Times Advocate, 1995-12-13, Page 2Page 2
Times -Advocate, December 13, 1995
1[N THF NEWS
Regional
wrap up
Tragedy
prevented in
Dublin
MITCHELL - Three young
children were inside a vehicle
that hit the pump, sparking a fire
last Sunday afternoon in Dublin,
reported the Mitchell Advocate.
Quick action by the owners
of the gas bar, who put out the
fire with a pair of extinguishers,
prevented tragedy.
Shortly after 4 p.m. a vehicle
rolled across Highway 8, knock-
injover a gas pump at the Lai
King Station where a restaurant
is also located.
Witness Lynn Feeney, who
was inside the restaurant with
her three daughters at the time,
told the Advocate restaurant
owners Wayne and Kay Gene
and Tom Zhou quickly shut off
the gas pumps and grabbed their
fire extinguishers.
The owners of the car were
able to get their children out of
the vehicle without incident.
Sehringville OPP reported the
1984 Ford, owned by Richard J.
White, 24, of Staffa, was parked
in a private drive on the north
side of Highway 8 in Dublin. It
rolled south across the highway
due to mechanical failure.
Libraries
face shorter
hours or
closure
CLINTON - Huron County li-
braries could face shorter hours
or closure in the aftermath of
Ontario's mini -budget that cut
provincial grant money for li-
braries across the province re-
ported the Clinton News Record.
Huron County Chief Librari-
an Beth Ross told the Record li-
braries expect they will have to
cut services due to grant cut-
backs and County Council's ob-
jective not to raise local taxes.
If the library system has to ab-
sorb all the cuts, Ross said there
will certainly be fewer libraries,
and those that remain open will
ha‘c fewer hours.
There are 19 branch libraries
throughout Huron that together
have received an operating grant
of $229.110 from the province
in the past several years. A 20
per cent reduction in the coming
years represents approximately a
$46,000 Toss.
General
Coach shut
down until
January
HENSALL - A seasonal slow-
down in the recreational vehicle
(RV) business led General
Coach to lay off all remaining
line workers and shut down
manufacturing until at least Jan-
uary, reported the Huron Exposi-
tor.
Management said the layoffs
shouldn't have been a surprise
for employees and shouldn't be
considered a sign of serious
trouble for the local plant.
The layoff affects 90 employ-
e who were kept on after a lay-
off ast September that affected
-c.) a loyees as a result of the
lose of a bus business. This
;oss resul in the shut down of
a product* line that made
wheelchair acttessible busses.
Although aall date for the
most recently lai off workers is
yet to be determ . reported
the Expositor. General Coach
expects to have these people
hack in January. The date will
depend on many factors includ-
'wing sales over the next six
eeks.
ximately 20 workers, in-
clud les, parts and service
and offi workera remain on
thettb at the plant.
Early Canadian Christmas
• Fran Nichol from the
Lambton Heritage Mu-
seum explains the in-
gredients of an early
Canadian Christmas
pudding including mon-
ey, a ring and a thimble
to Jeff Rollings; Ste-
phen Rees, Jacqueline
Cornelissen, Michelle
Milam and Mark George
from McGillivray Centra!
School.
At right, decked in furs,
Ben Wright drives Kelly
Jo Robinson in a horse
drawn sleigh pulled by
Brad Kramer.
Job computer may be
ut in Lucan Library
LUCAN - Council has requested
Human Resources Development
Canada to place a job computer at
the Lucan Public Library.
Bruce Helm, manager of the
Client Resource Centre at the Lon-
don Canada Employment Centre,
attended council's Nov. 5 meeting
to highlight details of installing the
kiosk.
Due to staff reductions at HRDC,
Helm said staff will be replaced
with job kiosks throughout the
county.
"We would need to reduce our
presense in many communities," he
said. "There have been big changes
going on since about the first of
April. We thought we would take a
look at the way in which services
are rendered."
"With this recent budget cut," he
continued, it so dramatically im-
pacts...It takes away 60 per cent of
the staff...We will literally, by the
end of this month not have a Can-
ada Resource Centre in Huron
County."
Helm said the "fairly user-
friendly computer terminals," will
permit job seekers access to 2,50()
job advertisements as well as job
bulletin boards, a resume writer and
other job software.
Information is updated every 21)
minutes and industry profiles arc
changed every three months. Each
system has four lines, a micro-
computer with a modem, a tele-
phone line and a printer. The aver-
age human contact with the com-
puter is two minutes.
"They access the information,
then they're gone," said Helm.
"There are programs out there
now where you literally fill in the
blank...It's no more complicated
than a lottery machine." said Hern,
adding, "The business is setting up
remote access to these things."
Helm explained key prerequisites
Southcott delegation
rejects proposal
Residents from the
subdivision presented
council with 70 letters
GRAND BEND - A delegation
from the Southcott Pines sub-
division presented council at the
Dec. 4 regular board meeting with
70 letters rejecting a proposal for
installation of sanitary
sewers.
Lloyd Mousseau and
several other con-
cerned citizens said
they hoped council
would reconsider and
wait for sewers to be
installed in all of
Southcott Pines rather
than Just the Grand
Bend portion. The delegation ex-
pressed concern over financing the
project on a fixed income and said
they were not opposed to sanitary
sewers if funding was available.
Councillor Bob Mann said he ap-
preciates the concerns of residents
but felt there was at least one mis-
understanding.
"i don't think we would ever ex-
pect provincial subsidy for local
sanitary sewers," said Mann. "This
would be operating on a myth."
Mann added the issue of dealing
with all of the Pines at the same
time would not be possible because
the area, in Bosanquet is out of
council's jurisdiction.
In respect to the per household
cost of installing san-
itary sewers, Mayor
Cam Ivey said pay-
ments could be spread
out over 10 to 20 years
on municipal taxes.
He added council is
fulfilling an obligation
to use the treatment
plant built by the mu-
nicipality to full capac-
ity. "We felt as a council that op-
tion should be given to the people
of Southcott Pines," said Ivey.
Council accepted the petition and
once all the information is gath-
ered, residents will be sent a com-
plete package including costs.
".1 don't think
we would ever
expect provincial
subsidy for
local sanitary
sewers"
for a community to have a kiosk in-
clude a central accessible location
with basic assistance available for
operating the machine.
Although Helm could not present
cost figures to set up the computer,
he said the total cost to HRDC to
set up a kiosk in Parkhill, which
took about three weeks. was ap-
proximately $10,000.
"An investment of $10,000 is not
that much in the scheme of things,"
he said.
Parkhill also received $3,300 for
the rental of computer space and a
bookshelf for related printed ma-
terial.
Before installing a kiosk in the
Lucan Public Library, Helm and his
staff will investigate the suitability
of the site. Head Librarian Marg
Rule told Reeve TomMcLaughlin,
who is anxious to start the project,
that the library has enough space to
hold the computer.
ABCA looks for
solutions to major
cuts from province
EXETER - On November 29. the province announced its future funding
commitments for conservation authorities. Transfer payments will be re-
duced by 70 per cent.
Cuts in transfer payments over the past five years have already had local
impacts. As a result, Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA)
staff numbers are currently 50 per cent of what they were in 1990. At this
time the ABCA does not know the precise dollar value of the cuts for their
Conservation Authority, but it is anticipating major changes in how its ser-
vices are provided.
The province has committed to funding flood control structures and tax-
es on conservation lands of provincial sig-
nificance. Funding from other partners
such as municipalities, service clubs, natu-
ralist clubs and individuals will be the key
to the delivery of other programs.
The Authority has a preliminary strategy
to address the elimination of provincial
funding for local projects. The Authority's
Board of Directors will meet to discuss
how to maintain services to landowners
and municipalities.
"Just because the province will not fund a program doesn't mean that it
isn't important locally," said Tom Prout, the ABCA's General Manager.
"For example, each year we warn around 2,000 children through the class-
room setting about the dangers of flooded watercourses and thin ice. Al-
though the province may not fund the program, we know it's important to
protect families from the potential Toss of a loved one."
"The 16 -member board is a partnership of focal municipalities and the
province. Give your input to your representative or call us. We're locally
accountable and accessible," said Prout.
"User fees will continue,to provide a large amount of our revenue," said
Prout. "We can only do what users and governments will pay for. We'll be
investigating the amount of support the local governments and program
users can provide."
Discussions of sharing staff and services with neighboring conservation
authorities will continue. For example, on November 28 the ABCA met
with Maitland Valley CA to discuss common ground.
A Conservation Strategy developed by local residents identified the mis-
sion, goals and objectives for environmental actions. Since then, the Au-
thority developed a Watershed Management Strategy that gives municipal-
ities and the province advice on where they can get the 'biggest benefit for
the buck' in applying the Conservation Strategy to specific areas in the
Ausable-Bayfield watersheds. For example, the Strategy identifies which
areas need trees, erosion control projects and improvement in water quali-
ty.
The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority faces significant changes
in its 50th year of operation. "As a local agency, we're seeking the ideas
of our residents to respond to the financial challenges before us," conclud-
ed Prout.
"Just because the
province will not
fund a program
doesn't mean that it
isn't important
locally"
Zoning changes
worry residents
CREDITON - At a public meeting including Stephen Township
Council on Dec. 4, residents of Grand Cove Estates questioned their
buildings' zoning amendment. which allows basements to be added
to the units.
Residents were concerned the addition of basements would further
reduce the mobility of the units that have presented drainage prob-
lems with their existing crawl spaces.
Also, they mentioned the fact there were no subsurface storm
drains in Phase IV of the subdivision and added the by-law must be
amended so self-contained basement apartments would not be al-
lowed. They also wondered if the residents or Grand Cove Estates
would end up owning the basements.
Roger Howard, of Grand Cove Estates, said the Cove has an on-
going program to ,improve drainage. He also indicated the zoning
amendment is necessary to insure the Cove remains competitive in
the retirement market.
Pending resolutionof storm drain concerns and clarification of
ownership of the proposed basements, council decided to defer the
Grand Cove Zoning Amendment By -Law for two weeks.
Candlelighting ceremony
Peer mentors, OAC students and members of the Sexual Assault Awareness Group partici-
pated in a candle lighting ceremony during the South Huron District High School Day of Re-
membrance commemorating the violent deaths of 14 young women at Ecole Polytechnique
in Montreal Dec. 6, 1989.
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