HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-07-26, Page 3_207A'AWAriWWA'-E111V1W-LI +j
IN THE NFW
Times -Advocate, July 26, 1995
Page 3
Blddulph considers zoning update
LUCAN - At a recent meeting,
Biddulph township council heard
recommendations from planner Ted
Halwa to update a number of sec-
tions of the township's zoning by-
law.
Council decided to leave the min-
imum lot area for General Agricul-
tural (Al) Zone at 22 hectares or 55
acres despite the fact the Ministry
of Food and Rural Affairs had rec-
ommended an increase to 40 hec-
tres or 100 acres.
Since the present bylaw was
passed there have been 22 amend-
ments to the Special Agriculture
(A2) zones. Bylaw 149-49 estab-
lished a minimum of 8000 square
metres and a 50 metre frontage to
alleviate some of the zonings re-
quired under the former wording.
In this regard, council agreed to
establish a maximum lot area of
four hectares or 10 acres in the A2
zone and rezone all existing Tots
which exceed four hectares in area
and are presently zoned Special
Agricultural (A2) to General Agri-
cultural (A1),
Also they will modify the exist-
ing lots provision in the bylaw to
ensure that all lands zoned A2 with
less than the required lot area, lot
frontage or lot depth are exempt
from these requirements and not
only those in existence as of Sep-
tember 2, 1986.
Council agreed to the creation of
a highway commercial zone, re-
zone lands currently zoned Existing
Use to reflect their intended future
use and• where appropriate apply
the holding symbol and create a fu-
ture development zone and apply to
lands where future development in
accordance with the Official Plan is
anticipated but the actual uses are
not known at this time.
1t was agreed to leave out the
minimum setback requirements for
provincial highways, but request
setbacks for county and township
roads be included.
Concerning minimum floor area
standards for dwellings it was de-
cided to maintain the present mini-
mums of 968 square feet and 753
square feet for a two-storey dwell-
ing. Also the wording will address
split level dwellings and clarify the
necessity of a two-storey dwelling
must maintain the minimum floor
area on both levels.
Revised definitions of hazard
lands and wayside pits and portable
asphalt plants will be brought into
conformity with th Official Plan.
Council are of the opinion that
targe satellite dishes appear to be
on the way out but some direction
to the placement may be appropri-
ate.
After clerk :Larry Hotson pointed
out some problems concerning the
placement of swimming pools un-
der the present bylaw, it was rec-
ommended the removal or levelling
of hills, encroachment of decks into
required yards and setbacks and
provisions to enable use of the
Hold symbol.
Halwa agreed with Ht tson that it
would be advantaged to have a
page depicting diagrams of some of
the more common irregular lot
shapes outlining where and how the
yards are calculated.
The Granton and district Lions
Club requested a permanent zoning
to replace the temporary zoning for
their "Mud Run" and this was sup-
ported by council as this is a very
good fund raiser for the communi-
ty.
Sewer committee reports
LUCAN - The village of Lucan's newly appointed and efficiency of the plant.
public committee to check into problems at the sew- Perry Caskanette told council, "We can't under-
age treatment plant made their first report to council stand the big difference in estimates of operating
on July 18. costs for the treatment plant. Originally it was to be
The six person committee started their program by $90,000, then it jumped to $133,000 and now I un -
touring the plant and then pouring through volumes derstand its costing $230,000 a year to operate. Why
of information provided by clerk Ron Reymer and the great range?"
works superintendent Doug Johnston. Dale went on to say, "Let's do a full 100 percent
Chairman Paul Dale who was accompanied by study on how to get the infiltration problem solved
Perry Caskanette and George Mawdsley said, " Our and get the plant to run as efficiently as possible. The
desire is to help you in this long term problem with three compressors although fairly new are old by de -
a long term solution." sign and not as effective as they should be. They are
He continued, " The plant is much the major user of hydro, one of the
larger than required and infiltration "if everyone was high costs at the plant. One effective
is certainly related to the problemshooked u to the compressor could do the job."
at the plant. We can't destroy what p When Dale said, "Whatever we do
we have, but must try to make it treatment plant we are not looking at big savings",
work more efficiently. At this time there could be a reeve Tom McLaughlin replied, "Any
it's only running at 50 percent of ca- 25percent savingreduction will help."
pacity." Another suggestion was to shut
Right now 701 homes and busi- for each household down part of the plant. Also, shelve
nesses are receiving water and 557 or business..." the infiltration program until the
are hooked up to the sewage sys- whole sewer program is reviewed.
tem." The infiltration issue is part of the
Dale added, "If everyone was overall sewage plan.
hooked up to the treatment plant
there could be a 25 percent saving for each house- Amount of sewage down
hold or business, going down from $412 to $ 328 "That's a good sign." -
each year. That was the comment of councillor Rob Brady
"There are a lot of questions to be answered, " when the water and sewer usage report for the month
said Dale. "If costs continue to rise will that be a de- of June was received from the Lake Huron Water
terrent to development and the number of new hous- System.
es to be built in Lucan? The uncertainty of the econ- The report showed 19,877 cubic metres of water
omy in Ontario is a reality and the housing market is were used and 15,002 cubic metres recorded for the
stale." amount of sewage received at the treatment plant.
The committee is also trying to determine if a full- For the month of May, the amount of sewage was
time operator is needed at the treatment plant. far in excess of water used, mainly due to infiltration
Infiltration is a big problem. Rainwater washes problems.
bacteria out and it takes time to build the levels back In June, the amount of water used was 78 gallons
up. During a storm the compressors and motors run per capita per day and sewage use was 67 gallons per
more. This increases costs and there is wear and tear capita per day.
on the equipment. Infiltration decreases the capacity
July 1st celebration took alot of planning
Exeter is a community, like more
and more these days, which is
heavily dependent on volunteer-
ism..
Dear Editor:
On behalf of the Exeter Legion, the Chili Cook -
off Committee and the Exeter Business Association
1 would like to thank Barb Tiedeman for taking the
time to comment so positively on what was truly a
two-day community celebration beginning with
White Squirrel Day on June 30th followed by Cana-
da Day on July 1st. The event did, indeed, require a
great deal of planning and while the Legion was
heavily involved in the preparations, no doubt Ms.
Tiedeman intends no slight to the others who donat-
ed so much of their time and energy toward the suc-
cess of both days.
White Squirrel Day was organithd by the Exeter
Business Association's Promotions Committee,
,which is chaired by Cathy Seip; the task of deliver-
ing balloons up and down Main Street was taken on
by the Pee -Wee Legionaires Hockey Team under
the direction of Monica Keys; several business own-
ers sponsored fun events for shoppers and decorated
store fronts for the occasion: White Wonder enter-
tained everyone both days; the Opening Ceremonies
were organized jointly by the Legion and the Exeter
Business Association and featured performances by
Buckles, Boots 'n Spurs and the Exeter Elites Baton
Club, both groups donating their time to this com-
munity event in addition to the individuals who
formed the Color Party; the Bike pecorating Con-
test was Judged by Mary Keenan, Esther Hillman,
Josie Christmas and Mary Allan; the Chili Cook -off
Committee included Casey Zechuisen, Paul Dou-
gherty and Rick Smith; the children's games were
sponsored by Huron County Child Find; the Lion's
Club participated in many ways; Beach Volleyball
was organized by the Rec Centre staff; the Slo-Pitch
tournament was organized by Bill and Janice Brock;
the Exeter Community Band provided music; the
Forest City Flyers demonstrated their radio con-
trolled planes; the Roast Beef dinner was sponsored
by the Exeter Agricultural Society, the fireworks
were supervised by Stephen Township and Exeter -
Area Fire Departments and of course David Holtz -
mann and Mike Brintnell worked on behalf of the
Exeter Legion Canada Day Committee which Is
chaired by Bart DeVries - an individual who works
tirelessly in the months preceding July 1st and with-
out whom Canada Day would not be the success
that it has been. With the exception of the Exeter
Business Association's activities, the Legion Canada
Day Committee is responsible for coordinating and
overseeing all of the above named events plus the
three days of clean-up that followed Canada Day.
While none of those invovled do so intending to
receive kudos from the community, we thank Ms.
Tiedeman for the opportunity to have these volun-
teers recognized. Exeter is a community, like more
and more these days, which is heavily dependent on
volunteerism for not only sporting activities, but
many of the wonderful happenings which occur all
year 'round. The reward is seldom recognition, but
is often the satisfaction of watching a community
that supports these efforts with such enthusiasm.
Karen L. Brown, Manager
Discover Exeter
Representation in Ottawa
"...this person has left our area
without a real vote or influence in
. parliament."
Dear Editor:
The gun lobby and a few easily impressed people
are applauding the stand of our local M.P. in his de-
fiance of the Prime Minister and his caucus. If he is
so disenchanted with the party that helped elect
him, why does he not call himself an "Independent"
and not continue to sail under false colours?
It is all well and good to "vote your conscience".
but in doing so this person has left our area without
a real vote or influence in parliament. While some
may admire his stance for personal reasons, the fact
remains that this area is without representation in
Ottawa. He was elected to represent the whole area,
not just a few. Perhaps he should resign? But of
course, he may be thinking of that generous pen-
sion!
Yours truly,
"Gibby"
J.M. Gibson
r
Vehicle
strikes post
in Usborne
Township
USBORNE TOWNSHIP - Inju-
ries did not result when the vehicle
of James Wilks, of Woodstock,
struck a post during an accident
with a vehicle driven by Grant
Westlake of R.R. 3 Exeter Wednes-
day on Concession 2-3 at 4:10 p.m.
Fishermen upset over treatment
Three area fishermen capsize their boat on Lake Erie
Chris Skalkos T -A staff
CREDITON - Three men are
lucky to be alive after their fishing
boat capsized on Lake Erie on July
2.
Mark Desjardine and Clair Mar- '
tene from Crediton were fishing six
miles off Port Glasgow in a fishing
derby with Bob Snell from Central-
ia, when their 20 foot boat began to
take on water.
Desjardine sent off two mayday
messages through the radio before
the boat capsized. All three men
had life jackets on and clung to the
boat waiting for help to arrive.
It took only minutes for nearby
fishing boats to respond to the m ty-
day. Snell and Desjardine were res-
cued by Joe Brosseau, a fisherman
from McGregor Ontario and Mar-
tene was picked up by boaters from
Strathroy. While Snell and Des-
jardine were being towed back to
shore they were approached by a
Ministry of Natural Resources boat.
Ministry officers asked to see their
fishing licenses but the two men ex-
plained they couldn't produce a li-
cense because they were tossed
from the boat along with the rest of
the items on board.
Snell said the Ministry em-
ployees abruptly left without of-
fering any assistance.
"They never even asked us if we
needed any help. They have a ra-
dio, they should have heard our
mayday," said Snell.
Before their boat reached the
shore the Ministry boat returned for
a second time and flagged them
down. Snell said the officers told
them they had some doubts about
their story and demanded to see a
fishing license. "They thought we
were pulling a fast one on them,"
said Snell adding the Ministry of-
ficers threatened to board their
boat. "After they realized we were
telling the truth they didn't even
bother to go back out and check
[the area the boat capsized in),"
said Snell adding their equipment
and belongings were still floating
on the lake. "They just peeled away
and were gone. They never even
asked us if we were all right. They
were more concerned about our
fishing license than our safety,"
said Snell. Bill Merch, information
officer for the Ministry of Natural
Resources confirmed that the res-
cued men were approached by Min-
istry officers. He explained the of-
ficers had difficulty communicating
with them the first time due to the
rough waters and that's why they
approached them for a second time.
"They [the Ministry officers]
couldn't make out what was going
on so they decided to back off and
catch up with them closer to shore
in calmer water," said Merch.
According to Merch, the radio on
the Ministry's boat was not working
properly that day and the officers
didn't hear the distress signal.
During the second approach,
Merch said the officers confirmed
that the fishermen had capsized
their boat and checked to see if
they were all right.
Merch denied that the officers
asked to see a fishing license.
"If we did ask for that, they [Min-
istry officers) would have recorded
the details but we don't have any in-
formation of that sort," said Merch.
When they arrived back at the
harbor the men were further sur-
prised at their treatment by the Port
Glasgow Yacht Club and Marina.
"They wouldn't let us use the tele-
phone in the Marina, instead they
made us use a pay phone and we
didn't even have a quarter," said
Martene.
The three men said they were of-
fered no help or direction from the
Marina employees.
"We were running around asking
other fishermen 'what do we do?"
said Martene.
John Roodzant, Port Glasgow
harbor master was not present at
the time, but was aware of the in-
cident. He said he was surprised to
hear about how the three men were
treated.
"After something like that we
usually take them in and make a
special effort to look after them,"
said Roodzant.
According to Roodzant, there
was only one volunteer employee
working in the marina at the time
and wasn't allowed to leave the fa-
cility. Therefore, the employee may
not have been aware of what was
4
going on. Roodzant said he didn't
know the men used a pay phone to
call their wives after the accident
adding they should have been al-
lowed to use the phone inside the
marina.
The three men were extremely
thankful for the efforts put forth by
the other fishermen and totally
credit them for the quick rescue.
"It was the fishermen in the derby
that helped us. Not the Yacht club
or the Ministry guys," said Mar-
tene. "The other fishermen there
couldn't do enough to help us.
Some of them were even apol-
ogizing because they weren't the
first ones to reach us," he said.
A number of different boaters
who were there participating in the
fishing derby also assisted in re-
trieving their belongings from the
water.
"What would have happened if
we weren't in the derby and there
were not other fishermen around to
help?" asked Snell.
Snell said his boat suffered
$1,500 in damages and left him in a
mild state of shock but he nor Des-
jardine or Marlene will give up
their favourite leisure activities. "I
don't intend on selling my boat.
This hasn't changed my mind about
boating or fishing," said Snell. But
the incident has taught them a les-
son. "We were safety conscious be-
fore but now we're a little more
cautious," he said.
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