Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-08-20, Page 1SEIP'S valu-mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 Film •.4.° Developing -�1 4.99 roll • 24 Pldrrnes Serving Exeter and area since 1873 Inside Top cadets graduate at Huron Park See page 3 Fish Tales - Grand Bend Fishing Charter See page 5 Zurich Bean Festival See pages 13-16 Exeter Council amends dog bylaw EXETER - After receiving a let- ter of complaint from a group of :Concerned citizens in April regard- ing the ownership of pitbulls in the town. council recently tightened up the existing bylaw concerning 'vi- cious dogs'. While some residents and members of council felt the - dogs should 6e -banned in the town, others believe one breed of dog should not he singled out. - In the new bylaw,' passed by council at its Aug. 5 meeting, a vi- • eious dog is described as "a dog - which has attacked or bitten a per- son or another, animal or has dem- onstrated a propensity to-do so." In Part 5 of the bylaw, such a dog must be kept confined within the - premises in an enclosed pen. of suf- ficient dimension and construction to provide humane shelter.while preventing it from escaping and preventing the entry of unsuper- vised children. • This section df the bylaw also states that when the owner ofa vi- cious dog has been charged and convicted. the dog must be leashed and.muzzled at all times. • In memory >it • s_' Remembering Terry. The Exeter. Recreational Aircraft Association (RAA) and the Sexsmith Pi- lots Association (SPA) dedicated a stone and plaque 'to late St.. Joseph mechanic/pilot Terry Stuart on Monday at Centralia -Huron Park Air Park. Shown -here are RM president- Dave Frayne; SPA president Don Lewis, Joan Stuart (Terry's.'wife), Don Stuart (father), Mark Stuart (son) and Zurich's St. Peter's Lutheran Church Rev. Ross Thomson.. Stuart died on May 3, 1996, when the plane he was flying crashed' about a mile west of the airport. Former police station for sale EXETER - Exeter Council ap-• proved listing the -former police sta- tion for sale atter-declaring it sur- plus property at Monday night's council • meeting. The . - rec- ommendation from Committee of the Whole's Aug. l 1 meeting was 'ratified by council and instructs staff to engage Marlene Parsons of Re/Max to market the building and lot at 240 -Sanders Street East. Other issues listed in the com- mittee .report included Sewage Plant negotiations and the burning of weeds • in the downtown area. Council directed Administrator Rick Hundey to .prepare a list of questions and invite Steve Burns of13..M. Ross to attend a committee meeting to discuss the proposed sewage expansion. its stages and the possibility of cost-sharing with Stephen Township. • When asked by resident Peter • Armstrong why the sewage expan- sion negotiationshas not been cov ered.hy the papers. Ciwncillor Roy' Triebner -explained-the subject--re- ccived..press coverage but the pro- ject is still in the planning stages. and no o money has been comthitted to it. "Are we having a treatment plant?" asked Armstrong: "Is all this stuff really secret'' None of it hit the papers!" Plans include extending the ex- isting lagoons xisting.lagoons and has required the acquisition of lands. through in camera negotiations. - The New Hamburg System the town wishes to pursue would make use of a slow sand method of filtration resulting in a better quality Of discharged wa- ter. Works Superintendent Glenn Kells added only one person at- tended a public meeting on the sewage expansion project. Armstrong also indicated he. -would have liked til see Exeter at least participate in further. dis- • cussion=-regarding the-=upkeep Morrison Dain. • ' • . "We do pay 'our fair share." said - Mayor Ben Hoogenboom. ex- •plainingthe town supports _Morri son Dam through its general Aus-- 'able Baylicld • Consenatu n Authority levy., ..On the issue of weed burning, the committee made a recommendation to discontinue the _use of a propane torch for weed removal by town staff. This motion. was ratified by council. " The committee. expressed con- cern that a propane torch is nut as cost-effective as staff indicates and that.suchmethods carry a risk that is - not clear and can't be completely eliminated." states the minutes. SEIP'S valu-mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 Agent or .nSketchley Cleaners Stephen taxes to increase 20 per cent STEPHEN TOWNSHIP - At its Aug. 5 meeting. Stephen Town- ship Council received the administrator's report indicating, there will be a 20 per cent increase in the township's share of property taxes as a result of the provincial Who Does -What initiatives.- . In his report Larry Brown points out tlic loss of general support grants (totalling $9,953.000) in Huron.and the cost of downloading • roads are missing from the province's calculations released earlier- this arlierthis month. • 'According to: the province. the net change in municipal costs/ revenues will be approximately $4.4 million under alternative one ' (50 per of education residential taxes) or $4.2 million under alternative two (single education residential tax rate). Municipal Affairs .and. Housing ,Minister Al Leach has said the numbers show :municipalities will be*able to manage thenew align- ment of municipal and provincial responsibilities announced May "By f finding new efficiency savings of about two cents on the dol- lar per year over -the Next three. years, municipalities will be able to lower their residential property taxes by .the year _2000,"- Leach. stated in a recent news. release. adding. "Across the province, prop-. erty tax -cuts Should average five to 10 per -cent." Municipalities were also. informed: the government will spend $800 million -ow three years to -smooth the transition to the new Who noes What roles. As well, the province intends to establish a pennanent-$500 million -a -year Cunnnunity.rcinvestment fund and provide $70 million a year in additional transition assistance .for municipalities with special -needs. However. no further in- formation ahoui the allocation -of these.funds was released. The Association • of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) refutes Leach's -comments that municipalities_ will be able to lower res - ident property taxes by the year 2000. -. • • "For the provincial -government to suggest that is simply ir- responsible; given that -municipalities have little <ir no control over -the-services _being tranarrred to thent:'_said AMC! President Term_ Mundell: . - Along with the exylusion of road. downloading and Toss of mu- . nicipal Supports -grant from government calculations, AMO says it will be •virtually . impossible:" for municipalities to achieve sig- nificant savings in 1998 because of the delay in implementing mu-, nicipali management of many of the _services being transferred in- cluding social assistance. housing and land ambulances. Parents and businesses tackle :computer shortage EXETER - South -Huron District • Grand Bend parking tickets bad for business? otmputers�f'or900hasostudentswih he remainder of the cotnputers too out- dated to run today's software pro- grams. A group of Main Street businesspeople.say towing and tickets are driving tourists away By Craig Bradford T -A Reporter GRAND BEND -'Sonic Grand Bend Main Street businesspeople and • residents call towing and parking policies as well as bylaw_ enforcement • on the street and in parking lots harassment. . Seasonal Main Street businessperson Chris Shurety acted as the. spokes- person of an over 25 -member strong delegation at Monday's- council . meeting and handed Mayor Cam Ivey a 45 -signature petition outlining their concerns and recommendations that include: • • Extending the weekend midnight parking lot curfew to 3 -a.m. to . match bar hours and that ample signage be provided on any parking pot: -rey=changes-hurety aid= the -curfew,- especially. in=the_private1y owned • Keach. lots, isn't conducive to kickstarting a hustling nightlife. • - .. - • Issue side street 2 a.tn. curfew parking tickets an a . - complaint only basis instead of automatic ticketing." • • Extend the two-hour Main Street parking limit to three or four hours•so visitors can "better experience the Main Street and the beach." • Bylaw enforcement is seen by many as "very aggressive." Shurety said. "The enforcement is `too hard. It's zero tolerance." . Shurety said offenders should be told of the village's bylaws before they arc towed or fined. He also suggested that chief bylaw enforcement officer Keith Crawford be replaced for someone "better suited for the • job." . Shurety said Grand Bend's current parking and towing policies are keeping tourists away from the village's core. "It scoots each year the population in the summer is decreasing steadi- • ,Iy." Shurety said, especially young people.- "We think council is in the driver's scat to do anything to reverse this." •• Shurety said the group is•willing to."mcet somewhere in the middle" - with council to conic up with solutions. Fred Ellis of Beyond the 'Bend cab service presented his own petition .protesting the high price of towing in the village and council's slow movement on his concerns: Ellis would like to sec towing costs regulated. One gallery member suggested- the village invest in 'boots' like ones • - . used in, England that can be attached to vehicle wheels to keep them from - moving rather than having them towed. Then bylaw enforcement officers can demand ticket payment. something he called a money generator for the village. Sunnier resident Bill McTecr countered the petitioners by saying tow- , mg on request "doesn't work at 3 a.m." when cars arc parked sometimes "The enf is too zero to for an entire holiday weekend near his Oak Street property. "My middle ground. is the threat of being towed away," McTecr said. On people sleeping overnight intheir cars. Mayor Cam Ivey pointed out not only can't a vehicle be towed away while someone is sleeping inside, those sleeping uft'.the affects of alcohol could be charged by the OPP with 'care and control', ;[,drunk driving -related charge: if the keys are found on their person or in/near the car. • . . Councillor'Barb Wheeldon said the one-year courtesy warning pilot pro- ject introduced in June 'solves Shurety's zero tolerance concern. though many in.the gallery said they had never seen the notices.- - Councillor Shirley Andraza said Crawford (olid. her almost ....all Main . Street parking tickets•are handed to repeat offenders. - Ivey added the number of parking tickets issued should he down beecause of the courtcss warning program. Resident DelroyReid satdilickeltrig is 'driving • away business" and less downtown traffic may account fur the ticket reduction; "You might bc hang on." Ivey told Reid. Council invited Shurety to the September Main Street Advisory Committee meeting to talk some more and try to come up with solutions to his group's concerns. . "We have the complaint and the petition," Wheeldon•said. "Things can't be done overnight." "This (Main Street committee) must' take a serious look at these rec- ommendations," Reid said. - . . During official discussion period at the end of the open portion of the Meeting. Archie's Beach Co.'s Jim Archibald said there's more to Main Street's woes than a "perceived" parking„problem. • - • "I think we have more parking than we know what to do with,” he said. "How we cannot (make a) bylaw Ito improve) the look of our downtown is appalling." . • ' Archibald. said while the village's less stringent downtown business start-up policies helped him establish his business, thcy don't help attract quality, larger, long-term retailers that have a stake in the community but rather small, sometimes unsightly ones.. - . "The business people don't feel council believes Main Street is an im- portant part of Grand Bend," Archibald said of a common perception downtown. "1 think we need the input of the Main Street community." Ivey said. More festivals and events like the Labatt Blue Pro Beach Volleyball Tour stop on the weekend are needed to attract tourists, Ivey said. Archi- bald suggested the Gus Mackie 3 -on -3 Basketball tournament series. Council directed Archibald to come up with a proposal before the end of '97. orcement hard. It's lerance." A group of South Huron busi- nessmen and the School Advisory Council are taking the shortage of computers into their own hands. In, Mating the "Lease a PC for the Fu- ture" campaign. the group's goal is to provide funds for 30 new com- puters for the school's newly - renovated library: Spearheaded by George Godbolt, the group of six businessmen, three - parents and SHDHS Principal Bill Gerth will be approaching South Huron businesses and service clubs forthetr support: - - According to Godbolt, the project is a chance for local individuals and businesses to get directly involved in a project that will benefit their. children. The school's budget and fundraising efforts are not adequate to purchase enough computers. A pledge of $500 per year for four yearswill put a new Pentium - computer in the school library, an - area where all students have. access. The $500 pledge can come from one business or a group and can be • - paid immediately or between now and Christmas. At their meeting last Tuesday morning, the group already had pledges for eight computers and - - will be contacting more businesses and service clubs in the next few .weeks. The goal is to complete the fundraising this fall. • Anyone wishing 'to become in- volved can contact: Ken Farquhar. Bill-Gerth; George -Godbolt- Steve= _- Haberer, Kathy Hayter, Pat O'Rourke. Ken Pinder, Linda Rus- sell, Donna Shapton or John Wuenh. POLICE BRIEFS Police seek help in hit and run EXETER - Huron County OPP are requesting the public's assistance in solving a hit and run that took place on Aug. 8 at about noon. According to pollee, a 1992 Plymouth van was parked on a lot on John Street, east of Main Street when a large brown and gold van with a tire on•the back and a male driver in his 50s with gray. thinning hair backed into the Plymouth van. • - If anyone knows the male person in the truck, please call Const. D. McGregor at the Exeter Detachment at 235-1300. Cyclist receives minor injuries HAY TOWNSHIP - An 87 -year-old cyclist received minor injuries when he lost his balance and fell off the bicycle after a.tractor/trailer unit passed him in the front of the Bluewater Rest Home. - Police report the incident occurred on Aug. 14 at approximately. 9:15 a.m. on Huron County Road 84 in Hay Township, just west of Zurich. The cyclist. Joseph C. Sinitic was taken to South Huron Hospital in Exeter by'ambulance. ' Enjoy yourself at the Zurich Bean Festival this weekend