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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1996-04-24, Page 23Page 22 Times -Advocate, April 24, 1996 our Views om. Proposal for re -structuring "Our present municipal structure is 150 years old and needs rein- vigorating." Dear Editor: 1 have been following with interest the various discussions among municipalities concerning amal- gamation. Bruce Shaw's proposal, for example, argues for the elimination of lower -tier municipali- ties and the creation of three municipalities in Hu- ron County. I wonder, however, if we should go one step further and eliminate lower -tier municipalities entirely and have one municipal structure in Huron, that is the County. Lower tier municipalities at the present time func- tion as tax collecting agents for the county and Boards of Education. My own local tax bill, for ex- ample, indicates that 80 per cent of the property tax is for regional services; those provided by the County government and the Board of Education. This seems to me to suggest that the county really is the basic municipal unit in a rural county like Huron or Lambton (except for Sarnia). The County provides such fundamental services as: regional roads - this will become more signifi cant as the province designates certain highways as county or regional roads; public health services; li- brary services; provision of services to older people through homes the ages and other services; adminis- tration of justice; provision of social services - this will increase as the province increases the general welfare programme administered by the county; planning is best done on a regional basis and the county is a natural unit for this purpose; waste dis- posal, garbage to some degree; property registra- tion, etc.; assessment for tax purposes of property; etc. If we add education to the list it is apparent that the County is the basic administrative unit. People live across a region; they are domiciled in one place but each day they live their lives across an area. It seems to me that we could profitably eliminate all lower -tier municipalities and Boards of Education in Huron County and operate with the County as the only municipal structure. Huron is ideal to make this move since it has no urban focus. Urban, in interna- tional terms, means a concentration of 15,000 peo- ple by some standards or 10,000 by others. No mu- nicipality in Huron has 10,000 people. Indeed, the County's population is small, 58,000 people or so, on about 1,200 square miles. By moving to one lo- cal government, Huron could be a model for other counties. Obviously, there would have to be a properly elected legislative council and a properly elected head of the municipality. These details would re- quire some study. The County at present has a de- partmental structure which could become the admin- istrative structure to take over the various activities of the lower -tier municipalities. Lambton County could be handled in the same way except for the County's one urban centre, Sar- nia. The geographic area of Lambton would have two municipalities, Lambton County and the city of Sarnia. Boundary decisions would be needed and, perhaps, decisions on the sharing of certain services. Education, for example, would require special re- organization where urban and county juxtapose in the same geographic county. Perhaps, municipal re -structuring would have a positive effect on popular interest in municipal af- fairs; at present voter turnout is frequently low and acclamations are very common. Our present municipal structure is 150 years old and needs reinvigorating . This proposal, along with the others under consideration reflects this need. Yours sincerely, Joe Wooden Firefighters thanked "We always tend to take for grant- ed the Volunteer Firefighters until one needs them." Dear Editor: On behalf of the parishioners of St. Patrick's Par- ish, Lucan, I wish to express our gratitude for your response to last Friday's fire. We always tend to take for granted the Volunteer Firefighters until one needs them. Many thanks. Fr. P. Mooney, St. Patrick's Parish, Lucan, Ontario u,, b,r1 JOi Y , 1 ✓v vvf�� "...it is the ability to listen without judgement and offer comfort." Dear Editor: This year will mark four years of friendship from the VON Palliative Care Volunteers in South Hu- ron. To "palliate" means to ease the symptoms of illness when the illness cannot be cured. The more than two dozen volunteers who have taken the annu- al fall training course have freely given of their time. In the last twelve months over one thousand hours have been dedicated by these individuals. On a monthly basis our volunteers continue to support 15 to 18 palliative/bereaved clients. The number of referrals in our arca hospital and nursing homes 1,.• 1' Barndance Live! at Blyth BLYTH - Can you sing, dance or play a musical instrument? Perhaps you have a family act? Maybe you're a comedian or a clogger? If you have any of the above skills, you are invited to audition for a guest appearance in Barn - dance Live!, the Blyth Festival's first production of the 1996 season. Barndance Live!, which previews June 18 and runs in repertory until August 23, is a collective directed by Paul Thompson. This play cele- brates the great touring radio show, The CKNX Barn Dance. Every Sat- urday night it was broadcast live featuring local talent as well as fu- •,stture stars like Tommy Hunter, the Mercey Brothers and Al Cherny. Bandance Live! recreates these times, together with the colorful characters who made it happen like Doc Cruickshank and Johnny Brent. "By auditioning local performers of the region to participate in this production, we are imitating what Doc and Johnny used to do. They, too, auditioned local acts for their Barn Dance shows" says director Thompson. "We will be involving these people in the play in much the same way people of the area were included in the original Barn Dance shows." Thompson and some of the Barn - dance Live! actors have started ini- tial research on the show. "We are excited about the response of peo- ple contributing their anecdotes and memories about the Barn Dance shows. This great communi- ty interest has allowed us to think we can expand community involve- ment in another way - through guest appearances," explains Thompson. All ages, male and female, are in- vited to audition for Thompson on the evenings of May 7 and 8. Phone (519) 523-4345 to book a 10 -minute appointment, prepare a short piece to perform (Thompson recommends that it have "a sense of the old style" reminiscent of Barn Dance days) and show up for ,,, .K,,�f.(.�,tF'}M%,,�7�✓�,, ru oynouhr audition. If selected, you Flay „ ror I.0„.v,ofpfid tyughg4, con, ;. have increased significantly this past year which is in line with the trend towards the development of new partnerships. Many ask how these volunteers are able to face their task. Simply put, it is the ability to listen with- out judgement and offer comfort. "The Extra Touch” is especially needed during the bereavement follow up support. This week, April 21 to 27 is National Volunteer Week. Locally, we wish to express our gratitude to the members of the VON Palliative Care Volunteer Program. Deanna Brock, Coordinator, VON Palliative Care Volunteer Program, Victorian Order of Nurses, Hensall, Ontario Australia Day Bill Gibson entertains Queensway Nursing and Retirement Home residents at Thursday's Australia Day. Used book sale at Blyth BLYTH - The Biggest Used Book Sale in Huron County returns to the Blyth Memorial Community Hall on Saturday, June 1, 1996. Doors for the huge sale open at 9 a.m. and the bargains continue until 4 p.m. A Blyth Festival tradition for over a decade, this year's book sale features a reading by Jane Urquhart at 2 p.m. in the theatre auditorium. Ms. Urquhart, the award-winning author of The Whirlpool and Changing Heaven, will read from her recent best seller, Away. Timo- thy Findley, who was the guest reader at last year's event, has this to say about Jane Urquhart's work: "Like Emily Bronte and Thomas Hardy, Jane is unafraid of words and spends them fearlessly. The uses to which she puts her com- mand of language are beautiful and breath -taking." Mrs. Urquhart will appear after the reading to sign cop- ies of her books that will be availa- ble for sale. Admission for the book sales is free, while attending Ms. Urqu- hart's reading will be $5. per per- son. If you have any books or re- cordings you would like to donate to this Blyth Festival fundraiser, they may be dropped off at the theatre office from Monday to Fri- day, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call (519) 523-4345. IMO 1 Budget decisions LONDON - Trustees for the Lon- don and Middlesex County Catho- lic School Board were presented with impact statements on 28 pro- posed budget reductions at a spe- cial meeting of the board Monday night. The package, presented by the board's administration, outlined a number of options the trustees could consider to address the reve- nue shortfall facing the board. The board was also presented with preliminary revenue estimates for 1996. These estimates indicated the board would receive almost 5.6 million dollars less in funding from the provincial government than it received in1995. The report indicat- ed based on the boards preliminary expenditure estimates of just over $113 million, the board would have revenue shortfall of $2.6 million if there were no increases in property taxes. If no reductions were made in the spending estimates for 1996, it would take a six per cent increase in local taxes to balance the 1996 budget. Trustees were reminded that in addition to the revenue shortfall, they also had to deal with the carry over deficit estimated to be approximately $1.4 million. Director of Educati6n Paul Dunne told trustees they not only had to make decisions to address the shortfall, but as well must con- sider reductions that would have a carry over benefit for next year. Dunne told trustees that the $400 million already announced was only phase one of what is expected to be a $1 billion dollar cut to prov- ince -wide education funding. In another potential cost saving measure, the board approved an early retirement incentive package which will be presented to its teach- ers, members of OECTA and AEFO tomorrow. Tuesday night, administration met with the chairs of the Catholic School Councils to detail the latest budget information. On Wednesday, the board hosted a ratepayers meeting where budget information will be provided and ratepayers will have an opportunity to address trustees on budget is- sues. Ratepayers are also being in- vited to make presentation at the beginning of next Monday's regu- lar board meeting. Beth meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Monsignor Feeney Centre. Musical Entertainers brought children to their feet at Toddlers inn in Bethel Reform Church on Thursday. Pictured above are Andrea Hillan and Ja- nelle Clarke. At left is Brooke Gielen. , Dads and Lads Mark Consitt and his son, Brandon, get into a game of i'i+a4;<- - ketball at Hensall Public School on Friday night during a special Dads and Lads event. Kitchen music to r ousseau, le , ceps rhythm on a wash -tub string base while Betty Hast plays the cha- chas at the Dashwood Community Centre on Thursday. The two members of the Grand Bend Golden Agers Kitch- en Band entertained the United Senior Citizens of On- tario during a spring rally. A