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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-08-09, Page 2Page 2 Times -Advocate, August 9, 1995 -r• Regional; wrap up Father pleads guilty to assaulting infant son WINGHAM - The father of an eight -month-old boy has pled guilty to assault in a Wingham court reported the Wingham Ad- vance -Times. Aaron B. Martin, 26, of RR I Clifford was in court July 26 af- ter assault chasges were laid in June 20. The court was told the child was beaten about the head at least 20 times over a period of 15 to 20 minutes. The child was taken to Wing - ham and District Hospital where he was examined and then trans- ferred to Children's Hospital in London. The infant was kept in hospital from June 21 to 26, suffering from severe head trauma. Three others including physi- cian J.M. Shubat and nurses Margaret Hogg and Marilyn Ashley have been charged under the Child and Family Services Act for failing to report child abuse to the Children's Aid Soci- ety. County library moves to Huronview CLINTON - The headquarters fcr the Huron County Library ht.ve moved to the old Huron - view building as renovations near completion, reported the Clinton News -Record. The county library was for- merly located on Waterloo Street in Goderich but lack of space, proper loading facilities and the two floor layout prompt- ed the move. Several county departments including the Health Unit, the Placement Coordinator and the Home Care will also be located in the old Huronview building. Volunteers help clean up cemetery damage GODERICH - The Maitland Cemetery was re -opened after more than 75 volunteers helped to repair the extensive damage done during the storm which hit the area July 13, reported the Goderich Signal -Star. Commissioner of Works Ken Hunter told the Signal -Star at least 100 trees went down in the cemetery during the storm and more than 60 monuments were damaged. "Forty-two of those trees were ripped out by the roots in the ce- metery proper. The rest of the damaged trees were around the edge of the cemetery," said Hunter. Crops looking good BLYTH - Despite unusually hot weather, the crops are gener- ally looking very good, reported The North Huron Citizen. Allan McCallum, crop consul- tant with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Af- fairs told the Citizen the winter wheat has been yielding slightly above average so far and the harvest is going very well. Corn is looking quite good and regular rains have provided enough moisture to avoid sheers caused by dryness. Soybean and white beans are generally looking good with Tush growth and pods beginning to set. A. First head injury support group in Huron County HENSALL - The first Head Inju- ry Support Group Meeting for Hu- ron County will be held on August 17 at 7p.m. at Hensall United Church, 76 King St. The building is wheelchair ac- cessible and the meeting is open to anyone who has suffered head inju- ries, their families, friends, service providers and anyone else who is interested. For more information please call Gary Davies (519)642-4539 or Gu- ioo Austin (519) 472-1416. , 1111 THF. NEWS__ Southwestern Ontario has been descrlbed as the worst in Canada when It comes to air quality. Have you noticed any difference this summer? Colleen Glavin Credlton - 1 think we should try to stop the pollu- tion" Sarah Parsons Exeter "The air is worse this year because of all the pollution. I think that peo- ple should help stop pollution... I think it's hard- er to breathe" Laura Elder Exeter "The air is still polluted. 1 think the winter air is a little bit bet- ter than the summer air. Ruth Dietrich Exeter "Yes, it's bad. It's so uncom- fortable, I stay indoors and keep cool. Denise Ward Lucan "Not really no. 1 think it effects younger people and elderly more.' Duane McLean Paris "Yes. We have had numerous breathing - re- lated difficul- ties this sum- mer such as colds and sinus problems." Anita Hunter Exeter "A lot of times l don't even go out. The air has been humid and heavy" Job hunt going `high-tech' Talking machines replacing 5,000 federal jobs and cutting spending by $600 million in 1995-96 EXETER - Exeter has been named as one of hundreds of com- munities across the country which will be getting automated kiosks, eventually replacing their Canada Employment Centre offices. Kiosks will also be installed in Aylmer, Ingersoll, St. Marys and Strathroy. The kiosks will provide users with information on pen- sions, income support, unemployment insurance and job hunting. The services will be provided by telephone or computer and are part of a plan by Minister of Human Resources Lloyd Axworthy to re- duce the number of employment centres from the current 450 to 300 over the next three to five years. The on-line service called for in last February's budget will mean a cut of 5,0&6 jobs and a spending reduction of $600 million in 1995-96 and $1 billion in each of the following two years. Kiosks could be installed in public buildings such as libraries, the local YMCA or MP's offices where people will be available to help novices users. Axworthy claims this technology will be able to give quicker, more efficient service with fewer people. Staff of the Exeter Employment Centre are uncertain of the fate of their offices and a timetable for the closing of 150 offices across Canada has not been revealed. Lucan affected by cuts LUCAN - In his usual comments at the beginning of the August 2 council meeting, Lucan Reeve Tom McLaughlin, referred to the recent funding cuts made by the new provincial government. McLaughlin said the decrease in roads funding would affect the vil- lage through $7,000 in the loss of supplementary grants. "I hope we can continue most of our planned road projects and go ahead and apply for supplementar- ies again next year," he said. "The good news is the cut in welfare payments. Middlesex County pays 20 per cent of welfare costs and 'this should result in a saving of $200,000 and this will reflect in our county levy." McLaughlin suggested newly elected MPP Bruce Smith be invit- ed to the next meeting of council to get his ideas of the future and his thoughts on amalgamation. "The county is organizing focus groups consisting of members of the public in each of the municipalities involved in proposed amalgama- tion. A lot of interesting feedback was received in one of these meet- ings involving Lobo, Delaware and Caradoc," he said. A similar focus meeting will be held concerning the proposed Lu- can-Biddulph amalgamation. Coun- cil will be suggesting six people to sit on this committee. "It's important to get a good mix- ture in this group. I suggest male and female, young and old and new and long-time residents. We will try to get a real sense of what the pub- lic knows. After h report on the fo- cus group, public meetings will be called," said McLaughlin Hay approves ball park lease for another 10 years. ZURICH - The Township of Hay has authorized the reeve and clerk to renew the lease for the township ball park from the Zurich Agricul- tural Society for a further period of 10 years with the same terms as in the current lease. Gerry Thiel and Clare Deichert of the fair board attended a recent council meeting to discuss the ball park lease and the rental fee for the township hall for fair board meet- ings. Council advised all groups have paid to rent the hall and the rental fees have been set for 1995. But consideration of their concerns will be given during 1996 budget delib- erations. The petition for maintenance of the Lakewood Gardens South mu- nicipal drain was accepted and the drainage superintendent is instruct- ed to contact Ray Mathonia. Owners of Lot 29, Plan 522 are authorized to construct an erosion control structure as proposed by Dick Bedard, subject to a number of conditions. The owners will enter into a Save Harmless agreement with the town- ship in regard to liability prior to • 0.0 commencing construction. The owners will pay the cost of construction as well as any permit fees and legal costs associated with the agreement. They will obtain a permit from the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority. The clerk was instructed to draft a bylaw to regulate adult entertain- ment parlors and to obtain informa- tion from the planning department in regard to zoning issues. Road Superintendent Ross Fisher reported it will cost approximately $25,000 to complete the shoulder of Concession 12 and 13. He will need to find out the roads cost for the Dashwood -Hay drain construc- tion in 1995 before being able to determine if there are funds in the budget for the work. A resident in the older part of Driftwood trailer park requested permission to construct a deck on the went side of his unit because his scans to the site was changed. Building Official Milton Dietrich advised he felt a zoning bylaw amendment would be required and he was asked to check this informa- tion with the planning department and also find out the park policies. Townships discuss future of townline curve road BIDDULPH/USBORNE - Offi- cials of the townships of Usborne and Biddulph met recently at the site to discuss the future of the curve on the Townline Road. Usborne Road Superintendent Ken Parker outlined some of the history and proposals for recon- structing the curve. He presented the following proposals: 1. Purchase land from Charles Hayden and turn the Usborne road to intersect the Townline Road about 280 feet to the west of the present intersection and purchase a sliver of land from Cliff Knip to re- construct the curve and provide for a six per cent grade. 2. Make the Townline Road in- tersect with the Usborne Road fur- ther east of the present intersection and make the Townline Road a stop road. This would necessitate a small purchase of land from Mr. ft Hayden. 3. The "Morley" solution. Make a long and gentle curve with a two per cent grade and extend the Us - borne Road west a short distance and turn it south to have it intersect with Townline at right angles. Parker explained the Ministry of Transportation representative for Huron County advised him to have an engineered curve if there were any plans to upgrade the road. The traffic count on this portion of the road is in excess of 400 cars per day. The ministry considers 400 as the point at which a road should be paved, therefore upgrading of this road is advised. The consensus of all present was to adopt the "Morley" alternative as the preferred solution. This appears to provide the highest degree of safety to the public. There was discussion regarding which engineer should be retained to provide the consulting on this proposal and it was agreed to con- tinue the project with B.M. Ross. It was also agreed the Township of Biddulph should negotiate the purchase of the required land from Cliff Knip and no construction will be undertaken in 1995. Back at the Biddulph Council chambers, Clerk -treasurer Larry Hotson pointed out the Ministry of Transportation had notified the township of a 50 per cent reduction in supplementary grants. This rep- resents a reduction of $28,100 in road grants for 1995. Council discussed the grant and reserve situation and the concensus was to delay any expenditures on Townline Road reconstruction until 1996. Career camp helps to nurture organic garden Heather Mir T -A staff EXETER - Students from Career Experience Camp are volunteering their time for a variety of community projects in order to gain valuable job skills and experience. The camp is a partnership be- tween the Huron County Board of Education and Human Resources Development Canada Last Wednesday, a group of grade 8 Huron public school students pitched in to help weed the Ecology Garden on John Street. The garden is the brainchild of Ryan Good, a for- mer South Huron District High School student. Good received permission from Town Council to use the land beside the Lions Club as a site for an organic garden. The vegetables, including squash, cucumber, radishes, corn, peppers and beans will be donated to local organizations such as the Food Bank, The Watch group and Phoenix Shelter for Women. Good will be leaving Ontario for the University of Victoria this fall after completing his degree in En- vironmental Resource Studies at Waterloo Uni- versity. He didn't want the idea for the garden to die and as a result the Grade 12 Environmental Sci- ence class at SHDHS has taken on the care of the garden as part of the course. Without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pes- ticides, weeds in the ecology garden must he kept down with old-fashioned weeding. Good also plant- ed marigold and basil between the vegetables as a deterrent to hugs. This "companion planting" has been effective if one measures success by the gar- den's yield. The public school students are participating in a variety of community projects including painting the wrought iron fence around Exeter Cemetery and volunteering with residents at Exctcr Villa re- tirement home. Students from Career Experfert►ae Camp were helping weed the Ecology Garden on John Street last Wednesday as part of their volunteer work. Pictured above from left to right are: Matthew Verhoog of Zurich, Jimmy Ounsamone, Exeter Public School, Carly Riley, E.P.S., Lindsey Janke, E.P.S. Rachel Sheridan, assistant and Coordinator Cynthia Ginge- rich. A