64,
lr
pm
1. 6
14.
Mar j A. , H.? 1- halA.1— /A., i $q i Uq' Ip.
rani a.n1 MO f )4111ao'. , op I. at M..
Un
06.
lig 7, ►e4
par l M..
a :AM
awn e.N
May m
mr • Ire
.Lakes Michigan – Huron
1966
1966 1916 1w6 — 1914
114 1916 — — -
191- 1916 —
19e, 1964 —
—
1966"
199;.
1
1966
•,966
-.
- �.
191E
.—
1944
—
196e
—
•
1964
Lacs Michigan
1966
— 19114
1966
. —
– Huron
1914 1916
191- 1966
.1914 1966 —
—.
—
—
•
•
— — — — 1964
1/ka 1964 196 1964
•
196
1964
1664
1944�.
1964
—
196
—
1966
•
—
196:
1964
—
1964
— 1964
1964
1964
1964
4964
1964
— —
1964 19tH
—
1964
—
1965
—
1964
—
1964 196
I%4 1164
1918
- 1996,
173.0
177.0
1715.0
:n
Lakes Huron and Michigan are expected to be within 10 to 20 centimeters of the record
high water levels of 1986. The water levels in this chart are measured in meters.
Graphic courtesy of Environment Canada.